Connect

Paul comes to ChristchurchNZ with a wealth of economic development experience, both internationally and in Aotearoa. His roles have primarily focused on the promotion, attraction, and facilitation of foreign investment, but he has also worked on trade facilitation, and economic analysis. Having also been a small business owner, he has deep understanding of the different drivers of the public sector and private business. Most of his career has focused on strategies and initiatives where the two intersect, to deliver mutually beneficial outcomes.

Paul loves learning about the amazing things Christchurch companies are doing, and by making connections, being a small but valuable part of their growth journeys. He is a cheerleader for the city, working to bring investment and jobs.

In his spare time he practices Kyokushin Karate, rides his mountain bike, and is trying to put back together a classic car that was so easy to dismantle.

Dale Pearce is Head of Economic Clusters at ChristchurchNZ. Clusters are diverse and dynamic ecosystems that are formed around significant growth opportunities where Christchurch has local intensity and advantage.

Dale has significant breadth and depth of experience in helping companies, government, and ecosystem coalitions design, execute and govern their strategies using a disciplined approach that creates measurable outcomes and lasting impacts.

Dale believes achieving meaningful outcomes relies on a complex system of people, cultures, processes, capabilities, and different interests – where alignment around a shared strategy can result in transformative value to the benefit of all. She has been a career consultant working across the Indo-Pacific region leading international advisories.

Dale moved back to Christchurch in 2024, her place of birth, after more than 30 years away. She has a passion for improving the prosperity of all New Zealanders

Emma is an experienced strategic partnerships manager who is passionate about the role of innovation and technology in addressing some of the world's most significant challenges. In her role at ChristchurchNZ, Emma is responsible for developing an ambitious city strategy for the Aerospace sector, with the goal of harnessing the economic opportunities it presents.

Prior to her current role, Emma's career focused on health tech, where she held various positions in NZ and the UK, all centred around innovation within the health and disability sector.

Emma has always loved supporting innovators, especially those that help people, so her ChristchurchNZ role ticks all right the boxes.

Hamish’s career has been focused on commercialisation and getting innovation, research, and development into the marketplace. At ChristchurchNZ he leads the Food Fibre and Agritech cluster connecting companies, people and teams to inspire focus and growth.

Hamish brings strong communication skills to his role and especially enjoys working with market focussed professionals, technicians, engineers and scientists.

Out of work, Hamish spends time outdoors mountain biking, hiking, and skiing.

Shawn has over 23 years of experience and leadership in marketing, sales, business analytics, product development and corporate strategy. He has led commercial business units, launched multiple products into new markets, and co-founded a biotech start up.

Shawn is a creative problem solver who enjoys working with businesses of all sizes to uncover areas of growth and opportunity that will help them achieve their goals. He is proficient at evaluating markets, identifying how they will evolve, and positioning products to succeed in the changing landscape.

Outside helping businesses, Shawn spends time with his family and friends outdoors, most often skiing, surfing and tramping.

Matthew is focused on stimulating the investment and business ecosystem in Christchurch through strategic directives and market intervention plans. His role involves building propositions for the region and promoting them to stakeholders, while also fostering relationships in the founder/start-up and investor ecosystem to drive economic growth.

With a background in founding and developing businesses, as well as leadership roles in the Christchurch earthquake recovery, Matthew brings a wealth of knowledge in planning, operations, and company growth. He is passionate about organisations that prioritise conscious capitalism mindsets, strong cultures, and empowering their people and communities to do great things.

Dedicated to making a meaningful impact, Matthew's expertise lies in delivering high-impact economic benefits to Christchurch by strategically aligning stakeholders and driving growth.

With an experienced professional with a background in global fintech and SaaS, Dianna leads a team overseeing the Business Sustainability and Growth work programme and manages the Regional Business Partner Network for the Canterbury region. Her responsibilities include developing business growth and sustainability strategies, building and managing relationships with Central Government and key government agencies, managing government contracts with a value of over $6m, and designing business support programmes and tools.

Previously, Dianna was an Innovation Specialist at the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce where she delivered the Callaghan Innovation component of the Regional Business Partner (RBP) Programme and has held other business management roles in the UK and New Zealand.

Dianna is a strategic thinker, collaborator, and relationship builder with a knack for identifying opportunities. She has experience in managing commercial products and data product portfolios, developing product strategies, and implementing product roadmaps.

Catherine is an advisor igniting bold ambition and driving sustainable economic growth in Ōtautahi Christchurch. With a successful background as an entrepreneur and innovator, she is passionate about building businesses that align with the principles of kaitiakitanga.

Prior to joining ChristchurchNZ, Catherine founded a business that commercialised a high-value agricultural product that brought significant economic benefits to the Canterbury agricultural sector and contributed to the wider innovation ecosystem in the field of edible mycorrhizal fungi (EMF).

Her mahi at the Emergency Operation Centre following the February 2011 earthquake are a source of immense pride and connection to Ōtautahi. Catherine’s goal is to see Ōtautahi become a regenerative economy with a diverse natural playground that embraces its heritage – while fostering new growth and creativity.

After graduating with a German University degree in Management and Marketing, Anton has worked in numerous roles and developed a strong business skill set. Controlling and Taxation, Certified Business Coach and Trainer, SCRUM Master Working for big corporations such as Amazon plus government funded institutions and NFPs running start-up and labour market focused programmes in both Germany and Aotearoa.

Anton has a huge curiosity to learn about innovative and sustainability-oriented product and business ideas and is passionate about connecting businesses with the right resources in Christchurch and beyond and watch them grow.

Dad to schnoodle Archie, Anton spends as much time outdoors as possible, growing vegetables and hiking while trying his best to try out all the great Christchurch food places, with Asian fusion as the favourite.

Graduating from Massey University with an Agricultural Science Degree and MBA in exporting, led Shirley to a career within the export ecosystem to help it grow, innovate and increase capability. Having previously run her own Marketing Consultant business, Shirley then worked with NZTE running two key grant programmes valued at $7million annually. These programmes were focussed on developing the IT, Biotech, Design and Screen sectors, plus business enterprise development in the education sector as well as assisting in the setup of the incubator programme across New Zealand.

Shirley spent the last 13 years with The Canterbury Chamber of Commerce running the ExportNZ programme including business capability development for Regional Business Partners. She brings a wealth of experience to the Canterbury business sector focussing on helping businesses grow and improve their capability while maximising their research and development engagement with Callaghan Innovation.

In her spare time Shirley loves walking on the Port Hills with her miniature Dachshund Willow and also enjoys a glass or two of red wine.