Board

The Board of Ark Investment Capital Limited is responsible for the overall management and oversight of the Fund. The Board is comprised of the following members:

Board of Directors

• Michael Stiassny

  Michael Stiassny BCom LLB

  Michael is a distinguished New Zealand business leader and governance specialist with over four decades of experience in financial advisory, corporate. With a solid academic foundation in both commerce and law, he has built a diverse portfolio of leadership positions across New Zealand’s corporate landscape. His expertise in governance, strategy and financial turnaround makes him an influential voice among boards, business leaders and entrepreneurs alike.

  He is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Directors in New Zealand and was a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand.

  Michael has served on numerous boards of both public and private companies, bringing deep expertise in risk management, restructuring, and strategic oversight.

  Key roles include:

  • Past President of the Institute of Directors in New Zealand
  • Board Member Financial Markets Authority
  • Chair of Tower Insurance NZ
  • Chair Director of Tegel Group Holdings Ltd
  • Chair Being AI
  • Chair of 2 Cheap Cars Group Limited
  • Director of New Talisman Gold Mines Limited
  • Director LPF Group
  • Partner at Founders Advisory
  • Life member of the Restructuring Insolvency & Turnaround Association of New Zealand
  • President of the Auckland Hebrew Congregation Trust Board
  • Past Chair of Vector
  • Past Chair of Waka Kotahi (NZ Transport Agency)
  • Past Chair of Metrowater
  • Past Chair of Ngati Whatua Whai Rawa Limited

  Michael is widely recognised for his strengths in Corporate governance and board leadership

• Bruce Sheppard

  Bruce Sheppard, BCom, CPA, ONZM

  Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for services to business.

  Bruce Sheppard is a distinguished New Zealand business leader, investor-advisor and shareholder advocate. From founding a boutique accounting practice in the mid-1980s through to building a wealth-services firm and playing a prominent role in shareholder representation and market governance, his career spans four decades of entrepreneurial growth, regulatory engagement and thought leadership. His direct, pragmatic style, combined with ethical grounding and strategic insight, has left an enduring mark on both his clients and the broader equity investment ecosystem in New Zealand.

  Bruce started his career working at Ernst & Young and the Inland Revenue Department and founded Gilligan Sheppard Accountants in 1985. Under his strategic leadership, Gilligan Sheppard went from being a traditional accounting firm to a wealth-services specialist. The firm’s focus now includes transaction advice, capital raising, property syndications, investment structuring and more.

  Bruce’s interests extend beyond his own firm into the broader capital-markets. He founded the New Zealand Shareholders Association in 2001 to represent shareholder interests, promote financial literacy and advocate for better governance and transparency in New Zealand’s equity markets.

  During his tenure as Chairman, the association grew from about 100 members to over 1,000 across six branches in NZ.

  Key roles:

  • Founder & Managing Partner of Gilligan Sheppard
  • Founder and Chairman of the New Zealand Shareholders’ Association
  • Foundation board member of the Financial Markets Authority
  • Director Argus Fire
  • Director LPF Litigation Funder
  • Past Director Matrix Security
  • Director of Numerous Private Family Office Boards

Advisory Board

• Wayne Gibbons

  Wayne Gibbons

  As Head of Business Development for Property Finance at Westpac, Wayne was responsible for growing the division’s loan book with a focus on origination, deal structuring, credit risk, pricing and relationship management.

  Instrumental in the early growth of the Property Finance division at Westpac New Zealand earning a respected market presence and far-reaching professional network. Wayne left Westpac to establish Crest Advisory providing strategic advice for clients considering property finance debt and security structures for new investment acquisitions, developments, debt restructuring, and refinancing for existing portfolios.

  Wayne has extensive technical knowledge from his more than 30 years in the sector with expertise in project risk assessment and the oversight of loan and security documentation plus funding covenants. His in-depth knowledge of banking policy, capital requirements, pricing and structuring expertise will be invaluable to Ark Investments when assessing requests for funding.

  Wayne has long established working relationships with New Zealand’s leading financial institutions and a finger on the pulse of the non-bank and private credit sector.

  With over three decades in the sector, Wayne has built a respected reputation for integrity, delivery and client-centric advisory. His prior leadership at Westpac and the breadth of his network—spanning major banks, non‐bank financiers, property developers and advisory professionals—supports his ability to navigate and deliver competitive funding structures.

• Simon Barnes

  Simon Barnes

  Simon is a registered quantity surveyor, a Life Member of the New Zealand Institute of Quantity Surveyors and a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Building with more than 40 years’ experience.

  He is recognised as an industry leader in the construction sector and is utilised extensively to negotiate contracts and provide expert opinions on a wide range of projects. His depth of experience allows him to provide clear and consistent advice which allows clients to make timely and informed decisions which add value and reduces risk. He has many years experience in assisting major trading banks and other financial organisations in reviewing the fundamentals of projects from both a financial, programme and risk perspective.

  Simon recently retired from Barnes Beagley Doherr, a firm he founded and one of New Zealand's leading Quantity Surveying companies.

• Bruce Catley

  Bruce Catley BProp

  Bruce is a seasoned property and investment specialist with over 35 years of experience in New Zealand’s commercial real-estate sector.

  Trained and having practiced as a valuer he currently leads CBRE New Zealand’s Capital Markets team for Industrial & Logistics, where he focuses on high-value industrial investment and commercial/industrial transactions.

  Bruce has built a stellar reputation across the Auckland region, throughout New Zealand, and internationally, cultivating strong relationships with private, public and institutional clients.

  He stands out as a highly experienced and trusted leader in New Zealand’s industrial real-estate investment sector with a proven history of delivering large-scale, complex transactions, and deep capability in advising institutional and private investors, he offers senior-level strategic insight and execution strength. His breadth of experience—from operations to capital-markets advisory—positions him uniquely in the market.

  He leverages specialised teams—covering market research, structured transactions and local market expertise—to generate strategic advice and results for investors.

  Previously, Bruce held executive operating roles in the property sector (including at Trans Tasman Properties as COO) giving him direct operational insight into property development and asset management.