Skip to main content

Lake Hāwea Station

Skip to main content
Skip to main content

Our People

Our people at Lake Hāwea Station – the team gathered around the outdoor fire pit with views of the Southern Alps in New Zealand

Geoff, Justine, Finn, and Gabe Ross are proud Kiwis, passionate about climate action, farming, and nature, with Lake Hāwea Station as their cherished family home.

Justine and Geoff Ross lead a dedicated and skilled team that is united in its mission to advance Lake Hāwea Station into the future. This team is made up of professionals with a rich and diverse skill set, each bringing unique talents and experiences.

The Team

Dr Geoff Ross – Owner

Owner

Dr Geoff Ross

Jussie Ross – Owner

Owner

Jussie Ross

Dr Finn Ross – Climate scientist

Climate scientist

Dr Finn Ross

Gabriel Ross – Founder of The Weekend Mish

Founder of The Weekend Mish

Gabriel Ross

Jack Mansfield – Farm Manager

Farm Manager

Jack Mansfield

Annie Gummer – General Manager

General Manager

Annie Gummer

Richie Laming – Experience & Education Manager

Experience & Education Manager

Richie Laming

Mitch – Experience & Education Manager

Experience & Education Manager

Mitch

Grace Carruthers – Ambassador Abroad

Ambassador Abroad

Grace Carruthers

Rieko Murata – Housekeeper

Housekeeper

Rieko Murata

Jess Harvey – Housekeeper

Housekeeper

Jess Harvey

Kirsten Rabe – Horticulturist

Horticulturist

Kirsten Rabe

Horticulturist

Kirsten Rabe

About

Kirsten is the self driven arbiter of all things growing and flourishing on Lake Hāwea Station – she is resourceful, proactive and inspirational. Everything she nurtures feels her Aroha and so does every member of the team.

Kirsten Rabe – Horticulturist

Housekeeper

Jess Harvey

About

Jess is a central Otago local and a true gem. Lake Hāwea Station and its guests and visitors are lucky to have her gentle keen eye over everything that goes into a true Micro luxury lodge experience.

Jess Harvey – Housekeeper

Housekeeper

Rieko Murata

About

Long time housekeeper Reiko brings her equisite Japanese attention to detail to our residences at Lake Hāwea Station. Her gracious presence is hugely appreciated by the team and she runs our laundry and housekeeper rooms beautifully. Reiko is as much a local now and with her husband is raising two beautiful girls in the Hāwea area.

Rieko Murata – Housekeeper

Experience & Education Manager

Mitch

About

Mitch is a passionate outdoorsman and experienced guide who grew up exploring  the North Island before following his calling south. Now based in Central Otago, he blends years of guiding and conservation experience and a refined knowledge of majestic native and non native species. With a background in guided multi-day wilderness expeditions, heli trips, and backcountry fly fishing and bow-hunting, Mitch brings a high level of fieldcraft, local insight, and a deep respect for the land to every experience he leads.

Mitch – Experience & Education Manager

Experience & Education Manager

Richie Laming

About

Richie is our experience and education manager at Lake Hāwea Station and few people can make the land, stars, the flora and fauna as fascinating and relevant as Richie can. Holding a masters in wildlife management, Richie is peerless in his knowledge of ecosystems and their stories. Richie has the best chat … and razer sharp intellect. If you are lucky enough to schedule a tour of an education experience with him you will see the world in a whole new way.

Richie Laming – Experience & Education Manager

Ambassador Abroad

Grace Carruthers

About

Grace our ambassador abroad (who makes the odd on property cameo) is a founding member of the LHS team. She was instrumental in developing the brand identity and tourism product and is beloved by all who have encountered her during their LHS visits. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in marketing and minoring in management and anthropology from the University of Otago and she has worked in New Zealand and overseas in event and marketing roles.

Grace Carruthers – Ambassador Abroad

Owner

Jussie Ross

About

Jussie is the best selling author of Every Bastard Says No and Meet You at the Main Divide. The latter being the story of their first six years at the intersection of the Climate crisis and farming. Jussie is a board member of United Nations Women Aotearoa. She is a trained Speech Language Pathologist and has a post graduate honours diploma from the London School of Journalism which led her to a career segue into Documentary writing and research. She wrote and researched documentaries for Inside New Zealand and the Tuesday Documentary including the multi award winning Destination Disaster. Her focus on the property has been building and sustaining a Conde Nast Gold winning residence offering and driving innovation and excellence in animal welfare practices.

Jussie Ross – Owner

Owner

Dr Geoff Ross

About

Born and bred on a farm in the north island Geoff, a serial entrepreneur, was founder of 42 Below Vodka and investor and chair of the Trilogy Group before its successful sale to SIDIC. Geoff has been the CEO or Chair of Three Publicly Listed Companies and has long wanted to return to the land. Geoff has found himself honoured in the marketing hall of fame, awarded a World Class New Zealander from Kea and with a Doctor of Commerce from Lincoln University. Geoff combines his deep love for farming and the agricultural sector with his learnings as a business builder. He determinedly looks for ways to drive value for farmers and to innovate in the sector. Geoff was a founding member of Pure Advantage a lobby and research group advocating for the business case for environmental stewardship. He is an adviser to several businesses in the agriculture and climate change sector.

Dr Geoff Ross – Owner

General Manager

Annie Gummer

About

Annie, is the Lake Hāwea Station product innovation, marketing and distribution manager. Under her management the range of products has gone from zero to almost twenty and distribution is growing. Annie just happens to be a well loved and respected physiotherapist who occasionally gives our team some much needed advice on their various injuries. She also keeps a close eye on how the team use their backs. Annie has innate style and impeccable eye and attention to detail which makes her a beautiful point of contact for guests and during events. We are lucky to have her in our midst.

Annie Gummer – General Manager

Founder of The Weekend Mish

Gabriel Ross

About

Gabe has a Batchelor of Commerce – Majoring in Entrepreneurship from the University of Otago. He founded the now beloved adventure creators – The Weekend Mish. Winners of Warner Brothers Discovery Show Tracked Gabe and mate Riley showed their incredible skill in the navigation of the mountains. These are the skills which come in handy as he develops the hunting operation on this vast property where Red Stags, Fallow deer, wild pigs, Chamois and Tahr all reside. Gabe also does ambassador work for several brands in the outdoor, fishing and adventure categories.

Gabriel Ross – Founder of The Weekend Mish

Climate scientist

Dr Finn Ross

About

Finn has a PhD from Deakin University. He is the founder and CE of The Climate Action Company. Finn is also the founding Chair of Future Farmers, proposing innovative policy to the Government and the agriculture sector. He has been a speaker at COP29 the Global Climate Change summit, TEDx and many other international climate change events. He has been central to the LHS carbon calculations and the B Corp certification. Finn contributes to several organisations in the climate change and environment sector. Finn is a keen climber and adventurer who is deeply passionate about the wild places in the South Island.

Dr Finn Ross – Climate scientist

Farm Manager

Jack Mansfield

About

Jack has been running close to 10,000 Merino and 250 Angus Cattle for the Ross Family since they purchased the property in 2017. When he started at LHS he was probably one of the youngest farm managers in the country. Under Jacks management the wool yield has increased, stock numbers have increased, lambing percentages have increased and we have transitioned to more regenerative approaches. Jack is an expert dog trainer and dog handler. He is a contributor to the local A & P show and a regular dog trial competitor. If you are lucky Jack will take you for a spin up a South Island river in his jet boat.

Jack Mansfield – Farm Manager