Pacific Channel

Co-founder and Managing Partner Brent Ogilvie leads the investment team, supported by Executive Chairman Dr Gary Pace and Partner Professor Cather Simpson. The group operates with a blend of scientific, operational, and venture-building expertise, drawing on advisors such as Blair Pritchard at Australia's Clean Energy Finance Corporation.

Pacific Channel is a multi-stage investor with a primary focus on Pre-Seed to Series A. The firm provides patient capital and operational support to early-stage deep-tech companies, often backing them from the lab through commercialisation and into international markets.

The firm sources opportunities through deep ties to New Zealand's Centres of Research Excellence and Australian university spinout ecosystems — notably via partners like Professor Cather Simpson at the University of Auckland. Its acquisition of ENGIE Factory APAC in 2023 added a venture-building platform that originates climate-tech deals in Southeast Asia (per the firm, September 2023).

Pacific Channel operates as an asset manager structured around private equity venture strategies. It is not a family office; the firm manages funds and a venture studio on behalf of external investors, and has expanded its model to include an owned operating platform in climate tech.

The firm invests directly in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and the United States, and supports portfolio companies in establishing presence across broader international markets including Europe and Asia. The ENGIE Factory APAC acquisition extended its deployment footprint into Southeast Asia.

Advisor Blair Pritchard, a former Pacific Channel partner, now serves as a director at the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) in Australia, where he leads innovative and early-stage clean energy investing. This advisory link connects Pacific Channel to government-backed climate capital but does not constitute a formal co-investment arrangement.

Yes. Pacific Channel operates an internal venture studio, managed day-to-day by associate Louis Newton, which incubates startups and provides data-driven commercialisation support. This sits alongside its direct investment activity, providing a structured path from concept to portfolio company.