“The announcement of the Advisory Board is a big milestone for the TRA Business Group,” said Connon Bray, Partner and Executive Director, TRA Labs. “Appointing such a high calibre group of individuals is a clear signal of intent and is a strong indication of how we see the future of our business and our industry.”

The Advisory Board members each bring deep business leadership with strong commercial, operational and strategy expertise. Collectively, they will support TRA Lab’s strategy and evolving venture portfolio and roadmap. Founding members of TRA Labs’ Advisory Board include:

- Aaron Ward (Ngāti Maru)– Founder and CEO, Ask Nicely
- Hema Patel – GM of Payments, MedTech Global
- Levi Allan - Executive General Manager Product, Xero
- Mike Hanna - Investment Manager, NZTE

Antony Ede, Partner and Executive Director, TRA Labs said: “Assembling the Advisory Board is a key strategic move to enhance our capability in the venture space and accelerate the growth of the portfolio. This exceptionally talented group will guide the growth of our portfolio and in doing so support the operating businesses achieve their goals”.

"The research industry is at an inflection point. A USD $76B industry is in the midst of a significant transformation as incumbents struggle to move passed a pure consulting model and new entrants deliver technology solutions - but often without meaning,” explained Bray.

“We think the future of the insights industry will be about human and machine. TRA Labs is focussed on turning our understanding of human behaviour into amazing digital and global solutions. We are privileged to have assembled an Advisory Board who have decades of experience scaling NZ ventures the rest of the world.”