Guy and Sue Haddleton’s shareholding in software company Anaplan may be less than 5% but that still translated into some big earnings last year when the San Francisco-based outfit listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Haddleton previously founded and sold business planning software Adaytum to IBM Cognos in 2003 for US$160 million.
He then went on to become one of the early investors in Xero, before starting Anaplan.
Haddleton says the NYSE listing one of the “great moments” of his life, while Sue Haddleton says it was “almost surreal.
“It was one of the most extraordinary moments in our lives,” she told NBR.
It was also a big turnaround for Guy Haddleton, who was on the board and became the chair of failed crime-fighting software company Wynyard Group, which went into liquidation early last year.
However, Anaplan is now valued at $4.6 billion on the NYSE, which makes the family’s Anaplan share worth almost $230 million.
More recently, Haddleton invested $15 million in New Zealand medicinal cannabis start-up Helius Therapeutics, allowing the business to move into a sprawling building in East Tamaki. The company has, perhaps unsurprisingly, become a major voice in the debate over legalising medicinal cannabis.
2018: $380 million