Foodstuffs North Island CFO, David Stewart, has been names 2015 CFO of the Year at the CFO Awards in Auckland.

Stewart was given the honour for his role in the merger of Foodstuffs Auckland and Foodstuffs Wellington, resulting in a new entity with $7 billion of revenue.

The judges described Stewart as an astute CFO who thinks strategically and executes successfully.

“We were impressed not only by the results, but by the way David achieved them,” said judge, Chye Heng, CFO and executive director of Beca Group.

“He established credibility and trust with key stakeholders and acted transparently in the interests of both cooperatives, displaying a wonderful blend of confidence, competence and humility.”

Foodstuffs North Island’s Charles Widdicombe was finalist in the Young Financial Manager of the Year.

Other retail winners include Keiran Anderson, of My Food Bag, who received the award for  SME Financial Leader of the Year: Keiran Andersen, My Food Bag, and the Warehouse Group CFO, Mark Conelly, for Contribution to the Community.

Conelly has 30 years involvement with a range of community service groups and charities, including CanTeen and the Child Cancer Foundation.