MIKE PERO
Mike Pero is a well-known New Zealand businessman, recognised for building memorable entrepreneurial brands including Mike Pero Mortgages and Mike Pero Real Estate.
Yet before mortgages, marketing and memorable jingles, his first true passion was aviation.
Mike began his airline career in 1988, flying with Pacifica Air on routes south of Christchurch. Within a year, he was recruited into Mount Cook Airline, based in Auckland. By 1990, he held a Senior Commercial Pilot's License and was scheduled for an interview with Air New Zealand in August. With the brand-new Boeing 747 400 aircraft about to arrive, the future looked promising.
​
Differences between pilots and the airline management changed everything. The first two aircraft destined for New Zealand were leased out to Cathay Pacific, and redundancies followed. Mike not only missed out on his interview but also saw his airline ambitions stall. At the time, airlines favoured new recruits under 30, and he believed the window was closing. Reflecting on it now, he says a long-term airline career may not have been ideal for him. Instead of airways, he says he turned left 90 degrees and headed down the highways.
​
He describes his business journey as a combination of ‘turbulence and triumph.’ He has lost through poor decisions and made millions through good ones. Through it all, he has never stopped learning. In his words, learning ultimately delivers wisdom, and at the end of the day, I’m very pleased at how it’s all played out.”
At the heart of his philosophy is communication. Mike believes successful people are strong communicators and often refers to his Ten Cs to Success, with Communication at the top and Care as a defining principle. He recites often.. “ People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
​
After leaving aviation he entered mortgage broking. His first brand was Riccarton Mortgages. Within three months Mike rebranded as Mike Pero Mortgages. Putting his own name on the door proved powerful. As he jokes, Mike Pero conveniently rhymes with hero, or zero, depending on the day.
One of the most recognisable elements of the brand was the Mike Pero Mortgages jingle, created by Dean Smith at More FM. It was a modest investment at the time, but became part of New Zealand's popular culture and is still hummed today. Mike later sold the mortgage business to Australian owners, who have retained the brand name by agreement to this day.
​
In 2011, he and his team launched Mike Pero Real Estate. Within five years, they had built a network of 62 franchises from the far north to Bluff. He believes it was the fastest organically grown real estate company in New Zealand - owned and operated under one licence. The business was eventually sold and later became part of the Raine and Horne group.
​
Mike attributes much of his success to a series of action words that coincidentally begin with the letter C. Communication sits first. From communication flows ideas, selling, marketing, team building and winning. If people understand what you stand for and believe you are sincere, they will back you. He believes reading the market and genuinely delivering to people’s needs is most of the battle.
Along the way he funded and served as Manging Director of Pacific Simulators, a technology venture established in the early 2000s to build high quality and cost-effective flight simulators. More than 20 years later the company is still recognised as a leading manufacturer of Boeing and Airbus-type training devices. Mike sold his interests in the manufacturing side but retains an operating simulator used for airline training and public experiences.
​
During the COVID period he signed a contract, subject to finance, to purchase four Boeing 777-200 aircraft that had been returned to their leasing company. He believed the timing created extraordinary value and planned to convert the aircraft from
passenger to freight operations. The proposal was ambitious and high-risk. Ultimately, he could not secure the required investment partners, and the deal did not proceed. He still refers to it as the one that got away. These aircraft, in hindsight, would have been ideal as a stopgap to cover all the aircraft technical issues that airlines are facing on a daily basis. That, he says, is another story.
​
Away from aviation, motorcycles have been a defining passion. Between 1977 and 1982, Mike was a six-time New Zealand National Motorcycle Road Racing Champion, competing across multiple categories. Early in his career, he set the New Zealand land speed record for a 350cc motorcycle at 238 kilometres per hour, a record that still stands. He later returned to classic riding but says he has now hung up the racing leathers. His last ride was on the Britten V1000 in November last year.
​
Today his main focus is the Britten Museum in Christchurch. Established as a charitable trust, it tells the story of one of New Zealand’s greatest innovators and is intended as a long-term gift to the people of Canterbury and the country. Mike describes it as a token of appreciation for a life that has treated him well.
He says he was never driven purely by wealth, only by the desire to build strong businesses and enjoy his later years. His approach has always been to start small, grow carefully and create well-planned enterprises that are ultimately saleable.
Given his lifelong attraction to speed, engines and forward momentum, one thing remains certain. Mike Pero has no intention of slowing down. He simply prefers to keep adjusting course and rolling down the highway.