For the first time, New Zealand cooperatives have been separately identified in a major national study examining governance, CEO leadership, remuneration, sustainability and long-term organisational performance.
Creating Long-Term Sustainable Value: Insights from 1,089 Aotearoa NZ CEOs, published by the Leadership and Governance Collective in September 2026, draws on responses from 1,089 chief executives across the for-profit, not-for-profit, government and iwi/Post-Settlement Governance Entity sectors.
Cooperative Business NZ collaborated with the research team from late 2025, helping connect researchers with cooperative and mutual CEOs to ensure our sector was represented. The resulting Cooperative ESG Dashboard, based on responses from 22 cooperative CEOs, provides a valuable opportunity to examine how cooperative leadership and governance compare with the wider for-profit sector.
Report at a glance
Authors: leadership and governance collective and massey universityYear: 2026Focus: long term sustainable valueGeographic scope: New zealandFormat: Survey report (PDF)Respondents: 1089 NZ CEOs; 22 cooperative and mutual ceosMethodology: National survey and thematic analysis of qualitative responses
Key statistics
1,089 New Zealand CEOs participated in the national research, including 22 cooperative CEOs whose responses are presented in a dedicated dashboard.
56% of cooperative CEOs identify their board's primary role as a strategic partner to management, 21 percentage points higher than the wider for-profit comparison group.
82% report that their board embeds core organisational purpose into strategic oversight.
59% identify better alignment between board members on organisational priorities as an opportunity to improve leadership effectiveness, 30 percentage points higher than the wider for-profit group.
91% believe environmental and social investments enhance organisational value, 10 percentage points higher than the wider for-profit comparison.
86% consider intellectual stimulation a very important personal motivation, while just 9% place the same importance on total pay.
Cooperative CEOs are 24 percentage points more likely than the wider for-profit group to identify fragmented or unclear requirements as a barrier to integrating sustainability.
What the findings tell us
The research highlights the strong emphasis cooperative CEOs place on their boards as strategic partners, with organisational purpose firmly embedded in governance. However, it also identifies opportunities to strengthen alignment between directors, make better use of board expertise and support appropriate strategic risk-taking. These findings provide useful discussion points for cooperative boards considering their effectiveness and contribution to long-term performance.
Cooperative CEOs also demonstrate strong purpose-driven motivation, with intellectual stimulation, organisational purpose and strategic challenge ranking well ahead of financial rewards. Nevertheless, the research highlights the importance of fair remuneration in attracting and retaining capable leaders, particularly given the complexity and accountability associated with executive leadership.
Sustainability is another area where cooperative responses stand out, with 91% of CEOs believing environmental and social investments enhance organisational value. Climate adaptation, supply chain resilience and employee wellbeing feature among the priorities identified, although unclear requirements, reporting costs and uncertainty around returns on investment remain barriers to progress.
The dedicated dashboard provides a useful benchmark for directors and executives, allowing comparisons with the wider for-profit sector. While the sample of 22 cooperative CEOs is relatively small, the findings contribute valuable evidence about how cooperative ownership and governance influence leadership priorities and long-term value creation.
Download the reports
Cooperative ESG Dashboard | May 2026
A 12-page dashboard presenting findings from 22 cooperative CEOs, including comparisons with the wider for-profit sector across governance, leadership, remuneration and sustainability.
Creating Long-Term Sustainable Value: Insights from 1,089 Aotearoa NZ CEOs | September 2026
The full 41-page national research report examining how environmental, social and governance factors contribute to long-term organisational performance across New Zealand.
Research by Susanna Lee, Leadership and Governance Collective, with Professor Claire Matthews and Dr Jeffrey Stangl, Massey University. Cooperative Business NZ supported engagement with cooperative and mutual CEOs during the research programme.
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