Mark Houghton Brown
Director, Nelson AI Sandbox

Mark Houghton Brown is a pioneer in sustainable business, a serial entrepreneur and an investor with extensive governance experience. He is a Director of Biolumic and the Chair of Organic Farm Holdings, Clean Planet, and the Nelson AI Institute, with its start ups Carbon Crop and Harvest Hub, and the Nelson AI Sandbox, which is a community-driven, not-for-profit initiative designed to demystify artificial intelligence and make its benefits accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds in the region.

Jodie Kuntzsch
CEO, Moananui

Jodie Kuntzsch is Chief Executive of Moananui, a Nelson-based cluster organisation at the forefront of blue economy development in New Zealand. With over 20 years’ experience across four continents, she unites diverse seafood industry stakeholders to foster collaboration and innovation. Jodie has developed environmental and social sustainability programmes worldwide, championing the integration of economic growth with social and environmental responsibility. Her passion inspires the Moananui partnership to boldly lead the future of the blue economy through connection, innovation, and shared purpose.

Nick Ippolito
Co-founder, SquareKicker

Nick Ippolito is the Co-Founder of SquareKicker, a groundbreaking technology company revolutionizing the Squarespace ecosystem. A visionary web designer and entrepreneur, Nick identified critical challenges faced by creative professionals and led the development of SquareKicker's innovative Extension for Squarespace designers, now enhancing over 25,000 websites globally. Prior to launching SquareKicker in 2020, he ran Frontier Media, a successful web design business. His latest venture, the SquareKicker Template Store, is transforming how small businesses access premium website designs while creating opportunities for talented designers to generate passive income through template sales. A respected voice in the web design community, Nick is a frequent speaker at Squarespace Circle events in New York and continues to champion innovation in website development.

Sky Davies
CEO, Tasman Environmental Trust

Sky grew up in the beautiful Motueka Valley and after years of adventuring and working around the world, is happy to now call Te Tauihu home. Her journey included guiding white-water rafting trips in the US to working in community development in Bolivia. With a background in environmental policy and a deep commitment to community-led conservation, Sky brings a wealth of experience to Tasman Environmental Trust (TET). Before joining TET, she worked for the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, where she focused on issues close to her heart—protecting and restoring Aotearoa’s unique natural heritage.

Mark Bruce-Miller
CEO, Whenua Iti Outdoors

Mark took on the role as General Manager of Whenua Iti Outdoors in 2013 after 13 years teaching and managing tertiary programmes in both Nelson and Wellington. Over the last 12 years he has supported their team to grow and strengthen connections to youth across our community, region, Aotearoa and now around the world under their international education brand - Experiential Education New Zealand. The international programming creates opportunity for a high yield revenue stream that is reinvested to support more programming for local youth and provides relief in times of reduced public sector funding and support. Mark is extremely proud of the work Whenua Iti do, the change they are able to inspire. He acknowledges the challenges for the organisation to continually flex, shift, innovate and adapt to an ever-changing need for support across our communities and an ever-changing funding environment. 

Richard Butler
Director, Nelson AI Sandbox

Richard has worked in the technology industry in several countries for almost 30 years - first as an engineer; then as a business owner of several tech companies; and latterly in a technical sales and architecture role. He also spent 7 years working as a generative coach helping other business owners to get the best out of themselves and their teams. 

He sees AI as a transformative, and incredibly exciting, influence in our progression as a species but recognises that there are significant challenges to overcome in the process, most of them non-technical. He was involved in the formation of the Nelson AI Sandbox in 2024 and now sits on the board as a Director. The AI Sandbox is a not-for-profit organisation that is geared towards the democratisation of AI tools in our community, taking away the barriers to entry for those who want to utilise these tools in their work and personal lives.

Angela Millward
Datacom Practice Manager of AI, ANZ

Angela brings extensive design expertise to her role, championing user-centred experiences, delivering essential information precisely when needed. She believes in “designing right”, strategically identifying what truly matters.

Today, Angela partners with organisations across industries to translate promising AI concepts into practical, valuable solutions, elevating the customer's voice in every decision. Her approach to AI ethics centres on responsible design and transparency, ensuring technology serves genuine human needs. "I see AI as an enabler that helps people achieve more, faster. Our focus should always be on amplifying human capabilities rather than replacing them."

J Norness 
Head of Global Marketing, Vortex Spas &Spa World

Nelson-based, J Norness partners with growth-focused organisations as a Fractional CMO and AI Officer, helping them scale smarter. With clients like Spa World, a global retailer, he leads AI adoption across marketing, operations, and customer experience. Backed by two decades of commercial experience, J delivers more than strategy; he builds systems that work. Known for his no-nonsense style, he helps businesses cut through the noise, embrace AI with confidence, and turn efficiency into a lasting competitive

Janzen Madsen
Founder, Splitting Point Studios

Nelson-based Janzen Madsen started his Roblox game studio, Splitting Point, in his parents' basement in 2017 at age 19 after trying Roblox with friends at a party. He downloaded Roblox Studio the next day and started developing games that have since garnered over 6.5 billion visits. At the Roblox Innovation Awards 2024, Splitting Point won the Best Studio award and its Gunfight Arena game nabbed the People's Choice award. Splitting Point says it has worked with organizations such as Sesame Workshop (the nonprofit behind Sesame Street) to develop user-generated content games.

Juliet Ansell
CEO, Bragato Research Institute

Juliet trained at Kings College London and has a PhD from Oxford University. She has lived and worked as a scientist in the UK, Tanzania, The Gambia, and Australia before taking up a role at Plant & Food Research in New Zealand. In that role Juliet led major research programmes with government and industry support involving lab-based research and human clinical trial work. She was seconded to Zespri in 2014 as Innovation Leader, initially working on human health and nutrition, delivering scientific substantiation of health communications and claims to marketing, before taking up the role of Head of Core and Resilience Innovation. In July 2024 Juliet was appointed CEO at Bragato Research Institute, bringing her wealth of experience in research and innovation to lead BRI in its next phase of accelerating research and innovation for the New Zealand wine industry.

Jonathan Glenister
Consulting Director, Datacom

Jonathan is a seasoned strategist with over 25 years' experience delivering complex technical projects and driving innovation. He works closely with teams to build trust, improve alignment, and set strategic direction. Over the last 18 months, Jonathan a former teacher, has focused on AI as a strategic enabler, helping teams:

• Integrate AI into workflows
• Navigate data readiness challenges
• Establish governance and learning pathways

His approach acknowledges that poor data quality and use case misalignment impact AI's potential. Jonathan uses a range of AI tools daily for ideation, refinement, and at a task level.

Christen Killick
CEO, Making Teams Work

Christen Killick is the founder of Making Teams Work, a consultancy that brings aviation’s proven Crew Resource Management principles into the business world to strengthen leadership, communication, and team alignment.

With 18 years as a commercial pilot and over a decade working with executive and operational teams, Christen is passionate about the human dynamics at the heart of business success—especially in an era shaped by rapid change and advancing technology. She helps organisations build clarity, trust, and psychological safety—ensuring that even as AI and automation transform the workplace, people stay connected, resilient, and ready to thrive.

Emma Thompson
Managing Director, Publik Agency

Emma Thompson runs PR, marketing and brand agency Publik, working alongside national and regional sector leaders. She is also an experienced board advisor and trustee.

As Publik's Designated AI Officer, Emma has led Publik's adoption of AI, using tools for operational efficiencies so the Publik team has more time for strategic services; services that only a human can provide. With her risk-adverse lens, Emma has developed policies and procedures that acknowledge the ethical challenges with AI. She has shared these learnings with clients, boards, and with more than 120 not-for-profit representatives as part of a Nelson AI Sandbox workshop series.

Eugene Whakahoehoe
Tumu Toihau | CEO, Ngāti Kuia

Eugene Whakahoehoe has been involved in capability development projects involving people and technology for over 25 years within military, public and private organisations. A seasoned strategist that has specialised in strategy execution, he continues to support organisational development.  Eugene is an advocate for innovation and contributes to ventures locally and nationally. Eugene has been deeply involved in the use of technologies to improve performance and promote the safe use of AI to optimise organisational delivery.

Pic Picot
Founder, Pics Peanut Butter

Pic Picot founded Pic’s Peanut Butter in his garage in 2007, and has since grown the business to be New Zealand’s leading peanut butter brand and exported globally. A natural entrepreneur, Peanut Butter is only one of many businesses he’s tried and tested, or built and sold throughout his life. An innovative and forward thinker, he has also focused on pioneering the commercial cultivation of peanuts in Northland, collaborating with local farmers to reduce reliance on imported nuts and create a more sustainable, locally sourced product. A major supporter of local community initiatives Pic was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2018 for services to business and the community, and he continues to champion local enterprise, business innovation and environmental stewardship.