Top 50 Software Angel Investors in New Zealand in July 2025

Venture Capitalist, Managing Partner, Chief Technology Officer

Emlyn is a successful founder and investor with personal investments in fast growing tech companies like Kami, A.Kin, MealMe, Segna, and EnsuredIt. Managing Partner at CP Ventures and the founder of OpenMarkets Group, Australia's second-largest retail broker. He was former CEO of the National Stock Exchange of Australia, Australia’s secondlargest listing stock exchange, for four and a half years. Prior to that he was Head of Business Development at LCH.Clearnet for equities and CFDs in London for nine years, the world’s largest independent clearing house. He has four finance related degrees: Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Masters Business Administration (MBA), Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment (GDAFI), and Bachelor of Economics (BEc).

Peter Beck is the founder and chief executive of Rocket Lab, a space systems company and the world’s leading dedicated small satellite launch provider. Rocket Lab provides end-to-end mission services, including complete satellite build and launch solutions, that provide rapid, frequent and reliable access to space. Rocket Lab has been launchingsince May 2017, delivering satellites to orbit for commercial and government customers, including DARPA, NASA, the NRO, the United States Air Force and more. Since founding the business in 2006, Peter has grown Rocket Lab to become a globally recognized industry leader in space and a billion-dollar company employing hundreds of world-class engineers. In addition to creating Electron, the world’s first fully carbon-fibre orbital launch vehicle, Peter also oversaw the development of the world’s first and only private orbital launch range, located on New Zealand's Māhia Peninsula. He played a crucial role in establishing international treaties and legislation to enable orbital launch capability from New Zealand.

Chintaka Ranatunga

Founder/CEO of ThisData, a login intelligence and contextual authentication platform. Founder/CEO of Litmos.com, a leading SaaS Learning Management System that was acquired by CallidusCloud (NASDAQ: CALD) in 2011.

Akshay Kothari is the co-founder of Pulse, a mobile application that allows you to read all your favorite content in one place. Pulse began as a class project in the Launchpad class at Stanford University, and has grown to over 30 million users today. It won the coveted Apple Design Award in 2011 and was inducted into the App Store Hall of Fame.Pulse was recently acquired by Linkedin for $90 million.

Richard Collier-Keywood was named as Network Vice Chairman on 1 November 2011. In this role, Richard will be responsible for the coordination of PwC's global strategy across the network leading PwC's Network Executive Team (NET).Prior to this appointment Richard was the Global Leader, Tax, an appointment he took up on 1 July 2008.He previously led the UK firm's tax practice for five years.

Phil McCaw - Managing Partner @ Movac

Nicole Fougere - Co-Founder & CCO @ ThisData

Craig Winkler Co-founded Australian small business accounting software provider MYOB in 1991. Craig built MYOB to be a popular business tool and brand which, in 2004, merged with Solution 6 to become Australia’s largest IT company. Craig joined Xero's board and became a substantial shareholder in 2009. He now spends the bulk of his timeworking in the philanthropic sector.

Rowan Simpson - Chairman & Trustee @ Hoku Group

Maurice Eng

Stephen Tindall is the founder of K1W1.

Shane And Vanessa JOHNSTON

Liam Don is the Co-founder and President at ClassDojo.

Alex Rigopulos is a Studio Director of Harmonix at Epic Games.

Jonathan Hendriksen - Founder | CEO @ Shuttlerock

Harald McPike is a successful quantitative trader and global private investor.

Dylan Field is the CEO and co-founder of Figma, a design and prototyping platform for teams that build products together. With the support of the Thiel Fellowship, Dylan dropped out of Brown University to start Figma with his TA, Evan Wallace. They built Figma on the web in the hopes of breaking down the barriers around the siloed design process.Dylan champions open, accessible design and believes such tools must evolve for a cloud-based, collaborative world.

Kirsti Grant - CEO & Co-founder @ Populate

John Key, Board Partner at Amplo.

Alistair Grigg

Scobie Ward is the Chairman & CEO of Ward Ferry Management.

Paul Reeve

Chase Coleman is the Founder of Tiger Global

Benny Kleist is a Founder & COO of Eucalyptus.He attended The University of Queensland.

Ben leads a regional team at Xero that has established new digital customer experiences by working with the financial services industry on customer controlled two-way data share. In the process Xero has established new commercial standards for the industry globally.Driven by a desire to make new ideas a commercial reality, Ben has held leadershiproles in digital innovation, product management, and customer strategy across wholesale banking, business banking, and retail financial services.

Ben Kepes is a technology evangelist, an investor, a commentator and a business adviser. His business interests include a diverse range of industries from manufacturing to property to technology. As a technology commentator he has a broad presence both in the traditional media and extensively online. Ben covers the convergence of technology,mobile, ubiquity and agility, all enabled by the Cloud. His areas of interest extend to aviation technology, enterprise software, software integration, financial/accounting software, platforms and infrastructure as well as articulating technology simply for everyday users.

Matt is an investor in venture businesses and will soon be basing himself in the United States working with Square Peg Capital. He invests across a wide sector of industries and geographies. Matt and his wife have a foundation where they focus on community projects, which have the ability to enhance the social sector.Prior to working as aninvestor in his own right, Matt was one of the three original founders of SEEK LTD. Along With Paul and Andrew Bassat, Matt took SEEK from business plan to become one of Australia’s most successful online businesses. SEEK is now an ASX Top 100 Listed company with a market capitalisation of $4 Billion, and with businesses in the UK, China, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia.Matt also is an accomplished speaker and helps many organisations realise their full potential through his business insights. Matt holds a Bachelor of Business (Banking and Finance) from Monash University.

Leighton Roberts - Co-founder and Chief of Operations and Opportunities @ Sharesies

Excellent wedding dancer

Mark Ritson is Adjunct Professor of Marketing at Melbourne Business School and Visiting Professor of Marketing at Singapore Management University. He has a PhD in Marketing from Lancaster University and has been a faculty member at some of the world's leading business schools teaching on the MBA programs at London Business School, MIT Sloan,and the University of Minnesota. He is widely acknowledged as one of the world's best marketing instructors and has been the recipient of awards for his teaching at LBS, MIT, SMU and MBS.Mark has worked globally on projects ranging from brand strategy, market research, segmentation, CRM, marketing communications, brand acquisition, brand valuation and brand extension. For thirteen years - from 2002 to 2015 - he served as in-house professor for LVMH - the world's largest luxury group - working with senior executives from brands like Louis Vuitton, Dom Perignon, Fendi, Tag Heuer, Dior and Hennessy.Mark has written a weekly column on branding for Marketing Week for over a decade. On three occasions he has been judged the Business Columnist of the Year at the PPA Press Awards, the highest award for magazine journalism in the UK. He is also a columnist for The Australian newspaper. His more scholarly publications include articles published in Sloan Management Review, Harvard Business Review, the Journal of Advertising, and the Journal of Consumer Research. He was the recipient of the Ferber Award in 2000, one of the most prestigious prizes in Marketing, for his doctoral thesis.

Hamish Edwards is a co-founder and the CEO of Edwards holds a bachelor’s degreein accounting and marketing from Otago University.

Nas, byname of Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, also called Nasty Nas, (born September 14, 1973, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.), American rapper and songwriter who became a dominant voice in 1990s East Coast hip-hop. Nas built a reputation as an expressive chronicler of inner-city street life.Nasir Jones, the son of a jazz musician, grew up in public housingin Queens, New York. He dropped out of school in the eighth grade and searched for a creative outlet, finally settling on hip-hop. His breakthrough came in 1992, when his song “Half Time” (credited to Nasty Nas) appeared on the sound track to the film Zebrahead. Columbia Records soon signed him to a contract. His debut recording as Nas, Illmatic (1994), drew widespread acclaim for its poetic narration of hard-edged inner-city life.The more pop-oriented approach of It Was Written (1996) helped that album reach an even wider audience than its predecessor but ignited a recurring tension in Nas’s career between the appetite of the pop audience and the demands of hip-hop purists. He maintained his commercial appeal with I Am... (1999), although by that time he had also become embroiled in a public feud with fellow rapper Jay-Z over which of the two was the preeminent voice in East Coast hip-hop. The schism inspired Stillmatic (2001), which many fans considered a return to form. The two rappers publicly settled their differences in 2005, and shortly thereafter Nas signed with Def Jam, of which Jay-Z was president at the time.Nas’s penchant for provocation marked Hip Hop Is Dead (2006) and an untitled follow-up (2008), while Life Is Good (2012) struck an introspective tone. He also notably collaborated with reggae musician Damian Marley (the youngest son of Bob Marley) on the album Distant Relatives (2010).Nas also made occasional film appearances, notably in Belly (1998), a crime drama in which he starred opposite rapper DMX, and Black Nativity (2013), an adaptation of Langston Hughes’s gospel play.

Jason Stockwood is a Transformational Leaders Fellowship at Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford.

Boon Hwee is the founding partner of Credence and Chairman of the investment committee. Concurrently, Boon Hwee is a member of Agilent Technologies Inc, Chairman of AAC Technologies, Yeo Hiap Seng Limited, and Sunningdale Tech Limited.Boon Hwee began his career in 1977 at Hewlett Packard ("HP") and rose to become its Managing Directorin Singapore, a position he held from 1985 to 1990. Boon Hwee's other previous positions include:Chairman of Singapore Telecom Group ("SingTel") and its predecessor organisations for 17 yearsChairman of Singapore Airlines Limited ("SIA") for 4 yearsChairman of Development Bank of Singapore ("DBS") for 4 yearsDirector on the Board of Temasek Holdings Private Limited for 15 years (Boon Hwee also served as a member of the Executive Committee from January 1997 to September 2010)Chairman of the Wuthelam Group for 10 yearsBoon Hwee was named the Outstanding Manager of the Year in 1991 by Business Times and DHL Worldwide. He was conferred The International Herald Tribune Visionary and Leader Honour in January 2003.Boon Hwee contributes actively to non-profit organisations, and is the current Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Nanyang Technological University and a Director of the Hewlett Foundation in the United States.Boon Hwee obtained his Bachelor's Degree (First Class Honours) in Mechanical Engineering from the Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London in 1972 and his MBA (Distinction) from the Harvard Business School in 1976.

Lenny Rachitsky served as Co-Founder and CEO at Localmind.

20 years of working with businesses and other organisations with strategy, finance, management, governance, reporting, accounting, tax, projects...Now I spend most of my time running an innovative software company - Spotlight Reporting - that offers 4 performance-focussed SaaS products for business advisors and business owners in the Xeronetwork. Selling advanced reporting, cashflow forecasting, dashboard and multi-entity goodness to NZ, US, UK and Australia.I am also GM of Spotlight Workpapers, an online compliance solution for accounting firms, acquired by Xero in 2012. Xero provide the world-leading cloud accounting product.I am also founder and Director of Francis Consulting, a boutique advisory, VCFO and Chartered Accounting practice based in Wellington. We love working with innovative businesses run by good people - helping with strategy, decision-making, CFO stuff.I also love working with the Silverstripe CMS guys, where I provide Director/Shareholder, strategic and VCFO input. Another favourite business is Peoples Coffee, where I Chair the Board of Directors.Goals for Spotlight Reporting - to be the most successful, innovative software provider in the business intelligence space.Goals for FC - to stay small and smart as a business, respected by those 'in the know'. Partner with cool people, keep things interesting.And...to have a sustainable, holistic approach to business, which means that we contribute more than just 'bottom line'...

James Watt is an Aberdeenshire entrepreneur who co-founded one of the world’s most popular craft breweries, BrewDog.Before embarking on a hop-fuelled journey that would change the face of the beer industry forever, James completed an honours degree in Law and Economics. It didn’t take long for him to discover that the corporate suit-and-tie worldof litigation and libel was not for him, so he packed in his career in a law after a few weeks, opting to return to the bitter cold shores of Northeast Scotland to join his father as a fully-qualified Deepsea Captain.At 24-years-old, James took a new path. Inspired by the bold and experimental beers being crafted by a new movement of brewers on the West Coast of the U.S, James joined forces with friend Martin Dickie, and together the pair started brewing their own beers in Martin’s mum’s garage. In a world dominated by cask bitters and mass-produced lagers, their penchant for heavily-hopped and relentlessly bitter beers made them a unique duo, especially in the town of Fraserburgh. Undeterred by opinion, they pursued their passion through meticulous study, experimentation and boundary-pushing ideas, hellbent on showcasing that beer could be more than just fizzy yellow liquid made by global dominating brewers.2007 was a seminal year for James. BrewDog became a reality, setting up shop on a derelict industrial estate in Fraserburgh between a needle exchange and ‘The Godfather of Carpets’. While Martin took the reins on brewing and production, James focused on growing the business, handling accounts and spearheading the brand’s new breed of irreverent marketing that grabbed headlines for years to come. Not only did the pair produce some of the most exciting beers the UK has ever seen, but James also led the charge on Equity for Punks, a ground-breaking new crowdfunding initiative that would be mirrored for years to come by other brands across the globe. In 2014, James was awarded Great British Entrepreneur of the Year. He is also one of only a handful of people in Europe holding the title of Master Cicerone5, a title reserved for only the most diligent beer experts. In 2016, he was awarded the MBE in the 2016 Queen’s Birthday Honours list. By this time, BrewDog was now 9 years old and boasted a 360-person strong workforce, 26 bars across the UK and Europe, as well as over 14,000 shareholders. Latter achievements include a number of publishing deals. James released Business for Punks: Break All The Rules – The BrewDog Way and co-wrote BrewDog: Craft Beer for the People. These books both showed the impact that BrewDog had on the beer, from both a business and marketing perspective, as well highlighting the importance of exceptional quality products in a world heavily populated by mainstream beer. But times were changing, and James was at the front of the pack, leading the way and carving a new path for the beer world.By 2019, James’ passion for sustainability had become integral to the brand. BrewDog was employing over 2,000 people at this time, with 100 bars located around the globe and over 130,000 Equity Punk shareholders. Amazing beer was still at the heart of everything James was doing, but building sustainability into this world was now not a question of if, but when.So, in 2020, BrewDog announced that they were the world’s first carbon negative brewery – a huge step that would see the industry take note and follow suit with commitments to change the way they do business. James worked closely with Small World Consulting’s Mike Berners-Lee to calculate the businesses carbon emissions and identify ways to reduce these through authentic reforestation programmes, which included a 9,308 acre plot of land in the Scottish Highlands and set forth to embark on one of the largest reforestation projects the UK has ever seen. In just 15 years, the beer world has transformed. Beyond the liquid in your glass, the breweries at the forefront of the movement are more than just suppliers of a product. They are social commentators, integral to local communities and beacons of quality and change. James has been paramount to these developments, showing that beer can be a force for good.

Tim Ringel is a Global CEO at Meet The People. He attended the University of Duisburg-Essen from 1996 to 2001.

chair

Kate Dinon is the Co-founder and Managing Partner at Protagonist Capital.

Sarah Green

Tim Doyle is a Founder at Eucalyptus.

Chris Heaslip

Konstantin Koos is a VC/DLT Investor ✦ Strategy Consultant ✦ Best Selling Author ✦ Researcher ✦ Health and Happiness enthusiast ✦ Family Man.

Chris Adelsbach - Founding Partner @ Outrun Ventures

Justin Hamilton is Founder, CEO at Clutterbot.

Rory Cameron has over 10 years of experience in business development, sales, and sales operations across a range of technology sectors.Currently at Medallia, Rory leads the Corporate Development function of the company, driving inorganic growth and integration initiatives. While at CallidusCloud, Rory ran the emerging platform group notably theLearning, Marketing, and Hiring solutions and is responsible for the company’s global channel strategy and M&A activity.He has held numerous roles at CallidusCloud across sales, corporate development and alliances both in EMEA & North America. Rory led the effort to broaden CallidusCloud’s solutions suite including a volume SaaS operation and the development of the company’s renowned sales academy.Prior to joining CallidusCloud, Rory ran divisions for a range of technology companies including Datapac Ireland, MTL and Bytes Technology Group. Rory was featured in CRN Magazine’s Channel Chiefs, 2013.

Biography: Currently... * Business Angel * PayPal Executive * Board Member Europ-Assistance * Founder Peranakan S.L. Formerly... * McKinsey Director (Senior Partner) * Chief innovation Officer (SingTel) * Chairman Innoventures (JV SoftBank / SingTel)