Taumata 2025 - Young Alumnus of the Year - Craig Piggott

Young Alumnus of the Year Craig Piggott BE(Hons) 2017 (Engineering and Design) Craig Piggott is the founder and CEO of Halter, an agritech business that is revolutionising dairy farming, making farms more productive and sustainable through solar-powered collars and smart technology that allow virtual herding, fencing and monitoring of animals. Craig excelled at the University of Auckland’s Mechanical Engineering programme, discovering a passion for solving technical challenges. After completing his degree, Craig joined Rocket Lab, then a fledgling start-up. After nine months, he launched his own company, hoping to solve the day- to-day problems he had witnessed growing up on his parents’ dairy farm in the Waikato. Aged only 22, Craig launched Halter, developing collars that use sound and vibration to herd cows and enable virtual monitoring of animal behaviour and health. By removing the need for physical herding and optimising grazing patterns, farmers’ time is freed up, translating into both greater productivity and environmental sustainability. Industry recognition quickly followed, with Craig receiving the New Zealand Hi-Tech Young Achiever Award in 2020 and appearing in Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list in 2021. At the 2024 EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, Craig won the Tech and Emerging Industries division. Reflecting Halter’s recent expansions into Australia and the United States, in November 2024 the Deloitte Fast 50 Index recognised Halter’s exponential success, naming it New Zealand’s fastest growing company.