The unique experience of operating The ICEHOUSE led us to identify a considerable yet unmet need in the NZ equity market - funding for start-up companies.  ICE Angels are a network of private angel investors, brought together by The ICEHOUSE at the end of 2003, to facilitate investment in early stage companies.  ICE Angels provide members with  structure to the due diligence process and benefits from scale economies in sourcing deal flow.  ICE Angels brings together 50 foundation members and a constant stream of quality deal flow to facilitate investment in high growth start-up companies.

Our members are ex-entrepreneurs and successful business people looking to add early stage companies to their investment portfolio.  Our Angels inject smart money to the venture.  By taking an active role in their investments, they provide not only governance by serving on boards, but also assist companies with relationships, strategy, team building, and future fundraising.

 

 

The Team 

 

Trevor Smith

Trevor is a retired company executive, an angel investor and independent consultant / director.  His 29 years in the tobacco industry include 10 years in Europe, culminating as Regional (Europe) CEO for Rothmans International, and Area Director for British American Tobacco.  Trevor is the Chair of ICE Angels. 

 

Scott Gilmour

Scott is an angel investor and director/mentor with a number of Kiwi technology companies, including Right Hemisphere, Nextspace, Biomatters and others.  He's on the Advisory Board for the NZTE Beachheads programme, and is also on the Advisory Board for ICE Angels.  His 25+ years of IT experience (in both the US and NZ) include 12 years with Intel, and co-founding a software company, ABC Technologies Inc., in the US in 1989, which was sold to SAS in 2002. Scott also sponsors the educational non-profit, www.ihaveadream.org.nz, which he started in 2003, based on a very successful model from the US.

 

John McDonald

John retired from a senior executive role at Fletcher Challenge in 2001 after a career of 37years. His experience covered a range of industries and countries involving management, finance, distribution, and marketing. John is also experienced in international finance, mergers, acquisitions and divestments and commercial negotiation.  Today he is a company director and a trustee for a number of organisations and enjoying restoring native bush and wetlands on a 200 acre lake block in the Bay of Plenty. 

 

Paul Dyson

Paul has had profound experience in international technology companies operating from Australia, France, UK, USA, India and NZ. He has been CEO of two start-up technology companies (one, a medical technology company in England that listed in London for £100M (www.puricore.com) and the other, www.ultramotor.com an electric vehicle pioneer in India that is still privately held).  As a consultant since 2001, Paul contributed at senior levels in more than a dozen other early-stage technology companies.  In addition to running the business in the Middle East under contract for a large US-based medical device company, Paul is on the board of an Australian med-tech company and a trustee of a not-for-profit organisation in NZ.

 

Andrew Turnbull

Andrew has spent the last ten years working in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries in the UK and has extensive experience in most aspects of these businesses, including compliance, manufacturing, research and development and licensing.  He spent from 2002 to 2006 as a Board Director of AIM listed company Allergy Therapeutics plc which he helped to take to market.

 

Andy Hamilton

Andy has been CEO of The ICEHOUSE since its inception and was the founding Chair of Incubators New Zealand the industry group representing incubators in New Zealand. He is a Board member of ANZATEC – the Australian New Zealand Technology Forum based in Silicon Valley, a group who is tasked with creating a gateway for NZ and Australian technology companies to enter the US.  Prior to joining the ICEHOUSE, Andy was CEO and Director of Inventure which was the VC arm of Fletcher Building. 

 

Ken Erskine

Ken Erskine, has extensive sales and marketing experience working with a spectrum of organisations ranging from local start up’s to global multinationals. With over fifteen years IT sales and marketing experience in NZ and Europe Ken has held senior management/leadership roles at Hewlett Packard and Compaq where he was also involved in the initial sponsorship of The ICEHOUSE.

 

Amanda Monks

Following two years at The ICEHOUSE reception, Amanda joined the ICE Angels team as Relationship Manager. She is responsible for the facilitation of day to day administration for the club.