Ben Stevens
In his role as Director Specialist Trades, Ben leads Skills Group’s Etco, E-tec and ICE brands. Ben’s global background and facility with languages led him to hold numerous early-career roles in Northern Europe with large Nasdaq-listed organisations as an auditor. Upon his return to New Zealand in 2012, Ben leveraged his international experience to work […]
Mark Worsop
Director vocational training and higher education
Phil Jones
Phil leads Skills Group’s International Markets business, including our presence in Australia, Singapore and the United States. He focuses on supporting Skills’ international growth, also leading the team who take care of inbound international students studying in New Zealand at Skills Ignite. With a strong international background and over 20 years’ experience in the corporate […]
Cassandra Crowley
Independent advisor and director
Bridget O Shannessey
Bridget is a highly experienced Human Resource practitioner both nationally and internationally.She’s worked with many leaders, leadership teams, company boards and remuneration committees in both the public and private sectors spanning a diverse range of industries, including manufacturing, finance and technology.
Kevin Best
Kevin was a Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers for a substantial part of his executive career where he held a number of leadership roles. He has worked with a broad range of industries both in New Zealand and globally, and has extensive commercial and financial experience. He is a professional director with a number of Governance roles […]
Rodd De Spong
Rod is the Chief Operating Officer of Douglas Pharmaceuticals Limited. Starting out as a plumber and gasfitter, Rod retrained after gaining his Craftsman Licenses. He has gone on to hold a number of varied roles including VP for Corporate Development for Raffles Holdings Ltd and Finance Director for both ARC and Ernst & Young. Rod […]
Tim Gibson
Tim has over twenty years’ experience as a CEO and Senior Executive in New Zealand, the UK and Japan. He has particular strengths in exporting and international business, organisation design and performance, strategy development and implementation and stakeholder and government relations. Tim’s career spans roles in the New Zealand Dairy Industry, in New Zealand, Asia […]
Craig O’Connell
For over 40 years, Craig has worked with many boards consulting on strategy, recruitment and organisational development projects through RAP Consulting. He is an experienced director working with medium to large organisations in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. He has served extensively on the board of Master Electricians and the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers […]
Owen Swinson
Owen leads the sales function across all of Skills Group’s brands. He is an experienced commercial manager with expertise across strategy, business development, developing and leading successful teams, strategic partnerships and negotiation. From his background as a senior legal counsel in private practice and for telecommunications firms both in the UK and New Zealand, Owen […]
