National Pacific Business Trust Awards winners named

The 10th National Pacific Business Trust Awards were celebrated at The Langham Hotel in Auckland on Friday 28th October with more than 450 guests in attendance. 

Wellington-based contact centre services business Connect Global took out the Pacific Business Enterprise Award, followed by the overall Supreme Award. Headed by the husband and wife team of Siuai and Serena Fiso, Connect Global provides a professional and welcoming customer contact experience while encouraging education and employment opportunities aimed at empowering its predominantly Pacific and Maori staff.

On accepting the award, Siuai Fiso said he was humbled for Connect Global to have won the Supreme Award, particularly with a high calibre of finalists across all the categories. 
“To win the Enterprise Award was significant enough, but to also take out the Supreme Award with so many outstanding businesses in contention is a huge honour for Serena and I,” he said.

They topped an awards night in which judges, past and present associates of the Trust recognised the awards were the strongest ever in terms of the number and calibre of entries.

The complete list of category winners is:
•    Pacific Social Enterprise – Cook Islands Development Agency New Zealand (CIDANZ)
•    Pacific Woman in Business – Nalini Baruch
•    Pacific Business Employer – The Fono
•    Pacific Business Executive – Debbie Sorensen
•    Pacific Innovation – Corefusion
•    Pacific Business Exporter – Marinelogix
•    Pacific Business Entrepreneur – Stan Wolfgramm
•    Pacific Business Enterprise – Connect Global
•    Supreme Award – Connect Global   

Pacific Business Trust chair Fa’amatuainu (Inu) Tino Pereira says the feedback among the 520 who attended was so positive the next awards are likely to return to its bi-annual cycle, as it was from its first awards in 1993 up until 2007.
“I had an approach from the CEO of a corporate organisation saying they wanted to be a major sponsor the next awards. Others stated their interest to be part of it as well,” he says.
“The event reflects that Pacific people are increasingly part of a modern and thriving business community. That deserves to be celebrated and there is certainly the calibre of thriving and innovative Pacific businesses to see it return every two years. Those who attended the awards have made that very clear.”  

Photo: Siuai and Serena Fiso.