Nominations open for New Zealand’s most prestigious leadership awards.

The Sir Peter Blake Leadership Awards celebrate six of New Zealand's most inspirational leaders, aged between 25 and 40. Past Sir Peter Blake Leadership Award winners have included All Blacks Captain Richie McCaw, filmmaker Roseanne Liang, Leader of the Student Volunteer Army Sam Johnson and entrepreneur Derek Handley.

Principal Iva Ropati won a Sir Peter Blake Leadership Award for his “inspirational transformation” of One Tree Hill College (formerly Penrose High School) in 2009. Ropati says of the awards:

“Winning a Sir Peter Blake Leadership Award helped me to appreciate that for all the challenges that I had faced in transforming the College’s identity, and changing perceptions of it within the local community, that I had been on the right track. My goal was to create a positive learning environment, which also fostered and promoted leadership, and being recognised at this level by such an incredible panel of New Zealanders has given me further confidence to believe in my ability to succeed.

“I'm hoping that every day when the kids see me, particularly those that have had some barriers in their lives, they can aspire to achieve the same levels, if not higher, in their own lives. If I can do it, so can they.”

Sir Peter Blake Trust CEO Shelley Campbell and winner of a Leadership Award in 2007 says:

“Every year we are amazed by the nominations that we receive from right across the country for the Sir Peter Blake Leadership Awards. In nominations we are looking for individuals who, like Iva and Sir Peter, have displayed determination and a will to succeed. Previous winners also demonstrated the ability to build and lead successful teams, empower their teammates, show integrity and, importantly, have fun!

“These are all the qualities that Kiwis admired in Sir Peter Blake and its just fantastic each year to be able to recognise New Zealand’s emerging leaders who demonstrate these qualities too. While Blake Leaders are usually aged between 25-40 years old, outstanding nominations outside this range can be accepted,” adds Campbell.

 Nominating someone for a Sir Peter Blake Leadership Award is now even easier with the nomination form available online at sirpeterblaketrust.org, until March 28, 2013. Winners are announced at an Awards Dinner during Leadership Week in July. Up to six Leadership Awards are presented alongside The Blake Medal, which celebrates a New Zealander who has made an outstanding contribution to the country.