Gavin comes to KiwiHarvest as CEO, having spent his career across the travel, aviation, business and logistics sectors. An ex Officer in the Royal Air Force, he has previously worked with vulnerable communities and individuals in various parts of the world.
Deborah is our Founder, bringing the food rescue concept to life in Dunedin in 2012 and Auckland in 2015. A qualified lawyer and physiotherapist, Deborah has worked in the public health system, various law firms and is an invited lecturer at the University of Otago as well as a member of the Board of Advisors of the University of Otago Legal Issues Centre (UOLIC). Deborah is a New Zealand Food Waste Champion 12.3 – a coalition of 12 Champions from New Zealand’s food supply chain who are committed to halving food waste by 2030 (Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3) and being a leading voice in advocacy, strategy and education on food waste issues.
Belinda is the wizard who works closely with our food donors and recipient agencies to magically move food from where it’s not needed, to where it is! Well-versed in corporate, not for profit and social enterprise environments, she brings a wide range of skills and experience to the KiwiHarvest team.
Marti is a season distribution manager who comes from a strong background in FMCG. Marti has a strong passion for getting food on the table for all kiwis and is excited about growing KiwiHarvest capabilities.
Seti knows the food industry inside out from her years of experience working as a chef. She is now putting her experience and skills to good use for KiwiHarvest delivering good produce out to recipient agencies and helping them to work out what to do with it all!
Peter is the newest addition to our Auckland squad of drivers. Every morning he rides his bicycle to work to then spend the day collecting boxes and pallets of good food and delivering it out into to the community. In his free time, Peter loves to explore different golf courses around New Zealand.
Janice is the commanding officer of KiwiHarvest’s green volunteer army across Auckland, helping ordinary Aucklanders to become food rescue superheroes, by jumping in our vans with our drivers, sorting and packing food at our HQ, and the many other ways in which volunteers rock our world.
Susie spent 8 years in the New Zealand Army as a chef, training in Culinary Arts and Logistics before moving to Dunedin to complete a Bachelor of Applied Management and working in events management. Susie currently volunteers for Land Search and Rescue and Bellyful so has an appreciation of the difference a helping hand can make for people in a time of need.
Rae’s role as volunteer coordinator in Dunedin means she meets every volunteer to provide their orientation and keeps our rosters running smoothly.
Christine helps with day-to-day running of our Dunedin office. Christine ensures our administration processes are as effective as possible.
Allan has been part of the team from the early days. His role as one of our drivers means he visits our many different food donors including the Otago Farmers Market early on Saturdays. Big Al is also our resident handyman.
Dan is one of our superstar drivers. He is kept busy collecting food donations around town from the likes of cafes and supermarkets.
Trixie started as a volunteer in Auckland in 2018 and relocated down south to take over for Susie while she is on maternity leave. She also is our health and safety representative. A recent sociology and health promotion graduate, Trixie has a passion for sustainable food systems and an eye for the big picture.
Jane coordinates our Hawke’s Bay operations in collaboration with local agency, Nourished for Nil. Having lived in Hawke’s Bay most of her life, she is especially happy to be able to give back to her community. When she is not working hard rescuing good food, she puts us all to shame as she is very active and loves going to the gym.
Janice was the driving force behind bringing KiwiHarvest’s operations over the bridge with the creation of our North Shore Hub, which now has its own van rescuing food and supporting North Shore agencies three days a week.
Lucy coordinates the KiwiHarvest operations in Queenstown which were established in partnership with Sustainable Queenstown Charitable Trust. As a certified reduce, reuse, recycle geek, Lucy welcomes every chance to discuss how we can reduce waste in our community!
David Kirk is familiar to many Kiwis through his achievements at the top levels of both business and sport. He captained the All Blacks to win the Rugby World Cup in 1987. In business, David is Co-founder and Director of Bailador Technology Investments. He is also the chairman of Kathmandu and Forsyth Barr, as well as director on multiple boards. He was awarded an MBE in 1987 and spent a period as an advisor to the New Zealand Prime Minister.
Pieter Brits is an experienced commercial lawyer with degrees in both Law and Commerce. He is a Director and advisor to a number of technology companies and COO of Nomos One, a lease accounting and management software company.
Suneil Connor is a Chartered Accountant, Committee Member & Treasurer of the Auckland Branch of the Institute of Directors, board member of Auckland Foundation and holds the position of Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee for both KiwiHarvest and Auckland Foundation. He was previously the CFO for LINK, and ex KPMG.
Suzanne is a Director of January Group – an executive search and recruitment firm. She was formerly a Partner at PwC leading the Supply Chain & Operations consulting service line assisting clients in the agribusiness, FMCG and 3rd party logistics sectors. Prior to that she worked as a supply chain manager in the automotive and FMCG sectors. Suzanne has a Commerce degree and post graduate qualifications in Supply Chain. She is a member of the University of Auckland Advisory Group for the Centre for Supply Chain Excellence and Women in Supply Chain. Suzanne comes to KiwiHarvest with 25-years experience with not-for-profit organisations as an active member of Downtown Rotary.
Deborah is our Founder, bringing the food rescue concept to life in Dunedin in 2012 and Auckland in 2015. A qualified lawyer and physiotherapist, Deborah has worked in the public health system, various law firms and is an invited lecturer at the University of Otago as well as a member of the Board of Advisors of the University of Otago Legal Issues Centre (UOLIC). Deborah is a New Zealand Food Waste Champion 12.3 – a coalition of 12 Champions from New Zealand’s food supply chain who are committed to halving food waste by 2030 (Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3) and being a leading voice in advocacy, strategy and education on food waste issues.
James Heath is a student at the University of Otago studying a Masters of Politics with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. He is the former President of the Otago University Students’ Association and also sits on the boards of Student Job Search Aotearoa and the Academic Quality Agency.