Get to know the NZ Business Connect Board

By Sebastian Bezuidenhout

Some people are content with a job that pays enough to justify the nicer instant coffee. Others find a life-affirming joy within the most human of all pursuits, art, and the stumbling journey of creation that takes us from canvas to painting.

There’s also the type of person who builds. And achieves. And then builds anew. We call these people 'entrepreneurs'. This unending pursuit of entrepreneurial growth may be hard to understand if you’re of the coffee or canvas ilk, but it’s important that you try. The museums that house Monets needed to start with someone who had an idea.

Jujhar Singh Randhawa

Take Jujhar Singh Randhawa, the chairman of NZ Business Connect, for instance. A skim reading of his LinkedIn will show you his achievement, an education in both mechanical and electrical engineering, 25 years of business success across sectors as diverse as refrigeration and medicine, and taking home the 2023 Hamilton Civic Award.

As for the question of why he builds, why he sets out to achieve?

He wants to make his corner of the world as bright as possible. See, Mr. Randhawa isn’t just an entrepreneur, or chairman. He’s a pillar of his community, and throughout his career has used his success to improve the lives of others, whether it be through his I AM HE(R) charitable trust, or his service as a Justice of the Peace.

“Giving back is not just a responsibility; it’s a privilege,” Mr. Randhawa said.

Mr. Randhawa wants to apply his knowledge in fostering growth to the building of the NZBC community. As the network grows, Mr. Randhawa believes that he can steer “NZ Business Connect towards a future rich in opportunities.”

He is not alone in this endeavour. Joining him are his fellow board members: Isaac Whatnall, and Rory McKenzie.

Mr. Whatnall is an associate of Foley Douglas, a Hamilton-based law firm. He specialises in property, trust and estate, relationship property, and commercial law. With a decade of legal experience under his belt, Mr. Whatnall is a problem solver who thrives on “making the impossible possible” for his clients.

The ethos of giving back is alive and well with Mr. Whatnall, he acts as a mentor to the more junior members of his firm, and claims that the highlight of his career thus far has been helping a single mother focus on raising her child.

Isaac Whatnall

Rory Mckenzie

Rory McKenzie is a partner at Maisey Harris and Co., an award winning Hamilton-based accounting firm, and a member of the Hamilton Central Business Assoc Executive Committee. Mr. McKenzie is a chartered accountant who prides himself on his ability to see beyond the spreadsheet to the human, and is known around the office as a tax expert of incredible patience who can talk to clients in their own words.

The board of NZBC see a bright future for the network, and with their combined experiences in entrepreneurship, law, and the world of accounting, you can be sure that the light will not go out during our upcoming expansion