Correction: QBE Insurance Chair of the Year Award: Michael Stiassny was incorrectly referred to as being chair of Vector Energy and MetroWater. This should have read chair of Vector Energy and chair of the New Zealand Racing Board. The reference to Metrowater is incorrect.

Three home-grown companies have shown their exceptional staying power through the tough conditions of the last 12 months and through well-grounded strategies all now make a claim as the country's best overall performing company in the annual Deloitte/Management magazine Top 200 Company Awards.

Abano Healthcare, Delegates Group and Ebos Group have all recorded strong performance in the most trying of business environments and have emerged as the finalist contenders for this year's Deloitte/Management magazine Company of the Year Award.

Also up for grabs is the individual title of Executive of the Year which, this year, will be decided between Jim Delegat, CEO of Delegat's Group, Rob Fyfe, CEO of Air New Zealand and Patrick Strange, CEO of Transpower New Zealand.

In this, the 20th year of the Awards, organisers will present a review of past winners and the developments that have taken place in business and business leadership over that time and then cast an eye further ahead to 2020 to spotlight emerging trends, business sectors and enterprises and the make-up of tomorrow's business leaders.

As a special feature of this, Awards judges will also nominate their outstanding CEO of the last decade. The first winner of this nomination, in November 1999, was Dr. Roderick Dean, then Chair and former CEO of Telecom. This year's Award winners will be announced at a Gala dinner at SkyCity on Thursday, November 26. In other Award categories the finalists are:

NZIM/Eagle Technology Young Executive of the Year Award Tracey Berry - General Manager Wealth, Kiwibank Dan Coward - Christchurch Area Commander, NZ Fire Service David Larsen - Sales & Marketing Manager, RayGlass Boats

Kensington Swan Ethical Governance Award: Cavalier Bremworth NZ Aluminium Smelters Vodafone NZ Foundation

Mediaweb Best Growth Strategy Award: Datacom Group Ebos Group Zespri

Marsh Most Improved Performance Award: Delegat's Group Kiwibank Solid Energy

QBE Insurance Chair of the Year Award: Graeme Hawkins - chair of Watercare Services & Southern Cross Health John Palmer - chair of Air New Zealand & Solid Energy Michael Stiassny, Vector Energy, Chair of the New Zealand Racing Board.