Sir Stephen Tindall Honoured In New Year's List

The New Year brought with it the wonderful news that our founder Sir Stephen Tindall was made a Knight Grand Companion of The New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year honours' list.

The award recognises his contribution to the community, business, international trade and commerce, and the environment in New Zealand for more than 40 years.

“The Warehouse Group is delighted that our esteemed founder has been further honoured,” says The Warehouse Group CEO Nick Grayston. “As a company, Sir Stephen’s personal integrity continues to guide our organization, and the principles that he established help us to ensure that we help Kiwis live better every day. We are proud that all of the great work he does for Kiwi start-ups, the community, our environment and Team New Zealand has been recognised.”

Sir Stephen is currently taking a leave of absence for The Warehouse Group board to focus on his philanthropy project with the Tindall Foundation and to help Auckland prepare for the upcoming America’s Cup Defense in March 2021.

Sir Stephen and his wife Margaret established The Tindall Foundation in 1995, vesting half their shareholding in The Warehouse in The Tindall Foundation. The Foundation has contributed more than $175 million over the past 23 years, largely derived from dividends from The Warehouse after tax, to community and environment projects throughout New Zealand.

Today, the Foundation gives away around $10 million a year. Donations range from small charitable donations of up to $1,000, to bigger donations of up to $1 million for large-scale, partnership projects, those that focus on creating long-term social change, described by Stephen as ‘catalytic philanthropy’.

Significant donations made by the Foundation on 2018 included $445,000 to the Plunket Society; $300,00 to Te Ora Hou Aotearoa, a network of faith-based youth and community development organisations; and $200,000 to Space that Counts, a Parenting Place programme that helps new parents connect with other new parents and babies.

You can read more about the Tindall Foundation’s work in their Annual Report here.