About Us - Meet the Team

HQ New Zealand is a locally-based, Queenstown specialist and a leading provider of conference and incentive products and services. With over 10 years of experience we know what works.  We will take out the guesswork and take over the legwork to ensure your programme is cost-effective and successful.

Clients we work with in Queenstown frequently employ us again and again in other New Zealand locations.  With this experience HQ New Zealand now provide event solutions for you in all the major NZ centres.

“Everyone at HQ was a pleasure to work with! Your standard of work is truly exceptional and inspirational!  We will recommend your firm to anyone considering a conference in New Zealand and we look forward to working with you further in the future.” - Tony Ryba, Managing Director, White International, Australia

Meet the Team

HQ New Zealand has a dedicated and creative team of professional event managers, all ready to ensure that your corporate event reaches inspiring new levels of innovation, fun and engagement.  We have a clear focus on building and maintaining strong client relationships and we care just as much as you do about the success of your events.

“My congratulations and sincere thanks for being such a great team, working with my team to make the JDF such a great success.  Your professionalism and commitment to executing the event to such a high standard was impressive.” Peter Hughes-Hallett, Director, Amway Japan

Rob Stewart-McDonald
Managing Director  

Rob established HQ New Zealand in its current format in 2001 with business partner and wife Michelle.  Since then, Rob and the team have grown the business into the large and successful events management business that it is today.  A Management graduate, Rob has a Marketing background and is involved in all areas of the business particularly sales and marketing and devising new activity and team building programmes.

More recently, Rob has combined his skills in business, leadership and the outdoors to become New Zealand’s only licensed Peak Teams facilitator.  He facilitates these around the world for HQ New Zealand and in partnership with Peak Teams Inc.

From: New Plymouth in The Naki, lived in Queenstown since 2001.
Owned HQ: Since December 2001
Humble beginnings: Paperboy – cunningly negotiated the shortest paper round in New Plymouth for excellent ROI.
Dizzy heights: Leaping from a helicopter, 15m into a freezing Lake Wakatipu for a client’s entertainment. I was playing Bond - every boy’s dream!
Married / Kids/Pets: Yes/2 lovely boys/Ralph the cat, Rufus the budgie.
Dream car: Cobra – oh, not enough room for the kids.....perfect.
New Zealand because: Mountains, Surf, Skiing, Mountain Biking.......
Most famous for: Suspicious absences from the office coinciding with 15+ cms of freshies

Rachael Simpson
General Manager Operations

Rachael loves the big stuff, give her a programme for 600pax to design and manage and she’s in her element.  Couple that with a quick head for figures, a natural way of dealing with people and a flair for design and you have the perfect event manager.  A graduate in Science and Education, she has a background in adventure tourism and travel.

Amanda Muir
Marketing and Event Manager

Amanda has a great eye for all the details, is cool, calm and collected and loves to share her passion for Queenstown and New Zealand with guests.  As HQ New Zealand’s Marketing Manager you can meet her at Tradeshows and on her regular sales trips around New Zealand and Australia.  A Business graduate, she has a background in film and video marketing in London and owned a restaurant business in the UK before immigrating to New Zealand.

From: London, England but now a Kiwi and I’ve lived here since 2002.
Worked for HQ: Since April 2004
Humble beginnings: Part-time hotel chamber maid in Chamonix, France....but at least I was skiing.
Dizzy heights: Owning my own restaurant – in Cornwall, England….oh, and beating Rob and Dugald at clay target shooting.
Married / Kids / Pets: Yes/2 children – 1 of each/ 2 dogs – Rudy and Hendrix
Dream car: A chauffeur-driven one
New Zealand because: It’s the most beautiful country in the world with endless opportunities for mountain biking, skiing and camping and lots more.
Most famous for: My urban farm/menagerie

Karla Dawson
Event Manager

Dugald Peters
Event Manager

No job is too big or too small for Dugald – he approaches both with the same enthusiasm and energy.  His natural confidence and army experience make him a skilled team building facilitator but he is equally comfortable with creating themes and managing group activities.  An arts graduate Dugald has a background in hospitality, business and extreme sports.

From:  Sussex in the South of England and I have been in NZ since 2005. I hope to be a Kiwi citizen soon!!
Worked for HQ: Part-time for a few months until a position requiring immense skill and style opened up…no one could be found, so I took it and have been with the company since 2005.
Humble beginnings: Mocking up sample books in a publishing company.  Quite repetitive!
Dizzy heights:  Ultimately involving individuals in group activities that they otherwise might not have attempted…and providing a fun experience for all involved.  
Married / Kids / Pets:  No/No/No
Dream car: Bowler Wild Cat.
New Zealand because: Because they took me?!  And because it is a land of challenging opportunities and a great training ground for the rest of the world.
Most famous for: Being a Prince Harry lookalike

Donna Kessler

HQ New Zealand’s representative in Australia.

Donna is the founder and Director of Tourism Portfolio. Since 2002 she has represented high quality destinations, venues and event suppliers to the meetings, incentives and tourism markets.  Donna is enthusiastic, friendly and extremely knowledgeable about the C&I industry.  In 2008 she received the Meetings and Events Australia NSW Sales and Marketing Person of the Year Award, as well as the National Sales and Marketing Person of the Year Award.  Donna was also the recipient of both the NSW and National Awards in 2005.

Donna’s appointment by HQ New Zealand in March 2010 signals our commitment to the Australian market and will enhance the service we can deliver to both existing and future clients.

Alison Widders

HQ New Zealand's representative in Australia.

Alison is the Sales Development Executive for Tourism Portfolio in Australia.  She joined the team in September 2010 and brings a solid and knowledgeable background from her number of years at Mantra Group, most recently as Sales Manager.  Alison is passionate about the conference and incentive industry and has well-established and key working relationships with a number of clients.  She is supported and respected throughout the industry.

Denise Quinlan
Team Building Facilitator

Denise Quinlan is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Masters in Applied Positive Psychology. She is a trainer with the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Resiliency Program and Strath Haven Positive Psychology Curriculum and is currently conducting research for a PhD on strengths and well-being in school children.

Denise is an experienced facilitator with over twenty years experience in management consulting. She has worked with management in the health, banking, scientific, engineering, power, forestry and state sectors in New Zealand and Europe. Helping employees become fully engaged at work, improving team morale and productivity, and developing resilience are long-standing areas of interest.

Nigel Thompson
Team Building Facilitator

Dr Nigel Thompson is an experienced medical doctor who specialises in helping people achieves true happiness at work and thus able to enjoy lasting happiness at home and elsewhere.   
He holds an honours degree from Oxford University and further medical qualifications from the universities of London and Auckland.  Dr Nigel Thompson has continued to expand his own postgraduate education with training in communication skills, clinical hypnosis, acupuncture and mind-body medicine.

Nigel has presented, trained and facilitated seminars for personal health and wellness for fifteen years – corporate and professional groups –and currently trains doctors and specialists in communication skills for the Medical Protection Society.  He also runs a family medicine practice in Queenstown, New Zealand and is a happily married father of two children.

Queenstown

Located in New Zealand in the Southern Hemisphere, Queenstown is a premier four-season lake and alpine resort, a unique combination of breathtaking scenery, world-class facilities and exciting adventure activities.  There is a large and versatile selection of stunning offsite venues and hotels, the cuisine and wine are of international standards, the golf courses and health spas are among the best in the world and the adrenalin-pumping opportunities are endless.

Queenstown’s climate is very settled and offers long periods of blue sky and sun through all the seasons. 

Spring (Sep – Nov) ranges from sublime one moment to spring showers the next and temperatures range from 8°C to 22°C.  Evenings are cooler with overnight frost still common.

Summer (Dec – Feb) delivers long sunny days with dusk settling at about 10pm.  The temperature hovers around 20°C with highs between 27°-32°C.

Autumn (Mar - May) supplies the region with a new and brilliant colour palette of reds, golds and yellows.  Temperatures fluctuate from below zero to up to 25°C - so pack a few layers.

Winter (Jun – Aug) is typically full of blue skies and white slopes with spectacular landscapes.  Temperatures can fall well below zero and reach over 8°C but it’s a comfortable dry cold with lots of sun to keep you warm.

Our Green Commitment

HQ New Zealand is committed to sustainable practises focussing on the reduce, recycle and reuse ethic.  In the office we recycle, car pool and cycle to work, minimise all paper output and Bokashi compost all our organic waste.  On our events we aim to transfer that sustainability as much as possible and encourage our clients to do the same.