About Us
The Wellington Business Network was established in 2013 by four Wellingtonians. Rob McGregor of Accentuate+ Public Relations remains as an original and he is now partnered by Fraser Carson of Flightdec and Chris Whelan of the Centre of Business Excellence.
The network predominantly comprises the owners and managers of Small to Medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and those who support the SME sector in Wellington.
We meet every six weeks or so on a Tuesday at Avida Restaurant & Bar on the corner of Johnston & Featherston Streets, Wellington. Each meeting concludes with a tapas lunch provided by Avida.
A guest speaker is invited to each event to give a brief presentation on a topical issue.
Membership is open, there are no membership fees and we encourage members to invite their colleagues, business associates or clients to our events.
There is no compulsion to attend every event. However, by committing to attend an event, you agree to pay $25.00 GST inc. for the set menu tapas lunch.
Guest Speakers
Previous guest speakers have included:
- John Saker, wine writer
- Diane Calvert, Wellington City Councillor
- Sean Plunket founder of The Platform
- Barrie Saunders, city advocate, formerly of Saunders Unsworth
- Dr Colin Habberton, co-founder of Relativ Impact
- Nicola Willis, MP
- Chris Bishop, MP
- Dame Kerry Prendergast, former Wellington Mayor
- Dr Rod Carr, Chairperson of He Pou a Rangi – the Climate Change Commission
- Grant Robertson, Minister of Finance and the Member of Parliament for Wellington Central
- Yuong Ha, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s Chief Economist and Head of Economics
- David Seymour, Leader of ACT and MP for Epsom
- Tony Henderson-Newport of the Rebel Business School
- Steve Logan, Logan Brown & Grill Meats Beer
- Mark Peterson, Chief Executive NZX
- Brett Hudson, National Party List MP
- Brian Steele, Giddy Up
- Mark Clare, Clare Capital
- Fran Wilde, former Wellington Labour MP, Minister of Tourism, Mayor of Wellington & chair of the Greater Wellington Regional Council
- Digby Paape, owner of Associated Audio
- Trish Love, Chartered Accountant and chief executive of Love to Grow
- Sue Matehaere-Patten, manager of Your Property Matters
- James Shaw, MP & co-leader of Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
- Simon Woolf, owner of Woolf Photographer & Wellington City Councillor
- Christian Hawkesby, Director of Harbour Asset Management
- Michael Gregg, wine maker & managing director of Harvest Estate
- Tui Te Hau - Mahuki - Te Papa's Innovation Hub
- Professor John Nacey - Research For Life
- Simon Marsh, Wellington City Councillor
- David Farrar, political commentator
- Andy Bray, business banker
- Carla Russell, executive director of the NZ Art Show
- Grant Robertson, MP for Wellington Central
- David Graves, founder of Tall Poppy Real Estate
- Nathan Meyer, founder & managing director of Carrello del Gelato
- Nick Leggett, Porirua Mayor & Wellington mayoral candidate
- Jo Coughlan, Wellington City Councillor & Wellington mayoral candidate