The woman who has led prominent Christchurch department store Ballantynes through the city's earthquakes says the "momentum of change" is starting to sweep across the quake-hit city.
Ballantynes managing director Mary Devine has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for services to business.
Devine was appointed to her Ballantynes role shortly before the February 2011 earthquake, becoming the first female and the first non-family managing director since 1938.
She served as the chief executive of retailer EziBuy before taking on the job, and has been on the Canterbury Business Leaders Group executive.
Devine also served as a board member of New Zealand Global Women, and played a key role in developing the organisation's women in leadership programme.
Devine said she was "surprised and humbled" when notified of the honour.
"I was shocked: I had to read it [the letter] a couple of times actually to check that it was true."
She had faced "major challenges" since starting at Ballantynes.
She rated getting the department store ready for trading after the earthquake one of her career highlights.
"It's been all hands on deck from day one, and I'm very proud of the great work that the team has done."
The Re:Start container mall, made up of small shipping container shops around Ballantynes, had also been a major success.
Devine said the mall's success could provide a blueprint for the future of the retail precinct.
"It's something that was achieved in a very unique way, and it's very innovative on a global scale."
She had enjoyed her work with NZ Global Women, and felt the group had helped to increase the number of women leaders while drawing attention to the issue of gender representation.
"We have a strong voice at the table now, especially on the issue of diversity on boards."
Devine said 2013 would be "an exciting year" for Ballantynes and the city as rebuilding plans gathered pace and the future shape of the city started to take hold.
"We've done a lot of hard yards, but we can definitely feel the momentum of change," she said.
- ? Fairfax NZ News
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