CEO, Eyeworks Touchdown New Zealand Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Award Winner 2008
The Veuve Clicquot Award first opened to New Zealand applicants in 2008. New Zealand's inaugural winner was entertainment entrepreneur Julie Christie. Judges cited Julie's entrepreneurship and tenaciousness as key attributes that singled her out from other applicants.
Julie Christie is the founder and CEO of Eyeworks New Zealand and Australia. Formerly Touchdown Productions, she formed the television production company in 1991 and sold to Dutch media group, Eyeworks, in early 2006. Julie was the first Australasian entertainment producer to break into the lucrative US market and has achieved most of her international success with unscripted formats. Since then Julie has moved successfully into producing scripted format television dramas and feature films. Julie also owns Sky's Living and Food channels and a resort in Fiji.
"Madame Clicquot was a risk taker, an innovator and an optimist. She was daring, tenacious, resilient and unconventional. These are the qualities the Veuve Clicquot Award recognises and celebrates, and which Julie Christie clearly possesses in abundance. Through her persistence and hard work, she showed that through recognising the value of intellectual property, New Zealand can move from being just a creative incubator to a successful player in the global market." David Ridley, former General Manager of Veuve Clicquot's local subsidiary New Zealand.
In 2009 the mother of two was made an Officer of The New Zealand Order of Merit.