Events

Matt has been the CE of Presbyterian Support Southland (PSS) since February last year. Having grown up in Southland Matt returned to Invercargill almost 7 years ago with his wife Rohan (also from Invercargill) and their 2 daughters (aged 8 and 9) after 18 years away. Although Matt has an infrastructure and construction-centric background, he is enjoying the challenges and learnings associated with the for-purpose work that PSS is committed to in the Aged-Care and Social Services sectors.

Dean Addie is the Co-founder, CEO, and CRO of T4 Group.

Dean also co-founded EIS in 1996 and sold out in 2023 to allow the young ones to do their thing.

He studied at the school of hard knocks. He is still studying. Dean led EIS through safety culture change that culminated in 700,000 hours lost time incident free.

Dean is a family man who enjoys family times and spending time with friends. He enjoys reading and cooking. He is referred to as Gordon Ramsay; not due to his cooking ability but due to his propensity to swear if anything goes wrong in the kitchen.

Dean is an active member of society and enjoys giving back.

Dean's current associations:

Director of T4 Group

Founder and member of Saints All Male Choir

Board member of Invercargill Airport

Chair of ENGAGE – The Southland Engineering and Manufacturing Cluster

Chair of Dog Island Motu Piu Trust

Chartered member of IoD

Fellow of NZ Institute of Management

Dean's past associations:

Deputy Chair of Graham Dingle Foundation Southland

Board member of:

GreatSouth

Southland Chamber of Commerce

The electrical training company

Council member of:

Southern Institute of Technology

Board member New Zealand Institute of Management

Past member of:

Invercargill Sunrise Rotary

Grand Toastmasters

If I live to 120 and my golf doesn’t get worse I will achieve my goal of shooting my age!

Dean is passionate about developing people and building strong relationships.

He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata!, he tangata!, he tangata!

Sumaria is the General Manager of Awarua Syneryy. She founded Bluff Healthy Homes Research & Education Project which developed into Awarua Synergy serving Southland delivering insulation, heating, hot water solutions, LED lighting solar PV systems, wind turbines. The company employs 15-22 staff seasonally, 14 sub-contractors, and business working relationships with local councils, social services, local & national, and private funders.

Ivan Hodgetts is a Principal Advisor Secondary Transitions at the Ministry of Education. For the last three years he has been seconded to Murihiku Regeneration to lead the capability strategy Te Ara Aukati Kore (pathways without barriers). Ivan is a former Rotarian and prior to his role at the Ministry was CEO of YMCA Invercargill. 

Sumaria is the General Manager of Awarua Energy. She founded Bluff Healthy Homes Research & Education Project which developed into Awarua Synergy serving Southland delivering insulation, heating, hot water solutions, LED lighting solar PV systems, wind turbines. The company employs 15-22 staff seasonally, 14 sub-contractors, and business working relationships with local councils, social services, local & national, and private funders.

Brendan is a proud Southlander and a dedicated professional with over 25 years of experience in civil contracting, local government, and project management. As the General Manager of Engage, Brendan plays a pivotal role in supporting, innovating, and growing the engineering and manufacturing industry in Southland. His focus is on collaboration, connection, new industry, and export opportunities to support the region's economic growth and development.
A family man at heart, Brendan's commitment to Southland is evident in his work and personal life. He is passionate about fostering long-term opportunities for the engineering and manufacturing sector, ensuring that Southland businesses have the support and resources they need to thrive in an evolving landscape.

James is the Research Manager at the Southern Institute of Technology, and in this role he supports staff research activity across the institution,

and provides advice and training on a variety of topics including the challenges and opportunities of generative AI.

James' research background is behavioural ecology and conservation, and he sits on the National Committee on Data in Research and on the Technical Advisory Board of the International Research Data Alliance.

Greetings! I am the new manager at Citizens Advice Bureau Invercargill, having been in the position for one year. Previously I spent most of my working life in education. I was brought up on a farm near Te Anau and have lived most of my life in Southland. I look forward to sharing with you the services our wonderful volunteers provide for the Southland community.