about
I'm Ben. I help leaders get on the same page, then act on it.
I grew up in the Bay of Plenty, went to Tauranga Boys' College, then studied law and commerce at Otago. After that I worked for a law firm in London for a couple of years. I've used law as a lens ever since: structure, obligations, and how deals actually work.
Back in New Zealand, my early career was commercial. Marketing at ASB, including cards, EFTPOS and the launch of internet banking. Commercial Manager at Auckland Rugby, looking after sponsorship, ticketing and membership for the Blues and Auckland. I've run my own businesses since 2003, and my own advisory business for more than twenty years.
Where I learned the craft
I've been working with business owners for twenty years now. In 2011 I joined AltusQ and ran the Auckland practice until 2016, coaching CEOs and facilitating leadership teams for commercial and government clients around the country. That's where I learned to take people from all sorts of backgrounds and build a process where everyone actually understands, and agrees, where they're going. I'm also a certified Leadership Circle Profile practitioner.
While I was there I wrote for Human Resources, the HRINZ magazine: "Leaders: when are you coaching, mentoring or consulting?" (Oct/Nov 2012), which I've updated for this site, and "Employee engagement: what is really working?" (Jun/Jul 2013), on AltusQ and Red Balloon's research into more than 1,500 New Zealand and Australian organisations. Both are held by the National Library of New Zealand.
A room full of leaders
From 2015, alongside my advisory, mentoring and coaching business, I spent six and a half years running New Zealand Leaders, a community of business leaders and the experts who support them. Then Connector Communities. These days I host Roosters, a trusted, no-selling room of business owners who help each other out. I've spent a lot of years listening to owners describe what they're up against. It's shaped everything about how I work.
I own businesses myself too, so I know your side of the table.
Alongside the advisory work I'm Fractional CEO of Materially Kiwi (formerly KiwiLeather Innovations), a New Zealand company developing materials made from kiwifruit waste. I lead commercialisation and partnerships.
How I think
I'm dyslexic, and I count it as a strength. I see the shape of a situation before the detail, which is why I work live, in the room, and why you won't get a forty-page report from me. I work well with owners and leaders with ADHD and dyslexia. We think the same way.
I'm direct and commercial. I'd rather tell you what I think than what you want to hear. Life's too short.