Phil Norman

Phil is Managing Director of Nortek Management Services Limited, a boutique business advisory firm providing corporate finance, strategy and business development services for growth companies.  He has over thirty years experience working with small and mid-sized companies in a number of industry sectors and has been an owner, manager, director and investor in a number of local and international businesses. 

He is the current Chairman of Xero Limited, an NZX listed online accounting software company; Chairman of Martin Aircraft Limited, the developer of the world's first practical Jetpack; Chairman of ViFX Systems Limited, a software virtualisation consultancy; Chairman of VoucherMob Limited, a developer of an electronic wallet for mobile devices; a Director of Snakk Media Limited, a mobile advertising company; and a Director of KlickEx Corporation Limited, an Internet-based currency exchange.

Phil also has considerable venture capital and investment banking experience and was Chairman of the New Zealand Venture Capital Association during 2002 and 2003 and was for six years a member of New Zealand Trade & Enterprise's New Zealand Beachheads Advisory Board, resigning in 2010.

Phil holds an MBA degree from Auckland University and is also a member of the Institute of Directors, the New Zealand Institute of Management and the New Zealand Computer Society.

Scott Gilmour

Scott Gilmour worked for 12 years with Intel in both the United States and New Zealand, in a number of senior management and marketing positions.

He co-founded a successful enterprise software company in the USA in 1989, ABC Technologies Inc., which was sold to SAS in 2002.

He was an early investor and Director of Right Hemisphere, a founding member of the IceAngel network, and served for 7 years on the NZTE Beachheads Board.

Currently he is on the Board of Directors of a number of high growth Kiwi tech firms, including ViFX, Nextspace and WinScribe.

In 2002 he founded (and still runs) an educational non-profit based on a very successful US model: www.ihaveadream.org.nz

Scott has a B.Com from the University of Otago (1978) and an MBA from the University of Oregon (1989).

Al Monro

Al has over 29 years of experience in the IT industry. Currently, he is CEO of NextWindow Limited, a leading global supplier of touch screens to the PC industry, and to leading large format monitor manufacturers. He also has regional responsibility for parent company, SMART Technologies (NASDAQ: SMT) as Vice President, Asia Pacific.

Prior to joining NextWindow, Al was a Director of Invescor, a B2B private equity investment company, specialising in supply chain investments.

He was a member of IBM's senior executive team in New Zealand between 1990 and 1999, with roles as Regional Executive and National Sales Manager, responsible for Customer Relationship Management, channel strategy and management, and Product (hardware and software) and Services sales and marketing.

He has worked in a variety of General Management and sales and marketing roles in New Zealand, Vietnam and Malaysia, and has extensive experience in sales management, channel management and international business development.

Al joined NextWindow in May 2002 at the request of the Board to determine whether the NextWindow touch technology could be commercialised and taken to global markets. A little over eight years later, the company was acquired by Canadian company SMART Technologies. At the time, NextWindow had revenues of over US$45m, and had over 120 employees. NextWindow has offices in New Zealand, the USA, Taiwan, China, Singapore, South Korea and Japan.

Al graduated LLB from Canterbury University and studied Commerce to Stage III, majoring in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations.

Garth Biggs

Since 2004 Garth has been a professional director and strategic ICT consultant. Before that, over nearly forty years he progressed through various leadership roles in the delivery and management of ICT in major New Zealand companies to become chief executive of Gen-i Limited.

He has governance, line management or consulting experience in the agricultural services, airline, computer software, design, education, health, manufacturing, pay television, primary industry, research, retail, sports, travel and utility sectors, and in ICT industry organisations.