About Kel Marsh and Corporate River

Kel Marsh is the founder and principal of Corporate River. He has a keen interest in assisting New Zealand business owners and leaders to build organisations that market New Zealand goods, services and IP both nationally, and internationally.

Kel undertakes a variety of roles as business coach, an advisor on governance committees and specific roles within fast growth, small and medium sized enterprises. He has facilitated business owner workshops for the New Zealand Government, been a judge for national business awards, helped set up a degree programme at a University and regularly runs workshops at a University entrepreneur incubator.

His first experience with an effective business was his first job at the display advertising department of a family owned city newspaper. Kel became part of an efficient process chain that produced a near zero–defect product from scratch, every day for six days a week, year in year out.

Later in full time study and then in London where he was responsible for client projects in large organisations, Kel followed the business ideals he learned early on, and came to understand that leaders of successful organisations approach business building in the same way. Put the right strategic elements in place and create a hot–house that grows highly motivated and innovative teams of people, and profitable growth follows.

In his late 20´s, Kel began his own business and was fortunate to soon be recommended to some of New Zealands´ foremost companies. He found himself working with senior business leaders who as clients, guided Kel towards the sort of client relationship experience they as clients valued as they generously shared their business knowledge.

During the two decades spent learning about good business, Kel has applied the mature business thinking learned along the way to each organisation that he works with.

Some of the activities Kel has been involved with:

More than 10 years as a marketing advisor completing projects with large organisations including BASF, Mono Pumps, Stella Artois, Rugby Cement and Bernina while based in the UK and in New Zealand companies such as AIA Insurance, Fletcher Challenge and a number of Fletcher subsidiaries as well as Fisher & Paykel and Brierley Properties. Smaller organisations include Maxwell Marine, Mastip Technology and a private school, Kristin School.

Marketer:

The successful marketing of the Auckland´s Sky Tower at the ´sell to the public´ stage and working with BASF South East Asia to increase sales in China significantly over 24 month period, are two examples.

Advisor:

Kel´s clients have won national business and export awards. Projects frequently undertaken include formulating and executing strategy over a wide range of business models and sectors including scaling businesses for export and establishing off–shore beach heads.

Leadership:

Kel has undertaken varied assignments such as:
Chairing a degree qualification committee at a university, creating a ‘Level 5’ in-house leadership programme which he has implemented in ten companies, and assisting more than 20 companies to successfully embed recruitment, team building and leadership processes.

Current:

Kel is working directly with business owners of a range of export businesses which carry out business globally over a wide range of sectors. These include a business consultancy, meat producer (United States and Europe), electronic security (Australasia), ´Hot Runner´ plastic molding (manufactured in Thailand and marketed globally), global recruitment company (United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, Canada & New Zealand).