Background
Ellen Adrienne Peake was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1936.
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Adrienne Stewart
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Career
She moved to New Zealand aged 19 and first worked in Wellington and Auckland. In 1958, at age 22, she started working for PDL as personal secretary to Bob Stewart, who had purchased the firm the previous year. The Stewarts developed PDL into one of New Zealand"s best known companies, and they became major exporters.
Adrienne Stewart became deeply involved in the arts sector, where she is a "patron, supporter, board member and philanthropist".
The Stewarts had two children. Mark James Stewart and Todd Huntly Stewart.
Her husband died in 2007.
Achievements
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In the 1979 New Year Honours, her husband was appointed Knight Bachelor, and she was thus styled Adrienne, Lady Stewart. In the 1995 Birthday Honours, Stewart was awarded a Queen"s Service Medal for Community Service (QSM). In the 2006 New Year Honours, she was appointed an Officer of The New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) "for services to the community". In 2011, she was awarded an honorary doctorate of letters (Doctor of Letters) by the University of Canterbury. In the 2015 New Year Honours, she was appointed Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DNZM) "for services to the arts and business".
