Two outstanding figures in Māori digital innovation have been honoured at the 2025 Matihiko Awards, in Christchurch, which celebrate Māori leaders and emerging voices shaping the future of New Zealand’s digital landscape.

Léon Bristow was named this year’s Emergent Icon, an award that recognises outstanding achievement by a newcomer in the digital technology sector, with a focus on service and contribution to Māori digital advancement.

Bristow is an art director, designer, and creative.

He became only the second New Zealander in a decade to be accepted into the prestigious Cannes Lions Creative Academy.

He was later ranked the fourth best art director globally at Cannes Lions, and named New Zealand’s top art director by the One Club for Creativity.

While working at Colenso BBDO, he played a key role in award-winning campaigns, including the D&AD Yellow Pencil–winning “Phone It In” campaign for Skinny, which demonstrated his passion for using creativity to drive social impact.

Te Taka Keegan received the prestigious Living Icon award, which recognises a lifetime of service to Māori and the digital tech sector. The award is supported by Tū Ātea.

Dr Keegan is a trailblazer in language technology and a leading academic in the integration of te reo Māori in digital platforms. He led the translation of Microsoft Windows XP and Office 2003 into te reo Māori, and

later provided linguistic support for the Māori versions of Windows 8 and Office 2013.

He played a central role in introducing te reo Māori to Google Translate and Google Search during a sabbatical at Google headquarters.

A senior lecturer at the University of Waikato, Dr Keegan is also Co-Director of the university’s AI Institute Māori and Associate Dean Māori for the Division of Health, Engineering, Computing and Science. His research includes indigenous language technologies, multilingual usability, digital libraries, and traditional Māori navigation, which he explored during a voyage from Hawaii to Rarotonga.

In 2017, he received the Prime Minister’s Supreme Award for Tertiary Teaching Excellence, and the University of Waikato’s Māori/Indigenous Excellence Award for Research.

The Matihiko Awards celebrate Māori leaders and emerging leaders in te ao mātihiko, digital, and tech, honouring those who are helping to shape the future of New Zealand’s digital landscape.