Two black-tie galas, 700+ guests and the Prime Minister on the guest list.

The World Class New Zealand Awards honour Kiwis whose success on the world stage shapes how the world sees New Zealand. Delivered by Kea on behalf of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise since 2003, the night is a black-tie gala for captains of industry, senior government officials, high-net-worth individuals and leading academics.

I worked on the 2013 and 2014 galas as event manager at Verve, the agency behind the event. My job was the detail behind a night with this guest list: logistics and operations, sourcing and briefing suppliers, managing the creative and production, and running ticket sales and guest service.

Both years had big moments. In 2013, Prime Minister John Key presented the Supreme Award to Sir Don McKinnon. In 2014, US-based entrepreneur Claudia Batten became the youngest ever Supreme Award winner, at 39, with the Prime Minister again among the guests.

A decade later, I’d join Kea to run its events programme.

Results

• Two black-tie galas, each for 700+ guests

• A guest list including the Prime Minister, captains of industry, senior government and leading academics

• Supreme Awards to Sir Don McKinnon (2013) and Claudia Batten (2014), the youngest ever winner