Hobson Leavy are thrilled to announce that Ben Kay has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Punakaiki Fund and 2040 Ventures and commenced his new role on 1 November 2022. Punakaiki Fund is one of NZ’s leading Venture Capital funds with a mandate to invest in early stage, high growth NZ-based technology companies – 2040 Ventures have been the external manager of the fund since its inception in 2014.
Ben has extensive capital raising, corporate finance, strategy, and investor relations experience gained over a 16-year career with various finance roles covering the NZ, Australia, US and UK/European markets.
Most recently, Ben was Group GM Strategy & Capital Markets at NZX/ASX listed SkyCity Entertainment Group Limited – an exec level role with responsibility for the company’s strategy/corporate development function, group financial planning & analytics, treasury and investor relations. At SkyCity, Ben was responsible for managing key external stakeholders including investors, analysts, financiers, rating agencies and investment bankers.
At Punakaiki Fund/2040 Ventures, alongside assuming regular finance and reporting responsibilities as CFO, Ben will focus on planning for and delivering an IPO of the fund over the next 18 months and supporting portfolio companies with corporate finance advice to enable them to deliver on their strategic goals.
Ben is married to Vanessa and has three young children (Madison, Lucas and Amara). Please join us in congratulating Ben on his new appointment.