Mason Pratt, chief executive of Wellington software developer Provoke Solutions, has has won the central region award in the NZIM/Eagle Technology young executive of the year.
The award is given jointly by Eagle Technology and the NZ Institute of Management.
Pratt was a founding partner of Provoke, in 2001, at the age of 25. His citation points out that at the time “the IT industry was experiencing a significant downturn, which in hindsight was possibly the worst time to start a new company with no track-record or client-base.”
The “no track record” part is not quite true, as Provoke was formed by former members of Glazier Systems, a respected company which merged into the unsuccessful Advantage Group in 1999.
The citation quotes several Provoke staff members and outsiders such as former Microsoft chief Ross Peat, testifying to Pratt’s leadership qualities and strong business skills.
In 2005 he won the Allied Telesyn New Zealand HiTech Young Achiever of the Year Award.
The overall national winner of the NZIM/Eagle title will be announced later in the year.