Mike Pero

Mike Pero - Entrepreneur, Brand Builder & Business Storyteller

Mike Pero is one of New Zealand’s most recognised business personalities. The ‘Mike Pero’ brand has achieved standout success in both the financial services and real estate sectors.

Known for his honesty, tenacity, and straight-talking nature, Mike is a self-made entrepreneur who built his reputation from the ground up.

Starting in Christchurch, Mike took on the big banks in the 1990s, transforming the mortgage industry by creating one of the most cost-effective customer acquisition models still used today, in New Zealand.

In 2021, Mike fronted the prime-time TVNZ series The Apprentice Aotearoa, where his leadership and business expertise were showcased to a national audience. However, his true success comes from building businesses from scratch—relying on clever marketing, street smarts, and an unrelenting drive to outpace much larger, better-funded competitors.

Mike’s journey is anything but ordinary. A former trade qualified motorcycle mechanic turned national road-racing champion, he won six New Zealand National Road Racing Championship titles - an achievement few have matched over the past 50 years. By age 26, he was earning six times the average Kiwi income as a top-performing life insurance adviser, achieving Million Dollar Round Table status at Sun Alliance. He then transitioned into aviation, he qualified for both his private and commercial pilot licences, and flew commercially for Mount Cook Airline. He was in the queue at Air New Zealand when the airline industry had a major downturn in 1989. He decided to park his ambitions for a few years.

In 1991, Mike founded Mike Pero Mortgages, building a broker network so effective that banks paid to become part of Pero’s panel of lenders - an ‘industry first’ at the time. In 2005, he co-founded Pacific Simulators and Flight Experience, a flight simulator manufacturer, and sold the company for $15 million just three years later. He also served as a shareholder and director of two regional airlines.

In 2011, he launched Mike Pero Real Estate, growing it from scratch to 62 offices nationwide in under six years. The business was later sold to Liberty Financial of Australia, reportedly valued at $20 million.

Despite these successes, Mike doesn’t see himself as a “Rich Lister” but more a hard-working Kiwi who thrives in the SME sector. He’s built, scaled, and exited multiple ventures, with a particular focus on franchising, brand development, and sales strategy. Today, he shares his insights with corporates, universities, SMEs, and industry groups across New Zealand, delivering practical advice, engaging stories, and honest reflections on entrepreneurship, motivation, and resilience.

Mike believes that 90% of New Zealand’s business economy is driven by SMEs - an area he’s deeply passionate about.

Described as down-to-earth, inspiring, and refreshingly practical, Mike avoids jargon and theories. Instead, he shares real-world lessons and hard-won wisdom from 40+ years in business. Now a proud super annuitant, he continues to mentor and support the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Health and wellbeing are also important to Mike. He maintains a regular gym routine and has embraced better eating habits as part of a more health-conscious lifestyle.

Mike prefers to tailor each presentation to his audience, preparing two to three weeks in advance to understand their goals and challenges. He has delivered over 100 talks at conferences, symposiums, workshops, and leadership forums across the country - and continues to do so with enthusiasm.