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Meet the 2025 Awards Judges
14th May 2025
Mindful Money is deeply thankful to our judges. Their integrity, expertise, and insights have been key to underpinning the 2025 awards.
Mindful Money’s Co-CEO, Barry Coates, consulted widely across the finance sector to find judges who met the criteria of experience and skills, avoidance of any conflict of interest in the category; and willingness to donate their time and expertise on a voluntary basis. With very few exceptions, all of those who were approached generously agreed to participate as judges. Read more about the robust judging process here.
Mindful Money is hugely grateful to the following judges. It is their integrity, insights and experience that have made these awards so robust.
Bridget Coates
Bridget is an experienced global leader who has built and led businesses in both the United States and New Zealand in recent years. She has held Chairperson, Director and CEO roles across a range of public and private sector entities. She is currently Chairperson of Comvita NZ Ltd. (listed honey exporter) and Chair of Koi Tu : Centre for Informed Futures and, until recently Chair of Fonterra’s Sustainability Advisory Panel to the Board. She is also a Director of Toitū Tahua: Centre for Sustainable Finance, a Director of Yealands Group Holdings Ltd. (wine exporter) and Mindful Money, a financial services charity.
In the recent past, she has been a Director of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, a Guardian of the NZ Superannuation Fund, Director of Tegel Group Holdings Ltd., Chair of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand, Director Sky City Ltd. and Fisher and Paykel Appliances Holdings Ltd. Bridget was Founding Chair of The ICEHOUSE incubator, founder of ArcAngels, an angel fund which invests in women entrepreneurs and she has served as a judge of the early stage innovation Kiwinet Awards for several years.
Bridget is a Chartered Fellow of the NZ Institute of Directors and holds the CFA qualification. She was awarded an MBE in 2015 for services to New Zealand business.
Carey Church
Carey is an Ethical Investments Adviser & Financial Planner at Moneyworks, and is a RIAA Certified Ethical Advisor. In addition to being a CFP, CLU and having core financial planning and other qualifications, Carey also holds the UNPRI Certificate in Applied Responsible Investing, has a BSc and a LLB (Hons). Carey has built a unique and proprietary ethical analysis process for Moneyworks clients to understand exactly what exposure they have to the 'nasties' in their portfolio (to the cent) based on the Mindful Money research, which enables the team to have meaningful discussions about ethical investing with their clients. Co-Winner of Mindful Money 2023 Best Ethical Adviser of the Year Award
Chris Douglas
Chris is a Principal at MyFiduciary, one of New Zealand’s largest independent investment consultants, where he leads the fund research coverage and adviser services. Chris has over two decades of investment experience working in Auckland, London, Sydney and Chicago. He previously spent 12-years at Morningstar where he held leadership roles within the firm’s research and data group before joining MyFiduciary in 2018.
Clive Pedley
Clive has been advising, coaching and training for growth in the social purpose sector in New Zealand and Australia since 2000. During that time he has been responsible for raising tens of millions for many of New Zealand’s leading charities. He is well regarded as a thought leader, an informed, enthusiastic practitioner and practical presenter. Clive is a former President of the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand (FINZ) from 2011 to 2013, was a member of the FINZ National Council from 2009 to 2015 and was named a fellow of the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand in May 2014. In 2017 Clive was appointed to the RIAA Impact Investment Forum committee and has been directly involved in establishing New Zealand’s inaugural Impact Investment Advisory Board. This level of international engagement has led to a sound understanding of traditional philanthropy and emerging international best practice in areas such as social impact investment.
David Lewis
David has worked in financial markets and investments for 20 years. He has recently founded Novus Consulting (www.novusconsulting.co.nz), a social enterprise aiming to help large NZ investors, especially those in the charitable sector, implement responsible investment approaches. He is working towards a Master’s degree in sustainability at Cambridge University. Previously he was a Portfolio Manager and Deputy CIO at Milford Asset Management, and earlier in his career he spent over a decade overseas with BT Funds and Merrill Lynch.
David Tikao
David is the Investment Manager Endowments at Ngāi Tahu Holdings and a former Executive Director of operations at Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu retirement savings scheme, Whai Rawa Fund Limited. He commenced working for Te Rūnanga Group in October 2011. Prior to joining Whai Rawa, David worked in the finance and banking sectors in London for 20 years, holding positions within RBS/NatWest and HSBC Banks prior to his return to Aotearoa New Zealand. Since 2012 David has been a Director of Te Poho o Tamatea Ltd, a holdings company of Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke (Rūnanga) and is a former Trustee and Treasurer of Rāpaki Marae. David is a member of the Leadership Group at Toitū Tahua: Centre for Sustainable Finance. In 2015, David graduated from Massey University with a Master of Business Administration (MBA).
David Whyte
Debbie Birch
Debbie is a professional director with more than 30 years executive experience across capital markets, finance and funds management both in New Zealand, Asia and Australia.
For the last 12 years she has been working with Maori/iwi entities providing support in developing their listed and unlisted investment strategies to align with their environmental, cultural and economic aspirations.
She is currently a Director of Westpac, Eastland Group Limited, Hawkes Bay Regional Investment Company, Napier Port, WMS Group and Miraka Holdings Limited. She is an accredited investment fiduciary and a chartered member of the IOD.
Erica Miles
Erica works across all elements of the investment value chain, from ESG policy and strategy, ESG due diligence (pre- and post-acquisition), stakeholder engagement and materiality, governance, ESG integration, environment, health and safety (EHS) management systems, compliance and assurance frameworks, through to impact measurement, and disclosure (reporting and assurance) (including more recently the requirements of the Taskforce for Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). Erica was co-secretariat and co-author of the Sustainable Finance Roadmap for New Zealand (January 2019 – November 2020) and is one of only two New Zealand-based approved independent verifiers for RIAA’s responsible and impact investment certification programme. Erica holds a B. Technology (Biotechnology and Bio-Process Engineering), Honours, Massey University, 1993 as well as a Grad Diploma in Occupational Safety and Health, Massey University, 2017.
Fiona Stephenson
Fiona is Head of Communications & Marketing at the Sustainable Business Network. She is one of NZ’s most experienced communicators of sustainability, with 25 years’ experience. She was speech writer for the UK’s chief sustainability advisor for four years and Oxford University’s first PR advisor on the environment. In NZ she has worked on sustainability communications for organisations of all sizes and at different stages of their sustainability journey since 2000. She has Honours and Masters degrees from the University of Cambridge, specialising in Environment and Development.
Greg Munford
Greg Munford is a Senior Strategist with the Sustainable Investment team at the Guardians.
Greg has 15 years’ experience in the infrastructure, real estate and natural resources sectors spanning Asia, Pacific, UK and the Americas. I've led or supported dozens of successful sustainability-related strategies, policies, projects and investments with local, national and international partners - including local/national government agencies, corporations, the EU, World Bank/IFC and Asian Development Bank. Greg brings this experience and cross-disciplinary training in physical and social/policy sciences to bear for the NZ Super Fund, addressing risks, opportunities and reporting requirements across the climate, nature and broader ESG spectrum.
Jackson Rowland
Jackson Rowland is dedicated to accelerating the transition to sustainable finance. He is currently the Director of the Aotearoa New Zealand Stewardship Code, a framework that guides investors on how to use their influence to support the companies they own to navigate ESG issues. Jackson was formerly Director of Ākina Invest at the Ākina Foundation, a consultancy that aimed to transform New Zealand’s economy by supporting the development of social impact businesses.
Jo Kelly
Jo likes building high performing teams and interesting organisations. Jo is the chief executive of Centre for Sustainable Finance which works alongside the government to develop sustainable finance policy and approaches. Her career began in creative industries, leading her initially to Madison Avenue, then to coordinate the first commitment by global businesses to Net Zero by 2050 ahead of the Paris Agreement. Since returning to New Zealand in 2016 Jo helped establish New Zealand’s first private cancer treatment and trials centre. She is an alumna of Deloitte New Zealand.
John Horrell
John is a consultant and co-founder of Makao Investments, an independent investment advisory business. He works with large investors in New Zealand and the Pacific providing advice on investment governance, asset allocation and manager selection. Before founding Makao, he worked in the UK and New Zealand in roles that included fiduciary management, asset allocation, portfolio implementation and performance reporting. John is a board director of CFA Society New Zealand.
Joy Marslin
Joy has a passion for balancing profit with impact and believes all New Zealanders should have access to quality financial advice. Her career within the financial services industry has spanned 30 years including as Head of Westpac Private Wealth Management and Head of ANZ Wealth. Joy holds a number of governance and for purpose roles including Simplicity NZ Ltd Board Chair, Independent Director with Strategi Group, FSCL, NZ Shareholders Association and is a Director of the Impact Enterprise Fund.
Louise Aitken
Louise is a Partner leading Deloitte’s Sustainability, Climate & Nature team in our Consulting Practice. She has over 20 years’ experience leading people and organisations, global partnerships and major programmes, including government investments and delivering to the aspirations and objectives of communities, corporate and public partners. Following 12 years with Fonterra, Louise then joined the Ākina Foundation, spending 4 years as CEO, supporting government, business and communities to contribute to an economy where people and the planet thrive. During her time at Ākina, Louise was one of the founding board members of New Zealand’s first domestically focused impact investment fund, governing the $9 million fund providing growth capital to deliver market-rate financial returns, and delivering tangible societal and environmental outcomes.
Lucy Kate Mitchell
Lucy (Te Rarawa) is an experienced marketing and strategic communication practitioner with over 12 years of experience across advertising, public relations, marketing communications and business development in the New Zealand and US markets. She is currently completing a Master of Sustainable Business with particular focus on ecological economics and sufficiency-based business models. She is also developing a science communication plan for effective climate action monitoring for NZ organisations, to help make clear how businesses are really doing on their emissions reductions and sustainability targets.
Matthew Mimms
Matthew Mimms is the Founder and Managing Director of The Investment Store. Matt has over 30 years’ experience in financial services in both the UK and New Zealand. Immediately prior to establishing the Investment Store, Matt was head of Retail Sales and Service at BT Funds Management. Matt has been integrally involved in the NZ investment and financial adviser industry for 20 years including a 2-year stint as Chair of the Auckland branch for the then named Financial Planners and Insurance Advisers Association. Matt is a strong advocate for responsible investing and is currently a board member of the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia (RIAA). He contributed as a member of the Technical Working Group of the NZ Sustainable Finance Forum, an initiative of the Aotearoa Circle and more recently was a member of the development committee for the Stewardship Code Aotearoa New Zealand. He has a business degree from the University of Sheffield (UK) and a Diploma in Business Studies (personal financial planning) from Massey University.
Nikki Wright
Nikki Wright, Managing Director of Wright Communications, leads the award-winning agency based in Auckland. Recognised as PRINZ Agency of the Year three times, the firm supports companies, public sector, and not-for-profit organisations. Nikki values long-term client partnerships and uses PR to address key issues in Aotearoa New Zealand. Her work with top brands has honed her expertise in sustainability and ESG reporting.
Noah Schiltknecht
Noah founded Makao Investments to help lift investment advice in New Zealand and the Pacific to a better standard, and to make advice more affordable for smaller institutional clients. Before founding Makao in 2019, Noah was the head of the institutional team at Russell Investments in New Zealand, advising a broad range of large institutional clients on investment strategy, asset allocation and manager selection. In his two decades in financial services Noah also gained experience in infrastructure valuation, capital management and structuring of insurance risk transfer solutions.
Rebecca Mills
Rebecca Mills is the Founding CEO of The Lever Room, a leading consultancy and tech firm specialising in carbon measurement and sustainability.
In 2025 she was appointed the Lead of Women in Climate Tech Australasia.
With an MSc in Biosphere Science and impact measurement training from Oxford’s Saïd Business School, Rebecca is an Edmund Hillary Fellow and lead lecturer in Advanced Organisational Sustainability at Otago University.
She has held governance roles on the boards of two of New Zealand’s National Science Challenges and previously served as Principal of Sustainable Development for the UK’s Environment Agency, working on large-scale regeneration projects.
At The Lever Room, she has led national initiatives and recently introduced a new carbon certification and measurement approach that leverages remote sensing and machine learning technologies.
Rebecca lives and works in Grey Lynn, Tāmaki Makaurau.
Sebastian Gericke
Dr Sebastian Gehricke is a Senior lecturer and Director of the Climate and Energy Finance Group (CEFGroup) at the University of Otago, running several events and pursuing research and teaching in sustainable finance and investments. Recently (in 2022), he was awarded the Otago University early-career researcher award for his accomplishments. Sebastian also has financial consulting experience, particularly in project feasibility modelling and investment management and serves on the board of a local not-for-profit. In 2021 Sebastian developed the first sustainable investments course in New Zealand and in 2023 launched the minor in Sustainable Finance. He is a strong advocate for a transition toward a sustainable finance system and actively communicates with the private and public sector to support this journey. He eagerly shares his knowledge through the media, executive training and speaking at industry and community events.
Tom Hartmann
Tom Hartmann is Personal Finance Lead at Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission, which aims to help New Zealanders retire with confidence. It’s the agency that built Sorted, a strong, trusted, independent brand to help Kiwis end up on the winning side of their money decisions. Tom’s focus as personal finance lead is dialing up New Zealanders’ long-term wellbeing by helping them get ahead financially. He contributes to the Sorted ecosystem of websites, campaigns, calculators, seminars and publishing, as well as workplace, school and community programmes. He also regularly comments in media, particularly around KiwiSaver and personal finance issues. His background in journalism and finance dovetails to support the Retirement Commissioner and the team to lift financial capability across the country.