Derek Handley

Handley, with his brother, also co-founded the mobile-advertising network Snakk Media, which later failed. The company compliance listed it as having no money raised on the NZX in 2013, becoming one of the first publicly listed B-corporations in the world. The market capitalization of the company was just NZ$813,000 on 24 August 2018 prior to it being placed into administration due to financial difficulty.

In 2018, Handley applied for the governmental role of Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of New Zealand. The role was to be created under the auspices of Government Digital Services Minister Clare Curran. On 24 August 2018, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern dismissed Curran from the Cabinet after it became clear Curran had met Handley in February at her Beehive office to discuss his interest in the vacant CTO role. Curran had failed to disclose the meeting in her ministerial diary and to inform staff or officials about it (the second meeting she had failed to disclose). Curran apologised to the Prime Minister for her actions and eventually resigned as a Minister.

In September 2018, Handley announced that he had been offered, and had accepted, the CTO role in August. Soon after, the Government announced that it would not be proceeding with the role after concerns were raised by the business community and NZ entrepreneurs , and paid Handley compensation of $107,000 (three months' pay plus reimbursement for moving costs). Handley said he was "deeply disappointed" by the process but the Government's decision to halt it was understandable.

In November 2017 he was granted New Zealand citizenship by the Minister for Internal Affairs, Tracey Martin, under the "exceptional circumstances" provision. The provision was required because he had not spent enough time in New Zealand to meet the usual requirements to become a citizen (he was 865 days short). Handley argued that he didn't meet the requirements because he frequently travelled for business.

In November 2016, the Wharton Social Impact Initiative, at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania invited Handley to join the David Nazarian Social Innovator in Residence Program, naming him the third "Innovator in Residence" to visit the school.

In March 2015, he was named one of 100 visionary leaders by the Young Presidents' Organization, a global network of business leaders who have achieved success at an early age.

In April 2015 he was year named a Distinguished Young Alumni of Victoria University of Wellington (Wellington, New Zealand).

In September 2015 he was named in the world’s top 100 influential leaders by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, a global accrediting body and membership association for business schools.

In November 2015 he was named one of the top 10 most influential social entrepreneurs on Twitter (by Chivas’ The Venture, US).

In 2013, Handley was named an adjunct executive professor for Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand. He also released a memoir, Heart to Start. In 2013, he joined the board of Sky Television New Zealand, a public company on the Australian Stock Exchange.

In December 2011, Handley spent a year helping to create what is now The B Team, a non-profit initiative which promotes business as a driving force for social, environmental and economic benefit. In 2016, Handley founded Aera VC, a network of family funds which invested in start-ups that tried to address social problems.

In October 2011, he was listed on the 'Silicon Alley 100' of the most influential technology people in New York. That same year he was named a New Zealand 2011 Sir Peter Blake Leader by the Sir Peter Blake Trust, and became a World Class New Zealander.

In December 2010, he was named finalist for the New Zealand Herald Business Leader of the Year.

In July 2009, the company was sold to the Meredith Corporation,however it is not certain that this was a successful purchase for Meredith. The Hyperfactory won six Webby Awards that year, placing them second in the inaugural Global Webby Agency of the Year awards. The Hyperfactory is also the winner of numerous other awards.

In October 2009, he received the 2009 EY Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

In September 2006, Handley was a finalist in the Bayer Innovator Awards (Information Technology and Communications Category).

In 2003, Handley led a merger of several major companies in the New Zealand childcare sector and formed Kidicorp Group Limited, a large national operator which was listed on the NZX.

In 2001, Handley founded the mobile marketing and media company The Hyperfactory with his brother Geoffrey Handley. On the company's now-defunct website, The Hyperfactory claimed to "power brands and businesses through the mobile medium" for clients such as BlackBerry and Coca-Cola.

Derek Handley (born 1978) is a New Zealand entrepreneur, speaker and author who was born in Hong Kong. With his brother Geoffrey Handley, he co-founded the global mobile marketing and media company The Hyperfactory, and the mobile advertising network Snakk Media, which later failed. Handley's application for the governmental role of Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of New Zealand, in 2018, became a political controversy.