About us.

Emily has spent in excess of 20+ years working in corporate advertising agencies. Her expertise lies in shaping client communications across multiple business channels, and means she is passionate about getting the best from creative minds and working closely with clients to find the best brand and marketing solution.

Family bought her back to New Plymouth. Together with her husband they run a dairy farming operation and have two daughters.

Our Senior Designer Will brings a wealth of artistic training and world-class experience to Strategy Collective. Whilst studying at Whitecliffe College of Art and Design he won the prestigious Gold Pin at the Designers Institute of New Zealand’s premiere Best Awards (Will was the first Whitecliffe student to ever do this!).

Will’s talent for design has taken him to studios in Auckland, New York, Edinburgh, and Vancouver – where he has honed his craft, developed world-class technique and soaked up global influences. A native son of Taranaki, Will returned to the province and is thoroughly enjoying being part of the collective helping to shape the cultural heart of New Plymouth.

Outside of Will’s creative hub at Strategy Collective, you’ll find him chilling with his wife, two young kids and their pooch, or working on home reno projects.

Amy has a passion for form, function, typography and colour, and the way in which they marry into perfection.

Covering a multitude of disciplines; branding, packaging, editorial, digital, and a newly revised love of photography and film, Amy brings a great eye for detail and a whole other level of enthusiasm for all things creative. She’s an absolute asset to have on both our team and yours! 

With nearly two decades experience working across England, Australia and New Zealand, New Plymouth has provided the backdrop to her family’s next adventure.

In her time off you’ll find Amy being bossed around by two cute, but very loud mini versions of herself, regularly working on her home’s aesthetic, drawing, filming and photographing.

Aaron is an essential part of our Design and Marketing team at Strategy Collective and brings close to 10 years of experience as an Account Manager.

A recent transplant to New Plymouth following a couple of years working in Dubai, Aaron’s background is in strategic marketing and communications and digital advertising strategy. He has worked with a range of multinational and local businesses including Adidas, All Blacks, Rebel Sport, 2XU, Ironman NZ, Triathlon NZ, Porsche, Volkswagen, Bacardi Group, Deliveroo, and New Plymouth District Council.

Aaron is a self-confessed retired rugby battler who now enjoys spending his time with family, on the golf course, playing cricket, down at the rugby club, in the surf or on the snow. He is slowly embracing the ‘Taranaki Hardcore’ lifestyle, but as a proud Wellingtonian, he will often be seen wearing his Hurricanes jersey throughout rugby season!

With her passion for social media and content creation, Shaye is a whizz when it comes to all things digital.

With a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Media Production, Shaye is a real expert in her field. Her studies included film, animation, media, and photography, giving her a wealth of skills that she puts to great use when creating content for our clients. Her talent and dedication have also been recognised with a bronze award at the Best Awards for her contribution to a 3D design project.

When she’s not working, Shaye likes to stay active and engaged with the world around her. She’s a keen soccer player, spending her weekends on the field with her local club. She also enjoys getting creative with arts and crafts, spending time in her garden, and relaxing with a good movie.

Craig Macfarlane is the Group Director across a broad range of investment entities, of which Strategy Collective is one, and alongside his wife Kate, is the visionary behind the West End Hospitality Group.

Fueled by a lifelong passion for hospitality, Craig’s journey began with a simple belief: to provide an extraordinary hospitality experience that he himself would like to receive. This ethos has been the cornerstone of his career from his early days honing the art of service to his current roles within Strategy Collective and the West End Hospitality Group.

Craig’s vision and experience is an essential part of his role with Strategy Collective, often providing strategic support for clients looking to power up their business.

Annalese loves utilising her skillset across multiple disciplines to help business owners work more efficiently and make winning moves. She has impressive business acumen and during her career has developed a deep understanding and appreciation of business strategy, operations, budgetary and tax workings, and employee leadership and management.

She brings extensive commercial experience and formidable networks, both personal and professional, to the Strategy Collective team.

After finishing school in Taranaki, Annalese headed to Victoria University in Wellington and funded her studies by working in the hospitality sector, and then went on to spend 13 years with Inland Revenue as a Specialist Investigator.

She has a soft-spot for great businesses and loves helping to further develop their systems and cultures to bring others on board and work together for success.

When she’s not helping businesses thrive, Annalese splits her time between playing squash and enjoying the region with her children and husband. She’s also partial to the odd gin or espresso martini and making the most of New Plymouth’s summer festivities!

Alayne joined Strategy Collective as the Financial Controller in late 2023 after relocating from Auckland.

With over 10 years’ experience as an accountant, Alayne brings a wealth of skills and is passionate about helping both internal and external businesses reach their full potential to succeed, and she loves solving problems.

Outside of work, Alayne is busy with her young family and enjoys reading books.

Lauren’s passionate about all areas of business administration and IT. She loves working with our clients to identify areas where software solutions can assist them to save time on processes and make their day-to day easier.

Lauren has over 15 years’ experience in administration and business support services in the public and private sector. She started out her career in Wellington, gaining experience within Government, Legal, Oil & Gas and Health industries before making the move back to Taranaki and joining the Strat Co team.

In her spare time Lauren enjoys cooking for family and friends, devouring a good book and heading off on a roadie in her classic cars with her husband and son.

Georgia brings broad experience in hospitality and human resources, with a deep commitment to community in her role at Strategy Collective.

Born into a family deeply rooted in hospitality, Georgia’s passion for the industry was ignited at a young age. She spent her formative years learning the ins-and-outs of running restaurants, hotels, and bars, absorbing invaluable lessons about the importance of service, quality, and attention to detail.

Building on her hospitality foundation, Georgia pursued a career in Human Resources, where she developed a keen understanding of the people-centric side of business operations. Her experience in HR equips her with the skills to cultivate high-performing teams, nurture talent, and create a positive workplace culture.

Recognising that the heart of any successful business lies in its people, Georgia is dedicated to empowering and inspiring teams. She fosters an environment where creativity thrives, where employees are encouraged to innovate and deliver exceptional service with genuine warmth and hospitality.

Tracy enjoys the variety of working across multiple businesses and entities at Strategy Collective and looking after the client relationship first and foremost.

During her career she has been involved with the banking and construction industries and has experience in both project and accounts management.

Born and raised in Stratford, when this busy mother of two has some downtime, you’ll find her exploring the outdoors or (when a southerly hits town) having a family night in watching movies. She is our resident Quiz-Master and fabulous at keeping our social club activities rolling throughout the year!

Strategy Collective’s leading senior payroll specialist, Jo, has superb attention to detail and enjoys working across multiple businesses both internally and externally.

This Bachelor of Management Studies graduate has spent much of her career overseas, working in insurance and a dot-com start-up in London and with Disney in Melbourne.

After 13 years abroad she returned to New Zealand with her family and discovered paradise in New Plymouth. Jo spends time away from work biking and hiking around Taranaki with her family. Adventurous by nature, Jo also has a passion for snowboarding, horse riding and loves all things in and on the water.

Brigitte has plenty of first-hand experience at keeping multiple balls in the air. This mother of four (including twins) came to Strategy Collective after taking a break from paid work to spend the early years with her children.

Brigitte began her career in administration at Riverlands Eltham (now ANZCO) working as a receptionist before moving into an accounts role and specialising in the kind of accounts reconciliation work she now helps our clients with.

When she’s not juggling work and mum life, Brigitte finds time to relax with her family and friends, have a hit at squash, and occasionally hits her local lawn bowling club for a casual roll up.

Margery is an avid supporter of the businesses as a customer with her family (husband Aaron, and 4 children) and now gets to undertake the “behind the scenes” rodeo also.

Margery and Aaron have spent the past 20 years building their dairy farming business before moving into an accounts administrator role. She loves the variety the Strategy Collective business has to offer.

Originally from Wellington, Taranaki has become her home. Her passions are travelling, dining out, cooking and spending time with friends & family.

As Strategy Collective’s People & Culture Advisor, Nic supports the team as well as our external clients.

Born and bred in New Plymouth she headed overseas, working as a vet nurse and going on Animal Welfare missions, before the wild West Coast drew her home.

She joined Ozone Coffee Roasters and had many roles working in dispatch, customer relations, barista training, accounts management, events and People & Culture. In 2017, Nic followed her passion and earnt a Certificate in HR Operations. She became Ozone’s People & Culture Coordinator, leading the recruitment project for their Auckland site and worked alongside her UK-based manager on global projects.

Nic is on the board for South Pacific Animal Welfare, using her vet nurse experience to help others. She also finds time to enjoy pottery and go on adventures with her little boy. Having finished the 2021 100km Oxfam Trail Walk, it’s fair to say she enjoys getting out for a good stroll!