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Sir Peter Blake leadership legacy recognises inspiring Bell Gully partner
Bell Gully partner Rachel Paris has been named as the youngest recipient in this year's prestigious Sir Peter Blake Leadership Awards.
The annual awards are organised by the Sir Peter Blake Trust to honour Sir Peter's visionary leadership and inspire these qualities in all New Zealanders. They are New Zealand's premier awards for leadership achievement.
Rachel (33) is a recipient of the Sir Peter Blake Emerging Leader Award which is conferred on up to six winners each year. It recognises younger leaders of considerable potential and encourages them to keep developing their leadership potential and seek to make an even wider contribution to society.
The winners, selected by a panel of New Zealand's preeminent business and community leaders, were presented with the awards on Friday 26 June by Lady Pippa Blake and Sir Ron Carter, chairman of the selection panel, at a ceremony aboard the HMNZS Canterbury.
Rachel was this year promoted to partner at Bell Gully, breaking ground as the first partner to be appointed in a part-time capacity at the firm, allowing her time with her young family. She hopes to inspire a fundamental shift in the traditional business model for law firms and to encourage other young lawyers to lead a full life, which incorporates family and a fulfilling career.
Her own career and life to date has been full of achievement and leadership in many areas.
At secondary school, among her many achievements, Rachel was Deputy Head Girl and on the team which won the Young Enterprise Scheme competition in which students establish and manage real businesses. She went on to top law school before joining Bell Gully's banking and finance team in 2000.
In 2003, she topped her Harvard Masters programme after being one of few to gain entry to the specialist International Finance LLM Programme. Her thesis was cited as "influential" in a 2007 Wall Street Journal editorial.
She went on to work in London on the financing and structuring of major infrastructure and acquisition projects with Allen & Overy, and at Olswang, advising companies such as Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros on film production financing before returning to Bell Gully in 2006.
Since then Rachel has co-authored a feature film screenplay that is now in production with South Pacific Pictures, maker of films such as Sione's Wedding and Whale Rider.
She has also played a key role in mentoring young lawyers at Bell Gully and young people in the community. Over the years she has been recognised for her contribution in academic and community leadership through numerous awards.
Rachel says she was initially shocked to receive the Sir Peter Blake award but soon felt very proud and humbled. "Sir Peter Blake is such a New Zealand legend and the fact that these awards are homegrown and for people from all walks of life makes them very special.
"They recognise that everyone has leadership potential. I believe the most relevant leaders today are not necessarily the formal authority figures, but the innovators who challenge the status quo because they are ambitious for improvement. We can all find a cause that inspires us and take action to rally others to help achieve our goal. That is the type of leadership to which I aspire."
