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About

For the first time New Zealanders have a unique way to take pride in their Kiwi-ness online. It’s called .kiwi (‘dot kiwi’).

Now Kiwis can truly be Kiwis online with an internet domain designed specifically for New Zealanders and New Zealand businesses – .kiwi.

This has all come about since ICANN (the international organisation responsible for regulating and coordinating the internet names and numbers directory), voted in June 2011 to vastly expand the number of domain names available.

Dot Kiwi is a New Zealand company that has been approved by ICANN to become the world’s only .kiwi registry. We’re incredibly proud to offer New Zealanders a fresh, modern, and unique online identity that we all really call our own.

We believe the .kiwi domain will be hugely valuable for Kiwi businesses, opening the door to greater branding creativity and creating more opportunities for companies to differentiate themselves from competitors.

And when you register your shiny new .kiwi domain with us, a percentage of the revenues will go directly to assist the Christchurch rebuild. That seems really fitting to us – Kiwis helping Kiwis while carving out a unique identity in the world.

The people behind Dot Kiwi

Tim Johnson

DIRECTOR, CEO

Angus Richardson

CFO

Nick Simmons

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Tim is a technologist and repatriated New Zealander with significant experience in developing and managing IT systems for large companies and government organisations. He has a strong interest in building and enhancing the Kiwi community online and around the world. Having worked on UNDP and NZDF projects, he is also a pro-bono technology and policy consultant to a number of small nation governments around the world, was previously on the board of Kea Vancouver, and is the co-founder of a ‘better practice’ business improvement group comprised of over 250 businesses.

In his spare time, Tim manages the New Zealand Bobsled team which is based out of Whistler, British Columbia, Canada.

Angus is a Chartered Accountant with a background in Financial and Real Estate Services, having articled with KPMG LLP in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Angus provided Assurance and Tax services primarily for clients in Western Canada, developing a strength in internal controls management and financial reporting. Angus subsequently worked with Scotiabank Global Banking and Markets in Vancouver providing transaction and capital markets advisory services to clients across a diverse range of industries from Forestry to Telecommunications.

Since relocating to Auckland in May 2013, Angus has involved himself in various youth organisations, including being nominated as Treasurer for the Auckland Young Professionals.

Nick has a 20-year career reflecting strong leadership within the tourism & hospitality industry. Having worked for a long time overseas promoting New Zealand and other destinations, both inbound and outbound, Nick’s experience with business development through distribution channels and online marketing comes from senior positions at Air New Zealand, Orbitz Worldwide, Accor Hotels, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts.

Jim Cranston

DIRECTOR

Peter Dengate Thrush

DIRECTOR

John Fraser

DIRECTOR

Sir John Hansen

DIRECTOR

Hugh Richardson

CHAIRMAN

June Richardson

DIRECTOR

David Rishworth

DIRECTOR

Jim has spent most of his business life providing professional consulting services to a broad range of industries in Canada and internationally with a primary focus on Information Technology. More recently Jim assumed Executive responsibility as Chief Information Officer at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia for a term of eight years ending in 2009.

Peter is immediate past Chairman of Top Level Domain Holdings (AIM: TLDH.L), a company dedicated to managing a portfolio of new generic Top Level Domains. Before joining the company, he was Chairman of the Board of Directors of ICANN, and in that role managed the process that resulted in the historic decision to launch the new gTLD programme in June 2011. He has been actively involved in international policy development and Internet governance since 1995 and is a regular media commentator on Internet issues. Peter is a past Chairman of InternetNZ and of the Asia Pacific Top Level Domain Association.

A barrister and registered patent attorney specialising in intellectual property matters, Peter is Chairman of the New Zealand Electricity Rulings Panel and a member of the New Zealand Copyright Tribunal.He is also on the board of directors of Paycasso Verify Ltd, a London-based company specialising in on-line identity authentication and verification, using patented facial recognition technology.

Dr. Fraser attended the University of Otago, graduating as a dentist in 1968, and completing a Master’s Degree (with Honours) in Dentistry in 1972. He immigrated to Canada in 1973 to join the Dental Faculty at the University of British Columbia (UBC) as an Assistant Professor. John has since specialised in Endodontics and is regarded as one of North America’s leading professionals in this field.

Dr. Fraser became a Certified Specialist in Endodontics in British Columbia in 1977. He is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada (1981) and a Diplomate of the American Board of Endodontics (1981). He is a Past President of the College of Dental Surgeons of British Columbia, Past President of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada, and he has been a Governor of the Canadian Dental Association.

Sir John William Hansen, a past judge of the New Zealand High Court, has enjoyed a prestigious legal career spanning more than forty years. He held several judicial offices from 1979 until 1988 in Hong Kong and since 1988, in the High Court of New Zealand. From 1995 until 2008, he fulfilled his duties at the Christchurch High Court. Sir John was awarded DCNZM in the 2008 Queen’s Birthday Honours, for services to the judiciary.

Sir John is Chairman of the Legal Aid Services Board, Canterbury Clinical Network, Dunedin Venues Management Limited, Dunedin Venues Limited; Rulings Panel for the Gas Industry Co Ltd; Board of New Zealand Cricket; member of IRB and NZRFU Appeals Council; member of Court of Appeals for the Solomon Islands and Western Samoa. He is also a member of the New Zealand Red Cross 2011 Earthquake Commission, an independent Commission set up to oversee the disbursement of funds donated to the New Zealand Red Cross 2011 Earthquake Appeal to help those effected by the February 2011 earthquake.

Hugh, an expat from Auckland and a CA by training is currently a director of the Apps Transport Group – an organisation he has worked closely with for the past 10 years. Hugh and his wife June (who is from Christchurch) are directors of a number of private companies operating in New Zealand and western Canada. Mr. Richardson has more than 35 years of financial and operating experience with organisations such as TNT Transport Group and Canada Steamship lines, where he served as General Manager and courier division President, respectively. After leaving the Reimer Group, where he was President of Intercity Truck lines from 1987, he formed a family holding company that contracted services to the Intermodal Division of CN Rail. He subsequently sold this operation to CN after CN launched its IPO in 1996.

Later that year, Mr. Richardson was part of a Canadian-led solid waste environmental initiative to Malaysia as a senior consultant for inter-modal and collection activities. On returning to Canada in 1998, he began working with the Apps Transport Group after his family holding company acquired a significant interest in the western operating company. Together with his wife June, both are directors of a number of private companies operating in New Zealand and western Canada.

June was born in Christchurch and brought up in a farming community in North Canterbury. She was educated at St. Margaret’s College, an institution that has suffered severe damage as a result of the earthquakes. June travelled extensively prior to moving to Canada in 1975 and has since been involved with her husband Hugh in their various business and other endeavours in New Zealand and Canada. June maintains close contact with family and friends in Christchurch and North Canterbury, and visits at least once per year.

David Rishworth is a barrister, solicitor and notary public, with his own practice in Auckland. For 37 years, he was a partner and then a consultant in law firm, Bell Gully. From 1992 until 2001 he was actively engaged in undertaking legal work for Asian investors in New Zealand in a wide variety of investments. Then, from 1995 until 2008 he was on the Executive Committee of the ASEAN New Zealand Combined Business council with a particular interest in Indonesia. He continues to represent Asian investors in New Zealand and has a modest business interest in Indonesia. He is also a trustee of the Asia New Zealand Foundation.