There’s a new leader for business growth engine The Icehouse, with the board appointing Gavin Lennox to the role of
Group CEO.
A long-time champion of high-growth New Zealand tech companies and a 13-year member of The Icehouse’s angel investment
network (Ice Angels), Gavin will take up the Group CEO position from 3 February next year.
Gavin has an extensive background growing and mentoring New Zealand businesses at various stages of their growth
journey, as a CEO or board director. 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.
Gavin has also been CEO of three early-stage New Zealand businesses, following a career overseas leading the European
and Asia Pacific divisions of multinationals, including IBM’s Lotus Development and Google’s Doubleclick Techsolutions.
Icehouse Chair Chris Quin says: “Mr Lennox’s track record as a business leader - combined with his passion for
entrepreneurship and growing small businesses - made him a standout for the role as The Icehouse prepares to move to a
new generation of growth.”
“We are fortunate to have attracted someone of Gavin’s calibre to build on the outstanding work of Andy Hamilton and his
leadership team over the past 19 years. After nearly two decades, The Icehouse has evolved from its early days into an
engine of business growth serving the needs of New Zealanders who are starting, owning or managing a business.
“We believe Gavin has the right mix of skills, experience and passion to drive The Icehouse forward and take us to that
next level and we look forward to seeing the impact of his expertise across our three business groups.”
Mr Quin says the new Group CEO will be responsible for overseeing these groups: the Business Growth Learning and
Development programmes, the Coworker space, and Icehouse Ventures, and will also support their governance.
“I’m excited to be joining The Icehouse,” says Mr Lennox. “It’s a privilege to join the team that has built an iconic
organisation and thriving community, and has made such enormous contributions to New Zealand’s businesses and
entrepreneurship.
“For me, joining The Icehouse is an opportunity to give back to the unsung heroes driving our country’s global
competitiveness: the business owners, entrepreneurs, and managers who contribute to over a third of New Zealand’s GDP,
while building New Zealand’s international reputation as one of the best places in the world to live and work.
“I’m looking forward to using my experience scaling and mentoring companies to build on the incredible platform The
Icehouse offers, and to continue to grow New Zealand businesses and attract sustained investment.”
Until Gavin starts in February, Andy Hamilton, who signalled his intent to move on from his role in July, will stay with
The Icehouse as CEO. Andy will then join the board of Icehouse Ventures, while also pursuing his own interests.
ENDS