Global Kiwi

Anthony Romano has an impressive CV, in fact when it comes to business there isn’t much he hasn’t done. These days the Nelson born Kiwi is a CEO, Consultant, Investor and Director living in Milan Italy, but he started his career in Christchurch consulting for Deloitte. He moved with the company to Italy before moving to Timberland to become the CFO, and then to Calvin Klein to eventually become the CEO for the European Headquarters. He was the General Manager for Luna Rossa in the America’s Cup in Valencia, as well as holding a Regional CEO role for Prada and Worldwide CEO role for English luxury Footwear brand Church’s.

Anthony was named on the Walpole Power List as one of the ‘50 Most Influential People in British Luxury.’

In between roles he has consulted to various clients, such as those in fashion, luxury, sports events, and private equity. On the side, along with three business partners, he’s invested in multiple New Zealand Tourism businesses including the Christchurch Gondola, Tram, Punting on the Avon, and Hanmer Springs Attractions, in addition to some investment in property developments. Anthony is also an equity partner in Moffulabs, a seed funding firm focused on technology start-ups. Last year he was named on the Walpole Power List as one of the ‘50 Most Influential People in British Luxury.’

He puts his success down to a lot of hard work and says from very early in his career that he was always proactive in creating the next opportunity.

“People hear what I have done and you get a “wow”, they think I was lucky. The roles I’ve had are great, but behind the beautiful facade there is a lot of hard work going on and luck is not part of the game. You make your own luck by always giving your best whatever you do, putting your hand up and taking that extra assignment, not being afraid, but actively seeking challenges bigger than your age or experience. You need to be bold and create your own opportunities. It is those difficult challenges and situations where we make the most mistakes and learn the most.”

If he could go back and do it all again there are two things he would consider doing differently.

“Firstly I would have engaged with a mentor, I never really had one, and I think they are such a valuable tool. I did have people around me who I admired and observed. Secondly, I think I could have beaten my own drum a bit more, which could have created more opportunities. I think it’s a New Zealand thing, being too humble, the Kiwi upbringing makes it hard to get the balance right. On one hand, you want to stay grounded, but we also need to embrace and celebrate our success and build on it. I was lucky that I had bosses and shareholders who rewarded me for the work I was doing.”

The value that Anthony sees in a mentor for other businesses has led him to volunteer as a solver for Kea, and has also led him to be part of Moffulabs a seed investment fund which is unique in its structure, combining two traditional seed financing models.

“Moffulabs is like a fund in the sense we invest as a single organisation, but we have 60 c-suite executives as shareholders, who take an active role in pre investment evaluations, post investment advice and on-going consulting. This means start-ups benefit from direct access to the experience and network of investors who, in turn, are stimulated and being exposed to new ideas and technology. In the past two years we have invested in some 22 startups and evaluated more than 250. We see a lot of young entrepreneurs and we are able to identify quite quickly those who have what it takes to bring a start-up company to the next level.”

Much of Anthony’s career has been based in Italy, with stints in NZ, Spain, Turkey and England, he has dual citizenship and is proud to be labelled both a Kiwi and an Italian. He has an Italian wife and 2 daughters aged 18 and 9 years old.

“My wife, Diana, has been incredibly supportive and patient. I try to be very efficient with the reduced time I have with my children, and luckily I have a very close relationship with both of them. My eldest has just been accepted into Stanford, Columbia, Princeton, and UCLA – a fantastic achievement for both New Zealand and Italian standards. She has an incredible work ethic and maturity for a high schooler, but whatever she and her sister choose to do, I want them to be stimulated, curious, and to do it with passion.”

Along with hard work Anthony also puts a lot of his success down to growing up in New Zealand.

“I grew up in a large extended family and community, which was supportive, and provided the grounding of who I am, I am proud of New Zealand’s ability to thrive on the world stage. We punch above our weight which I love. If I can help a NZ company or an up-and-coming entrepreneur on their way to success then that’s rewarding for me, it’s stimulating listening to and advising NZ businesses.”

Anthony says there are plenty of great ideas and companies in New Zealand who have had international success, as there are many who have failed internationally. New Zealand cannot rely on what worked in the past, for new ideas and more international success, the country must invest first and foremost in people and give the next generation the opportunity to be competitive internationally.

“We need to get young people into businesses early, encourage them to create their own startups, and help them obtain international exposure. Investing in a world-class forward thinking education system, incentivizing R&D and startups, and encouraging international experience. Successful Kiwis will return, or will support New Zealand from afar.”

Anthony’s own journey is far from over and despite the huge variety of roles he has held and the success he has achieved, true to his mantra he says he still has more to learn.

“I am currently evaluating opportunities, after a career of senior executive roles, board positions, consulting and investing, I am ready to specialise in strategic business consulting, after gaining so much more knowledge in the last 10 years, I know I can help companies in many ways, identify the objectives and required strategies for example. This could be in small startups or larger companies or investment funds. Seed, venture capital or private equity funds is an area I am particularly focussed on right now, but I have also been discussing some business consulting and direct investment projects.”

Anthony is just one of Kea’s many ‘solvers’ – Kiwi who are keen to provide advice and mentoring to other Kiwi businesses through our free Kea Connect service. If you’d like to speak to Anthony or any of our other solvers then get in touch with Kea Connect today

London

After a pause on traditional Anzac Day services in London, the New Zealand High Commission are delighted to resume this event, in person, on Monday 25 April 2022. Services at the Cenotaph and Westminster Abbey are only available to ticket holders but the Dawn Service at Hyde Park Corner will be open to all. Security checks will be in place. More here

Belgium

After a pause on traditional Anzac Day commemorations, the New Zealand embassy in Belgium are delighted to announce that this event will take place, in person, on 25 April 2022. Find out more here

France

On 25 April 2022, an Anzac Day Dawn Service will be conducted at the Australian National Memorial, near Villers-Bretonneux, France. All members of the public wishing to attend will be required to register for a ticket. These tickets are free and available online.

Spain

The New Zealand and Australian Embassies in Spain will host a commemorative service for Anzac Day on 25 April 2022. If you would like to attend, please register your details here by Monday 18 April.

Italy

The Australian and New Zealand Embassies in Rome will commemorate ANZAC Day with a ceremony at the Rome War Cemetery, Via Nicola Zabaglia (Piramide) commencing at 9.00 a.m. on Monday 25 April. All are welcome.Health protocols will be in place. On arrival at the cemetery Green Passes are to be exhibited. More info here

Netherlands

There will be hosting a small in-person commemoration on Monday 25 April at 8am at the Westduin Cemetery in The Hague, organised this year by Australia. With COVID still present and a limited number of spaces available for the in-person ceremony, we will continue to livestream the ceremony as we have done last year. This will make the event as accessible as possible for those who want to commemorate this important moment. In addition to invited guests, it is possible for a limited number of persons to register for the in-person event on a first-come-first-served basis. Please only do this if you really are able to make it to Westduin Cemetery at that early hour on a Monday. You can register here

Turkey

New Zealand and Australian public Anzac Day services will return to Gallipoli in 2022. As well as the dawn service on 25 April at the Anzac Commemorative Site, a New Zealand commemoration is also planned be held at Chunuk Bair. All commemorations will be held within the Turkish COVID-19 guidance at the time and attendees will be encouraged to follow appropriate public health measures. More information can be found here

Abu Dhabi

The Australian and New Zealand embassies will host a commemorative Dawn Service at 5.30am on Monday 25th of April at the Emirates Palace Hotel, Abu Dhabi. The service will be followed by refreshments. Attendees will have to provide proof of vaccination of have a negative PCR test result which is less than 48 hours old.

Dubai

The New Zealand and Australia consulates will host a Dawn Service at The Promenade of the Intercontinental Hotel, Festival City at 5.24am on the 25th of April. All guests are welcome to lay commemorative wreaths after the official ceremony. Poppies will be available for a small donation for the RSA of New Zealand. We suggest you arrive at 5 AM to be seated. After the ceremony breakfast will be available for a small cost. Please RSVP the number of people attending the ceremony and/or breakfast to [email protected] by 17 April.

Jerusalem

The Australian Embassy is holding a Dawn Ceremony at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery on Mt Scopus, Jerusalem, on ANZAC day. The ceremony begins at 05:30.

New York

To mark this special occasion in 2022, the Australian Consulate-General, New York will host the Dawn Service, which is free and open to the public. More details can be found here

Chicago

Please join the Australian Consulate-General in Chicago at our Monday 25 April Anzac Day Service. The service begins at 7:00 am at the Chicago Vietnam Veterans Memorial, on the Riverwalk at State & Wabash, followed by coffee and a light breakfast nearby.There is no charge to attend this event, but registration is required for catering purposes. Please contact [email protected] with questions.

Seoul

The 2022 Anzac Day dawn service will take place on Monday 25th April at 6:30am in the Main Hall of the Korean War Memorial, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Due to the current COVID restrictions, a limited number of tickets are available for the event, as such the Embassy is seeking for expressions of interest for those who would like to attend. You can register for the event and find more information here

If you know of other services that you would like added to this list please email [email protected].

Fill out your arrivals card and declare or dispose any at risk goods

For many of us it’s been quite some time since we’ve had to fill out an arrivals card. This declaration form is just as important now as it was pre-pandemic so make sure you bring a pen so you can fill it out on the plane and have it ready to go upon landing. Remember to declare all goods that pose a biosecurity risk including food, plants, wooden products, soil, water, outdoor equipment, and animal products. If in doubt, declare or dispose of them in the amnesty bins provided throughout your pathway on arrival! And remember this includes food or snacks that you may have put aside on the plane! Don’t let the apple your child put into your carry-on turn into a $400 fine.

Avoid bringing at risk goods if at all possible

Think twice about bringing home at-risk goods at the moment. Queues at the airport may be longer due to all the pandemic protocols in place. Having to declare your goods may add a significant amount of time to your arrival. Think twice about the items you need to declare, do you really need to bring them home this time? Or can they wait until a later visit?

Collect your Welcome Home pack quickly

All travellers eligible to bypass MIQ will receive a welcome pack from biosecurity staff. This pack contains your rapid-antigen tests and all you need to know about them including how to report your results and stay safe from COVID-19 while in New Zealand. Please ensure everyone you are travelling with collects a pack. Please avoid asking biosecurity staff any health related or testing questions, they are not medical staff and you will only hold up the queue for yourself and others. If you have more questions after reading the information in the pack, please visit the Unite Against Covid-19 website.

Don’t stop for the detector dogs

The cutest response to New Zealand’s biosecurity network is the team of highly trained detector dogs who check the bags of incoming passengers from planes and boats. When the dog approaches you it’s important to keep walking, the dog will check your bag as you move. You only need to stop if the dog handler asks you to, otherwise you risk slowing down yourself and others behind you. It’s also important to remember that while these dogs may look cute they are working animals. Please avoid trying to pat or touch them. This is especially important to explain to children. If you would like to talk to your kids about the dogs and the important role they play, plus watch a video with the cute new trainees see the Biosecurity New Zealand website.

Be kind

For many of our offshore community finally arriving back into New Zealand will be highly emotional. We have never in our lives had a situation where we have been unable to travel back and forth to see family and friends. Almost all of us have missed important events over the past two years, and getting through the airport at the end of a trip is always the most frustrating part. Biosecurity staff are just doing their jobs, please follow all procedures and have everything ready for staff to check. Dispose of any at risk items in the bins provided to avoid getting a fine, and be patient with staff who are working as fast as they can to process everyone. Please remember biosecurity staff are people too, the last two years have been hard on them as well and we are all looking forward to things getting back to some sort of normal.

For more information on returning to New Zealand including vaccine passports, travelling around NZ and Covid testing centres take a look at our list of official website links here.

Updated 18 March 2022

New Zealand’s reconnection to the world will allow fully vaccinated travellers from Australia to enter New Zealand without the need for quarantine (MIQ) from 11.59 on April 12th. The same date that has already been set for the return of international students and temporary visa holders. Fully vaccinated travellers from visa-waiver countries will be able to enter the country from 11.59pm on May 1 without the need to self isolate.

All New Zealand citizens are now able to enter the country without needing to isolate.

About 60 countries and territories, including Canada and the United States, are on the visa waiver list.

Australian travellers will be able to enter in time for the Australian school holidays and the winter ski season. Non vaccinated travellers are unable to enter at this time.

The Government has signalled they will provide updates on vaccine passports, mask mandates and New Zealand’s Covid protection framework (traffic light settings) shortly.

Before you get to New Zealand:

All air travellers must fill out a New Zealand traveller declaration

Pre-departure testing requirements

Vaccine certification requirements

The Ministry of Health requires all travellers to New Zealand to fill out this declaration before arrival

Remember all travellers need to have had their last vaccination at least 14 days before flying to New Zealand. Those without the required approved vaccinations must undertake isolation in an MIQ facility.

Your trip through the airport arrivals hall has changed due to Covid precautions. Make sure you breeze through biosecurity by reading our handy guide.

My Vaccine Pass – is the official record of your COVID-19 vaccination status for use within Aotearoa New Zealand. Please be aware that this is the only valid document that can be used to access events or venues that require proof of your vaccination status – passes that you have used overseas or examples of international vaccine status will not be accepted in New Zealand. There are some time delays within this process, we recommend that you go through this process prior to returning.

How to register your overseas vaccinations for My Vaccine Pass

The Covid tracer app

The NZ COVID Tracer app helps you protect yourself, your whānau, and your community by enabling faster contact tracing. We recommended downloading before you return and use throughout your time in New Zealand, as you will be expected to either check in via this app or manually when visiting almost every non-residential place throughout New Zealand (e.g. retail, workplaces, hospitality).

Staying safe and getting around New Zealand

Information about the traffic light system (New Zealand is currently at Orange)

What to do if you develop Covid symptoms while in New Zealand.

Rebecca had always loved creating healthy snacks for friends and family but it was only when she struggled to find a job after taking 10 years off to raise her children that she decided to start her own business.

“‘Top Seedz’ is a play on a common sports term for the top ranked player or team in a competition because I have always loved the connection between food, sport and performance. I’ve always loved feeding my kids healthy snacks and I had been making the crackers and roasting seeds since forever and everyone loved them so I thought, ok I’ll give it a whirl.”

Investing $5k of her own money Rebecca rented space at a communal kitchen and began baking the organic crackers and roasting seeds to sell at her local farmers market.

Rebecca and her team helping out during the pandemic

“I know five thousand dollars doesn’t sound like a lot of money but to me it was so much, I would wake up in the middle of the night and think what have I done? I used that $5k to get the logo designed and the packaging created, I also bought the first batch of ingredients and rented space in a commercial kitchen. That kitchen allowed me to bake 8 boxes of crackers an hour, and I would just bake as fast as I could because I was paying by the hour and I didn’t know how profitable the business was going to be. The ovens were really old and the timers didn’t work so I had to keep turning the trays, it was hard work and there were a lot of times I thought this is mad, what am I doing?”

Not long after she started selling at the farmers market, her crackers began to make an impact and soon she was being approached by local businesses and then the supermarket chains came knocking.

“When I first sold to Wholefoods supermarket they said that I had created a new category. Most gourmet crackers on the market were tasty but weren’t good for you, and then the ones that were good for you didn’t taste great. Wholefoods said mine were healthy, delicious and also well packaged, so I was ticking all the boxes.”

Within the first year of operation Rebecca won $50k in a small business competition. The extra cashflow allowed her to say goodbye to hourly slots at the shared kitchen and move into her own space. She celebrated by spending $35k on a commercial oven which could bake enough crackers at any one time to fill 80 boxes.

Rebecca’s crackers can now be found in more than 300 supermarkets across the US

Five years on and Top Seedz is now producing around 50,000 boxes of crackers a month and can be found on the shelves of 300 stores across the US. Rebecca has also just won her second business competition and this one comes with a million dollars of investment which will help the company increase its production tenfold and build a bigger manufacturing site.

Despite her rise to success, it’s been a steep learning curve for Rebecca who is a first time business owner.

“I have been lucky enough to be profitable from day one, but that’s only because I didn’t realise I could take on investors or apply for a business loan! In hindsight it’s worked out well, and the two business competitions I have won have really helped the business grow. But as we have grown I have had to learn a lot. For example when I started out I didn’t think Human Resources was a big thing, turns out it’s huge!”

“I also find that one of the bigger challenges, when you have a small business, is getting people to listen to you without dismissing you. Last year we had been trying to automate some of our manufacturing and processing equipment. We were too small for people to pay much attention to us but we were too big to be doing a lot of the processes manually. I spoke to a few suppliers and I would have people come in and look and say ‘oh you are not ready for that or you can’t afford that.’ It’s really frustrating, they don’t know how much I have in the bank or what I’m ready for.”

While suppliers might not have been ready to listen to Rebecca, she found that her business community were. She is connected to several business networks and says her biggest advice to people starting out is to talk to as many people as you can.

“I have learnt that there is always someone out there who has been through the same thing. When I run into a problem I try to talk it through with other people. I usually find someone who has had the same problem and has an idea of how to fix it. I try to talk and share as much as possible. It can be lonely being the ‘top seed’ you are ‘the everything’. I do bounce a lot of ideas and thoughts off my husband but our family doesn’t want to talk about crackers all the time.”

Rebecca with her husband and daugther

Rebecca’s company isn’t just about making healthy snacks, she also plays an active role in helping others. Her company only hires female refugees and she works with a local charity to ensure those coming to her area are able to get a start on building new lives.

“We work with a local organisation that helps refugees settle in buffalo, they call us when they have people arriving and we will hire them if we have places available. Our staff are from all over the world, Afghanistan, Somalia, Syria. They have been through hell and back again, a lot of them have been in refugee camps outside of their own countries for a few years. Despite the challenges that their backgrounds create such as language barriers, I like welcoming people to this country and giving them an opportunity to start again.”

Rebecca is also an active part of the Kea Connect network and says no matter how long she lives offshore she will always consider herself a Kiwi.

“I will always be a New Zealander, sometimes I like to talk to another Kiwi just to hear the accent. From day one I have had so much help, so if my success or what has worked for me can help someone else I am all in. I think what comes around goes around and if I can help someone get a little further along then why not.”

For now Top Seedz is focused on growing its US business, building a bigger manufacturing plant and investigating options to export to Canada. Because the crackers are organic and preservative free their short shelf life makes exporting them further afield challenging but Rebecca says she’s determined to put them on Kiwi shelves at some point.

“I think my mum would kill me if I didn’t at least try to get them into New Zealand! It’s hard with the crackers as they are only good for four months and I can’t have them sitting on a boat for half that time. However we have just launched a boxed cracker mix that people can use to make their own, so who knows what the future holds.”

Rebecca is just one of Kea’s many ‘solvers’ – Kiwi who are keen to provide advice and mentoring to other Kiwi businesses through our free Kea Connect service. If you’d like to speak to Rebecca or any of our other solvers then get in touch with Kea Connect today

Co-founder of Jucy group, Tim Alpe can still remember the point when the company he built from scratch lost 90% of its revenue overnight. With millions of dollars of refund requests flooding in and borders around the world slamming closed faster than an angry teenager’s bedroom door, there was no way to tell what the future held.

“It’s something you can’t predict or plan for. For our sector in particular, younger travellers and backpackers, the market was completely decimated overnight. We relied heavily on the US and Europe travellers and all of a sudden they stopped coming, there is nothing you can do, you can’t plan for that.”

Tim Alpe

Tim and his brother Dan were forced to bring in external capital, which resulted in the three businesses, rentals, snooze and cruise being split up. Dan continued with the rentals business and Tim focussed on the POD hotels. Despite describing the last few years as ‘horrific’ Tim says he 100% believes New Zealand will once again become a top tourist destination.

“We have a new 300 bed POD hotel opening in central Auckland in September, it was planned before the pandemic, but the new owners backed it’s completion because they see the opportunities in the industry. When it opens it will be the largest hostel accommodation in New Zealand. We still have a bit of a rough time to get through but once the borders properly reopen people will flood in, there is a lot of pent up demand. New Zealand is a bucket list destination, people will be back, it’s just going to take awhile.”

The belief that the market will come back bigger and better is one shared by Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran. He believes the pandemic has given his company time to reflect and reprioritise in order to ensure they come back stronger with the best travel experience possible.

“We’ve been able to look at our domestic and international network and figure out how to offer our customers the best routes, flights and customer experience. This goes all the way through to our future aircraft cabin experience – we’re using customer input to create the best international travel experience for when borders open. Our new international aircraft coming 2024 will offer an incredible travelling experience. Some awesome new innovation is on its way.”

Greg Foran

“We know the future of Air New Zealand must be sustainable, and we think it’s the single largest challenge we have, so we’ve been exploring how to accelerate the reduction of our carbon emissions. By far the biggest contribution to decarbonisation will come from Air New Zealand accessing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and we made good progress in 2021 towards making SAF a reality in New Zealand. We’ve also put out the call out to traditional aviation manufacturers and entrepreneurs and innovators worldwide to help us get a zero emissions aircraft in the air in the next five years.”

Tourism marketing and business development expert Rēnata West says talking about new innovations and ideas is one of the best ways businesses can stay connected ahead of borders reopening. The California based Kiwi says businesses should be looking to promote what they have been doing over the last two years to refine their products and experiences and clearly show how they have altered their business practices to be more COVID-safe.

“In plain terms, if one of your key selling points was a buffet experience, you may want to think about how eating communally will be received by consumers who have largely only eaten outdoors at tables six feet apart for the last two years.”

Rēnata says his Los Angeles based travel business, Pacific Storytelling, is starting to see an increased interest in the New Zealand market, and notes that a change to the way people work is creating new and exciting opportunities.

“People in North America have some of the lowest levels of paid holidays in the world, but the pandemic has created a wider acceptance of remote working, this is offering people more flexibility and option to travel further afield. It also allows them to spend more time in a location and have a more meaningful experience.”

Rēnata West

“During the pandemic Aotearoa did a really good job showing off the country through digital tools like video and interviews with local personalities. This allowed the country to be brought into the living rooms and home offices of those in North America and now we are seeing this translate into an appetite to visit. We need to keep up that Kiwi storytelling to highlight our New Zealand story, the things like culture and Maori heritage that make Aotearoa unique, the things you won’t find anywhere else.”

Making the most of the Kiwi storytelling is something New Zealand Story CEO David Downs says all export businesses can benefit from, not just those in the tourism industry.

“Having an association with brand New Zealand is a great way of boosting your business. Our research data tells us that ‘Brand NZ’ is still strong, and while we wait for borders to reopen it’s really critical that all businesses are able to communicate a strong brand story and have a good online presence in order to stay front of mind in-market.

David says he hopes the lessons learned in the pandemic will continue to benefit businesses well into the future.

“As we start to emerge from this crisis I hope that people don’t just go back to business as usual. Instead we should be taking the lessons we have learned and looking at what needs to be fixed or changed. After all, the best time to fix the roof is when it’s not raining.”

Both Greg and Tim have had time to reflect on the past two years. For Tim the crisis made him realise some things really are just out of your control.

“I spent a lot of time panicking and sweating over stuff I couldn’t control, and as much as it’s devastating and stressful, I learnt you can’t take it personally. I think time is a big healer, you think about things you did or things you could have done over and over again, but eventually you get to a place where you are like ok we will get through this. The tourism sector in New Zealand will grow significantly in the future. I think the key for many businesses has been to survive, now they need to revive and hopefully in the not too distant future they will thrive.”

Greg says if he could go back to 2019 and give himself one piece of advice it would be the reminder to ‘panic slowly.’

“Air New Zealand has been around for a long time and has weathered its fair share of storms with level headed people calmly navigating constant change and uncertainty. Giving yourself a moment to gather all the information is crucial and I would say it’s how we’ve gotten through the countless challenges thrown our way. Grit is also an important quality at a time like this, two years in and we still have closed borders. It takes real resilience and you need to pace yourself, so I would say to people keep one eye on today and the other on tomorrow.”

If you would like to hear more about this topic or hear more of Tim’s story please join our online World Class speaker series. Find out more here

Sign into My Kea

Don't have an account?

Global Kiwi

Our Partners

Charity Partner