David Porter
Editor, BOP Business Publications
David Porter is a long-term editor of the Bay of Plenty Business News and contributes regular opinion columns and features to the paper.
He returned to New Zealand in 2010 after spending much of his career as a foreign correspondent, editor and writer throughout Asia, and in Europe. His roles include advising senior executives and former government members on communications issues.
He spent the major part of his career based in Hong Kong, working throughout virtually every country in the Asian region, and is well acquainted with the challenges facing New Zealand exporters.
He has also become very familiar with the constraints and the opportunities Tauranga-based business are facing, especially as they deal with the consequences and recovery from Covid-19.
Richard Rennie
Journalist, BOP Business News
Bay of Plenty Business News contributing journalist Richard Rennie has spent the past 17 years writing, analysing and commentating on the primary sector, also being a regular contributing journalist for NZ Farmers Weekly.
After moving to the Bay of Plenty 16 years ago Richard has built a strong following for his insightful, informative and accurate pieces focusing on areas as varied as foreign land ownership, forestry, kiwifruit, agri-technology and pastoral farming. More recently he has helped Bay of Plenty Business News expand its coverage of the vital primary processing, technology and logistics sectors that play such a significant part in the Bay’s economy.
With a degree in agricultural economics and marketing from Lincoln University and considerable business experience he feels as at home on an orchard or farm as in the company boardroom. He shares the region’s strong ties to the Waikato, and his previous experience owning a restaurant and dairy farming there mean he appreciates the regions’ strengths. In winters he prefers living on this side of the Kaimai Range.
Pete Wales
Business Director, BOP Business News
During almost a decade living in New Zealand, the majority of that time working for Bay of Plenty Business News, my job has afforded me the opportunity to meet an amazing number of people from many different industries and all walks of life.
Coming from my hometown of Sydney, Australia was quite a challenge for me, requiring a great deal of effort to network, push forward, and understand not only the business landscape but the dynamism of the Bay of Plenty Business region. If you’re new to the region, you need to put the work in, and I’m very grateful to the people in the Bay of Plenty business community who have afforded me a warm welcome.
It’s only through these connections, over time, that we’ve been able to produce the inaugural, 100 People Behind Bay Business, 2023. Publications like 100 People don’t materialise overnight, they need time for relationships to be formed, trust given, and the assurance that personal reputations will be promoted and handled carefully.
Enjoy 100 People Magazine, 2023 – a labour of love.
Petrina Wilson
Digital Services Manager, BOP Business News
After years of in retail, fashion and marketing in New Zealand and Australia, Bay of Plenty Business News’ digital services manager Petrina Wilson went back to her roots in 2011: “My family had always been heavily involved in publishing and I wanted to carry on that tradition with a focus on the digital opportunities the industry had to offer.”
While living in Dubai at the time of the first Covid-19 lockdown she reached out to her connections at Bay of Plenty Business News … that was the day the BBN team decided to go ‘all-out’ on digital.
“A tight team approach has made my work fine-tuning our web content and building an impressive digital subscriber base for our EDM, blogs and social campaigns really effective, and actually very exciting.”
“BBNs digital presence really is pumping now – definitely one of the most effective local business channels in the country,” she says.
“One thing in particular has made the huge growth in our digital platform really take-off – great content!”
