Meet the team

Lesley is an active partner in Puketiro Farm, a Tauranga-based dairy farming and orchard business. In addition, she is a Community Magistrate who sits on the bench of District Courts throughout the Bay of Plenty and Midland regions. 

Lesley has served as Board Chair and Trustee on the Tauranga Girls' College and Pyes Pa School Boards and has sat on the Bay of Plenty Medical Ethics Committee. Prior to raising her family, she worked in Community Health Management.

Lesley is married with two daughters and enjoys tramping and travel.

Lesley was appointed to the Board in June 2015 and became Chair of the Acorn Foundation in November 2019.

Michelle Malcolm is a Chartered Accountant and Business Advisor, and the founding Senior Partner of Findex Tauranga, which was established in 2000. She has held various Board Positions, including Tourism Bay of Plenty, Wakeboarding New Zealand and currently sits on the Good Neighbour and Enterprise Angels Boards.

Michelle has a real passion for helping her clients navigate all aspects of business challenges in the financial/business advisory space and loves using her skills to give back to the community to help others, to make a our community a better place to live for generations to come.

Michelle is married with two teenage daughters. Her interests include gardening, skiing, walking and spending time with friends and family.

Michelle was appointed to the Board in January 2020, and is the current chair of the Audit, Risk and Policies Committee.

Michael is a consultant at Burley Castle Hawkins Lawyers in Tauranga, working largely in the property and business-related areas, with an emphasis on Trusts and Estate planning.

Michael sees his involvement with Acorn as an opportunity to give back to the area in which he was raised, and where he now raises his own children.

Michael is married to Robyn, and they have two school-aged children. His interests include tennis and running.

Michael was appointed to the Board in June 2016 by the Waikato/Bay of Plenty branch of the NZ Law Society.

Trish, in partnership with her husband Paul, has a considerable kiwifruit and dairy business – of which Trish is the Financial administrator.  During the kiwifruit harvest months she is a Zespri Ambassador, touring with offshore customers and media groups.
 
Prior to raising her three (now adult) children, Trish was a Dietitian, mainly hospital-based.  She has long been actively involved in her local Pongakawa and Te Puke community. 
 
She is a trustee of a family charitable Trust and DMS Progrowers Charitable Trust, and is  presently Chair of Rabobank Client Council, Central North Island.
 
Trish enjoys cycling, walking her dog, yoga and skiing.

Larry graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from a Canadian University and started work for the world’s largest oil, gas and chemical company, where he worked almost exclusively in the chemical’s division. He worked in project engineering, maintenance engineering and environmental engineering in the first five years of his employment before moving into management positions. During this time, Larry also completed an executive MBA at the Darden School of Business in the USA.

Larry was offered a role as a group general manager for a chemicals/fertiliser business (Ballance) in New Zealand and moved his family to New Plymouth from Canada. Within two years he was offered the role of CEO of Ballance and led the business for 14 years until his retirement.

As the CEO of Ballance, Larry reported to the board of directors and also chaired many boards that were subsidiaries of the company.  He understands the importance of a good board, directing and supporting the organisation.

Larry is currently the chair of the Tauranga Community Foodbank and a director and treasurer of the Kaimai Pistol Club. He joined the board of Acorn in late 2020 and we are delighted to have him on board. 

Acorn welcomed Carlo Ellis to the Board in November 2021.

Carlo has more than 20 years of experience in health management, business development and in local government roles.

Currently, Carlo serves as the Manager of Strategic Māori Engagement at Tauranga City Council and among his many community engagements, is Board Chair of Tu Kaha Foundation.

In addition to serving on the Acorn Board, Carlo also volunteers on our Distributions Committee.

Rohario grew up in Tauranga Moana and is a proud descendant of Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui, Tūhourangi and Ngā Puhi with Scottish, English and French ancestry. She is a Senior Solicitor at the Ministry for the Environment and enjoys working remotely from Tauranga. 

Rohario holds various Board positions including Chair of Murray Orchards based on Matakana Island, founding partner of Puru Investments and Tangata Whenua representative on Tauranga City Council’s Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee. She was also the Tumuaki Wahine of Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa, the Māori Law Society (2018 – 2020).

Rohario was appointed to the Board in July 2021 and says she is excited to join a foundation focussed on giving back to the wider community, and looks forward to bringing her knowledge and skills to the board table. In her spare time, Rohario enjoys kapa haka, wānanga reo Māori and spending time with family and friends.

Brian has lived in Tauranga for the past 32 years and has a background in investment banking and governance.

Brian is currently Head of Investment Services for MyFarm, which provides syndicate investment opportunities primarily in land-based horticultural assets. He is responsible for the preparation of MyFarm's investment offers, deal structuring and financial modelling. Over the past five years MyFarm has completed 22 new syndicates and raised $159 million.

Prior to joining MyFarm in 2011, Brian was Director of Investment Banking (Agribusiness) for Craigs Investment Partners for 10 years.

Brian joined the board of Acorn in July 2021 and says he can’t think of a better way to put something back into the community than contributing to the work of Acorn.

Beppie is a long-time supporter of Acorn and has been a member of our Investment Advisory Committee for the past 5 years.

Beppie’s international commercial experience and local involvement with WNT, Enterprise Angles and Purpose Capital will enable her to being a wealth of knowledge and experience to our Board.

Beppie joined the board of Acorn in November 2022 and says she is honoured to contribute in a governance role.