Vanessa Ronan-Pearce
TRUSTEE

Vanessa is a seasoned commercial strategist with over 20 years of experience spanning business and commercial strategy, marketing, communications, sponsorship and fundraising, innovation, and the creative industries. She is currently the Head of Marketing and Communications at Payments NZ, where she leads brand strategy, stakeholder engagement, and major industry events for the payments ecosystem.

She serves on the Advisory Board for NZ FinTech Wych Money, is an advisor and investor with global early-stage venture capital firm Antler Australia, and a Strategic Advisor to Creative Caring Australia — a social enterprise designing community dance programs for seniors to promote balance, mobility, and wellbeing.

Vanessa relocated from Sydney to Auckland in 2020 with her Kiwi husband and son. A lifelong dancer and passionate arts advocate, Vanessa began dancing at age three when her mother — former principal dancer with Borovansky Ballet (now The Australian Ballet) — opened The Glebe School of Performing Arts in Sydney. Vanessa later ran the school for over 15 years and taught at leading studios including Brent Street, Dynamite, Urban Dance Centre, and Sydney Dance Company.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Dance), with additional study in Music, Business, and Communications. She is currently completing a Graduate Diploma in Psychology and will begin a Master’s in Financial Technology, end of 2025 — bringing together her commercial, creative, and academic passions.

Vanessa is honoured to support the evolution of contemporary dance in Aotearoa as a Board Member of NZDC, combining her love of the arts with her commitment to building strong, sustainable creative ecosystems.