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Suse Reynolds
Executive Chair at Angel Association New ZealandSuse Reynolds is the Executive Chair of Angel Association NZ.
She has been on the AANZ Council since its inception in 2008 and took up the Executive Director role in 2012, transitioning to Chair in 2020.
In 2005 Suse helped to found AngelHQ, the Wellington region’s angel network and remains on the Board. Today AngelHQ has nearly 100 members and has invested over $50m into 100+ high-growth startup companies. Suse is an active angel investor with about 25 ventures in her portfolio and currently chairs Narrative Muse, an entertainment sector startup.
Suse is on the board of CreativeHQ. She is a member of Wellington UniVentures Momentum Investment Committee. And Deputy Chair of the Wellington branch of the Institute of Directors. Suse is also a judge for the HighTech Awards. She is also a trustee for Project Crimson deploying cutting edge tech to replant our native forests. And a Trustee for Global Entrepreneurship NZ. Suse is Deputy Chair of the Government appointed Startup Advisors Council.
Bridget Unsworth
Executive Director of Angel Association of New ZealandBridget Unsworth is Executive Director at the Angel Association of New Zealand and is a member of Angel HQ and just starting out on building her own investment portfolio. She is currently on the board of TracPlus Global, a real-time asset tracking solutions provider and Invest South, an investment fund based in Southland which supports local businesses seeking capital and expertise for growth.
Julia Arnott-Neenee
Fibre FaleJulia Arnott-Neenee (Co-Founder & CEO of Fibre Fale) is on a mission for Digital Equity and increased representation of Pacific Peoples in Technology. With an extensive career spanning New Zealand, Australia, the UK, and the US, Julia's commitment to justice and creating impactful futures is evident. Julia's leadership extends to influential governance roles, contributing to organisations such as the Digital Council for Aotearoa, Callaghan Innovation, University of Auckland and the World Economic Forum Global Futures Council on AI and Inclusion. Julia has been recognised for her excellence with UC Young Alumni Award Winner for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Sunpix Pacific Peoples Award Winner for Enterprise and is a semi-finalist for Young New Zealander of the Year 2024.
Kaye-Maree Dunn
Making Everything AchievableKaye-Maree is the Director of Making Everything Achievable, Ahau NZ Limited, and Indigital Blockchain Limited. She is currently on the Interim Māori Spectrum Trust Board, North Hokianga Development Trust, Āhau Tātai Hono Trust, and is a Sir Edmond Hillary Fellow and a Senior Atlantic Fellow through the University of Melbourne.
She has worked in the realm of Māori and Community development for over 21 years and loves being involved in lifting the transformative capability of whānau, hapū, and iwi to actively contribute to the growth of New Zealand’s economic potential.
Kendall Flutey
BanquerKendall Flutey (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Kahungunu) is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Banqer, financial education technology used by more than 400,000 Australasian students. Kendall has a background in accounting, and software development. With Banqer at the crossroads of these two industries, Kendall enjoys the new challenge that comes with growing a mission driven impact business, where she can seek to make a difference in our communities. Kendall also holds a number of governance roles, including as a board member of the New Zealand Financial Markets Authority, and Whai Rawa
Glibert Enoka
“My set of values is simple – my word is my honour and I seal things with a handshake.”
Gilbert Enoka has a long history of success as a mental skills coach with New Zealand’s corporate and sporting elite. He is internationally renowned for his 23-year history with the All Blacks, first as their mental skills coach and then as All Blacks Manager - Leadership. He has been with the All Blacks for over 300 tests and during that time the team has won back-to-back Rugby World Cups, a very close runner up in 2023, one Laureus Award (for the best team in the world), 21 consecutive Bledisloe Cups, three Grand Slams, eight Tri Nations and Nine Rugby Championships.
Gilbert has worked as a mental skills coach for the All Blacks, Canterbury Crusaders, the Silver Ferns and the Black Caps and strongly believes that players who are mentally prepared will perform better on the day. Gilbert is currently consulting with Chelsea Football club in the UK.
He has also worked as a highly skilled practitioner, working on performance enhancement for over thirty years with top CEO’s, businesses, and sporting elite.
Gilbert is philosophical in his approach to his own life and thrives on working with people who are in pursuit of excellence, consistency, and sustained performance over time.
Vaughan Fergusson
Founder - VendVaughan Fergusson is the founder of Vend, which sold in 2021 for half a billion dollars. He is the founder of the Pam Fergusson Charitable Trust fostering the next generation of innovators in Aotearoa, and he’s the founder of Awesome Limited working on innovation projects in his secret lab in Raglan and advising founders on how to step-change their start-ups.
He’s been involved with the Hi-Tech Awards as a trustee and vice-chair, head judge for the Entrepreneur of the Year awards, and mentor for innovation programmes for AUT and the University of Auckland.
Vaughan believes the things that make us weird are our super powers.
Cecilia Robinson
Tend founder & co-CEOCecilia Robinson, Founder and Co-CEO of Tend. Tend is a full service primary healthcare provider launched in late 2020, revolutionising primary healthcare through integrating worldclass technology into healthcare. Cecilia began her entrepreneurial journey at 21 with Au Pair Link. Cecilia co-founded My Food Bag alongside her husband James. After selling My Food Bag in 2016, the Robinsons decided to tackle one of New Zealand’s biggest problems, primary healthcare. Beyond business, Cecilia is a dedicated mother to their three children and supports numerous NZ charities, including The Prince’s Trust New Zealand, the Middlemore foundation and surf life saving.
Sean McGrail
Golden SeedsSean, a recovering entrepreneur turned angel investor moved to Auckland in 2022 with his family as part of the Edmund Hillary Fellowship. He's best known back in his native Boston as the co-founder of Paint Nite, a global marketplace of live creative events where artists entertained a crowd as they painted and drank wine at a restaurant. Under his marketing leadership, Paint Nite grew into a global nightlife phenomenon, earning the title of the 2nd fastest-growing private company in the US in 2016 according to Inc. 5000. Sean is currently an active mentor and angel investor in early-stage startups.
Privahini Bradoo
Dr Privahini Bradoo is a World Class New Zealander, and an outstanding global citizen. Born in India, Privahini spent her childhood in Oman, before moving to New Zealand to take up her studies. Since graduating, she has built a career in the USA as a successful entrepreneur, with a passion for merging technology and business.
Privahini is currently the co-founder & CEO of Plank, a company that helps businesses build, manage and train AI-enabled engineering teams around the world.
Before Plank, Privahini founded and ran BlueOak, a Kleiner Perkins backed e-waste recycling company aimed at extracting high value precious metals from end of life electronics. Prior to that, she worked with various startups including Lanzatech where she was VP of Business Development, as well as worked at Boston Consulting Group.
Privahini completed her MBA from Harvard Business School as a winner of the $100,000 Fulbright Platinum Award in Business. She has a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Auckland and graduated with First Class Honours from the University of Auckland studying Biomedical Science.
During her time at the University of Auckland, Privahini led the establishment of Spark (now Velocity), an initiative aimed at promoting entrepreneurship and fostering an innovation economy in NZ. She also co-founded Chiasma, a program dedicated to linking the biotech academic community with NZ's biotech industry.
Privahini has been named as one of New Zealand's top 10 business influencers by Unlimited magazine. She has been recognized by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as a Young Global Leader as well as a Technology Pioneer. She was also recognized as one of ~30 innovative entrepreneurs by the White House. Privahini has received Harvard's Alumni New Venture Award as well as the Distinguished Young Alumni Award from the University of Auckland.
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Melissa Clark-Reynolds
Melissa Clark-Reynolds, ONZM became a Futurist and Professional Director after 25 plus years’ experience as an entrepreneur and CEO of several Technology companies. She founded several tech companies, and has raised capital in NZ, UK and Japan as well as being on the Boards of a number of high growth companies.
She was awarded the ONZM for Services to Technology in 2015. She is widely recognised as a leading-edge thinker on strategy and the future of business models. She recently made a podcast with NASA on what to eat in space.
Melissa is a director of Atkins Ranch Lamb, AoFrio Ltd, Wētā Workshop and Alpine Energy, with previous roles including Deputy Chair of Radio NZ, Chair of Little Yellow Bird, and the first independent director on Beef and Lamb NZ.
Ian Beatty
SecondQuarterIan is the cofounder and Managing Partner of SecondQuarter Ventures, Australia's only secondaries fund. SecondQuarter provides liquidity to employees and shareholders of Australian/NZ technology startups and to VC funds looking to return capital to investors. Prior to SecondQuarter, Ian spent two decades in multi asset class investing in the European markets.
Jake Hoffart
Investment Associate at Enterprise Angels
Robyn Kāmira
Robyn Kāmira (Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri, Tai Tokerau whānui) has spent her professional life supporting Māori to enter the technology sector and benefit from technology solutions.
Winner of the 2023 supreme award for the inaugural Te Hapori Matihiko | Māori Tech Awards, 'Living Icon' - Totara, Robyn was the first Māori woman to receive a computer science degree in 1992 (B.Soc.Sci, Computer Science, Māori) and received the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) student awards three years running. She holds a Post-Graduate Diploma (Information Systems), and CAA Certificate of Competency RPAS Endorsed Multi-Rotor ("Wings Badge"), Part 101/102.
She is founder of Paua Interface (www.pauainterface.nz), an information technology consulting firm, and Incredible Skies, a drone technology company. Both serve Māori, NGO, Iwi and Government, focusing on data and IT projects that combine Māori and technology.
Robyn has held the roles of Deputy President of the Institute of IT Professionals (Te Pou Hangarau Ngaio) and Lead Judge in NZs Hi-Tech Awards. She is a conversational te reo speaker, and musical director of Māori-World fusion band WAI.TAI where she will, from time to time, play a 130 year old Zither banjo.
Jo Mills
CXO at Fuel50Jo Mills is the co-founder and President of Fuel50, pioneers of the skills-powered Talent Marketplace. Passionate about career enablement and skills transformation, Jo and co-founder Anne Fulton created Fuel50 to help employers power internal mobility and workforce reskilling initiatives to meet the needs of an evolving future. Over the last ten years, Jo and Anne have grown the company to more than 90 ‘Fuellies,’ raised to a Series B, and have a portfolio of clients spanning Fortune 500 world-class brands in the USA and beyond.
Jo and her team have a focus on delivering exceptional value realization for Fuel50 clients. Business ROI includes sustainable business impact in multiple businesses where engagement uplifts have been achieved across tens of thousands of employees in the realm of 3-30% increase, and reduction in attrition of around 20% in under a year, along with increased revenue per employee. Focus is on talent actualization that delivers measurable impact.
Beyond Fuel50, Jo is passionate about supporting other NZ businesses as an angel fund investor, a board member of MyMahi and a coach to various startups via programs such as the Ministry of Awesome.
Mohan Nair
Emerge USACEO Emerge Inc.
Edmund Hillary Fellow, New Zealand.
Mohan is a 3x published author, a proven innovator with 6x startup creations within large
enterprise, 3x startup CXO with 2 exits, 3x corporate executive. Mohan is Chief Executive of
Emerge Inc., where his focus is all things innovation and innovator.
For 10 years , Mohan served as Chief Innovation Officer, Senior VP of Cambia Health Solutions,
an $10.8 Billion US parent company of 25 businesses all focused on a cause to transform
healthcare to a person-focused system. He, with his team, launched 7 startups, in 10 years,
leading a high-performance innovation team called Innovation Force. Healthsparq, his first
startup launched within Cambia, sold to Kyruus in Jan 2021.
Seven years prior, Mohan was Chief Marketing Executive/EVP for Regence Blue Cross Blue
Shield leading all front-end functions for the multi-billion dollar firm leading all products
(individual to medicare), formed the consumer-directed digital front-end, telesales, business
development and was instrumental in leading the transformation of Regence Group.
He has held President roles of 2 startups, one in cost/performance management and the other
in network management, with two exits to SAS and McAfee. Earlier in his career, he led
executive roles in public companies namely, Mentor Graphics Corporation and Intel.
He authored Strategic Business Transformation: the 7 deadly sins to avoid (Wiley & Sons,
2010). He has authored 2 other books and over 20+ refereed-journal articles on performance
measurement/Balance Scorecard/servant leadership. He writes for Forbes,
RamaonHealthcare.com, and is contributing columnist for Innovation Leader.
Mohan was adjunct professor of business at JL Kellogg School of Management for 12 years,
University of Oregon MBA program for 5 years, and has guest lectured at Harvard, Berkeley,
University of Auckland (New Zealand). Advisor to the President at George Fox University.
Mohan is a TEDx speaker where he outlines his unique business transformation philosophy.
Mohan is awarded the prestigious Edmund Hillary Fellow in Aotearoa New Zealand, since 2020.
He is also a Tando Fellow. He was called by the President of the USA to serve the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services for 3 years on the AHIC Chronic Care Workgroup
(2004-2009).
Mohan is a former TV talk show host, a musician with copyrighted compositions with his guitar,
and played the bagpipes for 7 years. He is the only healthcare executive who has lost in
America’s Got Talent.
Sakshin Niranjan
NexDoSakshin Niranjan has extensive experience in navigating the ever-changing world of startups, marketplaces, and high-growth ventures. With a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and an MBA, Sakshin has developed his skills in driving innovation and using technology to drive business growth.
With a proven track record that includes pivotal roles in helping launch ventures like OLA and contributions to renowned companies such as Zomato and Amazon, Sakshin embodies the entrepreneurial spirit and the resilience required for success in today’s fast-paced market.
As the CEO of NexDo, Sakshin continues to champion the ethos of agility and adaptability, leading the charge in steering his business NexDo towards growth amidst ever-evolving challenges.
He is also one of the Forbes 30 under 30's in Asia.
Lachlan Nixon
Partner at Motion CapitalLachlan is passionate about working with people and technology to create value and impact. He is an experienced VC and angel investor,having been involved in early-stage investment in New Zealand since 2014. He has recently established Motion Capital, a new VC fund which has raised over $10m to invest in kiwi technology companies that help the world decarbonise.
Jenny Rudd
Enterprise AngelsFounder: Dispute Buddy. Now you can see who said what to who and when, in one timeline, making it easier to resolve legal disputes quickly.
Board: Enterprise Angels, Tauranga. New Zealand's most fantastic angel investment community.
Entrepreneur-in-Residence: Techstars Sydney, the world's biggest pre-seed investor runs an accelerator with a focus on diverse founders. I help those founders go from zero to one.
Co-author: The Gender Investment Gap. Closing the gap of venture capital deployed to women and men entrepreneurs. Women-only teams receive ~6c of every dollar invested, compared to ~75c that men-only teams receive. What a missed opportunity.
Rod Snodgrass
Managing Partner at Maker Capital Management LimitedRod is a Venture Capital partner, professional Director and strategic advisor on business innovation, growth, transformation, and change. Ex Senior Executive with 20+ years' experience in strategy, innovation, digital growth, transformation, and disruption in New Zealand. A proven track record in building and executing corporate, market, business and product shaping and building strategies in Telco, Media, Internet, Digital and Energy sectors. Fellow of the Zealand and Australian Chartered Accountants and member of NZ Institute of Directors. Current and past member of numerous local NZ and global Boards. Active start-up mentor and investor. Incredibly average cyclist. Purpose driven.
Now focused on Maker Partners and helping build great businesses with great founders with great partners.
Rob Woodward
Director of Find RecruitmentRob Woodward is a founding director of FIND Recruitment based in beautiful Wellington. A trained economist and ex-investment banker, Rob “pivoted” in 1999 and became a recruiter. 25 years later he has helped build a recruitment business of 40 staff that operates largely in the corporate and IT recruitment space nationally.
Rob is passionate about people, the labour market and about keeping the human perspective at the forefront of business decisions. He currently serves on the RSCA National Council to help promote the Recruitment Industry in New Zealand. He is also a part time Executive Coach.
He has been an angel investor for over 10 years, typically with an ESG impact perspective. He has been a Director of tech start-up /scale ups and an informal advisor/ mentor to a number of founders.
He is a proud dad and a manic sailor. He is also an average but enthusiastic hot yoga exponent and enjoys spending time with his family.
Melissa Yiannoutsos
Fund Manager at BoosterSince January 2021, Melissa has led innovation fund investments at Booster NZ – a Kiwi-owned fund manager and government-appointed KiwiSaver provider. She manages the publicly listed Booster Innovation Fund (NZX: BIF) –which allows Kiwis to invest in early-stage companies that originate out of New Zealand’s universities, research institutes and the private sector. With close to 25 years professional experience in science commercialisation and investment for both the public and private sectors, she has held leadership roles at seed VC funds, in start-ups and with research institutes and been an angel investor in multiple start-ups. She has first-hand start-up experience at both an executive and governance level, building start-ups and has been involved in every aspect of translating research into products for international markets. She remains hugely passionate about investing in entrepreneurs driving significant change and broadening the capital base that invests in New Zealand founded start-ups.