William Pickering Award for Engineering Leadership 2011
This award is the most prestigious of the Awards Recognising People, and recognises an
engineer who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and is a role model for other engineers.
Neville Jordan
Over the last 35 years Neville Jordan has played a pivotal leadership role in developing New Zealand’s innovation-based economy. Earlier in his career he was a pioneering engineering entrepreneur who developed a telecommunications microwave business from scratch, achieving revenues of over $100 million per annum, exporting to more than 60 countries.
Subsequently he was a leader in developing the venture capital sector in New Zealand. This sector is vital to the future development of the high technology businesses that will both diversify and strengthen New Zealand’s economy.
As President of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Neville transformed that body, increasing its links with the business sector, its reach within science and technology, and its impact as an advisor to the Government.
Neville has advocated visionary change for New Zealand through his involvement in the Prime Minister’s Growth and Innovation Advisory Board and the Green Growth panel. He was Chair of the Crown Research Institute Review Taskforce. Many aspects of the Government-funded component of New Zealand’s innovation system have been reformed as a result.
He has served the community in a variety of voluntary leadership roles. For 20 years he has chaired the Jordan Foundation providing educational scholarships to those who would not otherwise be able to attend university. He chaired the Downstage Theatre Trust for many years and is a trustee of the Antarctic Heritage Trust.
Neville is a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM), a Distinguished Fellow of IPENZ, holds an honorary Doctorate in engineering from the University of Canterbury, and has been awarded the United Kingdom Institution of Engineering and Technology’s Kirby Medal. He has been inducted into both the New Zealand Hi-Tech Hall of Fame and the Business Hall of Fame.