Our board members
Introducing the members who sit on the Advisory Board and provide strategic advice and leadership to drive adoption of FormBuilder and Business Connect.
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Suzanne Stew
Deputy Secretary, Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery, MBIE
Suzanne Stew is Deputy Secretary for Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery group, which provides critical functions and services that support businesses, employees and consumers to operate successfully in the market place.
Prior to joining MBIE in 2019, Suzanne was the Deputy Secretary – Corporate and Governance at the Ministry of Justice for a period of 4 years.
Suzanne joined the public service in 2011 as General Manager Internal Partners at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, where she led the delivery of corporate support services. Prior to that, she held senior management roles spanning diverse functions at TelstraClear and Wrightson.
Ross van der Schyff
General Manager Business and Consumer, MBIE
Ross van der Schyff is the General Manager of the Business and Consumer Branch in the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Ross is responsible for the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ), Consumer Services, the New Zealand Business Number (NZBN) and a number of small business-related services including business.govt.nz, Digital Boost, Regional Business Partner Network, and Business Connect.
Ross holds the statutory delegations as Commissioner of Patents, Trade Marks, Designs, Plant Variety Rights, and Geographical Indications and Registrar of NZBN.
Ross has more than 20 years public sector experience. During that time, he has also held roles including Official Assignee and Registrar of Companies.
Ross has a B.Iuris and LLB degrees and was a partner in a law firm prior to joining the public sector. He is particularly interested in creating an environment where businesses thrive, and driving innovation and productivity.
Heather Finn
Manager, Business Improvement and Innovation, NZ Customs Service
Heather leads the Business Improvement and Innovation team at NZ Customs Service, Te Mana Ārai o Aotearoa.
Customs has worked with Business Connect since it started and were the first agency to put a service on the platform.
Heather is focussed on simplifying and digitising services for the travellers and traders that engage with Customs and excited by the opportunities for agencies to work together to deliver seamless experiences for businesses.
Mike Manson
Chief Executive, Association for Local Government Information Managers
Mike Manson is the Chief Executive of ALGIM (Association of Local Government Information Management).
He is passionate about bringing people and technology together to deliver better local government services.
Having had a long career in Local Government, Mike brings a wealth of experience to Business Connect.
Serge van Dam
Digital Start-up Investor
Serge van Dam is an active investor and director of going-global Kiwi software, digital companies, including; Montoux, Re-Leased, Tapi, Raygun and Cogo.
Originally an Organisational Psychologist, Serge is most interested in technology growth strategies, and has deep experience in software sales, marketing and distribution. He spent a decade as an acknowledged thought leader in fintech, having been part of the leadership team at M-Com – the world’s leading mobile banking and payments platform – which was acquired by Fortune 500 company Fiserv in 2011.
Rebecca Ingram
Chief Executive, Tourism Industry Aotearoa
Rebecca Ingram is the Chief Executive at Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA), New Zealand’s only independent association that represents all sectors of New Zealand’s diverse tourism industry, with 1200 member businesses from small owner/operators to large publicly listed tourism corporates and international hotel chains. Prior to joining TIA, Rebecca spent 7 years at Tourism New Zealand (TNZ), where she held various roles including General Manager of New Zealand and Government Relations.
She was previously responsible for TNZ’s PR and Major Events, leading a global team across 10 markets in highlighting the best of what New Zealand has to offer to visitors. Rebecca has 20 years of leadership, marketing and communications expertise, with proven experience delivering successful business strategies, engagement and advocacy programmes and leading complex transformation in her time at both Spark (then Telecom) and Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand.
Sam MacKinnon
Head of Communications and Advocacy, Hospitality New Zealand
Sam joined the Hospitality NZ team in September 2020, and has held a number of advocacy roles within membership organisations, previously working for Tourism Industry Aotearoa, BusinessNZ and the Wellington Chamber of Commerce. He is a passionate advocate for New Zealand business and the role of government in supporting businesses to thrive.
He is a board member of YMCA Nelson, and has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Relations from Victoria University of Wellington.
Monica Greenan
General Manager, Agency Partnerships and Capability, Government Chief Digital Office
Monica Greenan is the General Manager of Government Digital Agency Partnerships in the Government Chief Digital Office at New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs, a role she has held since August 2023. Monica’s role is to lead change across the public service to deliver a coordinated, efficient approach to digital government. She has a background in a wide range of public and private sector roles in both the UK and NZ with a focus on data and digital.