Dame Wendy Pye | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Pye in 2019 | |
| Born | 1943 (age 81–82) |
| Nationality | New Zealander[1] |
| Occupation | Publisher |
| Known for | Educational publishing |
| Spouse | Donald Norman Pye |
Dame Wendy Edith Pye DNZM MBE (born 1943)[2] is a publisher from New Zealand. Her company, Wendy Pye Group, is considered one of the world's most successful educational export companies.[3]
Pye was born in Cookernup, in rural Western Australia, the youngest of four daughters.[1] After finishing high school, she studied at secretarial school, but left to take a position as a copywriter at a radio station in Perth when she was 17 years old. Four years later she moved to New Zealand and joined the New Zealand News group.[1] She progressed through the company, holding positions managing its magazine and trade publication divisions, and selling its children's books in the United States. In 1985 Brierly Investments bought and restructured the company and she was made redundant at the age of 42.[4]
She decided to move into educational publishing and established Sunshine Books, specialising in early reading and mathematics books, and concentrated on selling in the United States.[5] In 1994 her United States business was bought out and she began to develop new markets in Australia and Asia.[5][6] By 2010 her firm had eight offices worldwide, and Pye was one of the richest women in New Zealand.[7] The company was one of the first to use digital and CD-Rom technology to develop multi-media educational materials, such as computer-animated numeracy and literacy resources.[8]
- ^ a b c Bailey, Judy (1 November 2016). "Untitled". Australian Women's Weekly NZ. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
- ^ Hayward, Janine; Shaw, Richard (2016). Historical dictionary of New Zealand (3rd ed.). Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 241. ISBN 9781442274396. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
- ^ "Dame Wendy Pye honoured at ceremony". Stuff. 27 June 2013. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
- ^ "Pye, Wendy Edith". www.businesshalloffame.co.nz. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
- ^ a b "New Zealand's Wendy Pye adds digital to her reading campaign". Forbes. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
- ^ Caffin, Elizabeth (22 October 2014). "Publishing in the 1980s and 1990s". Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand. New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
- ^ Caffin, Elizabeth (22 October 2014). "Wendy Pye". Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
- ^ Derby, Mark (11 March 2010). "Knowledge-based industries". Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand. New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. Retrieved 1 September 2017.