Hunter brings many skills to Veritas board

Veritas Investments is expected to reap a number of key benefits from the appointment of Sharon Hunter to the board of Veritas Investments, especially relating to the Mad Butcher business.

Hunter is one of New Zealand’s best-known and respected business women and is to join the Veritas board as an independent director from 1 February 2014.

Veritas director and Mad Butcher CEO Michael Morton says Hunter’s in-depth retail knowledge is highly valued by the business.

“We are delighted to have Sharon on board. She has extensive retail experience across several categories – including food businesses. She is a proven entrepreneur and successful business owner.

“We’re also pleased Sharon brings a female perspective not only to the governance of the company but also to the franchise and retail operations; gender balance is important to us,” Morton says. “And of course she is extremely well connected in entrepreneurial circles as well as the business world in general.”

Sharon Hunter says she’s very much looking forward to working with the Veritas team.

“It’s a strong board stacked with business and entrepreneurial talent in areas complementary to my experience. I am both an entrepreneur and a long term investor and am keen to bring that perspective to my involvement at Veritas and The Mad Butcher.”   

At the age of 22 Hunter co-founded PC Direct which quickly became New Zealand’s largest and most successful home grown personal computer company before selling it in 1997.

She and Tenby Powell formed Hunter Powell Investments Partners Ltd (HPIP) in 1999 acquiring Continental Distributors before re-launching it as euroPacific Foods and selling to Delmaine Fine Foods. Later they purchased Hirepool from Owens Group with private equity partners Goldman Sachs JB Were.

Hunter currently sits on the Investment Advisory panel for the Government’s Primary Growth Partnership and was previously a member of the Advisory Board for Rugby World Cup 2011.

In addition to her business activities, Hunter is actively involved in the not-for-profit sector. She is a trustee of the Starship Foundation and past chair and board member of the Robin Hood Foundation.