Bronwen Holdsworth

Bronwen Holdsworth
Born Bronwen Scott Pearson
(1943-09-13) 13 September 1943
Wellington, New Zealand
Nationality New Zealander
Alma mater Victoria University
Occupation director; chairman
Years active since 1983
Home town Te Karaka near Gisborne
Spouse(s) Peter Holdsworth (m. 1970)

Dame Bronwen Scott Holdsworth DNZM (née Pearson; born 13 September 1943) is a businesswoman and arts patron from Gisborne, New Zealand.

Private life

Bronwen Scott Pearson was born in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1943.[1] She received her secondary education at Samuel Marsden Collegiate School.[2] Her parents, Tom and Ngara Pearson, moved to Gisborne in 1960 where her father was the vicar of the Holy Trinity parish. She remained in Wellington to study English, music, politics and philosophy at Victoria University. She spent her holidays at Wattie's Canneries Gisborne to see her parents.[3]

She continued her association with Gisborne even after her parents had moved on and in 1966, she met local farmer and engineer Peter Holdsworth just before she went to Malaysia with the diplomatic service. She returned to New Zealand in 1969 and Peter Holdsworth and Bronwen Pearson married in 1970.[3] Since their marriage, they have lived in Te Karaka near Gisborne, initially running the Holdsworth family farm.[3][4] The Holdsworths have four children, all of whom have studied engineering.[5] Bronwen Holdsworth is a keen musician and she is an accomplished pianist.[5]

Business interests

Bronwen and Peter Holdsworth founded Pultron Composites Ltd in 1983. The company is the largest manufacturer of composite materials and technology pultrusion in Australasia, and Bronwen Holdsworth was its managing director until 2007.[6] Jasper Holdsworth, one of their sons, is now the managing director Pultron Composites, and he established a manufacturing plant in the Jebel Ali Free Zone in 2010.[7] As of 2015, she is finance director and chairman of the Holdsworth Group, which includes interest in farming, forestry, property, investment, and manufacturing under the banner of Pultron Composites.[6] From 2000 to 2002, she was a member of the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology's advisory committee.[6]

Community involvement

Holdsworth has numerous community interests, many of them related to the arts. She was on the board of the Gisborne Opera Festival. She was involved with First Light Tourism, which organised the tourism promotion around the fact that Gisborne was the first city to see the sun in the year 2000.[4] She is a member of the Te Ha 1769 Sestercentennial Trust that organises the 250-year celebrations of Captain Cook's arrival in New Zealand.[4] She is a trustee of the Gisborne War Memorial Theatre.[6]

In July 2014, Holdsworth was appointed to the board of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.[8][9] She is a sponsor and trustee of the Gisborne International Music Competition, and she is a board member of the Gisborne Opera Festival.[6]

Honours and awards

In 1988, Holdsworth was chosen as Businesswoman of the Year in a competition sponsored by the New Zealand women's magazine More.[5] She was awarded the 1990 Commemoration Medal.[6] In the 1997 New Year Honours, she was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM).[10] When Marsden School introduced its Hall of Fame in 2007, Holdsworth was the inaugural laureate.[6][11] In the 2015 Birthday Honours, she was made a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business and the arts.[12]

References

  1. ↑ Stock, Eliot J. "My Genealogy Home Page:Information about Bronwen Scott Pearson". Genealogy.com. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  2. ↑ "Old Girl receives Queen's Birthday honours". Samuel Marsden Collegiate School. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Walsh, Kristine (2 June 2015). "Honoured for their contribution". Gisborne Herald. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 "Queen's Birthday Honours: Flying the flag for Gisborne". The New Zealand Herald. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 "Bronwen Holdsworth (nee Pearson) inducted 2007". Samuel Marsden Collegiate School. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Devlin, Collette (1 June 2015). "Gisborne businesswoman Bronwen Holdsworth made Dame Companion". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  7. ↑ Fox, Andrea (14 May 2010). "Composite company makes big bet on Middle East". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  8. ↑ "Appointments to New Zealand Symphony Orchestra board" (Press release). Wellington: Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  9. ↑ "Local arts supporter lends skills to national orchestra". Gisborne Herald. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  10. ↑ "New Year Honours List 1997". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 15 January 1997. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  11. ↑ "Marsden Hall of Fame". Samuel Marsden Collegiate School. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  12. ↑ "Queen's Birthday honours list 2015". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
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