L-R: Stellar partners John McDermott, Grant Broadbent and Travis Barker with the AUT Excellence in Business Support Award.

Stellar Consulting, New Zealand' (BI) consultancy, was last night named a winner at the 2013 AUT Excellence in Business Support Awards dinner, held in Auckland.

The award, for the best Business Under $5m Turnover – Management Services, follows another year of rapid growth for Stellar. The Auckland-based company, which has 30 BI specialists, recently opened an office in Wellington.

Stellar Managing Director Grant Broadbent (right) with Hon Steven Joyce, Minister for Economic Development

Grant Broadbent, Stellar’s Managing Director, said: "We are really proud of this win. Excellent service is at the heart of our culture. We are delighted with this recognition for the results we get for clients and for showing what BI can achieve."

Sponsored by Image Print, the award recognises Stellar's commitment to delivering quality BI solutions to many leading New Zealand enterprises, enabling them to unlock efficiencies and opportunities from better use of information and technology.

AUT business awards judge and Associate Professor of Management at the AUT Faculty of Business and Law, Dr Coral Ingley, said: "Congratulations to Stellar for their well-deserved win. The extent to which the company has reporting and systems in place to manage their business effectively is impressive - as is their commitment to excellence in service delivery - which is reflected in their business operations and results."

Stellar Consulting Group has been selected as a finalist in the 2013 AUT Business School Excellence in Business Support Awards.

Stellar joins other finalists in the Business under $5M Turnover – Management Services category.

For Dean of AUT Business School Dr Geoff Perry, being aligned with the awards provides an important opportunity to build on the School's existing engagement with industry.

Dr Perry said: “The Excellence in Business Support Awards are regarded highly among industry, providing organisations the chance to benchmark their performance alongside others in their field. As a Business School, it’s important for us to celebrate the businesses that contribute to the economic development of our region, so that together, we can continue to add value to the changing world of business.”

The entry and evaluation process of the awards enables finalists to reflect on how effectively their organisation achieves business excellence in all key areas including leadership and planning, customer and market focus, provision of business support, evaluation and improvement, and business results.

The winners will be announced on 5 September at a black-tie gala dinner in Auckland. The AUT Business School Supreme Award will be chosen from the category winners.

Video from last year's awards:

Evaluation of all entrants will be overseen by the New Zealand Business Excellence Foundation using the international Baldridge criteria. Evaluators are drawn from the Management Department of AUT Business School.

The Excellence in Business Support Awards are the only national performance measure available to New Zealand business support organisations. Now into their eighth year, the awards continue to produce high quality finalists from a large number of strong entries. The awards were set up in 2005 by Sarah Trotman, now Director of Business Relations at AUT Business School.