Auckland, New Zealand: On 22 October, hundreds of business leaders from across NZ came together at Cordis Auckland for the 2025 Best Places to Work Awards, a night dedicated to celebrating the people and organisations reshaping what great workplaces look like in New Zealand.
The Best Places to Work™ (BPTW™) Awards celebrate organisations that are building strong foundations for the future of work, built on trust, inclusion, and innovation. From fast-growing tech companies to established national brands and regional enterprises, this year’s winners reflect the diversity and strength of workplaces across New Zealand. Each has shown that culture is not a slogan, but a strategy, and that high-performing teams are built by design, not by chance.
As a proud partner of the BPTW™ programme, LEAD Executive Search is honoured to support an initiative that shines a light on organisations leading with courage, clarity and care, creating workplaces where trust, wellbeing and performance thrive together.
Congratulations to all the inspiring finalists and winners recognised this year.
And especially a huge congratulations to the winners of our Small – Medium Workplace Organisation category: RUSH and the incredible finalists Connexa Limited, Engineering New Zealand Te Ao Rangahau, Harmoney, Inde Technology & The Professional Builder.
2025 Best Places to Work Award Winners
2025 BPTW Organisation Award winners:
- Overall Winner – Presented by EMA: Sharesies
- Large Workplace (200 + employees) – Presented by Cordis Auckland: House of Travel
- Medium-Large Workplace (150 – 199 employees) – Presented by Ecosystm: Sharesies
- Medium Workplace (100 – 149 employees) – Presented by Smartly: Petdirect
- Small-Medium Workplace (50 – 99 employees) – Presented by LEAD Executive Search: RUSH
- Small Workplace (21 – 49 employees) – Presented by Flux B2B: Tax Traders & Taxi
- Micro Workplace (5 – 20 employees) – Presented by Unstoppable Force: Visir
2025 BPTW Spotlight Award winners:
- Community & Regional Impact – Presented by Extraordinary: Topflite
- Human-Centred Impact – Presented by Cultivating Leadership: Engineering New Zealand Te Ao Rangahau
- Innovation & Tech – Presented by NZTech: Tuatara Structures
- Sustainability – Presented by Centre for Sustainable Finance: Brightly
- Wellness – Presented by Humankind: RUSH
Leading with people at the heart
Like BPTW™, we believe people are at the heart of every successful organisation. At LEAD, we focus on helping organisations thrive. We do this by connecting them with the best leadership talent – these are the high impact leaders who build not just great businesses, but great cultures and work environments. And high impact leaders are the difference between an okay place to work and the best place to work.
Being part of an organisation which is recognised as a Best Place to Work is highly attractive to employees, irrespective of their role. Organisational pride and team cohesiveness creates something really special in organisations, and at LEAD, we are proud to partner with many organisations who are committed to creating their own version of something really special.
Not every organisation is a best place to work. That’s why we’re proud to stand alongside those who are striving to be the very best work environment possible. Congratulations to all the finalists and winners who are leading the way and shaping the future of work in our country.
If you’re looking to connect with high-impact leaders or build a culture where people and performance thrive together, we’d love to partner with you. Contact the LEAD team at [email protected].
About Best Places to Work
Best Places to Work™ is New Zealand’s leading continuous improvement programme, combining employee insights, leadership development, business support services, certification and awards to help organisations improve, benchmark and celebrate their workplaces year-round. Its purpose is simple: to lift the standard of workplace experience across Aotearoa New Zealand.
To learn more about the programme, visit www.bestplacestowork.nz
