The Icehouse Welcomes New Leaders With Diverse Expertise to Its Governance

The Icehouse welcomes new leaders with diverse expertise to its governance.

The Icehouse announced the appointment of new directors to its board, in addition to welcoming new trustees to its owner, the International Centre for Entrepreneurship Trust which is a charitable foundation. Greg Tomlinson, Jonathan Reid and Kerry McIntosh are the three new directors to join The Icehouse board, with Simon Bennett, Craig Carr and Franceska Banga joining as trustees of the Foundation.

Their appointments come at a time when The Icehouse is undertaking a review and refresh of its goal to 2020 of enabling a 10% lift in the country’s GDP while the Foundation starts to broaden its charitable reach within New Zealand.

With backgrounds ranging from construction to agribusiness, investment banking to mussel farming, and technology to recruitment; Chairman of The Icehouse Board, Chris Quin, says these entrepreneurs and experts bring a diversity of approach and thinking to The Icehouse which will be critical for its ongoing performance and contribution to New Zealand.

“These talented new directors add substantive real world capabilities and proven track records in facilitating business growth in diverse industries to our already strong board. We are excited about their contribution and the diversity they bring to help The Icehouse, its customers and stakeholders.”

Quin continues, “This addition to our governance is a great indicator of our momentum and confidence in our ability to contribute to the New Zealand economy and its businesses. This conscious move is timely and we’re sure their varied perspectives will be valuable as we review our 2020 goal of lifting GDP by 10% and push out to the next 10 years through to 2026,” says Chris Quin.

The new additions to the Foundation also comes at an opportune time as the Foundation has begun widening its charitable giving to youth and iwi. Foundation Chairman, David Irving, is looking forward to the fresh thinking these trustees will bring to the Foundation’s direction.

“I feel privileged to have the chance to work with such a diverse group of business leaders who can draw on different industry backgrounds and have varied skill sets, but yet all share the common purpose of wanting to invest in, and commit to, creating a high performing New Zealand economy. It is particularly pleasing to me that each of these three leaders has a long history with The Icehouse over the nearly 15 years,” says Irving.

New appointments to The Icehouse board:

• South Island businessman and investor, Greg Tomlinson has owned and managed a variety of businesses since he was 18 years old. One of the original pioneers of the mussel industry in Marlborough, he more recently financed Impact Capital which already invests in several established New Zealand businesses, including Indevin Wines, Heartland Bank and Argenta. Tomlinson brings a breadth of industry experience and a sound understanding of both strategic and day-to-day issues facing growing businesses and is an alumni of The Icehouse, from his attendance of the second Owner Manager Programme in 2002.

• Co-Founder of Velocity Made Good, Jonathan Reid went on to start its investment arm VMG Ventures in 2011. With a growing portfolio and annual seven figure investment budget, VMG is proud to have Sir Stephen Tindall’s K1W1 as part of the co-investment team. Reid, an entrepreneur at heart, brings a wealth of experience assisting portfolio companies with growth and governance initiatives, as well as evaluating new M&A opportunities.

• Kerry McIntosh built his career in Sydney as an investment banker, turned private equity player, working for Credit Suisse and Ironbridge Capital - an Australian PE firm with circa $1.5 billion in managed funds. McIntosh, a previous Chair of the NZ Venture Capital association, has recently been appointed as chairman to the board of the ICE Angels, the most active angel network in New Zealand, and brings a strong investment and funds management perspective to the Board together with his active angel investing activities.

New trustees joining the Foundation:

• Business leader, Simon Bennett has extensive industry experience spanning FMCG, food production, property, retail and distribution. Bennett is currently the CEO of AWF Madison, the only listed Recruitment Company on the NZX, and an alumni of the fourth Owner Manager Programme in 2003.

• Craig Carr, Group Managing Director of Carrfields NZ is passionate about farming and agribusiness. An alumni of the seventh Owner Manager Programme in 2004, he now heads the family business which had a humble start 40 years ago in Ashburton. Carrfields now exports to over 40 countries globally.

• Venture and angel capital fund of funds specialist, Franceska Banga is the third trustee to join the Foundation. Banga is the former chief executive of the $300 million New Zealand Venture Investment Fund (NZVIF), where she managed partnerships with nine venture capital funds, 15 angel investment networks, and direct and indirect investments into over 160 companies. Banga has recently been recognised on the Queen’s 90^th Birthday Honours List, as a 2016 Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to business and the community. Franceska is a Director of ATEED and of recent, has been appointed the independent chair of Auckland-based FAB Group.