With a wide range of interests and skills, Ben Kepes has had a variety of vocations over the years. A one-time high school dropout and electrician, Ben went on to be a co-founder of a successful workwear and outdoor equipment brand.
Juggling full-time work along with studying business, management, and commercial law, Ben also found the time to build his own house, qualify as a paramedic, raise two sons and undertake significant work in the community, emergency services, and not-for-profit sectors.
A career change saw Ben become a technology analyst, commentator, and consultant and, over the past decade and a half, he has built up a significant following as a globally-recognized subject matter expert in the areas of cloud computing, enterprise technology, and digital transformation. Ben’s commentary has been widely published in such outlets as Forbes, Wired and The Guardian and he has been invited to speak at a large range of technology, business, and general interest conferences.
Ben has been an investor in a large number of early-stage technology startups across three continents and has had successful exits to listed and privately held companies in Canada, the US, and the UK. He has served on the advisory boards of a number of technology startups in New Zealand, Australia, the US, and the UK.
Ben is an experienced board member and currently sits on the boards of a number of non-profit, privately held and listed companies in New Zealand and the UK. He has won a number of accolades including being a recipient of the Sir Peter Blake Leadership Award in 2016.
