Geoff is also Chairman of the University of Auckland Foundation, a member of the Auckland Catholic Diocese Advisory Board, a Director of the Centre of Independent Studies (Australia) and a consultant to Russell McVeagh, Solicitors, Auckland and Wellington.

Stephen Tindall founded The Warehouse in 1982 after 12 years with retailer George Court & Sons as Merchandise Director. Stephen held the position of Managing Director until January 2001, when he became known as the Founder. The Warehouse Group now has 78 retail and 36 Warehouse Stationery stores in New Zealand. In 1994 he founded and became Trustee of The Tindall Foundation.

Stephen is a member of GIAB (Growth & Innovation Advisory Board to the Prime Minister). Stephen has invested in approximately 50 New Zealand start up companies to assist New Zealand forge ahead in the 21st century in the Knowledge, Innovation and Technology industries. His special interest is helping New Zealanders realise their full potential for the overall benefit of New Zealand.

Sir Wilson Whineray, KNZM OBE, is well recognised by his significant contribution to New Zealand life - initially through sport as All Black Captain from 1958 to 1965, then in his career at Carter Holt Harvey as Deputy Managing Director and Chairman.

Sir Wilson serves as a Director for a number of other companies. He was awarded the OBE in 1961 for his tireless work for charity, was selected as Sportsman of the Year in 1965 and knighted in 1988.

Sir James Fletcher

Richard operates an advisory company specialising in corporate communications.  Amongst his clients are Eden Park Trust Board, an internet service provider and a property specialist.  He is a Board member of the Heart Foundation and St. John North Region, and Chairman of a large Fisher & Paykel dealer.

Jeremy Bendall is a KPMG Partner based in Auckland, responsible for Corporate Governance and Risk Advisory services.  He is also a Director of Tennis NZ and a member of the Maiden Committee tasked with formulating a new regional structure for Tennis. 

Business Consultant and formerly Chief Executive of The Community Trust (Canterbury).  Richard is a Director of Arrow Group Investments Ltd and has been involved at a senior level in the Trustee Industry and in Tax Planning for a number of years. 

He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand as well as the Institute of Directors.

Rick Bettle has just finished 8½ years as Chairman of the NZ TAB.  He was made a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Directors in February 2000, is Vice President of the National Council and Chairman of the Wellington Branch.  He is currently a Director of Natural Gas Corporation Ltd, Southport Ltd, and Restaurant Brands NZ Ltd.

John Gilks is currently Managing Director of St Andrews Holdings Ltd. From 1972-1996 John was the founder and Chief Executive of Motor Trade Finances Ltd and 1996-2002 Chief Executive of Frontline Finance Holdings Ltd. John is currently a Director of Port Otago Ltd, Fisher & Paykel Ltd, National Bank of NZ Ltd, Dunedin City Holdings Ltd and Pacific Edge Biotechnology Ltd.

David is the Managing Director of Spencer Scott.  For more than eleven years David was Managing Consultant for PA Consulting Group and prior to this worked primarily in the manufacturing industry in a number of managerial roles. 

Eric Millar has worked in recent years in various consulting roles for Local Government NZ, having formerly been their Acting Chief Executive.

From 1991 to 2000, Eric was Chief Executive for the Hastings District Council and from 1986 to 1989, Chief Executive, NZ Market Development Board (subsequently Tradenz). Prior to this, Eric was with Dalgety New Zealand for 24 years and was Chief Executive for the last six years of this term.

Eric Millar was also Chairman for Company Rebuilders.

Hugh Perrett recently retired as Managing Director of Foodstuffs Auckland Ltd and Foodstuffs New Zealand, the retailer owned co-operative behind Pak N Save, New World and Four Square, and New Zealand’s leading grocery retailing and wholesaling organisation. 

He is past Chairman of Loyalty (NZ) Ltd (Fly Buys) and The Bell Tea Co Ltd (associated with his Foodstuffs involvement) and is a former Director of NZ Dairy Foods Holdings Ltd.

Alison is the Country Manager - New Zealand for Blackmores (NZ) Ltd.  She has been a business mentor since the early 90’s and was Chief Executive of BITC from 1997-99.  Alison has held marketing positions in various food and beverage companies since her return to New Zealand in the late 80’s.

Business In The Community (BITC) has undergone many changes over the last five years during my term as Chief Executive.

These have included the re-branding to Business Mentors New Zealand, the increase to the client application criteria of 12 months of being in business, the streamlining of the Agency networks and the ongoing development of our “leading edge” web based facility to improve our operational processes and provide mentors with user friendly tool kits.

With the Government actively encouraging growth in the small business sector, and the resultant increase in awareness of its importance to the New Zealand economy, the value of business mentoring continues to play a significant role. New Zealand Trade & Enterprise have acknowledged business mentoring as a key support service in a number of their SME initiatives. Other strategic alliances include Inland Revenue, The Department of Labour, Statistics NZ, Institute of Directors and University of Auckland, Business School.

At all levels, the focus of Business Mentors New Zealand has been to raise the performance and capability of our mentoring service. The key initiatives include providing additional support, training and education on a wide range of business topics. One of these initiatives is the Mentor Accreditation Programme for our 1410 Mentors. During the year, 297 mentors attended Seminars, facilitated by Chairman of Trustees, Dr Grahame Craig, and run throughout the country. Further emphasis has also been given to developing the functionality of our website to support our Agencies. The 2006/07 year saw 3,195 clients receive mentoring assistance with a total of 8,475 mentoring sessions.

I believe that, with the tremendous effort already being made by our volunteer Mentors, the full effects of re-structuring to provide a quicker response rate and new marketing initiatives designed to increase the incidence of Mentor assistance; there remains two issues that need to be addressed. Firstly, the recruitment of more people skilled at mentoring to help with the expanded work load and secondly, the need for greater support from New Zealand companies to assist us in covering the costs of these enhanced services.

I wish to acknowledge the tremendous commitment and support we receive from our funding stakeholders and 1,410 volunteer Mentors, who readily make available their knowledge, skill and time to assist our clients in achieving their goals. Our Mentors represent one of the most unique business resources available to assist small business development.

In conclusion, I wish to thank Patrons, Agencies, Mentors and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise for supporting our Business Mentor Programme and contributing towards the benefits of enhanced business performance that flow through into the greater community.

Sincerely,

Ray Schofield
CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Please click here to contact us if you are having difficulties with your application.

Michael and Robyn Hughes had consulted a BMNZ Mentor in 1995 and found it so helpful that when they had some new issues which needed a second opinion they called the North Shore Enterprise Agency once again.

Mentor Nelson Tollerton, a retired Company Director and General Manager met with Michael and Robyn and helped them to analyse their needs.

An action plan was agreed which included Nelson's recommendation that they join the Employers Federation to obtain advice over a personnel issue, meet with their professional accountant to gain a more intimate knowledge of that side of the business and analyse expenses to see where savings could be made.

Two weeks later on Nelson's second visit two urgent issues were well on the way to being resolved and Michael had had some discussions with his accountant and was learning more about that area.

Michael and Robyn were very grateful for the help they received from Nelson. "We had been feeling quite despondent about our business and had some issues which were causing us some concern," said Michael, "Nelson came in and helped us to analyse where things were not happening the way we wanted and suggested a way through.

We felt extremely motivated and were able to think outside the square. We have made a lot of progress since meeting with Nelson and now think quite differently about our business."

"I cannot speak too highly of my mentor's input"

"My mentor was excellent as a sounding board and provided unbiased opinions on our progress and potential business opportunities such as pricing structure modelling for different markets"

"Excellent! I have learnt a lot"

"Exceeded all of my expectations. A very caring person, very impressed."