Diane Foreman

About Diane

Diane Foreman is one of New Zealand's most accomplished entrepreneurs, with a 35-year track record of creating and scaling businesses across manufacturing, food, franchising, healthcare and property. Named New Zealand Entrepreneur of the Year in 2009, she later became a judge at the global stage of those same awards and chaired prestigious events across New Zealand, London, and the UK. In 2024 she was inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame — recognition of a career in which she has negotiated deals in excess of half a billion New Zealand dollars.

Her career has spanned continents and industries in ways few entrepreneurs manage. As CEO of Trigon Industries, a plastic packaging giant with plants across New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom, she negotiated the sale of the company to US packaging giant Sealed Air Corporation. She then founded Emerald Group, acquiring a dairy company and building it into a world leader in ice cream manufacture, with over 1,000 franchise outlets worldwide — earning the titles of New Zealand Manufacturer of the Year and Franchisor of the Year. Separately, Emerald Group became a cornerstone investor in New Zealand's private hospital sector, developing Healthcare Holdings into one of the country's foremost private hospital groups. Diane also expanded into Australia, acquiring a chain of three private hospitals. Today she is Chair and principal shareholder of Chelsea Group Ltd, overseeing a diverse portfolio of commercial, residential, tourism and rural property across New Zealand, Australia and the UK. She is also the co-founder of International Winning Woman and the recruitment firm Emergent, and was awarded a CNZM in 2012.

Diane speaks from lived experience across governance, strategy, opportunity capture and scaling New Zealand companies into international markets. She is the author of two bestselling books — In the Arena and Dare to Compete — and brings to the stage a clear-eyed perspective on what it takes to build, sell, and rebuild enterprises across economic cycles. Her sessions suit leadership conferences, business summits, and events focused on entrepreneurship, governance or women in business.