Venning Bryan to join PledgeMe Board

04/04/2016
Venning Bryan to join PledgeMe Board

After crowdsourcing applications for a board member, New Zealand’s crowdfunding site PledgeMe has announced Jessica Venning-Bryan will be joining its board.

Jessica has spent almost 15 years advising organisations on how to engage people with their products and services.

“We are excited for Jessica to join the board of Team PledgeMe, and bring her experience which ranges from beer to wind farms, elections to employment,” PledgeMe CEO Anna Guenther said.

“This varied experience will help us leverage off our existing brand and help us engage with our ever expanding crowd in better ways.

“Jessica’s limitless energy, deep experience in marketing and branding, and her values aligned with our approach to business (and life). We think having her voice around the board table will make us a stronger brand and better people.”

Jessica has spent 15 years advising organisations like Lion, the Electoral Commission, Seafood NZ, Saatchi & Saatchi Global, and the Sustainable Business Council on how to engage customers with projects and brands.

From beer to electricity, voting systems to employment, she's delivered projects in New Zealand, Australia, the United States and the UK. She is currently GM Brand at Flick Electric Co., and was part of Flick's founding team.

She is also the Founder and Trustee of Cultivate Mentoring Lab, a not-for-profit that partners early to mid-career women with experienced mentors to help them grow their confidence and progress equally at work. She lives in Wellington with her partner and three children, and has a special interest in gender equality, justice reform, alternative families and gifted education.

Jessica says she is excited about joining Team PledgeMe because of the people-focussed way they do business with exciting organisations doing exciting things.

“I've known Anna for some time, and have always admired her relationship-centric approach to business. Getting to know Nick, Breccan and Anake through the appointment process has been really inspiring, and I'm looking forward to working with them to help grow PledgeMe.

“I completely believe in democratising access to capital, so being part of a platform that supports all New Zealanders to realise their aspirations is a great privilege and responsibility.

“And I love the thrill of building businesses and brands. There's nothing quite like growing a young idea into a flourishing, sustainable, impactful business.”

Brand building and customer acquisition are two of Jessica’s key areas of expertise that she will be bringing to the board.

“I deeply believe in PledgeMe’s approach to helping New Zealanders fund the things they care about, and I want to see the business become the most successful crowdfunders down here,” Ms Venning-Bryan said.

“I've always worked in highly-regulated industries, where building a consumer brand or story needs particular care. I love the challenge of these environments.

“I'm really looking forward to supporting the PledgeMe team to build their story — especially around new products — while maintaining the high levels of integrity that financial regulation demands,” Jessica said.

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