Aidan is founder and Managing Director of Benefitz – a business started in 1988 that has gone on to become an institution north of the Harbour Bridge.
Aidan started out his business career as an Advertising Cadet at the NZ Herald in 1979.
Through his business, and personally, he is recognised as a strong contributor to the region, giving back to not-for-profit organisations and the community in general. He is also a strong advocate for local business – supporting business associations and business awards programmes over many years.
Benefitz sponsors and supports a range of organisations – being the longest running sponsor of Harbour Rugby and a long time sponsor of the North Harbour Club. They also provide annual graphic design scholarships at local secondary schools.
Since 2010 Aidan has been the publisher of Channel Magazine, a free publication he founded to highlight all the positive things happening on the North Shore and to support the business community.
Aidan has been a member of the North Harbour Club & Charitable Trust since 1997 and served as a trustee for 15 years, including being vice president and president – contributing to the growth of the organisation and it’s annual AIMES Awards programme.
It is ironic that Aidan, when president, was responsible for the North Harbour Club resurrecting the Business Hall of Fame, following it being discontinued when Auckland Council was formed.
Benefitz has been a sponsor and supplier of services to the North Harbour Club for 25 years.
In 2015 Aidan co-wrote and published the North Harbour Club Book celebrating 20 years and also produced the clubs annual magazine ‘Northside’ for 13 years. He takes great pleasure in writing the annual profiles for the club’s outstanding AIMES Award recipients. In 2022/23 he is a judge for the AIMES Awards.
His contribution to the North Harbour was recently recognised with a Life Membership.
Aidan has also been a Trustee of the Takapuna Beach Playground Trust, St Patricks Day Golf Trust, Harbour Access Trust and on the Stellar Trust advisory board.
In the 2018 New Year’s Honours Aidan was awarded a QSM for services to the community.
More recently Aidan has served a term as an elected member of the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board, being the highest polling candidate in 2019 and the chair for the first half of the term from 2019 through to 2022.
He also co-Chairs of the Matakana Coast Trail Trust, a project that will result in 117kms of cycle trails being built between Puhoi and Mangawhai.
Aidan and his wife Michelle live close to the beach in Takapuna, loving life with two grandsons having been added to their family in recent years.
Tonight Aidan Bennett becomes the 35th laureate inducted into the North Harbour Business Hall of Fame since 2004.
