Anna Mowbray
BornJuly 1983 (1983-07)[1]
New Zealand
OccupationEntrepreneur
Years active2005–present
Known forCOO of toy manufacturer ZURU
Co-owner of Coatesville mansion
Organised delivery of PPE to NZ during COVID-19
RelativesNick Mowbray (brother)

Anna Jane Mowbray (born July 1983) is a New Zealand entrepreneur and businessperson. Together with her brothers Mat and Nick, she leads the Chinese toy manufacturer ZURU; her role is chief operating officer. Using her contacts in China, she organised the delivery of personal protective equipment to New Zealand early on during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Early life

Mowbray grew up in Cambridge, New Zealand, and was educated at St Peter's School.[2] Her parents owned a dairy farm in Cambridge.[3]

ZURU

Her brothers relocated to Hong Kong in 2003 to set up a toy manufacturing company and soon moved to China. She joined them in China in 2005.[3] First based in Guangzhou, the company was shifted to Shenzhen to be closer to Hong Kong (where international buyers come to) and because the Shenzhen workforce is more highly educated. As of 2020, Mowbray was ZURU's chief operating officer.[4]

COVID-19 response

Mowbray relocated from Hong Kong to Coatesville north of Auckland in late January 2020 as schools had shut in Hong Kong due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Having experienced the rapid progression of the pandemic in China and Hong Kong, she publicly spoke out on 13 March 2020 and urged the New Zealand government to close the borders to all but returning residents.[5] At the end of March, Mowbray foresaw that there would be a world shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) and pulled together a team of ZURU staff based in New Zealand and China to procure product.[6] She worked closely with Rob Fyfe, who was appointed by the New Zealand government to undertake business liaison. Several cargo planes chartered by ZURU from Air New Zealand started arriving in New Zealand from early April.[7]

Private life

Mowbray has three children from her first marriage to Blake Wong. Blake Wong is a Hawaiian. [8] Her children were first educated in Shenzhen and then in Hong Kong when she moved to there.[4] Since 2019, she has been in a relationship with Ali Williams, a former All Black, who has two girls from his former marriage.[8]

The Mowbray siblings bought Coatesville mansion in Coatesville in 2017 for NZ$32.5 million when they were in their early 30s.[9] The mansion is one of New Zealand's most expensive homes and is famous for the January 2012 raid when Kim Dotcom lived there.[3] According to the National Business Review, the net worth of the siblings is NZ$3bn.[3]

In 2020, Mowbray and Williams bought a NZ$24m waterfront property in the Auckland suburb of Westmere; the house was previously owned by film maker Andrew Adamson.[10][11]

References

  1. ↑ ZURU UK Limited. "Zuru UK Limited people – Find and update company information – GOV.uk". Companies House. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  2. ↑ Wilson, Libby (5 January 2015). "Balloon festival's new backer". Waikato Times. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Harrison, Virginia (16 December 2019). "How a university dropout built a toy empire". BBC News. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  4. 1 2 Maidment, Rachel (9 October 2020). "Zuru's Anna Mowbray on how her business has thrived in South China, and how other New Zealanders can leverage the rapidly growing talent and innovation of our largest trading partner". Interest.co.nz. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  5. ↑ Wilson, Libby (13 March 2020). "Coronavirus: shut New Zealand's borders, says Zuru toy company executive Anna Mowbray". Stuff. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  6. ↑ "Kiwi company delivers millions of PPE supplies amid COVID pandemic". Newshub. 21 September 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  7. ↑ Gower, Patrick (1 April 2020). "Coronavirus: Protective gear being sent to New Zealand from China". Newshub. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Former All Black Ali Williams finds love with billionaire". The New Zealand Herald. 25 December 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  9. ↑ Wynn, Kirsty (22 October 2016). "New owners of Kim Dotcom mansion promise good times ahead". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  10. ↑ Simich, Ricardo (1 August 2020). "Spy: Ex-All Black and toy guru spend millions on Auckland waterfront love nest". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  11. ↑ Bell, Miriam (31 December 2020). "Revealed: New Zealand's priciest house sales of 2020". Stuff. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
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