KiwiNet Board Members

Dr Will Barker

KiwiNet Board Chairman - Founder and CEO Mint Innovation

LinkedIn

Will is CEO and co-founder of Mint Innovation and Director of the Health Research Council of New Zealand. He’s is an executive experienced in commercialising new technologies through securing IP, fund-raising and building high performance teams. Drawing on a wealth of experience in science and technology-based businesses, with a focus on securing value, technology commercialisation, intellectual property and corporate organization, Will strives to create value across a wide range of technology areas. Will’s specialties: include entrepreneurship, investment, clean energy, business and IP strategy, and sustainability.

Debra Hall

(Independent)

LinkedIn

Debra draws on her experience as an engineer in the mining industry, a strategic marketing consultant, a business owner and exited entrepreneur to deliver clarity of thinking and strategic direction to the governance and advisory boards on which she sits. In addition to her board work, she mentors young entrepreneurs, trains aspiring directors of early stage companies, and invests in start-up businesses in the high growth / technology space supporting the growth of NZ Inc.

Vignesh Kumar

CEO Journey Health

LinkedIn

Vignesh is CEO and co-founder of Journey Health and Venture Partner at New Zealand venture capital firm Global from Day 1 (GD1). Vignesh has a rich deep tech engineering background and has spent the entirety of his career focused on commercialising and scaling science anchored innovations across verticals such as medical devices and consumer electronics. At KiwiNet Vignesh brings to the table his diverse experiences working across global markets, and his deep involvement in the venture ecosystem to help KiwiNet in its goal of growing the funding, pipeline, and capability of its commercialisation partners. Vignesh’s specialties include: investment and entrepreneurship, deep tech, health tech, hardware enabled software, and go-to-market strategy.

Vignesh holds an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, where he was both a Wharton and Kaiser Fellow, as well as a Fulbright Science and Innovation Scholar, jointly awarded by MBIE and the Fulbright Commission (U.S. Department of State). He also holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) degree in Biomedical Engineering and a Master of Engineering Studies (First Class) in Medical Device Design and Technologies from The University of Auckland.

Mark Cleaver

CEO Massey Ventures Ltd

LinkedIn

Mark has lead commercialisation team at Massey University since 2007. His passion and expertise has helped his team to build a strong pipeline of opportunities and deals that have produced a consistent track record of deal-making and outstanding examples of commercialisation impact. In doing so Massey Ventures has generated a strong portfolio of commercialisation success in the food, agritech and animal health areas, reflecting the historical strengths of Massey University. Mark’s achievements include the trade sale of NZ Veterinary Pathology Ltd in 2015 and the acquisition by Nestle in 2019 of a formulation to address iron deficiency.

Amanda Davies

Innovation Manager Scion

LinkedIn

Dedicated to realising science’s commercial potential, Amanda is a commercialisation advocate for Scion with a diverse applied science background.

Katherine Sandford

CEO UBCO

LinkedIn

Katherine, former CEO of UBCO and growth specialist from Trimble, is dedicated to enhancing the NZ tech scene.