Jesse is Director of Operations and since 2001 has fulfilled roles encompassing every aspect of the business. Through leadership, Jesse demonstrates “our biggest challenges are our greatest successes once overcome”. In 2010 Jesse was elected as one of the youngest members to Auckland Council. Jesse champions the Living Wage for business and has a drive for positive social change.
Dan heads the Research, Development & Sales Departments. Daniel started making tofu in 1996, fresh out of school, spending years in the factory perfecting our products and processes. A good relationship builder, Daniel stepped into sales, further developing his understanding of what works well in the market. Daniel has more products to create and launch over the next few years, so watch this space!
Lippy (Elizabeth) has been involved with organic wholefoods since 1980 having co-founded Harvest Wholefoods, Harvest Soyfoods (later Bean Supreme), East West Organics and The Organic Soy Company, now renamed Chalmers Organics! Lippy is passionate about organic wholefoods while taking care of our planet & people. Lippy brings living wage and finance expertise to the Board table.
Stephen has been into organic wholefoods since Adam was a cowboy, making organic tofu for personal use (then customer requests), having co-founded Harvest Wholefoods, Harvest Soyfoods (later Bean Supreme), East West Organics and The Organic Soy Company - now renamed Chalmers Organics! Stephen brings a love of relationships, people, service, esoteric quotes and thinking to the Board.
Matt is the wonderfully crazy man who looks after our health & safety, compliance, quality and training AND keeps us all sharp across the company. Matt has a Bachelor of Business, majoring in management & information systems and has worked in the food industry since 2005. On the weekends you can find Matt watching movies or the latest TV series, playing computer games or going to the gym.
Simone arrived here from Germany (for the sheer love of travel) and fell in love with NZ. She put her HR and Psychology degrees to good use at Lion Nathan, then M.O.T.A.T., then Chalmers - marrying a Co-Director! Simone has been with us for 10 years now, and in her downtime, she has a love and focus on her son Liam, the great outdoors and health and well being.
Madison has been with us since 2015 and hit the ground running as an Office Assistant. Having experienced a bit of everything from the inner workings of the office, to the factory and dispatch, Madison has a wonderful knowledge of the company and is now the Operations Assistant Manager. In her spare time, Madison enjoys cooking wholesome plant-based food for her friends and family, going for walks with her partner and dog, playing netball and practising yoga.
Tane came to Chalmers after a 20-year career in hospitality with a 10-year focus on managing various awesome cafes across Auckland. He was raised vegetarian and has a passion for plant-based eating (so he fits in well here!). When Tane is not working he loves to hang out with his darling daughter while cooking, socialising and caring for the environment.
Geraldine coordinates our digital marketing and packaging design. Geraldine began working at Chalmers Organics Ltd as "vegan-curious" and is now passionate about the numerous benefits of plant-based eating and how it aligns with her personal values. Geraldine works four days per week and spends her remaining free time tirelessly entertaining her wee boy!
Kate is the friendly welcome you are greeted with at reception and through the switchboard helping with all orders, queries, invoices and credit notes. Kate is multi-talented, speaking fluent English, Mandarin and Taiwanese. Kate loves plant-based whole foods and believes that we should appreciate everything that has been given by Mother Earth.
Clint (the younger and better-looking brother of Stephen) and Karen Chalmers are the Customer Liaison team working mainly in the lower North Island. Their goal is to assist the company to achieve Best Shelf Presence and sales in all stores, great relationships with managers, delivering the best in-store product demonstrations around, and ensuring our customer service is sparkling!
Siu is a Chalmers legend! After 18 years, our head supervisor, tofu maker and all-round master of everything is still going strong! Siu (known as ‘Mum’ by the team and actually IS Mum to Sam), loves getting to know the cultures, backgrounds and passions of her crew. In her spare time, she hangs out with her children and three grandchildren for dinners, movies or trips to the park.
Sam, son of Siu, has been doing almost everything with us now for 9 years, even making tofu “back when it was easier” but is now the undisputed ‘King of Dispatch’. Famous for “running the sounds” and giggling, in his spare time he throws a rugby ball around, shoots hoops, plays PS4 and sleeps.
Alofa has been at Chalmers for over 10 years, covering every role in the factory, from yoghurt fermentation to soybean squeezing(!), to making tofu and sausages, to packing, dispatch and sometimes even being supervisor! In her downtime she loves to cook, clean and hang out with her four kids, visiting her favourite Aunties and Uncles, and playing the piano.
Ephrem “I love everything at Chalmers”, started out cleaning, then moved to packing, and now has his hand in quality tofu and sausage making, engineering and maintenance! He is a superb home handyman to have around, who loves fixing cars, mechanical modification of all sorts, NZ beaches, gardening, and listening to traditional Ethiopian music.
Douglas is our awesome night shift supervisor. Doug is passionate about his new career and is seeking to learn more and up-skill. During his spare time, you can find him playing online games with friends or spending time with family after moving back to Auckland following seven years in Wellington. Doug is 29 years old with one gorgeous and adored daughter.
We are proud to be a diversity-embracing United Nations at Chalmers. We have Maori, Fijian, Cook Island, NZ European, Ethiopian, Samoan, German, Indian, Tongan, Taiwanese, English and Hungarian staff (and we suspect Scottish, Irish, Welsh and French as well!). We love the traditions, meals, languages, humour, understanding and tolerance that our mixed cultures contribute.
