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Clarity of Goals | Protecting Families | Prudent Investing
HARNESS FINANCIAL NEW ZEALAND
Meet Your Team
Our human-focused approach provides you and your family with the following
Advisers
Samuel Rees-Thomas
Insurance
Samuel Rees-Thomas - Founder | Director
My mission is to see every New Zealander reach their financial potential. With thoughtful, expert and human-centric advice, and with us helping draw out what’s already there, anything’s possible. As Managing Director and CEO, I lead our insurance advice licence while helping shape the direction of the business.
In 2012, after several years with Westpac & KiwiBank, I launched my career as an Independent Financial Adviser. This was driven by a passion to provide exceptional financial advice and help people realise their own hopes and dreams… with a plan.
In 2020, I met Wealth Planner Dieter Timmerman, which unlocked a more holistic way of looking after our clients, and hence Harness Financial was born.
The vision is to harness two paths into a single, clear direction:
- Protecting your future
- Growing your future
This fusion of insurance, investment and retirement planning meant these conversations can now happen side-by-side.
As we’ve grown, Dieter and I have fought hard to maintain the culture and ethos that made our offerings extraordinary to begin with – our team is world class, our clients are phenomenal, and our passion to see them succeed remains unparalleled.
Away from the office, you'll usually find me in a cafe, or somewhere making music. There’s even a ukulele in my office, occasionally used to serenade unsuspecting clients (did you know Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door works well as a life insurance parody song?).
I live in Wellington with my wonderful wife, Julianne, and our gorgeous daughters, Mariah, Lily and Genevieve.
Ready to make some moves on Harnessing your financial potential? Let’s start with a 10 min chat, then we’ll have that coffee.
Dieter Timmerman
Investments
Dieter Timmerman - Founder | Director
I want every New Zealander to benefit from holistic, retirement-focused planning, because a good retirement isn’t something that happens to you by accident.
I've always been fascinated by how money shapes people's lives. I started my career as an accountant and financial manager, where I learnt plenty about balance sheets and financial statements, but I quickly realised I was far more interested in helping people plan their future than reconciling their past.
So in 2012, back in Cape Town, I became a Financial Adviser specialising in investment advice. In 2018, I made the move to New Zealand, where I spent several years with an established advice firm before founding Savvy Wealth in 2021. In 2023, Savvy Wealth merged with Rees-Thomas Financial to become Harness Financial, where I now direct our Investment Advice Licence.
My passion for retirement planning is personal. I've watched people close to me reach the years meant to be their most secure without a plan in place, and live with the consequences.
Done well, a solid plan protects people's security and peace of mind. It can be life-changing, easing the relationship strain that financial stress so often causes. I love helping people make decisions today that give them more choices tomorrow. A good retirement comes from good habits and having someone in your corner who's prepared to think long-term.
Outside of work, I enjoy reading across all sorts of subjects, especially theology and philosophy. I also remain a loyal Springbok supporter, despite living in New Zealand, which occasionally tests both my convictions and my friendships. I share my home in Tawa with Coco, my wonderfully grumpy dachshund, who remains stubbornly unimpressed by compound interest.
Connect with me
- Email: dieter@harnessfinancial.co.nz
- Phone: 0210 268 7955
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dieter-timmerman/
Jonathon Gilling
Insurance
Jonathon Gilling
After a stint in banking with ASB, starting in the early 2000’s I spent four years with AMI Insurance holding Customer Service, Customer Services Manager and Branch Manager roles. It was a really comprehensive introduction to insurance as back then branches did it all - enquiries, underwriting, claims and assessing.
I then diverted to five years of pastoral care and in 2011 with my wife, left NZ for South Africa to be the Directors of an organisation that operated in the townships of South Africa caring for orphaned and vulnerable children. What a season that was, we laughed every day and most commonly cried every day too. As our family grew I returned to the financial services industry with Harness Financial and in 2025, we opened Harness’ Cape Town office.
Music is a retreat place and I’ve been known to pick up an instrument on occasion. One day, I’m going to quit (or reduce my hours) and give myself to a season of jazz on the keys - it’s a “must.”
I really care about people. My life has always in some way, shape or form; been about making room for people. If I had received financial advice as a young person I would be in a far more admirable financial position - giving others that opportunity is what drives me in my role. It’s a pleasure and privilege to direct Harness Financial’s Insurance Advice License alongside Samuel - our staff are some of the very best.
Luke Hodgson
Investment & Insurance
Luke Hodgson
I don't think financial advice should be complicated. Life is complicated enough.
In 2019, on the eve of becoming a father, I started my career in financial services to help people build and protect what matters most. Becoming a parent has a way of changing how you think about the future, and that perspective continues to shape the advice I give today.
Since then, I've worked across investment advice, mortgages, insurance, investment distribution and industry engagement before coming full circle back into advice at Harness Financial. That broad experience means I can see the bigger picture and help clients connect the dots between the different parts of their financial life.
If I’m honest, despite my love of helping people build and create wealth, when I started, I couldn't think of anything worse than going into insurance advice. But then my first claim came through… from my very first client… 3 hours before we submitted the application.
This was someone very close to me, a young fit father with a family depending on him. It hit like a tonne of bricks what the insurance would have done if it was there. From this experience, I was forced to acknowledge the fragility of life and realised the critical role insurance plays. The Wealth Plan is always Plan A, and insurance is the support structure to hold it up.
Whether we're talking about KiwiSaver, medical insurance, retirement planning or building a long-term investment strategy, my goal is to make complex decisions feel purposeful and aligned with what success looks like for you. As Co-Director of Harness Invest alongside Dieter, I'm passionate about helping people build confidence in their financial future, one good decision at a time.
Outside of work, you'll usually find me exploring Wellington's trail network on a mountain bike or gravel bike, or spending time with my wife, Danielle, and our daughters, Willa and Zoey. The ideal weekend finishes with good friends, good conversation and something that's spent far too long in the barbecue smoker.
Joshua Logan
Insurance
Joshua Logan
I've always believed good insurance advice starts with one question: What's actually best for the client?
For more than a decade, I've helped individuals and families navigate their insurance decisions with confidence, making sure they understand not only what they're covered for but why it matters. Insurance can feel complicated… but my job is to make it practical and tailored to the person sitting across the table.
Alongside working with my own clients, I'm passionate about helping improve the wider industry. I serve on the Research Advisory Board for Quality Product Research and regularly work alongside insurers to advocate for product improvements that genuinely benefit New Zealanders. I believe the industry should keep evolving, and I'm proud to play a small part in helping make that happen.
Providing financial advice is truly a privilege. My focus is helping people protect what matters most through honest conversations and solutions that fit their lives, not just their policy schedule. The goal is knowing you've got the right protection in place when life doesn't go to plan.
Outside of work, I enjoy making music, feeding my competitive streak through indoor cricket and outdoor go-karting, and following just about any sport I can. Home is wherever my wife and our three children are, and they're a constant reminder of why protecting people's futures is such meaningful work.
Melinda Kassim
Insurance
Melinda Kassim
I've always believed insurance is having someone in your corner when life doesn't go to plan.
Over the past 15 years, I've worked across banking, reinsurance, group insurance and personalised risk advice, giving me a broad perspective on how insurance works from every angle. But the part of my career that's shaped me most has been helping people through claims. That's when good advice really proves its value, and it's where I've seen firsthand the difference the right cover can make during some of life's most challenging moments.
At Harness Financial, my goal is to help people feel prepared, supported and confident long before they ever need to make a claim. Insurance shouldn't feel confusing or overwhelming. It should give you the confidence to get on with living your life, knowing you have a plan if the unexpected happens.
When I'm not working with clients, you'll usually find me happiest by the water, whether that's fishing with my partner, Dave, from our boat or simply enjoying a day at the beach.
Joseph Stewart
Personal Insurance
Joseph Stewart
I know that for a lot of people, insurance feels like something they'll "sort out later." My goal is to make it approachable and worth having the conversation today.
After graduating from university in Fairfield, Connecticut, I returned home to New Zealand without a clear picture of what came next. Joining Harness Financial in 2025 was a pivotal moment. It gave me the opportunity to work across group insurance, claims support and new business before becoming a fully qualified Financial Adviser in 2026.
I'm especially passionate about helping young individuals and families understand their options and protect what matters most. Whether you're new or seasoned to financial discussions, I want you to feel comfortable asking questions and understanding your choices.
I will always be there to pick up the phone. If I can make insurance feel a little less intimidating, I've done my job.
Outside of work, I don't sit still for long. I come from a semi-professional swimming background, and I still love keeping active, trying new things and spending time with friends and family. More than anything, I enjoy meeting people and hearing their stories. It's one of the reasons I love what I do.
And if you'd rather talk over a coffee... or a cheese scone... that's on me.