MEET THE EXPERTS - LIFT OFF! 2021
Our second 2021 intake for our popular LIFT OFF! course is ready to kick off this week. We’ve got so many engaging sessions planned over the next 8-weeks, which includes a jam-packed line up of exceptional, hand-picked experts. Here we’ve put together a blog so you can see just how talented our these business people are. It’s not too late to sign up for this intake - register here. The weekly live-sessions are recorded and uploaded via our learning portal - meaning you can learn on your own schedule anytime of the day or night.
Michegro Chisholm - Marketing Guru
Michegro Chisholm is the director of Wanaka’s The Marketing Lab, known as M.LAB. Michegro is an award-winning marketing strategist with nearly 20 years experience to her name. The depth and breadth of her commercial experience is matched only by her innate astuteness and boundless creativity.
Melissa Jenner - Career Consultant Extraordinaire
Melissa Jenner is the director of START Now. Trained in Design Thinking at Stanford d-School, Melissa pioneered the application of Design Thinking to the personal innovation challenge many people face – re-imagining and building a career they love.
Before she found Design Thinking, Melissa was a Marketer, a Strategist and a General Manager. With over 20 years experience, she has worked in senior management roles for a range of big corporates (including Microsoft and Barclays) some of the world’s more creative businesses (including Saatchi & Saatchi), and in some of the biggest cities in the world (including London & New York).
Peter Ramsey - Investment Legend
Peter is the network manager for the Mainland Angel Investor Collective. Having faced his own investment challenges as an entrepreneur, he’s passionate in helping others find their way with investment opportunities.
The Mainland Angel Investor Collective (MAI) was launched last year and aims to help Dunedin, Queenstown and Invercargill start-ups from having to look too far for investment.
Ella Stuart - Mindset Whizz
Ella Stuart, founder of Bravely Coaching, has been supporting impact entrepreneurs for over five years. Since its conception during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, Bravely Coaching has worked with entrepreneurs, business owners and impact-driven organisations in New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland and in the USA. Parallel to Bravely Coaching, Ella works as Programme Manager & Community Coach at Impact Hub Waikato, co-leading their innovative entrepreneurial support programmes and coaching the participating startup teams.
Max Norton - Superstar Developer
Max Norton is a Developer, Creative and Product Maker. Over the last 12 years Max has built brands and products in both the digital and physical worlds. His most recent projects have been for startups'; Flaunter, Premio Bikes, Black Dove, Vodka and Audience Republic. Max cut his teeth in digital agencies as a front end developer and now work mostly with product focused startups.
Fiona Woodham - Public Relations Queen
Fiona has been at the helm of Southern PR for more than 24 years, and has a strong journalism background including many years as a Fleet Street journalist working at a national newspaper level. Fiona is known for strong interviewing and writing skills with exceptional attention to detail, media relations, sales and marketing skills. She has an impeccable and intuitive knowledge of ‘the story’ and where it should be placed and has strong media relationships throughout New Zealand and Australia.
Bjorn DeNijs - Accounting Hero
Bjorn joined Affleck O’Meara in 2014. Originally from the Netherlands he settled in Queenstown in 2007. He’s held various accounting roles in a wide variety of businesses in the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand and has worked in public practice since 2008. His practical knowledge is invaluable for his clients. His areas of expertise included; start-ups, ownership and structural advice, tax treatment or property transactions, mixed use assets/holiday homes, management reporting, forecasting and Xero.
Pete Seligman - Search Investor Mogul
Peter is Search Investor. He helps aspiring business owners find good businesses and gives them a great future through acquisition, growth and successful exit of small-medium enterprises.
In 2012, after a 15 year career spanning engineering, project management, investment banking and general management, Peter realised that the large corporate path wasn't for him - he needed more autonomy and accountability than big business could ever provide. From there Peter leveraged his experience to begin his own entrepreneurial journey.
