Sir Stephen Tindall
Founder and Trustee
I have a background in retail, beginning my career at George Court & Sons. In 1982 I started my own business, The Warehouse; it was a private company until late 1994 when it floated on the New Zealand Stock Exchange. I held the position of Managing Director until January 2001, then appointed a CEO and assumed the position of Founder, returning as Group CEO from May 2003 until October 2004.
My first venture into philanthropy began in 1982 when I founded the Alay Buhay Foundation in Manila, Philippines. Having seen the extreme poverty there on my many business trips, I wanted to provide a hand-up to help local families.
In 1994, my wife Margaret and I established The Tindall Foundation. We were, and still are, passionate about helping New Zealanders to live healthy and happy lives and for our communities to be strong and prosperous. We began by supporting families and social services, and then extended our giving to include environmental initiatives and those that create employment and encourage enterprise, strengthen the community sector and promote generosity and giving.
As a proud Kiwi, I am an avid investor in New Zealand enterprise. Through K1W1 Ltd and other vehicles, I have invested $250 million seed and venture capital into a large number of start-up and early-stage businesses. I have been a Council Member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, and am a Founding Member of the New Zealand Institute – a think tank formed to contribute creative ideas and solutions to policy debate. In 2000 I co-founded KEA, The Kiwi Expat Association, which now has 800,000 members globally who help to assist New Zealand from where they live offshore.
My personal goal is to help New Zealanders realise their full potential for the overall benefit of our country.
“We are committed to building an entrepreneurial and innovative culture in New Zealand in order to generate employment and social business.”