We are excited to announce that Gavin Lennox has been appointed to the newly created role of Group CEO of The Icehouse.
Kia Ora
It’s my great pleasure to share with you that we have found a new leader for The Icehouse.
Gavin Lennox has been appointed to the newly created role of Group CEO and will start on February 3rd next year.
Gavin is a long-time champion of high-growth New Zealand companies and has been an active member of Ice Angels for 13 years.
He recently served nearly four years as CEO of Invenco, a New Zealand outdoor self-service payments company. There, he led a team that doubled staff numbers to 230 and achieved extraordinary growth, quadrupling revenues to over $100 million dollars, and building global scale and profitability.
He has also served several established small businesses and startups as an advisor or board member, and is currently on the board of a cutting-edge, hydrofoil e-bike startup called Manta5.
Gavin is passionate about New Zealand entrepreneurship and businesses. Like my fellow board members, he sees the enormous opportunity for The Icehouse to continue to grow its significant contribution to the New Zealand business community and economy.
We are fortunate to have attracted someone of Gavin’s calibre to build on the outstanding work of Andy Hamilton and The Icehouse leadership team over the past 19 years. Andy will stay with us as CEO, completing a handover when Gavin joins in February. He will then fully move to his role on the board of our new investment company, Icehouse Ventures, as an executive director while also pursuing his own interests.
Today, The Icehouse is in a fantastic position, shaped by two fast growing initiatives: our Business Growth programmes and Coworker spaces; and our new company, Icehouse Ventures. This is why we have chosen the title of Group CEO for our next leader, as he will be responsible for overseeing all three, and supporting their governance.
As the majority owner of Icehouse Ventures, The Icehouse supports its governance. The team at Icehouse Ventures is led by CEO Robbie Paul and this year they raised an impressive $40 million which will be invested into several of New Zealand’s boldest startups.
Our two other initiatives are also thriving. More than 5,000 owners and managers of established businesses have taken part in The Icehouse business growth development and coaching programmes under the leadership of Liz Wotherspoon. And next year, the capacity of our Coworker space, led by Scott Turner, is expected to grow by 40%. This will enable more like-minded entrepreneurs, established businesses, and exciting startups to take up residence within The Icehouse premises.
After nearly two decades, The Icehouse has evolved beyond its early days into an engine of business growth that is enabling New Zealanders who are starting, owning or managing a business to reach their potential.
Our three business groups will benefit from Gavin’s expertise and experience - we are confident he has the right mix of skills, experience and passion to drive The Icehouse forward and take us to that next level.
The Board was also energised and inspired by what’s motivating Gavin to put his hand up to lead The Icehouse. I encourage you to learn a little more about these motivations by watching this video and reading more about his background below.
The future of The Icehouse is exciting. Please join me in welcoming Gavin as we embark on the next phase of our journey.
Ngā mihi
Chris Quin
Chair of The Icehouse
More about Gavin Lennox
Gavin has been a CEO and company director of many businesses along different stages of their growth journey. As CEO of established business Invenco, a New Zealand outdoor self-service payments company named Hi-Tech Company of the Year 2018, Gavin led a team that doubled staff numbers to 230 and achieved extraordinary growth, quadrupling revenues to over $100 million dollars, and building global scale and profitability. He is also currently on the board of a cutting-edge, hydrofoil e-bike startup called Manta5, and also an advisor to a number of owner-manager and startup businesses.
While at Invenco, Gavin volunteered his time to lead the New Zealand Software Association, bringing together entrepreneurs and executives for mentorship and professional development.
Prior to Invenco, Gavin lead three younger New Zealand companies: a smart metering joint venture formed by energy retailers, (SmartCo); a 3D visualisation startup (Nextspace); and healthcare software startup servicing the community healthcare market (Healthphone).
Gavin joined the Ice Angels investor network in 2006, shortly after returning to New Zealand following 25 years overseas where he led the European and Asia Pacific divisions of multinational companies. These include Lotus Development, IBM, and Google’s Doubleclick Techsolutions and the roles saw him based in Toronto, London, Albany (New York), Dublin and Sydney. Since becoming an Ice Angel, Gavin has invested in, led, or been involved with the due diligence of a number of early stage companies.