To be a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
DANIELL, Mr Michael Grenfell
For services to business, healthcare and governance
Mr Michael Daniell joined research and development team in the nascent Medical Division of Fisher & Paykel Industries in 1979 and over a 37-year career he became the general manager of the renamed Healthcare Division in 1990 and CEO of Fisher & Paykel Healthcare when it separated from the Appliances business of Fisher & Paykel in 2001.
Mr Daniell was CEO and Managing Director until 2016 and continues as a Board member. Under his leadership the F&P Healthcare team grew the business into a world leading company for the design, manufacture, marketing and sales of medical devices to assist patients with breathing difficulties, with its market capitalisation reaching $20 billion last year. It has the largest global market share for intensive care respiratory humidifiers and high flow oxygen therapy systems. The company has 5,000 employees, with staff located in more than 40 countries. He was awarded CEO of the Year at the Deloitte Top 200 awards in 2013. He has been a director of Tait Communications since 2015 and a member of the University of Auckland Council since 2011, chairing the Finance committee. He chairs the MedTech CoRE, a Centre of Research Excellence hosted by the University. Mr Daniell is on the Boards of the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund, Australasia’s largest life sciences venture capital fund and Cochlear, the world’s leading hearing implant company.
To be a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
DENNY, Distinguished Professor William Alexander (Bill), ONZM
For services to medical research
Distinguished Professor Bill Denny has been at the forefront of anticancer drug research for more than 40 years and was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2003 for his contributions in this field.
Professor Denny has continued in his role as Director of the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre at the University of Auckland, having held the position since 1999. Over the course of his career he has led teams which have taken 15 cancer drugs from the discovery phase through to clinical trials, and in some cases application in the clinic. Additional research at the Centre has led to an anti-tuberculosis drug in 2015 and an anti-Leishmaniasis drug in 2017. As part of the development of these drugs, he has been a co-founding scientist with Proacta Theraputics in San Diego and Pathway Theraputics in San Fransisco, and has worked with the Global Alliance for TB and the Geneva-based Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative. He co-founded Kea Theraputics in 2018, which is developing a range of anaesthetics and analgesics to reduce the reliance on opioids. He has authored more than 700 publications is a co-inventor on close to 70 US patents. Professor Denny was appointed to the American Chemical Society Medicinal Chemistry Hall of Fame in 2016.
HONOURS
Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, Queen’s Birthday 2003
To be a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
SHELFORD, Mr Wayne Thomas (Buck), MBE
For services to rugby and the community
Mr Wayne ‘Buck’ Shelford is recognised for his time with the All Blacks as a player from 1985 and Captain from 1987 to 1990, where he is credited for bringing the mana back to the All Black haka and leading a record-setting 14 consecutive test victories as Captain.
Mr Shelford has given freely and tirelessly back to the community through numerous charitable works, most notably through men’s health. He is a committed ambassador for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. His numerous fundraising activities include golf tournaments, ‘Pedals4Prostate’, ‘Shear4Life’, keynote speaking and charitable auctions, such as for Child Cancer Foundation. He was involved with Ministry of Health’s ‘Life Keeper Suicide Prevention’ programme and ‘Waimarie – Whatever it takes’ community housing for the disabled. He recently became involved with ‘Te Kiwi Māia’, a charitable trust involved in offering respite care for emergency first responders. He is member of the Northern Region Lion Foundation Grants Committee. He is on the Executive of Auckland RSA and Patron of the Passchendaele Society. He is President of Northshore Rugby Club, having been involved for more than 40 years as player, captain and coach. He is Patron of New Zealand Navy Rugby, New Zealand Defence Force Rugby and of Māori education programme ‘Te Reo Tuatahi’, supporting Te Reo Māori in mainstream schools. Mr Shelford is well regarded for his standing and mana within Aotearoa and within Te Ao Māori.
HONOURS
Member of the Order of the British Empire, New Year 1991.
To be a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
SYDNEY, Mr Grahame Charles, ONZM
For services to art
Mr Grahame Sydney’s art career spans five decades across mediums including oil painting, watercolour, egg tempera, lithographs, etching, and photography.
Mr Sydney is best known for his landscapes of Central Otago, which for many have defined their responses to Central Otago and the South. His works are represented in the collections of all New Zealand’s major galleries and in private collections both nationally and internationally. His exhibits have attracted record crowds. His 1999 ‘Regions of the Heart: 25-year retrospective’ toured New Zealand’s public galleries for two years, setting record public attendances. Tens of thousands attended the ‘Down South – Recent Paintings’ exhibit at Porirua’s Pataka Art and Museum Gallery in 2011. His photographs comprise two books, ‘White Silence’ and ‘Grahame Sydney’s Central Otago’. His works are the subjects of several books including ‘Grahame Sydney Paintings 1974-2014’ and his own publications have included ‘Promised Land: From Dunedin to the Dunstan Goldfields’ (2009). He was a driving force behind the creation of the Henderson House Artists in Residence Programme in Alexandra and he now chairs the Henderson Arts Trust. Mr Sydney has advocated on various environmental issues, including the successful ‘Save Central’ campaign, and he was a founding member of the Central Otago Wildling Conifer Control Group.
HONOURS
Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, New Year 2004