As an active investor and consultant in the early-stage biotechnology, human nutrition and medical devices sectors, Jennifer has worked with Crown Research Institutes, universities and the private sector in both technical and commercial roles to commercialise intellectual property into the international market. During her time with Industrial Research and Massey University Jennifer developed a passion for seeing science move from the lab-bench into financially-sound businesses.

Stephen's career has been dedicated to transforming new knowledge into commercial success. Stephen’s commercialisation career in Europe included fast-growth execution and business improvement in several acquired companies he was appointed to lead, including trade sale of one of these companies and domination of a global niche in another. Returning to New Zealand, Stephen was inaugural CEO of the award winning Canterbury Innovation Incubator (Cii) before establishing Powerhouse in 2006. In this role, he has overseen the incubation and growth of more than 50 new companies.

Tia settled in New Zealand after a 10-year career in international investment banking and finance in London. Her management and organisational skills transferred well into the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority where she continued to provide strategic and operational advice to the Deputy Chief Executive of Communications. Her role extended to include detailed reporting and project management to a National Government level.

Anya has a background as a co-inventor in a corporate spin-out which developed a significant patent portfolio sold to a multi-national company. Anya’s key focus is developing IP strategies for the Powerhouse portfolio and conducting due diligence on potential investment opportunities, checking freedom-to-operate and the strength of any existing IP position. Anya is responsible for deploying Powerhouse Seed Funds into pre-revenue early stage ventures, including IP negotiation and investment deal processing.

Stuart obtained his MEng(Hons) in Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Oxford and a PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at University College London. After being a Lecturer in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Canterbury he joined Powerhouse as an Investment Analyst. He now coordinates the management and reporting of the Powerhouse Investment Portfolio companies.

Andy has held senior executive roles in energy, infrastructure and clean-tech companies. He has worked as CEO, MD and Board Director in start-up businesses through the pre-seed to exit stages over 10 years. Before this Andy held international marketing and business development roles targeting the global industrial and utilities sector for 10 years. Prior to joining Powerhouse, Andy worked at HRL Morrison & Co, manager of diversified listed company Infratil, which has a market capitalisation of NZD1.7B.

Tijs has extensive experience in commercialisation and market development of industrial technologies. Tijs joined Powerhouse from Kerasi, where he assisted Wellington-based clients with technology commercialisation. Prior to this he managed new product development and business growth in international markets at HTS-110 Ltd, a high-tech manufacturing company. Tijs has experience of managing a high-tech international manufacturing supply chain, and negotiating OEM supply agreements. Earlier in his career, Tijs worked at a Crown Research Institute where he was involved in business development, securing investment and market validation.

Steve oversees the Dunedin operations of Powerhouse. Formerly CEO of Upstart Business Incubator in Dunedin, Steve has spent his career in commercialisation roles and creating shareholder value at general management and governance level. He has exposure at all stages of the business lifecycle, from start up to corporate including successful trade sales. Steve has an Honours degree in Biology, an MBA and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and the New Zealand Institute of Management.

Rachel’s experience includes more than 15 years in intellectual property and commercial law. Her roles have included: acting as the sole in-house counsel for the UK branch of an international company; providing specialised legal and strategic advice within leading IP firms in New Zealand and the UK; preparing legal opinions and policies at what is now the MBIE; and drafting legal decisions and practice guidelines as the Assistant Commissioner of Trade Marks at IPONZ.

Matthew is an accounting professional and brings to Powerhouse his skills in financial reporting and data analysis. Matthew qualified as a Chartered Accountant in Northern Ireland in 2012 and worked as an auditor for Grant Thornton in the UK and New Zealand for seven years before joining Powerhouse.

Paul is a career finance and governance professional. He has worked in Australian industrial and financial services organisations for over 20 years and has specialised in financial and management accounting, value creation, mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance. Prior to joining Powerhouse, Paul was Chief Financial Officer / Company Secretary at diversified ASX listed banking group MyState Limited, which had a market capitalisation of over AUD400 million and an asset footprint of around AUD5.3 billion.

Stuart brings to Powerhouse his international experience working with young growth companies on audits, cash flow modelling and insolvency projects, financial instrument valuation, fund management and financial control. Stuart qualified as a Chartered Accountant at Coopers & Lybrand (now PwC) in London, working with global financial institutions on the valuation of derivative financial instrument portfolios. After making a permanent move to Christchurch in 2004, Stuart took up a role with global fund of funds, Infiniti Group, before later becoming Financial Controller at Allied Telesis.

Melissa has spent nearly 15 years commercialising science for industrial, medical and biotechnology applications in New Zealand. She has extensive experience of developing and implementing strategies for technology-led organisations and leading negotiations with international corporations. Prior to setting up Kerasi Limited, which merged with Powerhouse in 2014, Melissa was responsible for administering business incubator programmes, managing the commercialisation portfolio and pre-seed and equity funds at Industrial Research Limited. Melissa is an active investor in technology start-ups and has been on a number of boards.