Sherson Willis
1. Business/Trading Name: Sherson Willis Limited (commonly known as “Sherson Willis”).
2. Company Number: 1798569.
3. NZBN (New Zealand Business Number): 9429034191828.
4. Entity Type: New Zealand Limited Company (Ltd).
5. Business Classification: M696280 – Public Relations Counselling Service.
6. Industry Category: Public relations, strategic communications and corporate affairs. (The firm specializes in corporate communications, reputation management, and public affairs.)
7. Year Founded: 2006 (incorporated on 04 Apr 2006).
8. Addresses: Head Office – Auckland: Level 4, Kauri Timber Building, 104 Fanshawe Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand. (Previous registered office: L4, 152 Fanshawe Street, Auckland, until 2024.) The firm expanded to Wellington in 2023 with a presence for a Wellington-based staff member.
9. Website URL:
https://www.shersonwillis.com/
10. LinkedIn URL: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sherson-willis/
11. Company Hub NZ URL: https://www.companyhub.nz/companyDetails.cfm?nzbn=9429034191828
12. NZ Companies Office URL: https://app.companiesoffice.govt.nz/companies/app/ui/pages/companies/1798569
13. Social Media URLs: The firm’s primary social presence is on LinkedIn. It also maintains a YouTube channel (as “Sherson Willis”). No official Twitter or Facebook account is advertised.
14. Ultimate Holding Company: None – Sherson Willis is independently owned (no parent company).
15. Key Shareholders: The company is privately held primarily by its co-founders via personal and trustee entities. Tricia Beryl Sherson (co-founder) effectively holds ~50% (including 499 shares via NH Lawyers Trustee Ltd and a personal share). Rewa Nikola Willis (co-founder) holds ~50% (including 499 shares via R Willis Trustee Ltd and a personal share). No outside shareholders with significant stakes; previous minor shareholders transferred their shares to the founders’ trust companies by 2015.
16. Leadership: Tricia (“Trish”) Sherson – Co-Founder and Director (a former political press secretary and journalist). Rewa Willis – Co-Founder and Director (business leader, 50% owner, and an advocate for Māori business engagement). They lead the firm together. The senior leadership team also includes Lucy Fox (Principal) and Jamie Johl (Associate Director), among others.
17. Staff: As of 2025, Sherson Willis has a team of around a dozen consultants and staff. Notable team members (in addition to the co-founders) include: Lucy Fox (Principal), Jamie Johl (Associate Director), Torben Akel (Associate Director), Hannah Raos (Senior Associate), Alex Golder (Senior Associate), Alexi O’Brien (Senior Associate), Nicholas Hudson (Associate), and Jamie Miller (Junior Associate). The firm also employs a Senior Advisor (Peter Murray) and a Finance & Operations Manager (Jackie Northcott). (Staff roles span former journalists, government advisors, and communication specialists.)
18. Staff with Previous Government Roles: Several Sherson Willis personnel have held government or political positions before joining the firm: Trish Sherson served as a senior press secretary at Parliament (for the ACT Party caucus). Jamie Johl worked in diplomatic and public sector roles (NZ Embassy in Washington and NZ’s UN mission in New York) prior to entering corporate affairs. Genevieve Maindonald (Senior Associate, Wellington) joined in 2023 with a background as a policy advisor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Office of Treaty Settlements. Co-founder Rewa Willis participated in a Te Puni Kōkiri (Ministry of Māori Development) cadetship early in her career. These “revolving door” hires leverage experience and contacts from government service.
19. Past Employees: Notable former staff include Thomas Pryor, who was a Principal at Sherson Willis (circa 2018–2022) and frequently appeared in media as a PR consultant from the firm. He led major projects such as communications for Fisher Funds’ acquisitions. Genevieve Maindonald, mentioned above, was publicly announced as a Wellington-based Senior Associate in 2023 (it is unclear if she remains, as she has not been listed on the website). Earlier, during the company’s establishment, a few individuals (e.g. Kenneth Edwards, Ian Madgwick, Gayle Sherson) briefly held shares or roles, but they exited by 2015 as ownership consolidated under the founders’ trusts.
20. Clients: Sherson Willis serves a mix of corporate, public-sector, and nonprofit clients (though full client lists are not publicly disclosed, several engagements have become public): Universities – e.g. Auckland University of Technology (hired for crisis communications during a 2020 sexual harassment scandal) and the University of Auckland (engaged for communications advice in 2021). Financial Services – e.g. Kiwi Group Holdings/Fisher Funds (Sherson Willis managed communications for the $310 million acquisition of Kiwi Wealth by Fisher Funds in 2022), and fintech startup Dosh (promotion of a home-loan partnership with Westpac NZ).
Agribusiness – e.g. AgriZeroNZ (an agriculture emissions reduction joint venture). Infrastructure and Energy – e.g. Marsden Maritime Holdings (port company), DCI Data Centers (data infrastructure), and projects in the media, energy, pharma, and healthcare sectors in collaboration with FTI Consulting. The firm’s client base spans highly regulated industries, educational institutions, and major corporates.
21. Industries/Sectors Represented: Sherson Willis’s work spans Finance and Investment (banking, fintech, KiwiSaver/wealth management), Education (tertiary sector), Agriculture & Food (dairy and agri-tech initiatives), Energy & Utilities (including carbon emissions and sustainability projects), Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals (via communications projects with FTI Consulting), Technology & Telecommunications (tech infrastructure like data centers), and Media & Public Sector (the firm has advised media organizations and works with government-related entities, e.g. state-owned enterprises and agencies). This wide industry coverage reflects its role as a generalist corporate affairs consultancy.
22. Publicly Disclosed Engagements: The firm generally keeps client work confidential, but several engagements are on public record. Notably: Crisis Management for AUT – Sherson Willis was paid ~$16k by AUT to handle communications during a high-profile staff misconduct case, drafting responses to media and even a complaint to media about coverage. Advising University of Auckland – paid $10k for communications counsel (the university refused to release details, citing sensitivity). M&A Communications – Sherson Willis handled public relations for major financial transactions, such as Fisher Funds’ purchase of Kiwi Wealth (announced via a press release authored by Sherson Willis) and Fisher’s earlier takeover of Aon’s NZ retirement business. The firm regularly publicizes some client outcomes on its website “Newsroom” – e.g. the Dosh–Westpac collaboration, Marsden Maritime’s deal, and AgriZeroNZ’s policy updates – indicating those clients and projects. Additionally, Sherson Willis personnel appear in public forums (media panels, conferences) discussing issues that often align with client sectors (though specific client names may not be mentioned in those contexts).
23. Affiliations: Since 2018 Sherson Willis has worked closely with FTI Consulting, a global business advisory firm, and in 2022 it formalized this as FTI’s exclusive New Zealand strategic communications affiliate. This affiliation gives Sherson Willis access to FTI’s international network and resources, and in return FTI’s clients receive local support in NZ. The firm and its leaders are members of industry groups: for example, they are involved in the Public Relations Institute of NZ (PRINZ) (they’ve featured in PRINZ Award case studies) and are active in business networks. Co-founder Rewa Willis is on the board of The Icehouse, a prominent NZ business growth center, reflecting the firm’s engagement with the wider business community.
24. Sponsorships / Collaborations: Sherson Willis’s collaborations are primarily in service of client work and industry partnerships. The flagship collaboration is with FTI Consulting (as noted above) – essentially a partnership that allows joint execution of projects across borders. The firm also reportedly collaborates with Māori business initiatives (leveraging its 50% Māori ownership) and supports programmes like the Icehouse Owner Manager Programme (from which its co-founders graduated). There is no public record of Sherson Willis sponsoring external events or charities under its brand, but senior staff often appear as guest commentators in media (Newstalk ZB, RNZ, etc.) which can be seen as a form of thought-leadership engagement rather than formal sponsorship.
25. Events (Organised by the Firm): No major public-facing events are advertised by Sherson Willis. The company operates more behind-the-scenes. It occasionally hosts private client workshops or stakeholder meetings as part of its consultancy (not publicly documented). Internally, the firm has marked milestones (e.g. a decade in business in 2016, and the FTI partnership announcement event in 2022) but these are not widely publicized. The team does participate in industry events: for instance, Sherson Willis representatives speak at conferences such as the Financial Services Council conference and appear on panel discussions about media and politics (e.g. TVNZ’s Newshub Nation panel).
26. Political Donations: No publicly disclosed political donations have been directly attributed to Sherson Willis Limited or its principals. A search of New Zealand Electoral Commission donation records and media reports reveals no significant contributions by the firm to any political party (as of latest data). Co-founder Trish Sherson’s influence in politics has been through her advisory roles rather than financial donations. (It’s worth noting that another board member of The Icehouse, Steven Joyce, is a former Cabinet minister and political donor, but his involvement is separate from Sherson Willis.) Overall, the firm appears to exert political influence via lobbying and commentary rather than campaign financing.
27. Controversies: Sherson Willis has not been at the center of any scandals of its own, but it is frequently cited in debates over lobbying transparency and media ethics. In 2023, an RNZ investigation into lobbying highlighted how universities secretly hired lobbying firms, mentioning Sherson Willis’s role in managing a sexual-harassment crisis at AUT – raising questions about public institutions spending money on private lobbyists to handle sensitive issues. The lack of transparency in lobbying has been a broader controversy in NZ, and while Sherson Willis was noted as an exception for disclosing some clients, it still operates without any mandatory public disclosure of its lobbying activities. Another point of debate is Trish Sherson’s dual role as a lobbyist and media commentator. She regularly appears on radio and TV political panels (RNZ, Newstalk ZB) and writes op-eds, which has drawn criticism about potential conflicts of interest – she’s introduced as a PR firm director, but specific client interests are not disclosed to audiences. Critics have suggested this could allow “astroturfing” or subtly pushing clients’ agendas under the guise of neutral commentary. No formal complaints have been reported, but the ethical discussion persists.
28. Other Information of Note: Sherson Willis prides itself on being “proudly 50% Māori-owned”, which is unique among top lobbying firms in New Zealand. This aspect is woven into its brand and may afford it networks and credibility in Māori business circles and with government Māori initiatives. The firm’s affiliation with a global player (FTI Consulting) since 2022 has elevated its profile and suggests ambition beyond NZ’s borders. Both founders are female, making it a female-led lobbying firm, which is also notable in a traditionally male-dominated industry. Finally, as of 2023, the New Zealand government’s moves to tighten lobbying oversight (e.g. revoking lobbyists’ Parliament swipe-card access and proposing a voluntary code of conduct) put firms like Sherson Willis in the spotlight. How Sherson Willis adapts to greater transparency expectations – while it continues to balance media commentary and client advocacy – will be closely watched going forward.
Spot anything in this entry that is wrong? Please either leave a comment at the end or email, in confidence: bryce@democracyproject.nz