IoD recognises Student Army’s Sam Johnson with Auckland Emerging Director Award

Sam Johnson, who founded the Student Volunteer Army in the wake of the devastating Christchurch earthquakes, has won the Institute of Directors’ (IoD) 2022 Auckland Emerging Director Award.

Johnson, an entrepreneur and director, is Chief Executive of SVA (Student Volunteer Army) Foundation. He received global recognition for his work in founding the SVA and in turning it into a social movement focused on volunteerism and crisis response.  Most recently SVA mobilised to provide a nationwide food delivery service during Covid-19 lockdowns.

Sam will step down as CEO from SVA at the end of the year and  has accepted a new challenge as Director of Projects for STILL, a family office entrepreneurial venture, founded by Hideaki Fukutake, with a focus on busines and community projects across Aotearoa. 

The Emerging Director Awards were established to foster upcoming talent in governance and recognise individuals who have the ability to provide leadership in the business and community sectors.

Johnson is passionate about better equipping organisations to respond and thrive through challenging times by building diverse teams who understand how to harness what technology can do.  He is a regular panellist on Radio New Zealand and NewsTalk ZB, and in the past has won both Communicator of the Year and Young New Zealander of the Year.

Sam is a trustee of the Prince’s Trust New Zealand, an Adjunct Fellow at the University of Canterbury and has served on Westpac Bank’s  Sustainability Panel for four years. He was the inaugural Emerging Leaders Co-Chair with the Australian New Zealand Leadership Forum and formerly a director of the US based International Association of Volunteering. 

Sam holds a BA in Politics and Community Engagement from the University of Canterbury, is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors and has lived in Auckland since the start of 2021. 

Lead judge Cecilia Tarrant says Johnson “demonstrates a strong understanding of the critical issues facing directors today”.

“He has a wonderful combination of inter-personal and commercial skills and experience.  While Sam has considerable experience in the not-for-profit sector, he is keen to apply those skills in the commercial sector and has the potential to develop into a valuable commercial director.”

Johnson receives a range of development opportunities through the IoD including complimentary membership with IoD for 12 months; complimentary attendance at all branch functions for12 months; mentoring with an experienced director for a year; and $2,000 towards IoD professional development. 

For more information, please contact:

Mark Russell
Head of Strategic Communications
027 297 0178
mark.russell@iod.org.nz