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.

Matthew is CEO at Kings Plant Barn, a business with 30 years of proud history bringing plants to life for Tāmaki Makaurau and her residents.

Matthew joined Kings Plant Barn in 2022 from STILL, after leading the investment function for the Fukutake family for 6 years. He spent 15 years in Japan studying and in investment roles, returning to New Zealand in 2009.

Matthew is a Director at Kings Plant Barn, the Shape Group, and Drive Electric. He is a CFA® Charterholder, and a Chartered Member of the NZ Institute of Directors. When not at work, you can find him walking his extremely energetic dog, taxiing his daughters around their many social engagements, or learning how to stake out his tomato plants.

Yoshi is in charge of strategy building for STILL activities.

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 CEO at Consult Recruitment. 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.

To Angela, whether someone is a ‘candidate’ or a ‘client’ (two words she’s on a crusade to ban) is irrelevant. She’s all about the people, and frankly couldn’t care less whether they have a fancy title and the corner office, or they’re just starting out.

Angela's role is now mostly focused on Customer Experience, the Consult brand and hiring the best Consultants in town.

When she’s not coaching the Consult team to awesomeness or convincing the world’s best recruiters to come over to the bright side, she can be found on the football 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?

Gwynn is the General Manager of GoodSpace, a company helping transform the "unfinished" office space into an asset that engages and creates a sense of belonging for all.

GoodSpace 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 Executive Assistant 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.

Mitchell leads Mergers & Acquisitions at STILL. He is responsible for sourcing, executing and supporting the growing number of businesses within the STILL 100 programme, which will see STILL acquire, start or support 100 companies, projects or non-profit activities in New Zealand over the next decade.

Mitchell is a Chartered Accountant and joins STILL with nearly 10 years experience across M&A, due diligence and restructuring advisory services. Prior to joining STILL, Mitchell was Vice President at GCA Altium (now Houlihan Lokey), a global investment bank in London, where he advised entrepreneurs, financial investors and corporate clients on M&A and ECM transactions, including buy-outs, corporate carve-outs and IPOs. Outside of work, Mitchell can typically be found out on a golf course or attempting to keep fit.

Jinny is the financial controller 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!"

Andrew is CEO and co-founder of SHAPE, a brave business shaping the future of New Zealand's clean, connected and enduring energy infrastructure. Having worked in strategic executive leadership roles at iconic NZ infrastructure businesses in a career spanning over 20 years, Andrew brings a wealth of knowledge and strong relationships which propel Shape forward as it continues to expand.

With extensive experience in building companies, business strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and a strong commitment to making energy more sustainable and clean for New Zealanders, Shape is set to pave the future of New Zealand’s clean energy under Andrew’s strong leadership.

Andrew is fun to be around (he famously pitched the importance of his Funmetter to Hideaki!) and gets the best out of his team with a natural ability to build trust, great team culture, and always being ready to roll up his sleeves to help anyone.

Outside of work Andrew can be found on the side of the Netball court cheering his children on, travelling around the beautiful NZ countryside going on walks, and enjoying some of NZ’s home grown whiskeys and ports.

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.