Inspiring Students. Unleashing Leaders.

Norm Thompson, who become our chairman in 2018, joined Air New Zealand in their Finance Division in 1968. Over his 45-year career he rose through the ranks to become their Chief of Sales, and Deputy Chief Executive Officer from 2007 until his retirement in 2013. Thompson has had extensive experience in board governance; this includes serving as Chairman of the Tourism Industry Association of NZ, Chairman of the Air New Zealand Environment Trust, Deputy Chairman of Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) and Chairman of Altitude Ltd. Thompson was awarded an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for his services to business and tourism in the 2013 Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

Phil Muir brings to the Board experience in a critical sector for us – education! Having been the Deputy Principal at Manurewa High School when they introduced YES in 2012, Phil is a raving fan through and through. Not only did Phil introduce our flagship programme at Manurewa High School, but was a key driver of setting up the Manurewa High School Business Academy with a focus of driving enterprise education within all areas and year levels of the school. After 20 exciting years at Manurewa High, Phil moved to become the Regional Principal for Westmount Schools and once again introduced YES into the curriculum there. He has since changed focus and now believes that the greatest potential for igniting students’ passion about their future lies in intermediate schools. As Area Leader at Farm Cove Intermediate he integrated a term-long enterprise programme, similar to the Business Challenge. Phil believes that the way of the future in education lies with YES. He is now the Principal at Northcote Intermediate School and is implementing new initiatives there to get his students thinking about enterprise at a young age.

David brings a diversity of experiences and networks to the Board across both multi-national corporations and SMEs. Additional to his day job as General Manager – Projects for NZTE, David is involved in a range of other work such as raising $1m for the Malaghan Institute. He is experienced in start-up business in industries such as ICT, hospitality, and television. David is also on the boards of Venture Taranaki, the Well Foundation, the Hi-Tech Trust and a number of start-up businesses in the tech sector. He is an accomplished public speaker (some of you will have seen him MC the YES National Awards last year) and a published author including books on Innovation in New Zealand. David has been a fan of YES for many years through his role at NZTE, but took that to a whole new level becoming a raving fan after his son Jack went through YES in 2016.

Mark Eglinton is currently CEO of NDA Engineering, one of New Zealand’s leading engineering businesses. Mark previously held a number of senior positions within Fletcher Challenge Building, Fletcher Aluminium, Tenon Limited. Mark is a Director of Snapperrock International and a former Trustee of the First Foundation. He has a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Otago. Mark was named the Emerging International Business Leader at the 2009 New Zealand International Business Awards.

Sheena is the Managing Director of Cluster Consulting Group and is a Christchurch-based consultant specialising in business leadership, branding and corporate advisory work.  She has over 20 years of business experience gained locally and internationally.  Sheena has led large businesses successfully, latterly within Fonterra where she held several senior roles.  Sheena is also a Director at Radio New Zealand.

Rachel Taulelei is the co-founder of business design and brand strategy firm, Oho. Rachel is former CEO of Kono NZ, one of New Zealand’s top 100 food and beverage companies. Previously, Rachel founded the sustainable seafood company Yellow Brick Road, which has since been acquired by Kono’s owner, Wakatu Incorporation. In 2015, Rachel received a New Zealand Order of Merit for services to food and hospitality, and in 2012 she was the recipient of a Blake Leader Award from the Sir Peter Blake Trust, on whose board she now sits. Rachel is also a YES aluma, having taken part at St Oran’s College, and has been a dedicated mentor and judge for many years.

Andy Symons is Financial Services Sector Leader, and Innovation Partner for PwC New Zealand. Andy has built significant executive leadership and financial services advisory experiences throughout his career. His roles have varied from experienced executive to CEO to startup founder and have seen him work with the likes of National Australia Bank, Bank of New Zealand and Loyalty New Zealand. Andy has a broad range of expertise across industries including banking, insurance, telecommunications and consulting.

Sam is very passionate about business, design and te ao māori. He is currently attending Victoria University of Wellington studying a Bachelor of Design Innovation majoring in Design for Social Innovation and minoring in Public Policy.

Sam is a YES alumni, having participated in YES 2019-20. Sam’s business Te Kete ō Tangaroa developed an alternative to polystyrene bins, drawing inspiration from the mātauranga of his tūpuna to do so. Te Kete ō Tangaroa received three National excellence awards, the Rangatahi Entrepreneurship award two years in a row, and the HSBC award for Environmental Sustainability in 2020. Te Kete ō Tangaroa was also one of the 5 YES businesses selected for the Global Kaitiakitanga Project. In 2019 Sam was in the Uprise Digital team at EIA, who took out both of the business challenges.