What is the biggest issue facing Wanaka?
'I believe we live in the most beautiful place in the world, as do a lot of other people in this town, and because of that we are going to experience massive growth and you've got to look at that as exciting.
All the amazing forecasting work done by the Queenstown Airport Corporation about the number of people predicted to come here is giving us a really good idea of what things could look like in 10 and 20 years' time, which is also giving us time to be a bit more prepared for it.
How do we prepare for it?
Being one step ahead, making sure we are ahead of the game when it comes to transport, roading systems and infrastructure.
We also need to look at our workforces and plan how we are going to house them and how we are going to make sure they earn enough money to live in this town because clearly it is a very expensive region to live in.
Are there any other issues?
Employee housing and how we are going to deal with the minimum wage increase is going to be a big one for all of our businesses because it is going to happen.
How do you see Ignite helping the business community in Wanaka?
Mainly we are there to connect people and look after the people in the community so the businesses are all talking to one another, supporting each another, sharing with each other, so they can grow and develop.
The second thing we do is support the businesses in town by having our ear to the ground on everything that is happening politically and within the community, and to help and advise our businesses about changes the Government is bringing in such as changes to the minimum wage, housing, and immigration laws.
The other major part of what Ignite does is around business growth - helping businesses that are already here to grow and develop by offering training so that they can continue to upskill themselves and learn more, and also growing new businesses in town such as helping start-up companies to start up and mentoring them.
What do you think you bring to the role of chairwoman?
I feel my strength is in leading a collaborative environment and allowing people to do what they are good at, making sure the right people are at the right places focusing on the right things.
And because I am used to working in that environment in my normal job at Cardrona Alpine Resort it will be easier to bring those skills across to the chamber.
How do you view the job of being chairwoman of Ignite?
I think my biggest responsibility is the direction that I take this leadership and because I've only just moved into the position I am really interested to hear from the business community and talk to people around town to see what they think that direction should be, whether they are happy with where we are heading and what we are doing.
We've been really clear so far about what we're trying to do and a lot of that is around mentoring, educating, advocating, training and developing the businesses we've got, which I think is really important.
The other thing we really want is for every business in town to be a member of the Ignite Chamber of Commerce.
