NZ'ERS OF THE YEAR 2026

CHRIS WOOD
PRIDE OF NEW ZEALAND
Chris Wood is a New Zealand professional footballer and the star striker for English Premier League club Nottingham Forest. He captains the New Zealand national team, the All Whites. The 34-year-old will be leading the New Zealand team into the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America in June. He has been capped 88 times for the New Zealand national team and scored 44 goals, making him the all-time leading goal scorer for his country. In 2023, he joined Nottingham Forest, becoming the team’s joint all-time leading Premier League goalscorer. He scored an incredible 20 goals in 40 appearances during the 2024/25 Premier League season, making him the fourth-equal top goal scorer in the entire Premier League last year– after Mo Saleh, Alexander Isak and Erling Haaland; and helping Forest qualify for the UEFA Europa League. Wood has made a phenomenal 271 appearances in the English Premier League; scoring 91 goals and assisting in 11. This highlights his longevity and consistency as a goalscorer in the world’s premier football league. Since 2008, he has played for West Brom, Barnsley, Brighton & Hove, Birmingham City, Bristol City, Millwall, Leicester City, Ipswich, Leeds, Burnley, Newcastle and Forest. In 2022, he joined Newcastle United for a reported fee of £25 million, making him the most expensive Oceania player of all time. Wood is a hugely popular and highly respected player in the Premier League and was voted last year into the PFA Team of the Year by his fellow Premier League players. Chris is a leader, an innovator and changemaker.  He is a proud New Zealander, and he has put New Zealand on the map in the UK, and in the world of Premier League football. He is the Pride of New Zealand.

JADE LEUNG
NEW ZEALANDER OF THE YEAR
Jade is the UK Prime Minister’s Adviser on AI and responsible for ensuring the UK is a leading nation in unlocking the benefits and preparing for transformative AI. She reports directly to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology. In addition to her Downing Street role, Jade serves as Chief Technology Officer for AI within the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology, and was the inaugural Chief Technology Officer for the AI Security Institute.  Previously Jade led a team at OpenAI, was a Partner at Sam Altman’s venture fund working on early-stage investing and special projects in deep tech, and co-founded the Centre for the Governance of AI at the University of Oxford. In 2024, she was included in Time Magazine’s list of the ‘100 Most Influential People in AI’. She completed her Ph.D. in AI governance at the University of Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship, and a MPhil in Environmental Policy from the University of Cambridge. She is a University of Auckland alumni in engineering.  She is a leader, an innovator and a changemaker. Jade Leung is the New Zealander of the Year 2026.

MEG LAY
YOUNG NEW ZEALANDER OF THE YEAR
Meg Lay, 29, is a former crop farmer from Christchurch and now the groundswoman at Lord’s Cricket Ground. She moved to the UK in 2022 and has set historic firsts in sports turf management; using her platform to champion women and defy stereotypes in a traditionally male-dominated sector. Meg became the first female member of ground staff at the Home of Cricket. In 2023, she led an all-women’s grounds team at Edgbaston Cricket Ground to prepare the pitch for an international Women’s Ashes match – a first in professional cricket. The following year, she was part of an all-female grounds team at Emirates Stadium for the Women’s Super League tournament. In 2025, Meg participated in the all-female grounds team at Twickenham for the Women’s Rugby World Cup Final, marking the first time in history that a women-only grounds team had prepared a Rugby World Cup final surface. She is now employed to work matchdays at Twickenham Stadium. Meg has prepared pitches for elite sport and advocated for inclusivity in sports turf management. She has served as co-Chair of GMA NextGen, a group of talented young professionals who serve as ambassadors for the grounds management industry, and she is a member of the Women in Cricket Employee Network. Meg is an inspiration and changemaker. She is the co-recipient of the Young New Zealander of the Year Award.

FINN ROSS
YOUNG NEW ZEALANDER OF THE YEAR
Finn Ross, 26, is a climate scientist and entrepreneur who is passionate about championing climate action and accelerating innovative ocean-based climate solutions. He lives in West London, is the co-founder of Ocean Balance, and is a Visiting Fellow at Oxford University in the Earth Sciences Department where he works on fighting climate change using the ocean. Focused on ocean carbon removal research, Finn completed his PhD on seaweed for climate change mitigation. He is a frequent keynote speaker at events such as TEDx and COP29; and promotes awareness and action to combat global climate change by influencing policy and public opinion in academia and on the world stage. Finn is a University of Canterbury Honours Alumni and a Provost Scholarship recipient to the University of California Davis where he studied wildlife, fish and conservation biology. He has a strong interest in regenerative agriculture and economics; and led the launch of Australasia’s first certified carbon-zero farm on his family farm, Lake Hāwea Station. He is a leader, an innovator and a changemaker. Finn lives in London, but his heart belongs to the remote valleys of Te Waipounamu and the reefs of the Pacific. He is a founding member of The New Zealand Society Black Pats cricket team. Finn Ross is the co-recipient of the Young New Zealander of the Year Award 2026.