Eric Hertz

Eric Hertz in 2007

Eric Bennett Hertz (31 December 1954 – 30 March 2013) was an American, and the CEO of 2degrees, New Zealand's third largest mobile telecommunications company.[1]

Hertz was responsible for the installation of the first cellular phone system in Portland, Maine in the 1980s. His future wife, Kathy, worked in a management role for AT&T in New York and New Jersey; they married in 1983. He worked for BellSouth in Ecuador, where he learnt to speak Spanish fluently. Hertz moved to New Zealand with his wife and daughter in 2009 and had acquired permanent residency, calling New Zealand home. In his opinion, quality of life in New Zealand was unequalled and he "didn't know why people leave".[2]

Under his leadership the company grew its customer base to over one million connections.[3] He and his wife, Katherine (Kathy) Marie Picone Hertz, died[4][5] following the ditching of their twin-engine Beechcraft Baron near Kāwhia Harbour on Saturday, 30 March 2013 NZDT.

The plane was found at the bottom of the sea off the coast of Kawhia, 56 metres (184 ft) underwater on 2 April.[1] In a statement, Hertz's family thanked New Zealanders for their support.[6] Hertz was succeeded as CEO of 2degrees by chairman Stewart Sherriff.[7]

Navy diving ship HMNZS Manawanui was sent to the site of the submerged plane on 5 April, and local iwi put a rāhui on the area.[8]

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Object confirmed as crashed plane". 3 News. 2 April 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  2. ↑ "Adventurous couple loved NZ". The Press. 6 April 2013. p. C14.
  3. ↑ "2degrees: CEO Eric Hertz, wife, unlikely to have survived plane crash". National Business Review. 31 March 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  4. ↑ Taylor, Mark (31 March 2013). "2degrees boss and wife's bodies trapped". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  5. ↑ "Search for ditched aircraft off Kawhia coast now a recovery operation". New Zealand Police. 31 March 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  6. ↑ "Hertz family thanks NZ". 3 News. 3 April 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  7. ↑ "2degrees chairman Sherriff to act as CEO". 3 News. 2 April 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  8. ↑ "Exclusion zone set up at crash site". 3 News. 5 April 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2013.