Meet the team
We’re a small and focused team with big aspirations for Auckland’s city centre. Find out more about each of us and what we bring to Heart of the City.
Viv Beck - Chief Executive
Viv leads Heart of the City, which champions a successful city centre economy with a vibrant and thriving heart.
Micaela Daniel - Head of Operations
Micaela leads our operations, which includes organisational planning, delivering strategic projects, and optimising internal processes so we can all do our best work.
The theatres of the city centre are her turangawaewae, and she also loves the buskers, hare krishnas and other performers who give the streets a sense of variety. Her inside scoop on the city is that we have a huge variety of books and fashion boutiques - second hand, top of the range and unique one of a kind.
Mitchell Estrop - Membership and City Management Specialist
Mitchell helps support Auckland’s city centre as a vibrant and safe environment for its businesses and visitors. As the key point of contact for Heart of the City members, Mitchell is constantly engaged with city centre businesses and assisting them to operate successfully in the heart of the city.
Experiencing the thrill of live music is Mitchell’s favourite thing to do in the city centre. He’s got eclectic taste and listens to everything from Dolly Parton to Arctic Monkeys. So, when he’s not working ‘9 to 5’, you can find him in one of the city centre’s live music venues where you can “bet he’s looking good on the dancefloor.”
Fiona Murphy - Digital Executive
Fiona is our Digital Executive, one of our eyes and ears of the city centre, seeking out news and events to share with our audiences across our digital channels and in our weekly newsletters. She helps run our digital ad activity and campaigns and contributes to projects and content for heartofthecity.co.nz. Fiona loves that there’s always somewhere new to discover in the city centre. It’s an ever-evolving space that’s always offering up something innovative, stylish and different for its ever-evolving audience.
Kate Powell - Communications Specialist
Kate helps spread the word about important city centre news and developments. She works to keep our members, city stakeholders and wider public ahead of the curve via hotcity.co.nz, social media and newsletters. Highlighting how city-centre businesses and their people are at the forefront of the changing city is at the heart of everything Kate does.
She loves exploring the city centre on foot and discovering previously hidden gems. As someone with an eclectic taste in food, fashion, art and culture, Kate is invigorated by the breadth of what is on offer in the heart of the city- there is always something to match her mood.
Jessie Vlasich - Office Assistant
Jessie has a dual role as the Personal Assistant to the CEO as well as the Office Assistant. Jessie supports our team by ensuring that the office runs smoothly and is the first point of contact that members have with Heart of the City.
Jessie loves the diverse range of activities that the city centre has to offer. There are different eateries, retail stores, activities and shows on each corner, creating a lively environment which perfectly balances work and play.
