To be a young chairman of a highly successful and fast growing company is no mean feat. But for those who are familiar with David’s talents and abilities, this achievement comes as no surprise. David is a dynamic, inspirational leader, a good speaker and a big advocate of the internet and the results it can bring. David aspires to be a Level 5 leader and continually looks to develop himself and the people around him towards that goal.

“The leaders who work most effectively never say 'I'. And that's not because they have trained themselves not to say 'I'. They don't think 'I'. They think 'we'; they think 'team'. They understand their job to be to make the team function. They accept responsibility and don't sidestep it, but 'we' gets the credit. – Peter F Drucker

David has been a high achiever from an early age and is gifted in many areas. He possesses a huge amount of energy,perseverance and determination. His family moved around New Zealand a number of times during his childhood including stints in Auckland, Ngaruawahia (near Hamilton), and Wellsford before settling at the beach in Mangawhai Heads. David completed his college education from home via correspondence (New Zealand Correspondence School) where he obtained 7th Form (Year 13) and promptly set off to Auckland to attend university.

David completed a Bachelor of Information Sciences at Massey University in Albany receiving the prestigious top Massey scholar award at his graduation. He then attended Excel School of Performing Arts to pursue one of his other passions, completing a Certificate in Performance Music in bass guitar and vocals.

During his time at university David was fascinated by the emergence of the internet and the way that it was changing the world in many different areas, especially sales and marketing.

It was this fascination, combined with a strong interest in commerce, which resulted in David founding Zeald in the year 2000 with two business partners: his cousin, Hamish Braddick and his brother, Brent. He was 21 at the time.

David leads the team at Zeald, playing a major part in setting the company strategy while assisting in the execution of said strategies by the Zeald team. He is hands on, taking an active part in developing the capabilities of the business and its people. David is passionate about running, growing and maintaining a business that is truly ‘world-class’ and all the facets that come with that endeavour.

David is married to Lisa and they have a little girl called Eden and a two little boys Ezra & Ike.  He has a love affair with the sea and enjoys all water activities including surfing, fishing, boating and scuba diving. He also enjoys many land-based activities including tramping and hunting.

FUN FACT: David is very active in the martial arts, holding high rankings in both Ninjutsu and Brazillian Jiu Jitsu.

 View David Kelly's LinkedIn profile