Our team

Hideaki is the CEO and founder of STILL. He is also a director for many of the STILL 100 companies.

Hideaki is a director of Bennese, a Tokyo Stock Exchange listed company which his grandfather started and his father grew into a listed business.

Benesse is well known as a leading education company in Japan, and is now active in a wide range of business fields including senior nursing care, childcare and publishing.

Hideaki is also Chairman of the Fukutake Foundation which operates Benesse Art Site Naoshima, and is an important contributor to the world-renowned Setouchi Triennale.

Benesse Art Site Naoshima aims to spearhead the Seto Inland Sea renaissance around Naoshima, Teshima and Inujima. The project focuses on art, nature, and architecture, and has succeeded in revitalising the areas.

Micah is the CEO of Kings Plant Barn, a beloved business with 30 years of proud history, bringing plants to life for Tāmaki Makaurau and its communities.

Micah brings a wealth of experience to the role, having owned his own garden centre and worked across an extensive range of retail businesses in New Zealand and Australia. Throughout his career, he has been passionate about creating exceptional customer experiences and cultivating environments where both people and ideas can flourish.

At Kings Plant Barn, Micah is dedicated to fostering a vibrant culture built on a shared love of plants and the joy and inspiration they bring to customers and the wider community.

Outside of work, you’ll often find Micah at live sports events—especially cricket—or enjoying walks up One Tree Hill and along Mission Bay. He lives by the Foo Fighters' sentiment, “It’s times like these you learn to live again,” embracing life’s simple pleasures and moments of connection with the natural world.

Yoshi is in charge of asset management for STILL.

Inspired by “Public Interest Capitalism” and “The Naoshima Method” advocated by Soichiro Fukutake, now Yoshi is interested in how people create arts and cultures with different values and make them sustainable from an economic viewpoint, to bring happiness to people’s daily life.

Yoshi is also a Fellow of Edmund Hillary Fellowship that brings high impact global entrepreneurs to catalyse New Zealand’s economy and entrepreneurial community. He has Japanese and Chinese cultural background.

Paul is the general manager at STILL. He is responsible for the Still 100 programme growth which will see Still acquire, start or support 100 companies, projects or non-profit activities in New Zealand over the next decade. Paul’s role is to both source and nurture companies and projects through investing time, resources and capital into helping them reach their potential.

Paul brings a variety of skills to Still with experience as a Director, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of acquiring, building and leading fast growth technology and service companies to global markets. In his spare time Paul has a slight (unhealthy) obsession with golf, so if you are a keen golfer and keen for a round get in touch with him!

Nat Cheshire is an advisor to STILL. He is the Director of Cheshire Architects, engaged in a huge breadth of types and scales, operating across fields of luxury and austerity, newness and age, roughness and refinement. Leading the entire design effort, from development strategy and architecture to branding and product design, Nat moves daily from apron buttons to web design to light fittings to riverside cabins to basement cocktail dens to luxury retreats to the creation and transformation of huge chunks of the city.

Amongst this work, Nat has built much of Britomart – an organic development covering nine inner-city blocks – and created and continually evolved the four-hectare City Works Depot. Nat’s work has been awarded eight Best Award gold pins in four years, is twice the winner of Metro’s designer of the year, HOME’s home of the year and twice its product of the year. His work is regularly published in global editions like Monocle, Wallpaper, Dezeen and Dwell. He seeks the extraordinary rather than the perfect in the pursuit of a new architecture and a new city.

Angela is an Executive Director of Consult Recruitment and Director to Kings Plant Barn. She is an accountant by qualification and a recruiter by nature. Which is to say, she can whip up a pivot table with her eyes closed, whilst holding three conversations simultaneously. She started Consult at her kitchen table with a toddler in tow waaay back in 2009.

Angela's role at Consult is focused on new growth areas, leadership, the Customer Experience, and the Consult brand.

When she’s not coaching the Consult team to awesomeness, she can be found on the golf course sideline cheering on the kids, in the garden clearing one of Auckland's urban forests and learning piano.

Because you are never too old right?

Scott is the CEO of Humphreys landscaping, an authentic family business renowned for crafting and maintaining beautiful high quality gardens, lawns and pools for decade.

Scott co-founded the business in 1990 and continued to grow it into the leading brand it is today with his wife Claire. In this time, he has gained a wealth of knowledge in the industry, built a dynamic team of skilled people around him who create and maintain many prestigious gardens and pools in the Auckland residential market.

Scott has enjoyed the challenge of building the company both organically and by acquisition. Humphreys is now ready to forge into the next cycle of reshaping the way that outdoor services are provided in New Zealand and leading the industry to a new norm.

Outside of work, you will find him at home with family. If not, he will be on the golf course, skiing, fishing or travelling.

Elliot is the General Manager of National Candles: New Zealand’s longest running candle manufacturer. National Candles works with the highest quality materials, using traditional techniques, to produce candles of superior burn time and brightness. Their diverse range can be found at supermarkets and boutique retailers alike.

Elliot is no stranger to craft, having most recently held roles spanning logistics, operations and marketing at Garage Project, New Zealand’s leading independent brewery. When not at the factory, Elliot can be found traversing the Wellington hills or scouring the Lower North Island for quality second-hand finds.

Henry Oliver has been the editor of Metro since 2019. When the magazine was sold in 2020 during the pandemic, Henry helped bring the magazine back to life in a rejuvenated format before its acquisition by STILL in 2023.

He started his career in media as a freelance writer for several publications including Metro, North & South and HOME before becoming editor of Idealog and then music editor at The Spinoff. In his previous lives, he was a touring musician, an intellectual property lawyer and a bar owner.

When not working, Henry is probably annoying his family with music or putting obscure foreign magazines in a digital shopping cart, seeing how expensive the shipping is and closing the tab.

Gwynn is the General Manager of No More Boring, a company helping transform the "unfinished" office space into an asset that engages and creates a sense of belonging for all.

No More Boring creates dynamic work environments that express company culture and ethos through plants, technology, art & styling to increase wellbeing, creativity, productivity, and encourage in-office collaboration.

As a trained architect, Gwynn spent over a decade working in San Francisco at renowned architecture firm, Hart Howerton, which focuses on designing complete environments across the multi-disciplinary fields of masterplanning, landscape design, architecture, and interior design. In 2018 he started working at WeWork as a Director of Global Accounts, helping companies such as Facebook, Amazon, and Stripe design and deliver their workplace globally.

After moving home to be closer to family, Gwynn met up with the STILL team with a shared vision to create better environments for our people.

When outside of the Workplace, Gwynn is either playing soccer, coaching his son's team, helping out on his parents vineyard, or somewhere in nature.

Derek Handley is an advisor to STILL, futurist, entrepreneur, designer and student.

Derek created the charitable trust ‘Aera Foundation’ in 2015 as a studio to address social issues in imaginative ways. He is a General Partner Aera VC, an investor in climate and frontier technology ventures which was incubated at the foundation. He co-founded The B Team with Sir Richard Branson, a global team of icons acting as a catalyst for bold dialogue, courageous leadership and brave action toward a fairer, greener and more human economy.

Derek and Aera have also created Wiser, a platform helping people ask better questions to develop self-knowledge and purpose in their lives. Wiser programs run at AUT University in Auckland where he is an Adjunct Professor; through workshops and as an online conversation and podcast series: Wiser Conversations.

Derek is currently studying towards a Masters majoring in religion at Harvard; previously he studied at MIT, Singularity University and first studied finance, environmental science and architecture as an undergraduate at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Derek was appointed the Social Innovator in Residence at Wharton at University of Pennsylvania and is an aspiring civilian astronaut signed up with Virgin Galactic.

Jay is the General Manager of STILL's Award-winning boutique lodge, Hulbert House in the heart of Queenstown.

With an extensive background in the hospitality and tourism industry, Jay's expertise spans over 25 years, encompassing positions in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Jay studied at Staffordshire University and holds a BSC in Business Management.

Hulbert House proudly holds the title of Queenstown's top-rated hotel, reflecting Jay and his team's dedication to excellence.

Miki is the Investment Manager at STILL.

She has worked in Finance and Legal industries both in Japan and New Zealand for more than 15 years. She performs as a bridge between Japan and New Zealand providing seamless communication between them. Miki maintains a professional relationship with investment agencies and stakeholders. She also works closely with the directors monitoring the performance of investments, investment costs, and day-to-day operation of the investments.

Outside of work, she is a busy mum of 2 young children and enjoys visiting different parks and beaches throughout New Zealand.

Jinny is the Finance Director at STILL, responsible for managing STILL finances and working with STILL 100 companies to help them grow.

Jinny is a Chartered Accountant with over nine years of experience in audit and accounting. Having worked with large multinational businesses in both NZ and in the UK, Jinny brings extensive experience, in particular within the retail and e-commerce industries.

Collaborating with teams, translating numbers into meaningful insights and helping to find growth opportunities are all parts of the role Jinny loves.

Outside of work Jinny can be found with a glass of wine in hand, hiking around NZ to work off all of the wines, or avidly following Formula 1.

Sam is the Projects Director for STILL. He is responsible for managing STILL's internal projects, startups and ideas that contribute to the Still 100.

Sam has founded and scaled a diverse range of charities, businesses, and ideas that aim to create value for society and enhance common well-being. He's most well known as the founder of the Student Volunteer Army (SVA), where he served as Chief Executive until recently.

Sam holds a Chartered Member status with the Institute of Directors and was recognized as the 2023 Auckland Emerging Director of the year. Sam is an Adjunct Fellow in the School of Leadership and Education at the University of Canterbury and is actively involved in the Australian New Zealand Leadership Forum. Sam has previously received numerous awards for leadership, including the Young New Zealander of the Year, Communicator of the Year, and BLAKE Leadership Award.

Sam's rule in life is to spend as much time as possible doing "good projects with good people!"

Jim is the Managing Director of SHAPE that is shaping the future of New Zealand's resilient energy infrastructure.

Jim is an experienced director, chief executive and executive manager who gets great joy from seeing teams grow, thrive and have fun delivering. He is currently chair at ComplyPro and SmartCo Ltd. He is a director at Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Whai Rawa Ltd, Brosnan Ltd, Wel Networks Ltd and Eastland Group (ends June 2024). He is also a partner in QLG Advisory.

His governance experience includes Payments New Zealand, MCom, Lyttleton Port, Ngai Tahu Tainui GoBus, Tubman Heating, Ubiquitome and Intilecta.

His executive career included being the inaugural CEO of KiwiRail, Chief of Strategy at Auckland Council, and CEO of Express Couriers joint venture between New Zealand Post and DHL. He has had General Management roles in New Zealand Post, Advantage Group (EFTPOS Industry), WEL Energy, QED Software and New Zealand Couriers.

When not being with his fabulous and expanding family, he can be found on a golf course loving life.

Kelvin is the creative director at STILL, and founder and creative director of DDMMYY studio. Kelvin works at the intersection of art and visual culture, graphic design, brand ideation and brand strategy. Currently based in New Zealand, he has won 40+ industry awards for categories such as brand identity, consumer packaging, and visual communication.

With a holistic view on growth and value creation, Kelvin works collaboratively with clients and partners to fuse commercial strategy with creative strategy and execution, specialising in creating disruptive, challenger brands. Kelvin has provided brand leadership, ideation and design for startups such as Bodewell (skincare, USA), The Gospel (whiskey, AU) and Hedera hashgraph (DLT/crypto, USA) as well as some of NZ’s most memorable brands and products such as 42Below, Stolen Rum, Triumph & Disaster, Charlie's, Serious Popcorn, Deadly Ponies, Sansceuticals and Boring milk.

Kelvin is also involved with non-profit and community focused activities, and is dedicated to the arts and entrepreneurship globally. He is the publisher of Le Roy, an independent art and culture magazine showcasing emerging talent, which was distributed in international art gallery bookshops, Tate Modern, London and MoMA, New York. He has been a judge for the New Zealand Best Design Awards and startup related events for Soda Inc. Kelvin was recently recognised as a Fellow of The Designers Institute of New Zealand (FDINZ) for his contribution to the design community.

Meg Williams is the CEO of World of Wearable Art, an annual live theatrical spectacle that showcases extraordinary works of wearable art from the world’s best designers.

Meg has had a distinguished international career working in live arts and creative major events in the UK, Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

She specialises in leading creative teams through collective leadership, major events management, creative marketing, business partnership and philanthropy. She is also a passionate and active volunteer advocate for the role of arts, culture and creativity.

Meg is committed to taking meaningful action to reduce and redress the ongoing cultural harms of colonisation - and enable indigenisation and the expression of cultural diversity.

Meg loves to sing, play fiddle and ukulele. An avid reader, she was the founder of Slow Reading Club, a movement for people who had lost the love of reading which was covered by the Wall Street Journal, Guardian and The Times (London).

David is the CEO of Consult, STILL's people business, which focuses on helping people build careers and businesses build capability.

Having walked away from the best job in New Zealand banking to challenge himself and spend more time with his family, David has amassed a diverse range of skills, industry knowledge and networks which he enjoys channeling into growing teams and businesses.

When not contemplating Consult's role in the future of work, he can be found coaching or playing sport, mentoring a wide range of people or planning his next trip.