Icehouse appoints new Group CEO

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 (pictured) will take up the Group CEO position from 3 February.

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.”

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 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.