The ever-increasing demand for IT services has seen John Holdsworth's private company, Datacom, continue its phenomenal expansion this year.
The firm has hired around 1200 people over the past year, taking its total staff numbers to around 6500 people worldwide, and its wage bill is now more than $660 million a year. It has also ramped up its capital investment in recent years, and nearly doubled its net profit this year.
Cloud migration is a new and lucrative area, with Datacom recently awarded a $5 million cloud migration contract with the Australian Taxation Office.
Datacom is 39% owned by the NZ Superannuation Fund and 60% by Holdsworth, who stood down as head of the Datacom board in 2013 but remains a director. His son Simon is deputy chairman and is also a director.
But Holdsworth has other interests — his investment vehicle Evander Management had an 11% stake in Auckland wireless charging company PowerbyProxi, which was brought by Apple in October - netting him a cool $10m.
The family’s investment arm remains a prolific backer of startups. Recent investments include power retailer startup Flick Electric, accounting software startup Common Ledger and home-grown supercomputing outfit Nyriad.
Through the Holdsworth Charitable Trust, John and wife Merril were instrumental in securing the future financial stability of Special Olympics New Zealand. It also donates hundreds of thousands of dollars to organisations including the IHC and the NZ Down Syndrome Association.
Photo: Otago Daily Times
2018: $250 million