Stephen Jennings joins The New Zealand Initiative’s Board of Directors
Wellington (20 September 2018): The New Zealand Initiative welcomes entrepreneur Stephen Jennings, CEO and Founder of
Africa’s largest urban development company, Rendeavour, onto its Board of Directors.
“It is an honour to have Stephen join our Board,” said Roger Partridge, Chairman of The New Zealand Initiative. “Our
mission is to create a more prosperous New Zealand for all New Zealanders. Jennings is a visionary international
business leader and will bring valuable insights to the Initiative’s work.”
“I am delighted to be joining The New Zealand Initiative Board. The Initiative’s methodological, fact-based approach to
policy is ideally placed to improve public understanding on many of the key challenges and opportunities facing New
Zealand,” said Jennings.
Jennings is one of New Zealand’s most successful entrepreneurs. For more than 20 years, the Taranaki-born economist and
investor has been living and working in emerging markets. A pioneer of capital markets in Central and Eastern Europe and
Africa, he is responsible for more than $200 billion worth of investment into these regions.
As the leader of Africa’s largest urban development company, Rendeavour, Jennings now helps build city-scale
developments in some of the fastest growing cities in Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of
Congo. The developments include homes, offices, industrial areas, schools and hospitals and allow residents to live and
work within their community without the burden of commuting across already congested cities.
Despite his long international career, Jennings has always maintained great interest in New Zealand. He shared his views on the future of New Zealand’s economy at a dinner lecture hosted by the Initiative in 2016.
On The New Zealand Initiative’s Board, Stephen Jennings will join Roger Partridge (Chairman, The New Zealand Initiative), Dr Oliver Hartwich (Executive Director, The New Zealand Initiative), Barbara Chapman (Chair, Genesis Energy), Chris Quin (Chief Executive, Foodstuffs North Island),Linda Meade (Lead Partner, Deloitte Access Economics), John Judge (Independent Non-Executive Director), Matthew Cockram (Chief Executive, Cooper and Company), Neil Paviour-Smith (Managing Director, Forsyth Barr) and Scott Perkins (Non-Executive Director, Brambles, Origin Energy and Woolworths).
ENDS