Kevin Atkinson on Knowledge Bank board

Hawke’s Bay Knowledge Bank has a new trust member, with Kevin Atkinson joining the team. He joins Peter Dunkerley, Barry Cole, David Shand and Bev Watkins.

Mr Atkinson says he is excited about joining the trust, given its “huge contribution” to Hawke’s Bay history and its open accessibility to all.

He has a great deal of experience across a range of businesses and boards and will be a valuable member of the Hawke’s Bay Digital Archives Trust, said trust chairman Peter Dunkerley.

Mr Atkinson has been an elected member of the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board since 1998 and is an elected trustee of the Hawke’s Bay Power Consumers Trust. He has served on the Eastern and Central Community Trust, Hawke’s Bay Medical Research Foundation, the EIT Hawke’s Bay Business and Computing Advisory Committee, Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union, and Hawks NBL (basketball). His business experienced is in the technology sector. He founded the software company Information Management Services Ltd (IMS) in 1983. The company provided Payroll software to a large number of New Zealand and Pacific Islands customers. IMS was sold to MYOB in October 2015.

Born in Hawke’s Bay (attending Onekawa Primary School and William Colenso College), Knowledge Bank’s focus on the region’s history combined with his experience in digital technology inspired his interest in the organisation, he said.”Having spent the past 40 years working with digital technology I believe that a digital archive of our history is important so that we preserve our local history for future generations. I have always had a passion for supporting local entities and I see my appointment to the Knowledge Bank Trust as a continuation of that service.”