Meet our people

Trust House Ltd Senior Management

Allan Pollard

Chief Executive Officer

Allan is the CEO of the Trust House Limited Group. His primary responsibilities are to develop organisational strategy in consultation with the Board and Executive team to ensure alignment with the Group’s core purpose, its vision and its values. Allan is also responsible for delivering a commercially strong organisation for the enhancement of social good. This includes ensuring that all legislative requirements covering our business segments are delivered and any risks mitigated.

The Executive team report directly to our CEO who works closely with them to ensure delivery of our key initiatives.

Contact Allan
(06) 370 0520
allan@trusthouse.co.nz

More about Allan

Allan has worked in the commercial and social enterprise sectors for 35 years. Originally from Glasgow, Allan started his professional life as a 16 year old dishwasher and has worked through most positions in the commercial and social enterprise sectors on his way to becoming our Chief Executive Officer.

Allan commenced employment with Trust House as our GM Operations and Marketing in 2003. Allan studied later in life and graduated with a Master’s degree in Business Administration in 2012. Allan was appointed as our CEO in 2013 and has implemented significant change management initiatives to further grow and develop the organisation.

A key achievement by Allan and the team was winning the first contract in New Zealand from the Government as a fully registered community housing provider. This has enabled significant benefits to be supplied to the people in our communities most in need. It has also created further income streams that can be channelled to delivering further improvements to our housing assets, such as insulation, heating sources and internal and external refurbishment. Recently we have also completed our first housing regeneration program, another great achievement under Allan’s tenure.

Increased benefits in excess of $4m back to our communities via grants, charitable donations, sponsorship and facilitation of company resources has also delivered immense benefits to community wellbeing. This has included: Recreation and Sport, Arts, Community and Culture, Health and Education.

In his spare time Allan is a keen triathlete having completed two full Ironman races plus multiple half Ironman competitions, marathons and other multi-sport events.

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Richard Simmonds

General Manager, Corporate Services

Richard is the General Manager Corporate Services. In this role he is responsible for the finance, IT, legal, payroll and human resources functions of the Trust House Group. Richard also manages key relationships with our Auditors, Bankers and Insurers.

Contact Richard
(06) 370 0520
richard@trusthouse.co.nz

More about Richard

Richard is the General Manager Corporate Services. In this role he is responsible for the finance, IT, legal, payroll and human resources functions of the Trust House Group. Richard also manages key relationships with our Auditors, Bankers and Insurers. Richard has over 20 years experience in senior finance positions both in New Zealand and England, ranging from privately held companies to FTSE 100 listed companies, across sectors including freight forwarding, retail, gambling and hospitality. Since joining Trust House, Richard has led projects to install new accounting systems, enterprise point of sales systems, IT virtualisation and disaster recovery systems. Richard has a BCA from Victoria University, is a Chartered Accountant (Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand) and has an MBA from City University of London. Outside of work Richard enjoys cycling (fair weather only!) mountain biking and tracking down good curry houses.

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Cindra Grant

General Manager, Operations & Compliance

Cindy is responsible for all aspects of running the Trust House Foundation.

This includes ensuring the gaming venues are all compliant and that the gaming is run lawfully.

Cindy attends the Regional Net Proceeds Committee Boards of the Foundation to ensure that the grants submitted to the Trust House Foundation meet the requirements of the Department of Internal Affairs.

Contact Cindy
06 370 0525
cindy@trusthouse.co.nz

More about Cindy

Cindy has extensive knowledge in all aspects of Trust House and its businesses. Cindy is responsible for the maintenance and training of our enterprise point of sale system. Cindy became the Operations Manager for Trust House in 2013 and has now moved into gaming and compliance.

Craig Thomson

General Manager, Housing & Infrastructure

Craig is responsible for all of the Trust House rental portfolio. He is also responsible for the management of our Hydro-Electric scheme and the Maintenance and BWOF of our commercial properties. He has worked for Trust House for 10 years.

Contact Craig
06 370 0529
craig@trusthouse.co.nz

More about Craig

Craig is originally from Milngavie in Scotland. Craig spent 10 years in the Regimental Band of the 1st Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. He then spent 12 years as a Police Officer in the Kent County Constabulary in England. He was a Detective in the Child Protection Unit for 5 years. In 2002 Craig migrated to New Zealand and started work as a Senior Gambling Inspector with the Department of Internal Affairs. Craig started working for Trust House in 2005 as the Community Support Manager. He was responsible for all aspects of running the Trust House Foundation including the grants application process. In January 2015 he took up the new role of General Manager, Housing & Infrastructure. Outside of work Craig is interested in performing and conducting all kinds of music. He is currently the Chairperson of Te Awhina Cameron Community House.

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Trust House Ltd Board of Directors

Jock Kershaw

Chair of Trust House Ltd, President of Masterton Community Trust

Jock became Chair of Trust House Ltd in 2014, having been a Director since 2007, and is a member of the Audit and Risk Committee. Jock is also Chair of both the Trust House Foundation and the Masterton Community Trust, and has been an elected MLT Trustee from 2001-2016. Then an elected MCT trustee since Oct 2016.

More about Jock

Jock is a Barrister and Solicitor and currently the Senior Partner in a long-established Wairarapa legal firm, Gawith Burridge. Jock's professional duties take him throughout the Wairarapa acting for individuals, local authorities and small business. Jock lives in Masterton with wife Anne, their three adult children are currently living abroad.

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Lucy Griffiths

Director of Trust House Ltd, Vice President of Masterton Community Trust

Lucy is Vice President of the Masterton Community Trust, a Director of Trust House Ltd. She is also a member of the Trust House Foundation and is a member of the Audit and Risk Committee.

More about Lucy

In 2009 she established her consultancy business, Innov8 Aoteaora Ltd to assist food and beverage companies to market, sell and export their products. In 2014 she travelled the world studying agriculture from farm to fork as a Nuffield New Zealand Scholar. Lucy has held various governance roles including board member of the Wairarapa Chamber of Commerce (2010 to 2013) and foundation trustee of the FAME Alumni Trust for 7 years (Food and Agribusiness Market Experience, run jointly by Otago, Lincoln and Massey Universities). She also holds directorships on other local and family businesses and is working towards her Chartered Director qualification as a member of the Institute of Directors. Aside from business, Lucy is an active member of the community. She belongs to various singing, theatre, church and agricultural networks, has competed in several half ironman and this year she ran her first marathon.

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Mena Antonio

Deputy Chair Trust House Foundation, Chair Masterton Net Proceeds Committee

Mena is an elected Masterton Community Trust Trustee.

More about Mena

Mena is a businesswoman. She founded The Diaspora Way which designs and delivers coaching services and programmes about courage, living whole and elevated leadership. Mena graduated in law and has postgraduate qualifications in communication management and museum and heritage. Other governance credentials include the Aratoi Foundation and 3DHB Strategic Pacific Health Advisory Group. Mena works from home in rural Masterton where she lives with her husband and their two children. Among her favourite places in Wairarapa are Mount Holdsworth, Henley Lake and home.

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Donald Baskerville

Independent Director of Trust House Ltd

Don was appointed to the Trust House Ltd board as an Independent Director in 2011.

More about Don

Don spent almost 20 years as a management consultant working in a wide range of contracts across private and public sector. This follows a career of almost 30 years in the financial services industry working for firms of consulting actuaries and for insurance companies. Don is a Certified Management Consultant and an Associate of the Institute of Actuaries. Don has an extensive track record of having been involved in the early stage of establishment of financial institutions and has community involvement in many organisations, notably in governance. He is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors, and his most significant previous governance roles included Chair of New Zealand Anglican Church Pension Board, Chair of the Anglican Insurance Board and as Managing Director of AMP Superannuation Management Limited. Don sits on Trust House Ltd Board’s Audit and Risk Committee. Don and his wife enjoy the culinary fruits of their lifestyle in rural Carterton.

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David Henry

Independent Director of Trust House Ltd

David joined the board of Trust House Ltd as an Independent Director in December 2004. He became a member of the Audit and Risk Committee (ARC) in 2005 and was made Chair of the ARC in 2006. David continues to be a Chartered Accountant having qualified in 1975.

More about David

David was an Executive Director of the listed company Fisher & Paykel Industries Limited from May 1992 to November 2001. As an Executive Director and the Chief Financial Officer (15 years) he was a director of most of the appliance, healthcare and finance companies subsidiaries both in New Zealand and overseas. Since leaving Fisher & Paykel, when it was split into two separately listed companies, David has been a director of two listed companies (Wool Equities Limited and Sky City Leisure Limited), a number of finance companies, Industrial Research Limited (a Crown Research Institute) and an independent director and chairman of a number of private companies. David was a director of New Zealand Steel Limited from September 1987 to April 1992. He is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Directors, having been accredited in 2005, made a Fellow in 2006 and was on the Auckland branch committee 2008 to 2015. Given his wide range of commercial experience he is also an advisor to a number of companies. David lives in Auckland.