meet our board

The Village Square Trust’s Board is comprised of eight volunteer trustees who bring their knowledge and skills to overseeing the Trust’s community-focused mission.

Robert Falvey
Chair

Parnell resident Robert Falvey joined the Board of the Village Square Trust in July 2022 after a long career in the legal services industry. Robert's roles included that of Managing Partner of a leading large commercial law firm in New Zealand during his time as a senior Corporate law partner of that firm, which  was followed by leadership positions with a global professional services referral network organisation based in Houston, Texas.

Simone Horrobin
Deputy Chair

Simone Horrobin - The Village Square Trust board member

Simone brings over 13 years experience of developing character and identity in social housing projects, and creating neighbourhoods of meaning with both Kainga Ora (Housing NZ) and private housing providers.

She is energetic in championing and helping form quality community spaces, connections and experiences for all people and is thrilled to have become a Trustee in October 2021.

Simone is an enthusiastic lover of nature and has developed her own urban garden providing both a haven for native birds and organic food sources for her household.

Kay Madigan

Kay Madigan - The Village Square Trust board member

Kay has an LLB (Hons) degree from Auckland University, and over 20 years experience as a business owner and exporter, taking her products and services to New Zealand and the international market.  She also set up a gender equity programme to encourage more young women to work in the electro technology sector.  

Kay has always been involved in management of community activities, ranging from her children’s sports and schools to community theatre and Rotary.  She has lived in Parnell for 10 years and was delighted to be appointed to The Village Square Trust’s board in May 2021. 

Connie Rowe

Connie brings over 20 years’ experience in public relations, communications, government relations and community engagement to the Trust, with a focus on the transport sector. She has a strong interest in how developing a well-connected and low carbon transport network can support thriving communities as Auckland continues to grow at a rapid pace and social cohesion is more important than ever.

Connie has governance experience in the Early Childhood sector, and is passionate about providing whānau with good quality Early Childhood Education opportunities in their communities. She is a mother of two young boys which keeps her busy and connected to the education sector. She was delighted to be appointed to the The Village Square Trust’s board in May 2022.

Kelvin Sim

Kelvin was appointed to the Board of the Village Square Trust, and the Board Finance and Audit Committee in June 2022. A career banker, he has 20 years experience in the industry and has held executive and senior leadership roles across a number of local and global banks. He takes pride in being able to positively contribute towards the progress and wellbeing of the New Zealand Inc through his work, and is thrilled to be involved in the great work of the Trust in a personal capacity.

Originally from Malaysia, he is proud to call Auckland home since the 90s. He had previous connections with the Trust through his son’s involvement in the various kids programs.

Kelvin is a member of the Institute of Director. Outside of work, he is a keen martial artist and had previously trained at a competitive level.

Rod Lidgard

Rod is a senior executive and strategist in the Aotearoa NZ environmental engineering sector, and has extensive experience in the delivery of complex engineering projects in Aotearoa New Zealand. He was appointed to the board in 2023.

Rod is a strong advocate for sustainability, mātauranga māori and community stakeholder engagement. He brings experience in leadership, strategy and governance from within his sector, and is an active member of the Institute of Directors NZ. As a local resident Rod has a strong connection to the local area and environment, and along with his wife and two young tamariki he loves to enjoy, promote and foster all of what the Village Square Trust has to offer the community.

Waiho i te toipoto, kaua i te toiroa | Let us keep close together, not wide apart.

Sam Dixon

Sam was appointed to the Board of The Village Square Trust in 2023.

Sam is an international banker and fund manager having worked for JPMorgan and HSBC in London, Hong Kong and Australia (with stints in most emerging countries in Europe and Asia) after completing a BComm (Otago) and qualifying as a Chartered Accountant. Sam is a member of IFINZ, NZ Institute of Directors and a regulated banker in the UK, Hong Kong and Australia.

Sam is happy to have recently returned home to Auckland with his wife and two sons (and Chester their labrador) and is committed to giving back to the Auckland community within which he was raised. Sam is especially passionate about early childhood development and combatting loneliness via social activities having supported similar charities in less fortunate developing countries in Asia and Europe.

John Hastings

John has a long background in Governance in the Finance, Property and NFP sectors. He brings leadership experience across several disciplines including strategy, finance, business development and risk management. This is combined with a passion for enterprise-wide purpose, mission and values.

John and his family have a long association with the Parnell environs and operate with a motto “it is good to be involved” . John is an active member of the Institute of Directors, participating the in Advanced Directors Course in 2024, his current governance roles include a large South Auckland based Community Housing provider, a real estate group and a startup in the IT sector.

We’re seeking two new Trustees for our Board!

Details

The Village Square Trust is a community based not-for-profit organisation in Auckland. Our purpose is to build strong, connected and resilient communities by giving people places to meet, learn, create and grow. We have been bringing people together since 1982.

Our current services include community classes and activities; farmers’ and other markets; venue services; early childhood centres; after school programmes; healthy kids’ meals; sustainable gardening workshops and heritage/local walks.

We are a preferred supplier to Auckland Council. We employ between 60 and 80 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff, and have average annual revenues of around $4m. Our Head Office in Parnell’s iconic Jubilee Building provides a base for our administration, financial and marketing expertise.

We began over 40 years ago in Parnell, now operate more widely across Auckland, and are poised for further expansion. Our mission is to use our experience and expertise to develop more ‘Village Squares’ by developing the heart in communities.

If you share our enthusiasm for building local communities, have expertise to help guide the Trust's growth over the next decade and would like to join us, please get in touch.

Ideal applicants

Ideal candidates will be experienced in either:

a) accounting and/or finance and are current members of either CA ANZ or CPA Australia or

b) legal and regulatory and are either a current or retired lawyer.

Experience in strategy, governance, community services, and/or early childhood education would be especially helpful.

Diversity

We are committed to building a Board that reflects the communities we serve. We particularly encourage expressions of interest from:

  • Women

  • Tāngata Whenua

  • Pasifika peoples

  • People from a range of ethnic backgrounds that reflect Auckland’s diversity

  • Younger members of the community

  • People with disabilities

  • Members of the LGBTQ+ community

How to apply

Please provide a copy of your CV and your reasons for wishing to join us to our Chair, Robert Falvey at falverian@gmail.com