Our Team
Our team has global experience in the biotech, healthcare and medical devices industry. We have a highly desired blend of skills in early stage company development, intellectual property commercialisation, global expansion, science, finance and mergers and acquisitions.
Matthew McMahon
Chief Investment Manager
Matthew has twenty years’ experience with high growth industries in New Zealand as advisor, investor, operator and entrepreneur. Highly skilled operator and analyst. Foundation team at NZ’s first venture capital fund, No 8 Ventures. At BioDiscovery NZ Ltd raised $20m US venture finance over 3 years.
Our Board
Franceska Banga
Chair of the Board
Franceska is a recognised CEO, Chair and Director who has held board roles on many prominent New Zealand organisations. She brings extensive governance experience, spanning finance, technology and health sectors.
Howard Moore
Director
Howard has been a Board Member at Cure Kids Ventures since 2008. Howard’s breadth of experience spans multiple industries including venture capital, agritech, foodtech, and biotech. His career is hallmarked by fund raising, technology commercialisation, early stage company development and sales and marketing.
Frances Benge
Director
Frances is CEO of Cure Kids. She has been a Director at Cure Kids Ventures since 2017. Frances has experience in fund raising, portfolio management, business planning, and sales & marketing from over 30 years within the pharmaceutical and fund raising industry. Frances is also highly passionate about the health and well-being of communities, which is an aptitude she garnered from working within Cure Kids and from being a former nurse.
Matthew Payton
Matthew has spent more than 20 years in the global medical device industry. Over that time he has held a variety of roles in research and development, commercialisation and general management, including eight years in the senior leadership team at Fisher & Paykel Healthcare.
Merryn Tawhai
Merryn Tawhai graduated from the University of Auckland with a PhD in Engineering Science in 2001. She leads a research programme at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute (ABI) in applied computational physiology of the respiratory system. Merryn is the Director of the ABI and sits on the Board of Directors for Cure Kids Ventures. She was ABI’s Deputy Director for 10 years, Director of the Medical Technologies Centre of Research Excellence (MedTech CoRE), and an independent Director for Izon Science. Merryn was awarded the 2016 MacDiarmid Medal by the Royal Society of New Zealand (RSNZ) Te Apārangi, is a Fellow of the RSNZ, and a Fellow of IAMBE and AIMBE.