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The Maverick story
About
We’re a tight-knit, passionate team of straight shooters that are committed to tourism. We love partnering with good people and doing work that makes an impact.
Tourism marketing is in our DNA
Born in South America, blossomed in New Zealand, branched out to the world. At Maverick, our plucky, innovative and forward-thinking spirit stretches from our Kiwi roots right across the globe. With us, you’ll unlock a team of experts intimately acquainted with tourism, and with specialised skills right across the marketing spectrum. Whether you’re in the thick of piercing alps, golden sand beaches, ancient forest or a chic urban hub, there is nothing we love more than working with destinations and operators of all shapes and sizes.
Our team of Mavericks come from all walks of life and are united by an unwavering passion for the visitor economy and an obsession with performance marketing. We’re focused on lifting operators and destinations to the next level, and we’re here to ensure your journey with us is both successful and enjoyable.
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Meet our team
Zac Watson General Manager
Zac is an accomplished, award-winning tourism leader with deep experience and understanding of both the public and private sectors. Passionate about the future of the industry, his people-first leadership style empowers teams and drives outstanding results for both Maverick and our client partners.
Alex Dykman Founder
Alex is an award-winning founder and passionate advocate for the future of tourism. Since launching Maverick in 2014, she’s been at the forefront of blending tourism and technology to create lasting, positive change across the visitor economy.
Tim Olson Technical Director
Tim is Maverick’s Technical Director and a specialist in turning complex digital pathways into simple, effective customer journeys. Known for his sharp analytical mind and people-first approach, Tim ensures that technology always serves the customer experience.
Stu Lill Head of Client Services
With nearly a decade in tourism marketing for both small operators and major brands, Stu brings unrivalled expertise in driving growth through high-performance digital strategies. His ability to blend sharp data insights with creative execution makes him one of the industry’s most effective performance marketers.
Ryan Wilmshurst Content Team Lead
With a background mixing RTO and operator experience, Ryan is a passionate storyteller and award-winning tourism campaign master. A YoungTEC board member, he adds strong industry know-how, passion and knowledge to our Client Services team.
Nicki Press Key Account Manager
With a unique mix of accommodation, business events, and regional tourism expertise, Nicki crafts campaigns and content that truly stand out. Her strategic insight and creative flair ensure our Gold and VIP clients receive exceptional results and unforgettable customer experiences.
Kelly Hookey Performance Team Lead
A Tourism Marketing Maverick in her own right and accomplished team lead, Kelly's strengths lie in the conception, creation & optimisation of multi-platform campaigns that maximise returns.
Mike McVey Senior Developer
Web Developer extraordinaire meets classic kiwi bloke. Creative brilliance and finely honed technical ability merge to boost Mike’s tourism websites clearly above the crowd.
Zara Colbert Content & Social Media Coordinator
With a sharp eye for social media and a fresh Gen Z perspective, Zara brings client stories to life through engaging short-form video and compelling written content. As Maverick’s resident TikTok and Instagram expert, she blends creativity with trend-savvy execution to deliver standout results.
Emi Cross Digital Performance Specialist
Emi is a dynamic marketer with a background in psychology, bringing a unique mix of analytical thinking and creative flair to the performance team. Passionate about data and driven by industry insights, she turns complex information into strategies that deliver meaningful results for our client partners.
Alyssa Serignese Account Executive
With a decade of experience in the tourism industry, Alyssa brings a fresh perspective and a passion for adventure to our team. Her deep understanding of travel behaviour and her ability to craft innovative marketing campaigns make her a valuable asset to our clients.
Larissa Nagel Client Services Strategist
Larissa works on a variety of projects to enhance our client experience and add even more spice to our Maverick secret sauce. Larissa's dynamic thinking and wealth of marketing skills drives our onboarding processes and strategies to help drive innovative, impactful results for new and existing clients.
Jordan Tan Digital Performance Coordinator
Jordan brings paid media strategies to life for tourism operators big and small, creating cutting-edge campaigns and testing out the latest performance tactics. Optimising search ads, crunching conversion rates, and fine-tuning client's SEO strategies - all in a day's work for Jordan.Work With Us
Don’t see a current position available that takes your fancy? Have a look through the key, general traits we look for in a Maverick and if it sounds like you’d make a good fit, send us your CV anyway! We’ll contact you if something applicable comes up.
And if you do see a role that would be fitting but don’t think you have all of the skills we’re seeking, please still apply if you have the General Traits that Make a Maverick!
We are a diverse, inclusive agency environment and appreciate all people of varying backgrounds applying for a role, or simply sharing their CV with us.
General Traits that Make a Maverick:
- A positive, can-do attitude.
- Integrity and a love for seeing people and businesses succeed.
- Desire to be around likeminded people who are on the same journey.
- A focus on high levels of client satisfaction
- Proactive thinking, considering lots of different possibilities and solutions!
- Marketing knowledge
- Collaborative & team focused nature / team player with a willingness to learn
- Motivation to develop themselves in the role
- Ability to communicate with the written word (and non written word)
- And cracking the odd joke never hurt the office vibes!
At Maverick we love to see people punching above their weight. If you think you have what it takes and are interested in joining the team, contact us.
The story of Maverick Tourism
It all started in a humble hostel in Rio de Janeiro back in 2014. Between caipirinhas and capoeira Alex would help with marketing strategy for tourism operators; a natural continuation of her years spent at Tourism NZ (the marketing stuff, not the capoeira). The remote work continued in between Amazon jungle exploring, and when Alex saw a surf doco on California’s Mavericks – one of the world’s most epic and feared surf breaks – something clicked. Embracing direct sales through digital was a scary move for most operators. Nearly as brave as dropping in on a big wave at Mavericks.
Now with some exhilarating years under its belt and a superstar team, Maverick Tourism is all grown up. It has flown from a dream to a full-service international agency transforming operators and organisations across New Zealand, Australia, the USA, Canada, Fiji and beyond. Helping the tourism industry supercharge their marketing success is a wickedly fun day job. Almost as fun as the caipirinha-sharp banter.
#MAVERICKTOURISM
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We're a team of tourism and digital experts who hang our hats on doing high impact work that affects your bottom line.
