Kylie Harcourt
Director and Co-founder
Kylie Harcourt
Director and Co-founder
Kylie believes everyone needs an outlet to think creatively – it’s part of what makes us human. Her brain is always ticking over and coming up with ideas, whether she’s at the gym, at work, or cheering on her sons’ many sporting teams.
Kylie loves creating a space at HGB where her clients and her team can explore their creative ideas and bring them to life, while providing strategic direction to ensure everything is driven by strategy.
Jacqui Gage-Brown
Director and Co-founder
Jacqui Gage-Brown
Director and Co-founder
Jacqui believes life is a challenge – and it’s a challenge she embraces. Experiences, relationships and happiness inspire Jacqui and drive her out of bed every day (that, and her 5am CrossFit class!).
Jacqui supports clients to achieve their business goals through strategic marketing, positioning, branding and fundraising. She also leads and inspires the HGB team, and is constantly asking, “what next?”
Ann Graham
Brand Journalist
Ann Graham
Brand Journalist
BSS
PGDip. Journalism
GradDip. Business Studies
Cert. English Language Teaching of Adults
PGDip Management Communication
An accomplished journalist and sub-editor, PR and communications executive and content creator, Ann has worked with words for more than a decade both in New Zealand and overseas. Beginning her career in her hometown of Hamilton as an education reporter for the Waikato Times, she then worked at the University of Waikato before buying a one-way ticket to the UK.
Ann has experienced first-hand the change in the media industry and developed an expertise in the areas of branded content, website copy and donor messaging for both online and offline channels. Having travelled to more countries than she’s had birthdays, Ann creates content for clients that talks to customers and gets results.
Jade Williams
Strategic Marketing Consultant
Jade Williams
Strategic Marketing Consultant
Bachelor of Communications, Dip Event Management
Stilettos, sandals or good old-fashioned gumboots – Jade’s footwear can reveal a lot about her. Originally from the King Country, her rural upbringing on a sheep and beef farm has cemented in her a real passion for the sector.
Jade feels just at home in the big smoke though, where she’s carved out a successful career in marketing in both New Zealand and Australia, working for national and global brands including The Warehouse, Tru-Test Group and Heartland Bank.
This farm girl turned city lass brings strong organisation and project management skills to HGB as well as a love for customer centric marketing practises, event management and shoe sales.
Lisa Motteram
Strategic Marketing Consultant
Lisa Motteram
Strategic Marketing Consultant
Lisa is one highly motivated, results driven person – with the most charming British accent you ever did hear. Lisa has developed and executed marketing strategies for more than 26 years, most recently in her role as group account director at J Walter Thompson.
National and global brands including The University of Auckland, Z Energy, SKYCITY Entertainment Group, Whitcoulls, McDonalds (UK and NZ), Burger King International, and Ford of Europe can all be found on Lisa’s impressive resume.
Venessa Govender
Production/Account Manager
Venessa Govender
Production/Account Manager
A recent arrival in New Zealand from South Africa, Venessa and her family are discovering New Zealand for the first time. For us, it feels like she’s been here forever. Venessa brings loads of marketing, branding, advertising, and account management experience. She’s also a slick project manager, nailing deadlines and briefs every time. Venessa believes there’s nothing wrong with striving for perfection.
Venessa has worked with an impressive list of global brands including the South African Rugby Union, South African Cricket Union, Vodacom (Vodafone) Sport Sponsorship Division, Aon Insurance, and Roche Pharmaceuticals.
She’s still wrapping her head around our quirky sayings, like “sweet as”! But we know she’ll be sounding Kiwi as in no time.
Katrina Wilson
Senior Designer
Katrina Wilson
Senior Designer
BMA Graphics & Senior Design
Katrina lives and breathes graphic design. Whether it’s creating a new client logo, a business brochure, an advert or a web banner, Katrina’s eye for detail ensures the end product has visual impact.
Cambridge born and bred, Katrina began her design career with a Bachelor of Media Arts at Wintec. She’s since spent almost two decades working in the graphic design and print industry for companies on both sides of the globe, including The New Zealand Printing Company in Hamilton and Service Graphics in the UK.
A self-confessed Pinterest addict, Katrina combines her passion for graphic design with her creative skill and expertise, to interpret concepts and deliver innovative artwork to HGB’s clients.
Natalie Morrell
Senior Designer
Natalie Morrell
Senior Designer
Bachelor of Computer Graphic Design
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and work with your hands.” Those are the words Cambridge-based, outdoor-loving boho Nat lives by. A creative soul, Nat can always be found creating or designing something amazing. Just listen for the scribbles of a pencil or the faint clicking of a computer mouse; that’ll be her turning magic ideas into reality.
Armed with a design degree from the University of Waikato, Nat brings over 10 years’ experience to the HGB design team. Her portfolio of brand, design, logo artwork, and illustration showcases the work of a quiet, creative genius and her customers love her for it.
When she’s not running a business and making design magic, she’s hiding away from social media and enjoying the backyard we call NZ.
Danielle Carden
Designer and Client Support
Danielle Carden
Designer and Client Support
BDes(Honours) Graphic Design
If there’s one thing we know about Danielle, she digs design… and she’s bloody good at it too. Websites, packaging, graphics and interiors – Danielle has an eye for detail and finishes every project with creative flair.
Whatever she’s working on, she brings new ideas, detail, out of the box thinking and OCD cleaning skills to the table, as well as the occasional healthy banoffee pie (yes there is such a thing!)
When she isn’t creating, or rearranging her house, she can be found in the gym letting off some steam or scheming her next big overseas trip.
Finalist Best Awards 2017
Dan Zainey
Designer
Dan Zainey
Designer
PGDip Superhero Justice
Batman has no limits. That’s important to know straight off the bat.
As the first, and hopefully not the last man to join HGB, Daniel will bring a good range of experience to the team. From his first job with a printer in Te Awamutu, through agencies and freelance projects, his passion for design has only increased . Though he loves typography, he isn’t shy to give you pages of ideas for any project you may tell him about!
A cornerstone of his drive is a little piece of advice a former studio manager gave him, “never stop learning – that simple.” He is also looking forward to sharing with the HGB family his sense of humour, superhero obsession and pretty good knowledge of sport.
As an adopted son of the Waikato, he loves everything that Hamilton offers. With his wife Neva and their 3 kids, weekend sport, rock ‘n roll dancing, anything to do with Batman, there is always something going on in his world that will continue to inspire him and carry through to bring that to his HGB clients.
Mel Mason
Office Manager
Mel Mason
Office Manager
Mention dogs, donuts and data (in that order) and you’ll have Mel’s attention. Mel’s the smiling face who’ll greet you when your first walk through the door. She knows all HGB processes like the back of her hand – she should, she’s written most of them.
As the office Wonder Woman, Mel ensures all systems are go here at HGB. From invoicing to HR, payroll to accounts, Mel is a dab hand at everything that comes under the label ‘office management’.
She’s also the organiser of morning teas, lunches and Christmas parties. When she’s not keeping the HGB team in check, Mel loves spending time with her two boys and their latest addition – Bentley the Labradoodle.
Jess Howells
Marketing Intern
Jess Howells
Marketing Intern
She’s known in the office as Jess the Intern, but there’s so much more to this Waikato University student than meets the eye. When not running errands, taking notes, organising files or proofing blogs – all of which she does with a smile on her face – Jess is soaking up the atmosphere of what life is like in a busy strategic marketing consultancy.
Jess’ passion for marketing is fuelled by three things: her love for people, creativity and design. That and a constant supply of gluten free/dairy free snacks. Branding, colour schemes and good photography also get Jess’s heart rate up.
In her spare time, Jess can be found listening to business podcasts, scrolling through Pinterest and doing yoga.
