Our
People

Prior to joining Assurity Consulting in 2018, Steve was NZ country Manager for CoreLogic NZ Ltd. This followed a twenty-year career with The Nielsen Company, with several senior leadership roles across the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa region.

Steve holds a degree in Economics and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Marketing from Massey University.

Prior to Assurity Consulting, Garth was the Deputy CEO and Wellington General Manager at Fronde (previously Synergy International), where he led the growth and development of Fronde’s software development business.

Earlier roles include NZ Country Manager for Progress Software, and Wellington General Manager for QED Software.

Garth holds and has held a number of Board roles, including Assurity, Fronde and Ericsson-Synergy.

His education includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and Operations Research from the University of Canterbury. Garth also attended and graduated from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business Executive Program.

Darren started in IT in 1984 and brings a comprehensive understanding of the industry to the company, from business development and analysis, to project management and governance. He has started and led multiple successful businesses on the past two decades.

Prior roles include CEO of Synergy New Zealand (UK) Ltd, and Chairman of Hypr.

Darren attended and graduated from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business Executive Program.

When not at work, Darren’s passion is being at sea with his family.

Alex is an experienced professional director with a passion for working with others to maximise potential. He is currently an independent director/trustee for Christchurch City Holdings, Quotable Value, Effectus, Plunket, and also Chair of the Board for Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust and Anchorage Trustee Services.

Prior to becoming a professional director, Alex spent 20 years at KPMG focussing on Audit and Risk; this included 12 years as a Partner.

Alex is a Chartered Fellow of the IOD, a member of the Chartered Accountants Australia and NZ, and a Chartered Member of ICAEW.

Alex is a family man with two teenage children, he is a keen cyclist but much of his spare time is currently taken up building a kit car with his son.

Katie is an experienced leader in people and business operations. Her career started in Human Resources and then evolved into people management and business operations management during her five years with PwC in London.  Immediately before joining Assurity, Katie held the role of Customer Service Centres Manager for Auckland Transport, where she managed a team of over 100 spread across 12 locations in Auckland.

Grant completed management studies at the University of the Witwatersrand Graduate School of Business in Johannesburg.

Grant enjoys keeping reasonably fit and is still attempting to improve his golf game when not spending time with family and friends around a BBQ and delighting in his young grandchildren.

Nicola joined Assurity in 2020 and was promoted to her current General Manager role in 2023. She has 18+ years of professional experience and started her career at BDO Auckland, where she qualified as a Chartered Accountant. Following this, Nicola has held a variety of finance and accounting positions both in New Zealand and abroad, including Investec Bank in London and Datacom NZ.

In her spare time, Nicola enjoys spending time with family and friends, dog-friendly hikes, running, and traveling.

Russell is an experienced IT Delivery Consultant, having specialised in strategic quality change on large-scale programmes in the Banking, Financial Services, Telecommunications, and Government arenas. Before moving to Aotearoa New Zealand, he enjoyed an IT career across Europe with Deloitte Consulting and Daimler Chrysler before settling on these shores. He is passionate about delivering successful outcomes through co-design, collaboration, and placing people at the heart of change.

Russell is a passionate fisherman when not spending quality time with his family supporting their equine pursuits.