Comments for Kiwi is Microsoft Number 3

Kiwi is Microsoft Number 3

2005-04-27T21:01:15Z

I thought I'd post this before Phil Pearson gets to it ;-) A New Zealander, Chris Liddell, has just been appointed to the job of Chief Financial Officer at Microsoft, making him the third most powerful person there (behind Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer). Mr Liddell commented:

"Obviously it’s a great privilege for me personally but I’d rather stress that this is a great thing for a New Zealander," he said.

"We’re doing great things on the world stage at the moment and I’m just really happy to feel like I fit into that pattern."

This is big news in New Zealand and rightly so. While not quite up there with Peter Jackson's achievements with Lord of the Rings, it does show that us kiwis can excel on a global platform. Andy Lark, who I had the pleasure of talking to a couple of weeks ago, is another kiwi who made it to the top rung of an Internet company (Sun Microsystems).

Is this Web 2.0? In the sense that I'm a kiwi and using the Web as a platform for making my own little play on the world stage - yes ;-)

Comment from Richard MacManus on 2005-04-27

2005-04-27T22:39:26Z

I didn't know about the Google kiwi, but I'd heard about the MTV one. Good to see the old Number 8 Wire mentality rising to the top like cream (to mix a couple of cliches!)

Comment from Phillip Pearson on 2005-04-27

2005-04-27T22:37:04Z

Found some more details:

Brent Hansen (a kiwi) is/was president/CEO of MTV Europe.

The Google guy: Craig Neville-Manning. It was an article in the Canterbury University alumni newsletter that said he was running their NY office, but all I can find online is that he's a "senior research scientist".

Comment from Phillip Pearson on 2005-04-27

2005-04-27T22:32:10Z

Heh - you beat me to it :)

I remember hearing that there's also a kiwi at the top of MTV, and there's one running Google's New York office (a Canterbury University graduate, even)...