ALAN BRADY (WILD IRISHMAN WINES and FELTON ROAD WINES) Inducted as a fellow of New Zealand Winegrowers and on the New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame, Brady was awarded the Sir George Fistonich Medal for services to wine in 2011. Born in Northern Ireland in 1936, he trained as a journalist before travelling to New Zealand to work on the Manawatu Evening Standard and later Otago Daily Times. Newspaper, radio and television roles followed, before he purchased 16 acres of land at Gibbston and produced Central Otago’s first commercial vintage (Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and white blend). He then formed Gibbston Valley Wines, opened New Zealand’s largest underground wine cave, built Mount Edward winery and shipped 70% production to the UK. His Wild Irishman Pinot Noir sells locally and in Singapore and Britain. www.wildirishmanwines.co.nz JACK KEEYS (FARMAX and RABOBANK AGRI-LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME CO-ORDINATOR) JOHNNY ‘DANGER’ BENNETT (DANGERS LAGER) Love him or not…controversial MTV star Bennett may be a polarising figure in New Zealand social media but one thing you can’t take from him is the apparent record for the fastest selling beer batch in New Zealand. The Whangaparaoa-based social media personality’s 100% New Zealand-based beer was released in September last year and sold out almost immediately – one stockist reported he had never seen anything like the demand before. The lager, secretly distributed around the country, with locations then announced on social media, has interested beer lovers in Australia, the United States, Canada and the UK, and Bennett – who has 250,000 Facebook followers - hopes to take it worldwide so it becomes an iconic Kiwi beer. Brewed at Otahuhu’s Scotch Fileha, the beer’s hops are grown in New Zealand, the malt is from Marton…even the glass and labels are made locally. www.instagram.com/johnnydanger_nz/?hl=en 70 ANNUAL DIRECTORY 2018 A former Paeroa head boy, Keeys works for agricultural software company Farmax and is nearing the completion of his Bachelor of Management Studies (Hons) in Agribusiness and a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences conjoint at the University of Waikato. He is also Rabobank Agri-Leadership Programme co-ordinator, and journeys across the country talking to secondary students about careers in agriscience. Keeys has won more than $50,000 in scholarships, is a previous HortNZ and Zespri scholar, has undertaken volunteer work in the Amazon rainforest and Galapagos Islands, and says global food production is the earth’s biggest challenge. “The industry doesn’t just ‘want’ more talented young people, it ‘needs’ the next generation of young achievers to focus on the challenges and opportunities of the sector. This includes introducing genetic biotechnology, increasing the efficiency of our resource use, innovating our engineering technology, improving international trade and perhaps most importantly, enabling the public to make informed and educated decisions – as that is what ultimately will dictate the future of our food.” Keeys began working at Farmax parttime two years ago, and now manages the company’s UK business and the Farmax accreditation programme, flying around New Zealand training the country’s top farmers and consultants in the company’s agricultural computer software system. Internships and work placements have been a major focus whilst studying, with Keeys working at Hamilton Organic, AgFirst Waikato, the University of Waikato, Rabobank and as a research scholar funded by the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre. www.rabobank.co.nz
FT-Annual Directory 2018-eMag
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