Robett Hollis

Robett Hollis is a New Zealand entrepreneur, former professional snowboarder and founder of FRONTSIDE, the content agency acquired by Saatchi & Saatchi / Publicis Groupe.

Before business, Hollis was a national champion snowboarder ranked second in the world, an Olympic commentator and an ESPN contributor. That background in action sports and media production shaped his approach to content and gave him a network and skill set that translated directly into entrepreneurship.

Hollis built FRONTSIDE into one of New Zealand’s leading video production and content consultancy agencies over 12 years. Its acquisition by Saatchi & Saatchi, part of the third-largest communications company in the world, marked a significant exit for a New Zealand creative agency. He also founded AIRTIME, New Zealand’s largest action sports community and created ColabNZ, which grew into the country’s largest network of creative shared workspaces, expanding to 10 floors across seven buildings.

Hollis is also the founder of the NZ Entrepreneurs Conference and has served as head judge at the Innes48 Business Startup competition and on the Uber Pitch Panel. After exiting his portfolio of companies, he set a personal mission to counter New Zealand’s tall poppy syndrome, co-authoring an autobiography called POWERMOVES alongside best-selling author Justin Brown, distributed free to 800,000 New Zealand students.

Hollis’s profile is noteworthy because he has channelled an unconventional career, competitive snowboarding, media production, coworking, into a portfolio of businesses and a genuine commitment to inspiring the next generation of Kiwi entrepreneurs.

Robett features in our look at how New Zealand brands break out globally.

Sources: The Spinoff · Publicis Groupe · NZBusiness