Latitude Strategy and Communication
1. Business / Trading Name: Latitude Strategy and Communication Limited (no separate trading name registered)
2. Company Number: 5882174
3. NZBN (NZ Business Number): 9429042167815
4. Entity Type: NZ Limited Company
5. Business Classification: ANZSIC M696280 – Public relations counselling service
6. Industry Category: Public Relations and Communications Services
7. Year Founded: 2016
8. Addresses:
• Registered & Physical Address: Prime Property House, Level 3, 2 Woodward Street, Wellington
• Previous Address: Level 6, 95 Customhouse Quay, Wellington 6140, New Zealand (used 2016–2018)
9. Website URL:
http://latitudesc.co.nz
10. LinkedIn URL: https://www.linkedin.com/company/latitude-strategy-and-communication
11. Company Hub NZ URL: https://www.companyhub.nz/companyDetails.cfm?nzbn=9429042167815
13. Social Media URLs: None found (no official Twitter, Facebook, or other social accounts aside from LinkedIn)
14. Ultimate Holding Company: None (independent company; no parent entity)
15. Key Shareholders: The company is privately owned, split roughly 50/50 between its two founders through personal and trustee shareholdings:
• Daniel Ormond (1%)
• Daniel Ormond, Anna Ormond, Scott Moran (49%)
• Samuel Halstead, 1599211 – JBM Trustees (2005) Limited (49%)
• Samuel Halstead (1%)
16. Leadership: Co-founded and led by two directors:
• Daniel (“Dan”) Ormond – Director (founder, active since Feb 2016)
• Samuel (“Sam”) Halstead – Director (joined Aug 2016 as co-director)
(No separate CEO; the founders jointly lead the firm.)
17. Staff: A small team of 5–6 consultants. Current staff (in addition to the two directors) include: Janice Rodenburg (Principal Consultant), Alice Taylor (Senior Writer), Patricia Thompson (Communications Consultant), and Briar English (Writer/Editor).
18. Staff with Previous Government Roles: Janice Rodenburg – former senior government staffer (nine years in the Prime Minister’s Office and Press Gallery). (No other staff identified as having held public-sector positions.)
19. Past Employees: Anna Ormond – initial co-founder and director (resigned August 2016). (No other notable former staff disclosed.)
20. Clients: Not publicly listed by the firm, but known engagements include:
• Ministry for the Environment – contracted communications work on the Sustainable Land Use Delivery programme.
• Scales Corporation (agribusiness) – media communications for a joint venture with Alliance Group (Halstead listed as press contact).
(The firm’s own materials mention “leading government, business and not-for-profit organisations” among its clients).
21. Industries/Sectors Represented: Diverse, including:
• Government and Public Sector (e.g. environmental policy projects for MfE)
• Primary Industries/Agribusiness (strong focus on farming/horticulture sector)
• Environmental and Sustainability (communications on climate, land use, water projects)
• Infrastructure/Utilities (e.g. water infrastructure engagement)
• Corporate (Listed & Unlisted Companies) (advising large NZ companies on communications)
• Not-for-Profit Sector (supporting NGOs and industry associations)
22. Publicly Disclosed Engagements:
• Provided communications and advisory services to the Ministry for the Environment for a “Sustainable Land Use Delivery” project in 2020 (contract value $40,000). This engagement was officially disclosed via OIA records.
(Other lobbying/consulting engagements are not publicly disclosed due to the absence of a formal lobbying register.)
23. Affiliations:
• Professional: Sam Halstead has been involved in the NZ Guild of Agricultural Journalists & Communicators (elected to its executive).
• Industry Networks: Staff are members of communications industry bodies (e.g. IABC, PRINZ) as evidenced by awards and roles. (The company itself is independent and not formally affiliated with any global PR firm or political organisation.)
24. Sponsorships / Collaborations: Sponsor and supporter of industry events, notably:
• Young Grower of the Year competition – listed as a Supporting Sponsor (contributing to horticulture industry development).
(The firm also collaborates with other consultancies on projects)
25. Events (Organised by the Organisation): Data Not Found. The company does not publicly advertise any events or conferences it organises. (No record of public events held by Latitude SC could be identified.)
26. Political Donations: None publicly disclosed. No record of any donations by the company or its principals appears in New Zealand Electoral Commission filings. (NZ law requires disclosure of large donations; neither “Latitude Strategy and Communication” nor its directors are listed as donors in available public records.)
27. Controversies: None reported. The firm has not been named in any public scandals or controversies. However, like other lobbying/PR firms operating outside formal disclosure regimes, it has drawn scrutiny only insofar as it operates in New Zealand’s largely opaque lobbying environment.
28. Other Information of Note:
• Founders’ Background: Dan Ormond was previously a founding partner of another PR agency, Ideas Shop, before launching Latitude in 2016. This legacy gives Latitude established roots in NZ’s communications sector.
29. Recipient of Wage Subsidy Scheme: Not publicly recorded. Latitude Strategy and Communication does not appear in the published COVID-19 wage subsidy recipient list (likely because it had 3 or fewer employees at the time, so any subsidy claim would not be disclosed by officials). No public statement was found confirming receipt or refusal of wage subsidies.
Sources
1. Latitude Strategy and Communication Limited – Company Registration Details, NZ Business Directory (nzwao.com), https://www.nzwao.com/companies/latitude-strategy-and-communication-limited/
2. Latitude Strategy and Communication Limited – NZ Companies Register Snapshot, Company ID 5882174, nzwao.com (scraped data), https://www.nzwao.com/companies/latitude-strategy-and-communication-limited/
3. Latitude | Strategy & Communication – About Us, LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/company/latitude-strategy-and-communication
4. Latitude Strategy and Communication – Company Profile (CompanyHub), CompanyHub NZ, https://www.companyhub.nz/companyDetails.cfm?nzbn=9429042167815
5. Latitude Strategy and Communication Limited – Business Information, BizDB (bizdb.co.nz), https://www.bizdb.co.nz/company/9429042167815/
6. “Who We Are” – Latitude SC Website, Latitude Strategy & Communication (latitudesc.co.nz), https://latitudesc.co.nz/who-we-are/
7. Ministry for the Environment – OIA Response (Contracts), OIAD-96, Ministry for the Environment NZ, released under OIA, see page listing “Latitude Strategy and Communication – Sustainable Land Use Delivery – $40,000”, https://environment.govt.nz/assets/publications/OIAD-96-Final-response.pdf
8. Ministry for the Environment – OIA Response (Contract Details), OIAD-71, MfE NZ, showing contract period for “Latitude Strategy and Communication – Sustainable Land Use Delivery (Sep–Dec 2020)”, https://environment.govt.nz/assets/publications/OIAD-71-For-publishing.pdf
9. IABC Gold Quill Awards 2019 – Winners by Country, International Association of Business Communicators, (Latitude SC’s Dan Ormond listed as Award of Merit winner with Beca & Wellington Water), https://www.iabc.com/Portals/0/Gold%20Quill/2019-GQ-Winners-by-Country.pdf
10. Latitude SC Contact Details, Latitude Strategy & Communication website (Contact Us page), https://latitudesc.co.nz/contact-us/
11. Young Grower of the Year 2024 – Sponsors, Horticulture New Zealand (younggrower.co.nz) – Latitude Strategy & Communication listed as a Supporter sponsor, https://www.younggrower.co.nz/sponsors/
12. NZX Announcement – Scales & Alliance JV (Media Contact), NZX Market Announcements (07/03/2019), “Scales announces petfood JV with Alliance Group” – includes Sam Halstead (Latitude SC) as media contact, https://www.nzx.com/announcements/331627
13. NZ Guild of Agricultural Journalists & Communicators – Newsletter Oct/Nov 2017, NZGAJC (PDF) – notes Sam Halstead joining executive and describes Latitude SC and its focus, http://www.nzgajc.org.nz/uploads/Guild-News-October-November-2017_.pdf
14. RNZ News – “Revolving door for lobbyists can result in unfair access”, RNZ (9 Nov 2023), by Guyon Espiner – cites Ministry of Justice’s report on lobbying and examples of ex-ministers turned lobbyists, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/501982/revolving-door-for-lobbyists-can-result-in-unfair-access-justice-ministry
15. RNZ News – “Lobbyists are back at Parliament – with a new privacy measure hiding their identities”, RNZ (12 Feb 2024), by Guyon Espiner – discusses Speaker’s decision on lobbyist access, notes NZ lobbying industry unregulated, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/508914/lobbyists-are-back-at-parliament-with-a-new-privacy-measure-hiding-their-identities
16. RNZ/Newsroom – Investigative series on lobbying (“Mate, Comrade, Brother”), RNZ/Newsroom joint investigation (2023) – general reference to lack of lobbying rules (“utterly unregulated”), (Quoted in secondary sources).
17. Integrity Institute – “Low Corruption Myth” (Lobbying and donations), The Integrity Institute NZ (theintegrityinstitute.org.nz), discusses how lobbying and donations escape strict regulation in NZ, https://theintegrityinstitute.org.nz/low-corruption-myth/
18. Democracy Project – “Integrity Briefing: The Silent Death of Lobbying Reform in NZ”, Bryce Edwards via Democracy Project (2023) – announces Integrity Institute’s campaign and unauthorized register, (Accessed via summary), https://democracyproject.substack.com/p/integrity-briefing-the-silent-death
19. NZ Herald – “Political Roundup: Lobbyist says $250,000 will stop anything a government wants to do”, Bryce Edwards, NZ Herald (13 Jun 2024) – discusses scale of money in lobbying (pay-to-influence figures), (NZ Herald Premium), summary via democracyproject.
20. Elections NZ – Party Donations and Loans Returns, New Zealand Electoral Commission (elections.nz) – public database of political donations (Latitude SC not found in any returns), https://elections.nz/democracy-in-nz/political-parties-and-candidates/party-donations-and-loans/ (2016–2023 returns).
Spot anything in this entry that is wrong? Please either leave a comment at the end or email, in confidence: bryce@democracyproject.nz