CBS Chair Carl Taylor presented the Co-operative Leader of the Year Award to Wealthpoint CEO Simon Manning.
Wealthpoint Chief Executive Officer Simon Manning was named Co-operative Leader of the Year at the Cooperative Business New Zealand Annual Awards 2020 held in Christchurch this evening.
Simon was recognised for leading the successful mutualisation of Wealthpoint, which involved transitioning more than 50 independently owned and operated businesses into one co-operative.
The Co-operative Leader of the Year Award is presented to an individual who has shown significant co-operative leadership as well as vision and courage for the co-operative model across the year.
The mutualisation of members of the Adviser Association to form Wealthpoint was at a national scale, involving 150 individual advisors from 50 businesses. The new Wealthpoint co-operative covers life, health, general insurance, retail investments, Kiwisaver and mortgages, which makes it one of the most diverse financial services distribution groups in New Zealand.
Within its first year, all businesses had transitioned into the co-operative and significantly more suppliers had been added to the proposition, which enabled business services to be expanded.
Cooperative Business New Zealand Chief Executive Roz Henry says: “What Simon achieved in a short space of time was remarkable. The mutualisation took place in the insurance sector where regulatory requirements are extremely high, risk tolerance is low, and operators are used to working independently. Yet he achieved this with no disruption to the member businesses and in a year when there was incredible disruption.
“That Simon’s team nominated him for this award speaks volumes about the type of leader he is and how successful he has been at putting people first while creating a complex new co-operative.” Roz says.
The other finalists in this category for were:
- Brendan Hall, Managing Director, Mitre 10 Crofton Downs and Mitre 10 Gisborne
- Chris Quin, CEO, Foodstuffs North Island
- Steve Boomert, Group CEO, ProCare Network Limited
