Michael Anthony Erceg (26 March 1956 – 4 November 2005) was a New Zealand businessman who founded Independent Liquor, which was New Zealand’s largest independently owned liquor distributor, known for its Ready to Drink (RTD) brands such as KGB, Woodstock and Vodka Cruisers.
[2] Erceg was born in West Auckland[citation needed] to a Croatian winemaking family[3] who operated Pacific vineyard in Te Atatū South.
Erceg was a top pupil, who skipped sixth form and was awarded Dux of Kelston Boys High School in 1972.
[1] Erceg relied upon alternative marketing strategies to combat the larger players in the New Zealand alcohol industry.
[7] In late 2003, he was eighth on the National Business Review's rich list of New Zealanders, with wealth estimated at $300 million.
Erceg's family oversaw the sale of Independent Distillers Group in December 2006 to CCMP Capital Asia and Pacific Equity Partners.
According to Smithsonian Magazine, "the ensuing hunt for Erceg would become one of the largest and most expensive search-and-rescue operations ever conducted in New Zealand.