Professor Jens Mueller, one of New Zealand’s most internationally connected education leaders and a long-time advocate for the country’s global reputation, has been appointed an officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in the New Year 2026 Honours, for services to education.

The honour marks a further elevation for Mueller, who was made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) in 2015 for services to business and education.

In the decade since, his contribution has broadened and deepened across education, immigration, governance and community heritage.

Based in Tauranga, Mueller chairs the Education Counsellor Authority of New Zealand, a new body established to license and upskill overseas education counsellors who recruit international students to NZ. He created the authority after Education New Zealand discontinued its agent credentialling programme in 2023, identifying what he saw as a critical gap in quality assurance and ethical recruitment.

At the same time, he recognised another weakness in the system: the lack of integrated immigration advice within tertiary education. As international students increasingly viewed study as a pathway to work and residence, Mueller undertook the demanding process of becoming a licensed immigration adviser himself. That step led to the creation of the Licensed Immigration Adviser Association, which now has around 600 members nationwide.

“Students don’t just come to study,” he has said. “They come because they want a future here.”

By aligning education recruitment with realistic immigration pathways, Mueller has helped institutions better support students while strengthening New Zealand’s competitiveness as a study destination.

His governance work has been equally significant. A professional member of the Royal Society Te Apārangi since 2014, Mueller served as a councillor and chaired its Audit, Risk and Investment Committee for four years.

He has also been involved with the Pukehinahina Trust since 2013, contributing to securing funding, architectural planning and land donations for the National Māori Land War Museum project in Tauranga, the country’s first iwi-led historical education centre.

Mueller’s path to becoming a New Zealand honours recipient was unconventional. Born into a middle-class family in Germany, he shunned traditional university education early to build a career in international business, importing scientific and medical technology before moving to the United States in his early 20s.

Over two decades there, he led large global firms in Denver, Chicago and Los Angeles, becoming a successful “workout CEO”, specialising in turning around struggling companies, including a chain of Californian hospitals. Although comfortable in boardrooms, he went on to accumulate two doctorates and three master’s degrees, including studies under management guru Peter Drucker in California.

He first arrived in New Zealand more than 30 years ago, ultimately settling in the Bay of Plenty.

Recruited to the University of Waikato, Mueller discovered a new vocation in global education, later moving to Massey University, where he now teaches, consults and serves as executive director for international sales at the business school, travelling up to 160 days a year.

Along the way, he served nine years on the Pharmac board, drawing on his health-sector expertise and experience advising on US health policy to help navigate some of the most complex and emotionally charged funding decisions in modern medicine.

“For a lower middle-class German who travelled the world before settling here, receiving a royal honour is amazing,” Mueller said.

Following his MNZM in 2015, he found the recognition helped his international work.

“When you sell education from New Zealand in India and other Commonwealth countries such as Kenya and South Africa, having a royal honour is helpful,” he said.

“It’s a distinction you can’t buy. It means that someone else believes what you’re doing is the right thing and that’s a good encouragement.”