I suspect that billions of dollars and a lot of Tuesday afternoons have gone into countless therapy sessions around the world to offer up the same great revelation. That a lot of people have unresolved father or mother or sometimes both issues. There’s probably a lot in it. We are […]
In the first few days of the local release of The Odyssey the film became New Zealand’s biggest opening of the year. It’s earned rave reviews both here at the M2 offices and across the board among critics and general audience. The women of The Odyssey all contributed magnificently. Zendaya […]
I recently got my hands on the new Motorola Signature and I have to say it’s a powerhouse and feels great to boot. If you wanted a no-expense-spared experience, then the Signature is the no-nonsense best option available, in either PANTONE Martini Olive (Gold) or Carbon (Dark Blue), and weighing […]
If you were after a more tropical stay why not make it in a five-star jungle estate. One incredible stay you won’t forget in a hurry is the Springs Resort & Spa at Arenal in the jungles of Costa Rica. The resort is hidden within the 30,000-acre expanse of Arenal […]
Queenstown is setting itself up as the foodie capital of New Zealand as it secures the only two-star Michelin restaurant in the country. 110 restaurants were recognised by Michelin on our fair shores with 15 of them receiving stars, 35 Bib Gourmands and the rest recognised for their excellence, so […]
New Zealand has a bountiful gin scene. Here are a few of our favourites this season. National Distillery Company: Grass and Leaf Gin The NDC Grass and Leaf focuses on kaffir lime leaf and lemongrass. The pour shows a distinct viscosity, a sign of botanical density. On the nose, the […]
The Italians have never really treated coffee as a casual affair. It is ritual, performance, social glue, mild personality test and, always, an acceptable reason to stop everything you are doing. So it makes perfect sense that Bialetti and Dolce&Gabbana have looked at the humble morning brew and thought, “Yes, […]
One Night Only Imagine The Purge but it was about getting laid. That’s my elevator pitch for One Night Only. This is a romantic comedy directed by Will Gluck (Anyone but You, Easy A, Friends With Benefits) where single people are only allowed to have pre-marital sex once a year. […]
Few artists capture the heart of a story quite like New Zealand musician, Lee Martin. With a voice that blends warmth, strength, and vulnerability, Martin has built a reputation as one of Aotearoa’s most authentic musical storytellers. Born in South Africa and now based in Ōtautahi, she began studying classical […]
Emerging from childhood roles with remarkable poise, Elle Fanning has grown into one of her generation’s most versatile performers, balancing blockbuster spectacle with intimate, character-driven acting. At just a glance, Elle seems effortlessly luminous. Her talent runs far deeper than just her natural beauty though with her remarkable kindness and […]
Bindi Norwell runs New Zealand’s largest primary healthcare network with an innovator’s impatience and an operator’s discipline. A profile of a leader who decided early what kind of boss she’d never be. “Early on, I felt like I had to be the expert in the room, I needed to be […]
For Catherine Goodwin, leadership is not about preserving a family legacy unchanged. It is about earning the right to carry it forward – knowing which standards should endure, having the courage to challenge those that should not, and creating enough space for the next generation to do things differently and […]
Jo Stansfield has the kind of CV that could make even the most accomplished leaders blush. Spark, PwC, Vodafone, Kiwibank, Auckland Transport, and Fortysouth, where, as Chief Operating Officer, she sits inside one of New Zealand’s most important behind-the-scenes infrastructure businesses. But the story behind it is not one of […]
Samantha Stewart runs a 45-year-old import and distribution business with a philosophy borrowed from the sports field, a bell named Tinker, and a firm belief that the art of leadership is to let others shine. “People are quick to say business would be easier without people,” says Samantha Stewart, General […]
Miraka Davies opened the Journey To Excellence stage with a waiata and a rebrand, then spent half an hour demonstrating that resilience has nothing to do with keeping it together. The first thing Miraka Davies did as keynote speaker was introduce herself, which was awkward, because she was also the […]
Thirty years in technology sales have taught Sita Proud that negotiation is not a boardroom event. It is a mindset, and women are better equipped for it than they think. Sita Proud learned to negotiate at about ten years old, in a saree shop in India, watching her mother commit […]
Andrew Nicol has interviewed 100 New Zealand leaders about AI. His verdict: most of us are strumming a guitar we have never practised, then blaming the guitar. Andrew Nicol opened with a confession from a Fiji sailing holiday. He wore his prescription sunglasses onto the boat, knowing better. He ducked […]
Redundancies at 28, a $60 million lawsuit at 29, and a home baking roster she is not on: Skills Consulting Group CEO Rosanne Graham on what the path to the top actually looks like. Before the career history came the baking story. Graham is a single parent of five children, […]
The day closed with Miraka Davies back in the MC chair, steering Sita Proud and Rosanne Graham through a conversation ranging from feedback and imposter syndrome to mothers, motorbikes and steak. Asked what had stuck with her from the day, Proud pointed to Andrew Nicol’s letter to his children. “I’m […]
Sixteen years ago Di Foster was given twelve months to live and told to put her affairs in order. She declined, had a chat with Death over green tea, and built a framework for living intentionally instead. Di Foster opened by admitting that the six-year-old inside her, the one who […]
From down to the wire phone calls to opera at the pyramids, Innovative Travel founder Robyn Galloway has spent 35 years proving that the strongest negotiating position is a relationship you built before you needed it. Robyn Galloway’s first recorded negotiation was a failure, and it was with her mother. […]
Host Joy Reid gathered Di Foster, Robyn Galloway, Andrew Nicol and Rosanne Graham for a closing kōrero on apologies, imposter syndrome, fruit salad, and why nobody should aim to win 100 per cent of a negotiation. Joy Reid opened by confessing she had scribbled Rosanne Graham’s ten lessons “on scraps […]
At the 2026 Met Gala Joey King wore a custom Miu Miu tulle column dress embellished with cascading silver crystals, featuring a pink leather halter neckline and pink georgette train inspired by the iconic Miu Miu Spring/Summer 2010 collection. She finished the look with light pink satin mules. Gigi Hadid […]
For Spring/Summer 2026, CAMILLA AND MARC explores the quiet power of presence… to slay in the boardroom. I would never have guessed that their latest line was inspired by the contemplative traditions of Shinto purity rituals, Komuso monks and the architectural interplay of concealment and reveal. But I could definitely […]
Sylvester’s High Winter ’26 collection is out and this season is themed around luck. Primarily because this marks the fashion house’s first full year of running. So far they’ve released eight collections and they have no intention of slowing down. I just want to know what the dog’s name is.
Miu Miu has launched its new Upcycled collection. Any marks of ageing and the passing of time are celebrated. In this way the entire wardrobe is infused with the meaning and history of its past owners. Finished by hand, no two garments are the same in the collection. In the […]
Daniel Roseberry’s latest haute couture collection for Schiaparelli begins, as all healthy creative rabbit holes should, with a trip to Barcelona and a mild existential crisis. After last season’s celebrated The Agony and the Ecstasy, Roseberry admits he thought he had cracked the code. The plan sounded simple enough: travel […]
From AI-powered styling to cellular-level skincare, the new era of beauty is a testament to technological advances. From cult reformulations to category-first innovations, these are the launches redefining what’s worth your attention this season. 1. Cult Classic The evolution of the globally loved icon, Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base+, […]
Smart Styler British hair titan ghd has entered its AI era. For its landmark 25th anniversary, they’ve rewritten the rulebook of hair styling with the new sculpt, $629, a revolutionary interactive styler that measures the temperature of your actual hair rather than the plates, tracking the hair density and speed […]
Arches are one of the most over-flogged design trends of the decade. So why does Melbourne’s award-magnet Thomas Street Residence make them look like the future? Oh the arch. Somewhere around 2019 it escaped from architecture school, got itself a TikTok account and has spent the years since flogging itself […]
We agonise over sofas, paint swatches and the perfect rug, then flick on a single ceiling light and wonder why the room falls flat. These four New Zealand projects, from a glittering Tauranga tower to a lovingly revived winery, prove that light is the ingredient that makes a space feel […]
It’s difficult to find five-star luxury experiences that include everything from a Michelin dining experience to a UNESCO heritage status wartime bunker. This is something you think you might be able to swing in Europe perhaps in some European village, but you can actually find it much closer to home […]
Not to say that Queenstown isn’t already great, in fact it was amazing before humans ever set eyes on The Remarkables mountain range and its pristine waters below. But this year marks the opening of Thermae by Aluume Wellness. First announced in 2025 it’s a world-class luxury floating alpine sauna […]
Nolan’s IMAX 70mm mind and time bending behemoth, The Odyssey has landed and inspired people to start rereading those Greek classics. But before we start getting all hero worshiping about Odysseus, the Matt Damon rendition or otherwise maybe we should remember that he is a man who kept finding excellent […]
Seen by millions of people in more than 60 cities each year, the World Press Photo Exhibition 2026 invites viewers to step outside the news cycle and think critically about important topics in our world. This year’s curated selection we’ve brought you explores family, grief, and overcoming adversity. It can […]
If there were an Olympic sport for politely following up proposals, I’d quietly fancy my chances of making the podium. One of the more unexpected lessons I’ve learnt since starting my own consultancy is that some of the biggest projects I’ve ever “won” have never actually begun. Most new opportunities […]
Eighty-two per cent of New Zealand businesses now use AI. Almost none of them can feel it. Expert speakers at the M2 AI Summit in Auckland spent a day explaining why the missing ingredient is not the machine. Here is the state of play, courtesy of the Productivity Propelled report […]
We are living through the oddest phase of the AI story so far: everyone is using it, almost nobody can prove it is working, and the technology itself has quietly changed underneath us. A day in Christchurch with nine speakers made sense of it. There is a peculiar contradiction sitting […]
Long before boardrooms, Christine Kearney trained in ballet: a discipline built entirely on making difficulty look effortless. It’s a fitting origin story for a woman who has spent her career perfecting the same art in business. She cut her teeth in five-star hospitality, starting her hotel career at The Ritz […]
Nichole Lewis lost everything in the financial crisis – and found her way back by rewriting one sentence. Here’s the phrase she says is holding women back from wealth, and the four-quadrant framework she built to escape it for good. “I can’t afford it.” It sounds harmless. Practical, even. But […]
Jacqlin Richards on why you can hold a boardroom together, yet bath time still breaks you – and how to change that. Jacqlin Richards is a Parenting Alchemist and mother of two, who has been recognised as a Women Changing the World Gold Award recipient. Here, the founder of the […]
New Zealand’s most decorated Olympian on independence, gear, and the practical question of where the car seat goes. Dame Lisa Carrington has eight Olympic gold medals and a handshake that suggests there is room for more. We meet the Toyota Brand Guardian, at the launch of the sixth-generation RAV4 and […]
I recently got the notion in my head that a road trip was needed. Whether it was too much rosé or too many rounds of NZ edition Monopoly that influenced me, I can’t be sure, but I chose the grand and glorious heights of New Plymouth for this soirée. I […]
