Super-charging Tech Queenstown
Roger Sharp. PHOTO: ODT FILES
Technology Queenstown (TQ) recently appointed five new trustees to help guide the Whakatipu's tech sector development agency.
TQ chair Roger Sharp says collectively they bring a "remarkable" balance of skills and international relationships.
They are:
Webjet Group managing director Katrina Barry, an experienced tech sector CEO and founder based in Australia — her former roles include CEO of Trafalgar and Contiki Tours and payments company me&u, along with senior roles at the Virgin Group and McKinsey & Company;
Claudia Batten, a tech entrepreneur and company director, who's chair of NZX-listed Serko Ltd, ASX-listed Michael Hill International deputy chair, and board member of Vista Group and Air NZ;
David Downs, incumbent CEO of The New Zealand Story, who holds several board director roles, has founded tech companies and worked internationally for Microsoft;
Invest South executive officer Prue Halstead, who's also an executive committee member of Angel Association NZ and a founding board member of Mainland Angel Investors and COIN South;
And Dino Vendetti, a seasoned venture capitalist, entrepreneur and Edmund Hillary Fellow who splits his time between the United States and Portugal. He's Seven Peaks Ventures LLC founding partner and managing director, and co-founder, investor and board member of CrowdStreet.
TQ chief executive Sarah Russell says she's "thrilled" to have the collective wisdom and capability to draw on, to provide the level of strategic direction and guidance required to attract global tech platforms, and support local tech companies to scale globally.
Whakatipu Hangarau Trust will have up to eight trustees in total, including the chair, with further announcements to come.
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