Head Office
Jack Harper – Director/Owner
Jack joined Melanie in developing the Driving Miss Daisy NZ Ltd business in 2008, when he saw the potential to roll out the successful business model across the country. He has been instrumental in growing the business from the initial single franchise to the multi franchise business we have today. His extensive background in financial planning and consultancy helps drive the business strategy for Driving Miss Daisy NZ Ltd. Jack works closely with Melanie to strengthen the current business structure and develop opportunities to achieve the company goals.
Jack and Melanie have embarked on the next step of the Driving Miss Daisy mission by launching the business into the UK and Australia. This is an exciting development opportunity for Driving Miss Daisy.
Melanie Harper – Director/Owner
Melanie Harper is the owner and director of Driving Miss Daisy NZ Ltd. She identified a need in the market for a companion driving service and following extensive research she launched Driving Miss Daisy NZ Ltd. The business began in Havelock North in 2008 with one car and one franchise. Today Driving Miss Daisy NZ Ltd has 80 plus nationwide franchises which closely follow the original business model created 16 years ago. The Driving Miss Daisy fleet has expanded to 290 vehicles on the road to date and this figure continues to grow.
Melanie’s passion is to support the growing network of Franchisees, and to have a “Daisy” in every town in New Zealand. She works closely with her husband Jack, to develop the business and achieve these goals.
Andrew Kirkpatrick – General Manager
‘Born and Bred’ in Hawke’s Bay, and having spent most of his working life here, Andrew has a wealth of business and commercial experience behind him. A family man with two adult children, he enjoys golf, tennis, and all the beautiful Hawke’s Bay region has to offer!
Primarily Andrew works with all of our Daisy Franchisees, as well as managing Driving Miss Daisy NZ key commercial functions. He has a strong belief and commitment in Driving Miss Daisy, and the valuable part we offer and play within our communities throughout New Zealand.
Ange Mill – Franchise/Business Support Manager
Ange joined the team in July 2016 as the Administration Manager. In July 2019 she took on the new role of Franchise/Business Support, this role is the interface between the franchisees and franchisor. She works closely with the Business team to provide support to the 75 plus franchisees, assisting to build their business.
Ange has an extensive background in Sales and Marketing, Event Management and Administration. In her spare time, Ange enjoys cooking, gardening and spending time with family and friends.
Helen Ivory – Administration Manager
Helen originally from England, moved to New Zealand in 2006 with her husband and 2 boys. She moved to the sunny Hawkes Bay in 2018 from Whanganui.
Helen comes from a background in healthcare, a former nurse working mostly in Aged Care in management and leadership roles.
In her spare time, Helen enjoys reading, spending time with her husband and her two sons, and trying to tame her wild garden.
Gypsy Saker – Social Media Co‑ordinator
Gypsy is another team member born and bred in Hawkes Bay.
With a Bachelor in Business Studies Majoring in Marketing & Management, she has spent most of her time behind the scenes of many businesses working on their marketing and e-commerce.
Gypsy enjoys gardening, cooking, animals and spending time with her family consisting of her husband 2 dogs and 2 cats.
Neil Fleury – Company Accountant
Originally coming from Dunedin, Neil moved to sunny Hawke’s Bay about 40 years ago. Most of Neil’s working life has been based in Hawke’s Bay, with a couple of longish stints as a Finance Manager working for a couple of multinationals, as well as a few other roles doing everything from selling computers, to running courier operations.
Neil, his wife and daughter and are animal lovers, and currently have two dogs, two cats and a turtle at home. They have been involved in dog agility for the last couple of years, running their youngest dog in competitions, with limited success but have had lots of fun.