Anthony Lummis, Director

With around 15 years’ experience in the IT industry, Anthony is passionate about good service. He’s also a director of NEOS, which makes him even more focused on looking after his customers, because he understands how valuable they are.

Anthony’s journey to his role here is an interesting one – after growing up around his father’s catering business, he always had the entrepreneurial gene. He started Connex Limited (a company offering IT services for small businesses) in 2005, which merged with Network Now in 2007, and he bought out the other director in early 2009. The rest, as they say, is history, with the merger into NEOS last month.

As ‘your’ IT Manager, it’s Anthony’s job to take care of all the IT requirements of NEOS’ clients. It’s a big job, but he loves it. “I like the challenge IT offers, the constant change, the feeling you get when a plan comes together, and the gratification of fixing the really hard problems.”

In his spare time (when he’s lucky enough to find some), Anthony plays squash and golf and likes to go fishing. He’s also a regular at Phoenix games and is learning to play the guitar.

Nick Thompson, Director

Nick’s the technical brains of the operation. And while we would never call him a geek to his face (wait, yes we would), his techo credentials are impressive.

After completing his studies in electronic software engineering at CIT in 2002, Nick began creating his own image editing software, called ZTonic, as a hobby, which he sold online.

“It was a great little project – I was working during the day, then I would be chatting with my own customers online at 2am. I discovered they wanted more software, so I started Neomesh Micro.” Eventually, Nick was able to focus on Neomesh Micro
full-time until the recent merger into NEOS.

“I like the development of new technology and creating products and services that benefit everyone. And because I’m in business myself, I’m able to share my experiences for our customers’ benefit and tailor our solutions accordingly.”

When he’s not crawling around under your desk making your computer work, you can find Nick doing something musical – creating and recording music and playing the guitar or piano.

Mike Sheedy, Director

Introducing Mike Sheedy, one of the three directors here at NEOS. Mike works for us part time and is tasked with the big job of working ‘on’ the business.

“Our aim is to streamline our services and processes in order to provide a quality, standardised service to businesses in the Wellington region,” says Mike

With 20 years’ experience in the IT industry, Mike sure knows what he’s talking about. He started off his working life at IBM Quality Institute, improving the internal operations of IBM, winning a few awards along the way.

Mike doesn’t let the grass grow under his feet once he’s got the job done, so after IBM, he decided to start up his own business working with businesses around New Zealand on their internal operations. He focused on implementing quality systems in order to improve his clients’ efficiency, minimise errors and maximise customer satisfaction.

After dabbling in a taxi shuttle service, and returning to the corporate world, Mike had a mid-life crisis! “I bought a caravan and took Wendy (my wife) and my three daughters, Kate, Ella and Bridie, around the North Island for four months,” says Mike. “It was kinda cool!”

Mid-life crisis over, Mike joined ANZ National Bank as a Programme Manager and has been there ever since (in a part-time capacity). More recently, Mike discovered Network Now and was impressed with where they were heading, so decided to offer his services. “I offered to help out with their marketing and branding and had some ideas about how they could be positioning themselves for better growth,” he said. “The rest is history.”

“IT is a key part of a business’s infrastructure, and it can be a really useful tool to help achieve business results, if it’s done properly,” says Mike. “It’s a fundamental tool for businesses, but it’s only a tool and not the end destination. NEOS is good at seeing it in that light and helping Kiwi businesses get results from their IT investment.”

Weekends sees Mike outdoors kayaking, skiing or spending time with his daughters. He’s also involved with a local youth group in Eastbourne who raise money for various charities. Keep an eye out for a bunch of Scout Venturers swimming across Wellington Harbour soon!

June Matthews, Operations Manager

For most of our readers, June Matthews doesn’t really need an introduction. She’s the first point of contact here at NEOS and holds down the important role of Operations Manager, or ‘general-office-wonder-woman’, as she is sometimes known.

“I’m the one answering the phones”. “I manage all the accounts and invoicing, and the consumables department is my baby. I also look after hardware orders, and any other general administrative work that comes with running an office.”

Starting out in the cellphone industry, which she stuck with for six years, June has made a natural progression into the IT business, joining the NEOS team just over three years ago.

“I really enjoy working here. It’s fun and the IT field is always changing and developing, which keeps it interesting,” says June.

Outside of the office, June enjoys shopping, and going out with friends, and she has a passion for mountain biking.

“I’ve been doing a lot of pedalling recently, all over the Belmont and Upper Hutt region. I have recently started taking on some of the hills around the region. A couple have almost beaten me, but it’s all worth it for the ride downhill!” June explains.

Because she is so organised and onto it, June’s a bit like the Martha Stewart of NEOS: she’s always coming up with some bright idea to save time or help things run more smoothly. To share her wisdom with you, we’ve given June some space over the page so she can tell you some of her top tips. Check it out - she’s got some good advice about backing up your email.

Rob Cross, Technical Specialist

Joining the team three months ago, you might expect Rob Cross to still be a bit of a ‘NEOS newbie’ but, being a Technical Specialist, he really knows his stuff.  “I deal with basically anything on a technical level. This ranges from solving software-based issues, to taking apart and repairing PC’s, even setting up and installing new servers – I deal with the complex nitty-gritty details.” says Rob.

Rob has always had an interest in computers and recently completed a Weltec Diploma in Computer Servicing. Where, thanks to his hard work ethic and technical prowess, Rob graduated top of his class. “I received the Top Student Award because I maintained an A+ grade average. It was quite an honour”.

Leaving his student days behind him, Rob has settled into our team really well and his ability to solve any issues, no matter what they are, has made quite the impression on all of us.

“I really enjoy working at NEOS, it has a dynamic working environment which is always posing me with new challenges. There is a culture of striving for improvements and innovation, that has placed NEOS at the top of the game.”

Outside of work Rob likes to spend time with his partner and young daughter, Sofiya. “A lot of the time you can also find me out in the garage, working on cars and building engines.”