Talented go-getters

Celebrating ten years of Redvespa in Auckland.

In 2010, while the rest of the country was running around, referring to each other as ‘eggs’ in honour of Taika Waititi’s breakthrough comedy, Boy, Redvespa was taking adventurous steps north from the capital and into the City of Sails.

It took a massive investment from the Gibson family, as Sarah and Richard moved north to settle in Auckland while they looked to create a presence for Redvespa. The move would see them call Auckland home for two years, establishing an office in Parnell to base the growing business.

Among the earliest recruits was Ieuan Wickham, still with us today as a Principal Consultant. When Ieuan joined, Redvespa was yet to establish a permanent office – Parnell came soon after – but he recalls how the business came to have an Auckland presence,

“I heard the story of how Kathy Harger (Redvespa’s only permanent employee in Auckland at the time) had won the young BA of the year award that Redvespa had sponsored. Kathy then, essentially, brow-beat Richard into opening an Auckland office.”

The crew steadily grew, with Ieuan leading the charge in recruiting an enthusiastic BA who had just returned from the UK. As we know, “time kills deals” and, the morning after Ieuan suggested Redvespa to Moana O’Neil, Richard was on the phone to her. An 8am cold call could be the most Redvespa way there is to join the whānau.

“The Auckland Redvespa team has certainly grown and changed over the years! They are talented – more talented than they know, incredibly caring, capable, diverse. I am constantly learning from the people around me.”
Moana O’Neil

The chain of growth continued, with Moana interviewing Raka Biswas in 2013. Redvespa was familiar to Raka, a recruiter had repeatedly mentioned the company, and she was curious about what made it so special. She mentions that she was taken aback by all the lovely people she met as soon as she started – seven years later and we’re grateful she’s still among those lovely people!

In 2015, another important piece of the puzzle slotted in, with Anna Wilson joining the team. Symbolic of the experience of many, one of Anna’s strongest memories of joining Redvespa is the sound that emanated from the room she was about to step into for her job interview: Richard’s laugh.

Although COVID-19 has put paid to any large-scale celebration of our decade in Auckland, we’ve never been shy of coming together to celebrate our achievements. In the early years, that was often a trip south to join the Wellington crew or a mid-winter Christmas party at Ieuan’s house. Events at the iconic Kauri Timber Building – Redvespa’s Auckland home since 2014 – followed, with a birthday celebration for Richard featuring the hilarious sight of all in attendance wearing masks with the Redvespa founders’ face on them. In recent years, events have ensured that our people from Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch can come together for a little connection, and a little fun.

“We are so fortunate to work from the beautiful Kauri Timber Building, such a wonderful space to host our whānau and friends. It’s the smaller hanging out and chatting events that I think of when I think of Redvespa Auckland events.”
Anna Wilson

Over the years, our Auckland whānau has grown to include many wonderful people – from staff and their families, to our clients, partners, and the many friends we’ve made on the journey. We’re grateful to all in the City of Sails who have contributed to making Redvespa who we are today.

Here’s to the next ten years!

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