The unique experience of operating The ICEHOUSE led us to identify a considerable yet unmet need in the NZ equity market - funding for start-up companies.  ICE Angels are a network of private angel investors, brought together by The ICEHOUSE at the end of 2003, to facilitate investment in early stage companies.  ICE Angels provide members with  structure to the due diligence process and benefits from scale economies in sourcing deal flow.  ICE Angels brings together 50 foundation members and a constant stream of quality deal flow to facilitate investment in high growth start-up companies.

Our members are ex-entrepreneurs and successful business people looking to add early stage companies to their investment portfolio.  Our Angels inject smart money to the venture.  By taking an active role in their investments, they provide not only governance by serving on boards, but also assist companies with relationships, strategy, team building, and future fundraising.

 

 

The Team 

Trevor Smith - Chairman

Trevor is a retired company executive, an angel investor and independent consultant / director.  His 29 years in the tobacco industry include 10 years in Europe, culminating as Regional (Europe) CEO for Rothmans International, and Area Director for British American Tobacco.  Trevor is the Chair of ICE Angels.  


 

Michael Blennerhassett

Michael has been appointed as a member of the Advisory Board of Ice Angels, an angel investment group based in Auckland.  Michael works as an independent financial consultant, but prior to this spent fourteen years as an investment banker with First NZ Capital/Credit Suisse and more recently undertook a two year assignment in New Zealand and the United Kingdom as an executive director of financial software company, FNZ Holdings Ltd.




Brian Casey

Brian has been appointed as a member of the Advisory Board of Ice Angels, an angel investment group based in Auckland. Brian has managerial experience in the construction materials sector, has been a director and shareholder in company providing independent professional services to commodity traders, director of DIY retail stores, held a managerial position heading up mergers and acquisitions role at JSE listed company, director of a coal exporting company, recently GM and CEO  for oil companies, and is currently CEO of Longbay Petroleum Associates Ltd, an energy consulting company.

Paul Dyson

Paul has had profound experience in international technology companies operating from Australia, France, UK, USA, India and NZ. He has been CEO of two start-up technology companies (one, a medical technology company in England that listed in London for £100M (www.puricore.com) and the other, www.ultramotor.com an electric vehicle pioneer in India that is still privately held).  As a consultant since 2001, Paul contributed at senior levels in more than a dozen other early-stage technology companies.  In addition to running the business in the Middle East under contract for a large US-based medical device company, Paul is on the board of an Australian med-tech company and a trustee of a not-for-profit organisation in NZ.

Ken Erskine

Ken Erskine has extensive sales and marketing experience working with a spectrum of organisations ranging from local start up’s to global multinationals. With over fifteen years IT sales and marketing experience in NZ and Europe Ken has held senior management/leadership roles at Hewlett Packard and Compaq where he was also involved in the initial sponsorship of The ICEHOUSE.


Andy Hamilton

Andy has been CEO of The ICEHOUSE since its inception and was the founding Chair of Incubators New Zealand the industry group representing incubators in New Zealand. He is a Board member of ANZATEC – the Australian New Zealand Technology Forum based in Silicon Valley, a group who is tasked with creating a gateway for NZ and Australian technology companies to enter the US.  Prior to joining the ICEHOUSE, Andy was CEO and Director of Inventure which was the VC arm of Fletcher Building. 

John McDonald

John retired from a senior executive role at Fletcher Challenge in 2001 after a career of 37years. His experience covered a range of industries and countries involving management, finance, distribution, and marketing. John is also experienced in international finance, mergers, acquisitions and divestments and commercial negotiation.  Today he is a company director and a trustee for a number of organisations and enjoying restoring native bush and wetlands on a 200 acre lake block in the Bay of Plenty. 


Brent Ogilvie
Brent  is co-founder of Pacific Channel Limited, a life sciences and cleantech venture development and investment firm.  Pacific Channel is a seed co-investment partner of the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund and Mr. Ogilvie is an accredited broker under New Zealand Trade and Enterprise’s Escalator Service. Through Pacific Channel's activities as a seed investor, Mr. Ogilvie also serves as Director and Founding CEO of Androgenix Limited and Breathe Easy Limited; and is co-founder and Director of Ecodiesel Limited, SciTOX Limited and Somnaceutics Limited. Pacific Channel also secures investment for client companies including Migco Pharmaceuticals and Living Cell Technologies (ASX:LCT).  Mr. Ogilvie was previously NZ Consul and Trade Commissioner to New York.