Directors
Nick Gerritsen (Acting Chairman)
Nick Gerritsen is a Marlborough based business catalyst and entrepreneur specialising in start-up companies. He specialises in commercialising technology propositions from the ground up. Nick is currently engaged in projects in renewable energy, online, carbon economy and screen production sectors. He is a director of Carbonscape and Pounamu Productions (NZ) – amongst others.
Nick was a founding member of the Marlborough Regional Development Trust which received OECD recognition for its unique approach to regional development. Nick graduated from the University of Canterbury with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB). During his legal career, he advised leading corporates on intellectual property and later enjoyed a string of successful business ventures.
Ann Poindexter
Ann’s corporate background is in marketing, advertising, public relations and investor communications in both the USA and New Zealand. She currently owns and oversees the operations of Verity Farms, which comprises several South Island sheep and beef properties totalling 16,470 hectares. Her board duties include Aquaflow and Solar City.
David Milroy
David is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Pure Power Global Limited, a fully integrated renewable energy company which aims to create, invest in, own and operate a global network of best-in-class renewable energy businesses producing sustainable energy, biofuels, and bio-products.
Prior to Pure Power, David was the driving force in Asia Global Crossing (“AGC”) from AGC’s inception in 1999 until its ultimate sale to China Netcom in 2003. Whilst based in Hong Kong, his concurrent roles included Senior Vice-President of Network & Operations, Global Crossing, and President of Asia Global Crossing. During this time, David had overall senior executive responsibility for the NZD$US1.5 billion capital budget for the construction of the Asian subsea and terrestrial fibre optic networks.
Preceding this, David was a senior executive officer and director of Global Crossing, and held the role of Senior Vice President of Network Development (based in Los Angeles) which involved managing the rapid development and deployment of the terrestrial fibre optic system throughout Europe, the Americas and Asia.
Roger Gower
Roger Gower is an experienced executive both internationally and in his home country New Zealand. He has a B.Com from Auckland University, an MBA from Massey University and an M Phil from Cambridge University.
In terms of his professional background, Roger joined Air New Zealand in 1978 and served in a range of management roles, principally in Sales and Marketing, on a worldwide basis. Joining New Zealand’s national rail company, Tranz Rail, in 1991 as head of the freight group, Roger achieved a major overhaul, creating a customer- and business-focused service provider. In addition to launching a re-branded company, Roger developed a range of new products and services and introduced cost-saving IT systems. He also participated in the very successful global float of Tranz Rail on the NASDAQ in 1995.
Roger’s extensive experience in the global capital markets includes participation in several other large capital raises / debt placements in the US market.
Roger graduated from Cambridge University with a M Phil; he wrote his thesis on high tech spin-outs. After returning to New Zealand from Cambridge, he developed a management consultancy providing strategic advice and capital to start-ups, strategic management to a number of large companies, advisory services to Boards of Directors and policy advice to Government Departments. This consultancy offers a range of services from Governance reviews and advisory services to M&A transactions and, in many cases, Roger and his group have co-invested in the propositions he works with.
Previous roles have included Chairman of Charlies Trading Company, the innovative marketing company, which started as an orange juicing operation in 1999 and was floated in 2005 under Roger’s leadership. He has been a Director of the Ports of Auckland and held Director roles with CCO’s in Auckland and Manukau City.
He is currently a Director and Chairman of PrimePort in Timaru and the listed entity Orion Minerals Group. His academic and professional interests are in the development of lifetime customers and the factors enabling high performance management teams.
