Making connections

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO, 2DEGREES BURST onto the local telco scene: the new kid on the block, the disruptor, the Robin Hood of mobile phone land. Its name, patently, stands for connection, not only across the cellular network but also with each other – there are, after all, only two degrees of separation between each of us here in Aotearoa, sorry Karinthy.¹

While the business has grown solidly and given Spark (previously Telecom) and Vodafone a run for their money, it has always held true to its underdog position, even adopting the mantra ‘Fighting for fair: to make New Zealand a better place to live’ as recently as 2019.

Part of that fight, CEO Mark Aue explains, is not just for customers but for staff, too. “I can’t wait for our people to feel more connected with each other, to customers and to our purpose, empowering us all to move quickly and grow,” he said on the eve of the team’s recent move to its new HQ