Tait Communications Hi-Tech Hall of Fame - Flying Kiwi

Like most companies that seem like overnight success stories, this Flying Kiwi’s story began in a garage. Well, actually, it began much earlier than that, when his high school careers advisor told him his dreams weren’t realistic and he should look for a job in the local aluminium smelter instead.

His parents told him in the car on the way home to never shy away from doing something just because it seemed impossible – so undeterred, he kept his eyes on the stars and his focus fixed on how to get there.

Out of high school and into the working world, it was dishwashers by day and rockets by night, until rocket engines and rocket bikes and rocket jetpacks started piling up.

He tried his luck in America to live out his aerospace dream with industry giants like NASA and Lockheed Martin, but was quickly escorted off the premises as an uninvited, unwelcome foreign national.

So he did what any sane and rational person would do with no university degree from a middle-class family from a small town in a country that had never been to space before: he scribbled a name on a piece of paper, decided to create his own company.

Since then, this Flying Kiwi has been at the helm of one of the world’s most frequently launched rockets. Called Electron, it launches practically every month from right here in New Zealand, and has since launched more missions to orbit than most space companies in history, including missions for the same organisations who rejected him all those years ago.

He’s leading the charge for a new and much bigger rocket called Neutron that will launch later this year and bring competition and innovation to global aerospace.

Not simply satisfied with rockets alone, this flying kiwi has expanded into satellites as well. The company has launched a NASA mission to the Moon on their rocket with a satellite they built themselves. They’ve created satellites bound for Mars, and they’re working on their own private mission to Venus to search for life on another planet. And they’re building constellations of satellites that will bring space down to Earth for billions of people across the world.

After debuting his company to a multi-billion dollar valuation on the public market, our new Flying Kiwi has also been playing it forward and helping other New Zealand businesses like Halter and Partly get on the ladder too, from his own wallet and with hands-on mentoring.

He’s been pivotal in growing New Zealand’s multi-billion-dollar space industry, and last year was named a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to the aerospace industry, business, and education.