Our Board Members

Venus Guy, President

After being in the large retail business, for 12 years, it was time for a new direction. Venus is at present an Electorate Manager for the General Elections 2023. She is an independent chair of Nelson Tasman Kindergartens Association,  on the board of Sport Tasman and also serves as a committee member for Institute of Directors (Nelson Marlborough). Venus is experienced in management, leadership, strategic and business planning. Her experience spans key sectors of business, retail (FMCG), Health & Safety, compliance, not-for-profit, legal and education. She brings to the table plenty of commercial knowledge and experience as well as a broad and diverse perspective to the individuals, groups and boards with whom she has developed positive working relationships. 

Venus believes in sustainable growth, continuous learning, improvement, and ongoing development of people. She serves the community as a Justice of the Peace.

Manoli Aerakis, Vice President

Having a business based in Nelson and living in Mapua, Manoli sees the enormous benefit that business vitality brings to the region and the importance of having businesses thrive, who in turn contribute to the community in various ways. He says, "The chamber plays such an important role in both business advocacy and connecting businesses, which means the work that the board and the team do is pivotal to keeping business vitality going". He loves being a member of the Chamber and became Vice President in April 2020. 

Peter Pattullo, Past President

After growing up in the North Island but travelling widely and attending university in the South Island, it was not a difficult decision for Peter to shift here over 20 years ago with a young and growing family. He feels very lucky to call Nelson home with all the great things the region offers and the wholesome environment for raising a family. Over the years, and still today, Peter has been heavily involved with a range of small businesses and today owns and runs the Smokehouse.

Peter has been active in the Chamber for many years now and enjoys sitting on the board, contributing and helping at every opportunity.  He enjoys being associated with a 'fantastic Chamber team' and interacting with all of our wide, varied and valuable stakeholders.

 

Sharon McGuire

Sharon is a professional director, currently contracts to ASURE Accommodation Group as their national Business Development & Quality Manager, is Chair of the NRDA Steering Group for Sporting, Professional, Incentive, Conference and Events (S.P.I.C.E), a member of IOD and of SKAL Te Tauihu.  Previous roles include BNZ Chairperson Top of the South, Trustee for Brook Waimarama Sanctuary and senior executive roles with a demonstrated history of working in the tourism, commerce and education sectors. She is skilled in strategic and business planning, relationship and stakeholder management, service excellence, and advocacy work with local and central government. She is a great supporter of community organisations and was awarded the Paul Harris Fellow for services to Rotary and the wider community.

Chris McGeown

Chris’s background includes working in senior management roles in tourism, banking, electricity generation, and seafood. Prior to coming to Nelson in June 2018, Chris was the Chief Operating Officer for the Tourism Industry Association. He played a leading role in developing organisational strategy including advocacy and policy setting, communications, and tourism industry sustainability. He served as a board member of the Australasian Society of Association Professionals (AuSAE) for over two years.

 

Richard Butler

Richard Butler

Richard moved to the Nelson region in 2002 from the UK after a background of IT team leadership for the world’s largest commercial law firm. He has successfully started and run four businesses in Nelson: two in the tech industry, one in property investment, and another as a professional coach. He is a member of the Institute of Directors, and a Chamber member through two of his businesses.  Richard is a connector who loves to put people together.

His IT firm is a significant sponsor of Big Brothers Big Sisters, Safeguarding Children and Nelson Tasman Hospice.

Louise Walsh

Louise Walsh

Louise is an experienced lawyer and business owner with a passion for this region.  Originally from Wellington, Louise moved to Nelson in 2006 with her family after living and working abroad.     

Immersing herself in the local community, Louise and her husband established a successful business, which won the 2015 Nelson Tasman Chamber of Commerce SME business award and the Investing in People & Skills award.

She has worked in governance at the Nelson Centre of Musical Arts and has been a trustee of McKee Charitable Trust for over ten years. 

Alfredo Puche

As a board member, Alfredo is able to offer more than 20 years of business ownership and management experience in multiple countries and global markets.  

He considers his biggest achievement to be the creation and development of an international renewable energy company based in Spain, starting with €6,000 capital and reaching €380 million annual revenue with 1,500 employees. He has worked in many disciplines including engineering, R&D, production, sales, purchasing, HR, quality control and IT and has held board positions for more than 20 years. 

In 2021 he began his role as owner of The Alternative Board New Zealand where he continues to pursue his passion for helping other SME business owners to develop their businesses while achieving their personal goals.