NevHouse’s new look for the future
IT’S almost a year since his company NevHouse took top honours in the international Pitch@Palace global entrepreneurship competition, but Gold Coast surf icon Nev Hyman is in no mood for looking back.
Instead, Mr Hyman’s focus is firmly on the future, as NevHouse moves forward with a full company restructure, complete with a new board of directors and executive chairman.
NevHouse creates prefabricated homes, classrooms, medical clinics and other community structures from recycled plastic, targeting disaster relief areas and emerging nations.
The company has already supplied buildings to settlements in Vanuatu, which Mr Hyman said had led to significant interest from other regions in need.
Mr Hyman said to scale up the company needed a “fivestar” board of directors. He felt that had been the most relevant criticism of the company since its win at Pitch@Palace.
Mr Hyman said he would now focus on his roles as founder, patron and “face” of NevHouse, with Tim Carter stepping in as the new executive chairman.
Late last year, NevHouse received the supreme award at the Pitch@Palace global finals, held at St James’s Palace in London, beating 25,000 businesses across the globe.
Pitch@Palace was set up by HRH Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, in 2014 to accelerate the work of entrepreneurs from around the world, putting them in touch with mentors and advisers, alongside access to supply chains and potential investors. Mr Hyman said Pitch@Palace had been an invaluable experience. out from
“It’s really easy to impress people when you chuck up a photo (of you) hanging out with His Royal Highness, but probably more important is the access to people that in your wildest dreams you’d never have met.”
Applications for this year’s Gold Coast Pitch@Palace On Tour event, to be held at Bond University on November 27, close on October 7, and Mr Hyman encouraged local entrepreneurs to enter.