Danny Lendich

Danny Lendich (born 1944) is an Auckland-based businessperson who owns an earthmoving and hauling company. Lendich is best known for opening the first Wendy's franchise in New Zealand. He is also a midget car racing car owner.

Early life
Lendich was born in 1944 to Croatian parents who had emigrated to New Zealand in the period leading up to World War II and farmed an apple and pear orchard. When he was 12 years old, Lendich—who had been using his family's tractor to work for local farmers—persuaded his father to purchase a bulldozer so that he could start his own contracting business. He attended Henderson High School in Auckland.

Business ventures
Lendich's first business venture was an earthmoving and hauling company, Lendich Construction, which he started in the 1960s after working for neighbouring farmers. In 1997, the business was cited for improper use of the property where its depot was located as a result of noise complaints from neighbours; the Environment Court of New Zealand ruled in favour of Lendich in 1999.

Lendich and his wife, Dianne, opened the first Wendy's franchise in New Zealand in 1988; they became Wendy's franchisors after they encountered the restaurant during trips to midget car races in the United States. In 1993, Lendich hired Dave Vousden, known as "Kiwi Dave", to star in Wendy's commercials in New Zealand. Lendich and his family eventually opened and operated 22 Wendy's locations in New Zealand through a corporation, Wendco NZ; his daughter, Danielle, took over as CEO of the corporation in 1999. In 2022, Wendy's NZ announced that it was up for sale. Lendich and his family have also operated petrol stations and they own properties in Auckland.

Midget car racing
Lendich has owned midget cars through his racing team, D.L. Motorsports. He has sponsored several drivers who have collectively won hundreds of races, including Sleepy Tripp,  Graham Standring,  Craig Baird, Sammy Swindell, Jerry Coons Jr. and Alex Bright. Lendich has said that his interest in midget car racing stems from the engineering aspects, and that he works on the cars that he owns.