Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development's (ATEED), Pam Ford, has received the Commendation for Distinguished Service Award at Economic Development New Zealand's (EDNZ) first board meeting of 2019, held today.
The recognition follows ATEED's 2018 economic development accolades, both in New Zealand and overseas, for creating impactful campaigns which led to career pathways for young people, provided businesses with essential data-driven economic intelligence, assisted companies with export growth and generated business attraction and investment for Auckland.
Pam assumed the role of the General Manager Economic Development at New Zealand's largest regional economic development agency, Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) in May 2018.
Prior to that role, she held a variety of positions, working closely with ATEED's key partners Auckland Council, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, New Zealand Trade & Enterprise (NZTE), Immigration New Zealand (INZ), and Tripartite Economic Alliance partners Los Angeles and Guangzhou.
The Distinguished Service Award is EDNZ's premier individual award and recognises the contribution made to the image and practise of economic development, research that has advanced the course, and national or international recognition of the economic development profession within New Zealand.
EDNZ Chair, Dr David Wilson, said: "Pam has made a significant contribution to NZ Inc through her work, both in New Zealand and abroad, and the dedication she has shown to the profession over her illustrious career is inspiring."
Pam has worked for many years championing New Zealand's economic growth both domestically and in several offshore markets through her work with the Ministry of Economic Development, NZTE, and Auckland Council.
She is a strong advocate of developing economic development initiatives which include sustainability and environmental impact awareness. She is a great supporter of the arts as well as sport, and champions New Zealand's cultural diversity as one of our best features as a nation.
In thanking EDNZ for its recognition, Pam Ford described the acknowledgement as testament to the great team at ATEED who are working hard to action the agency's new inclusive economic growth agenda.
"We are focused on creating inclusive prosperity and generating quality jobs for all Aucklanders by working alongside our many partners with high levels of collaboration, innovation and a people-centric approach," she said.
ATEED Chief Executive Nick Hill praised Pam for her insightful approach to economic development and her breadth of experience and passion for selling what Auckland and New Zealand have to offer.
"Pam is an excellent operator who has built high levels of confidence and strong relationships with business leaders and politicians," he said.
Award Wins:
International Economic Development Council 2018 Awards
BuildAKL campaign (gold award): A highly successful youth recruitment campaign which used social media to attract young Aucklanders (16-24 years) into the booming construction and infrastructure sector. BuildAKL attracted 4500 young people into employment, education or training. Fifteen hundred young Aucklanders were employed in the sector and a further 3000 enrolled in industry training courses, or made career subject choices.
The Auckland Growth Monitor & Auckland Index (bronze award): Together these tools form a platform for data and insights on Auckland's economy and increase the city's profile and standing as a business destination. The Auckland Growth Monitor is a downloadable report produced annually. The index can be viewed at www.aucklandnz.com/auckland-index
Tripartite Economic Alliance, Guangzhou (bronze award): The Tripartite Business Programme for the summit in Guangzhou in November 2017, developed by ATEED and Auckland Council, aimed to achieve trade results in the Chinese and American markets. Nearly 100 delegates from 70 businesses took part in Auckland's delegation to the summit, and a post-summit survey showed six business leads per delegate we made, resulting in delegate companies expecting an average revenue growth of $4.37 million and an increase of five staff in their business with China in the next three years.
Kumeu Film Studios (bronze award): Kumeu Film Studio is a successful public-private partnership between ATEED, NZ Film Commission, Warner Bros./Gravity Pictures, and the Kumeu landowner. Together they established a world-class screen production complex and put Auckland on the global stage as an outstanding location for filming, including the box office-topping The Meg.
DIGMYIDEA Māori Innovation Challenge (bronze award) This competition designed to attract more Māori into the technology sector, create jobs and improve economic wellbeing, called on entrants nationwide to submit a digital business idea that has the potential to go global.
Economic Development New Zealand 2018 Awards:
The Tripartite Business Programme won the ‘Best Practise Integrated Strategic Planning' Award and was also selected from all finalists to win the ‘2018 MBIE Premier Award'.
The DIGMYIDEA Māori Innovation Challenge won the ‘Best Practise Award for Innovation'.