All women have scooped the three individual accolades at the 2018 NZ CFO Awards – a first in the event’s nine-year history.
Stride Property Group CFO Jennifer Whooley is the first woman to receive the top honour of CFO of the Year, with Dame Alison Paterson recognised for her Contribution to Business and Finance, and Hannah Howard, financial controller of My Food Bag, winning the Emerging Finance Leader of the Year Award.
The judges – which include Jonathan Mason, fellow independent director Julia Hoare, Foodstuffs North Island general manager of merchandise David Stewart, and former CFO Robert McDonald – were impressed with Whooley’s passion and leadership at Stride Property Group.
“In an often male-dominated industry, it is inspiring that these three exceptional women have come out on top to be recognised for their outstanding accomplishments in the New Zealand financial industry,” head judge and independent director Jonathan Mason said.
“Jennifer Whooley’s ability to devise and implement innovative solutions to the major challenges and obstacles Stride faced, as well as her humble attitude to the extraordinary outcomes she has accomplished, were key reasons as to why she won the award.”
Meanwhile, Dame Alison Paterson, who has played an active role in New Zealand’s financial community for more than 50 years, was recognised for her remarkable contributions to all sectors.
“Through this stellar governance career, Dame Alison has continued to be committed to finance excellence,” Mason noted. “Dame Alison has touched countless New Zealand businesses and finance employees and is the model of the award.”
My Food Bag financial controller Hannah Howard, meanwhile, won the Emerging Finance Leader of the Year Award for her significant contribution to one of New Zealand’s fastest growing companies.
Other award winners included Air New Zealand (2018 Finance Team of the Year) and the New Zealand National Fieldays Society (Financial Innovation Project of the Year).
The awards were run by Stuff and Conferenz, and sponsored by EY, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, Stellar Consulting, TechnologyOne and University of Auckland Business School.
