Our Governance

Steering Commitee

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  Dame Therese Walsh DNZM CFInstD

  Chair

  Dame Therese Walsh is Chair of Air New Zealand Ltd and ASB Bank Ltd, and a Director of Antarctica New Zealand. She is a former Director of Contact Energy Ltd, Television New Zealand Ltd, NZX Ltd., Save the Children NZ, the Wellington Regional Stadium Trust and New Zealand Cricket. She was Pro Chancellor of Victoria University of Wellington from 2018 to 2021 and served on the Council since 2016. In her professional capacity, Dame Therese was Head of New Zealand for the ICC 2015 Cricket World Cup, Chief Operating Officer for Rugby New Zealand 2011 Ltd and CFO for New Zealand Rugby. For her services to sport, she was made a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2015. She was named the supreme winner of the Women of Influence Awards 2013 and awarded a Sir Peter Blake Trust Leadership Award in 2014. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Directors.

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  Abby Foote CFInstD

  Abby Foote is a professional director with over 12 years’ governance experience, including publicly listed and Crown companies. Abby has recently stepped down as the Chair of Z Energy Limited and is currently Chair of Christchurch City Holdings Limited a Director of Freightways Limited, Sanford Limited and KMD Brands Limited. Abby’s previous governance roles include TVNZ, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Transpower New Zealand, Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC) and the New Zealand Local Government Funding Agency (LGFA). Abby holds qualifications in both law and accounting with a professional background focused on corporate finance and commercial transactions. Abby is a Chartered Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Directors.

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  Caren Rangi ONZM MInstD

  Caren Rangi is an experienced public sector governance practitioner, a qualified chartered accountant and a proud Cook Islands Maori. She is currently the Chair of the Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa and of Pacific Homecare Services, Governor of Radio New Zealand (Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa) and a Board member of Te Papa Tongarewa / The Museum of New Zealand, the Cook Islands Investment Corporation and Pacific Co-operation Broadcasting Ltd. Her previous governance roles include Chair of the Pacific Business Trust, and Board member of NZ On Air (Irirangi Te Motu), the Charities Registration Board, Le Va and a Trustee for the Eastern and Central Community Trust. In 2018, she was conferred with an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to governance and the Pacific community. Caren is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and a Member of the Institute of Directors.

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  Dr. Charles Ehrhart

  Dr Ehrhart has more than 20 years of professional experience working within governments, the UN, civil society and the private sector for sustainable development and an end to poverty in our world of plenty. For the past twelve years, Charles has focused on the challenges of mitigating and adapting to climate change. Charles currently works for KPMG New Zealand as Partner, KPMG IMPACT Technical Lead Climate Change, Decarbonisation, ESG & Sustainability. His primary interests are adaptation to climate change, sustainable land use, the transformative potential of environmental entrepreneurship, the role of green economic growth in nationally determined contributions to mitigate climate change (INDCs) and public-private partnerships for climate action. Charles has a PhD in Social Anthropology from Cambridge University. He continues to publish, is often invited to speak at important conferences, and has been cited by major newspapers as an expert on the impacts and implications of climate change.

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  James Miller CFInstD

  James Miller is a professional director with extensive governance experience. He is currently the Chair of NZX Limited (NZX), Director of Mercury NZ Limited (MCY), New Zealand Refining Company Limited (NZR) and the Vista Group. He was previously Deputy Chair of the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) and a director of Auckland International Airport Limited (AIA), Vector, the Financial Markets Authority, ABN AMRO Securities, INFINZ and the Financial Reporting Standards Board. James is a qualified Chartered Accountant, a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants, a Certified Securities Analyst Professional, a member of the Institute of Directors, and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School.

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  Jonathan Mason CFInstD

  Jonathan Mason has had an extensive governance career in the financial markets in both the United States and New Zealand for over 30 years, with a strong emphasis on emerging markets. Jonathan currently serves as the Chair of Vector Limited and is a Director on the boards of Air New Zealand, Westpac New Zealand Ltd and Zespri Group Ltd. He has held management positions in the oil and gas, chemical, forest products and dairy industries including Carter Holt Harvey and Fonterra in New Zealand and International Paper and ExxonMobil Corporation in the United States. He holds an MBA, MA and a BA and is an Adjunct Professor of Management at the University of Auckland, focusing on finance. Jonathan is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Directors and a member of the Auckland branch.

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  Julia Hoare CMInstD

  Julia Hoare is a professional independent director. She is Chair of Port of Tauranga Limited, Deputy Chair of the a2 Milk Company Limited, and Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk committees of Auckland International Airport Limited and Meridian Energy Ltd. Julia is also a Board member of Northport Ltd & Primeport Timaru Ltd.  Julia is the inaugural Chair of the Institute of Directors (IoD) Board and current President of the IoD Council.  Previous roles include Director of New Zealand Post, AWF Madison Group and Watercare Services and formerly a member of the External Reporting Advisory Panel and the New Zealand Sustainable Finance Forum Leadership Group. Julia was a Partner with PwC NZ for 20 years where she sat on the Government’s review into the emissions trading scheme, and also set up and led PwC’s local sustainability and climate change services practice. Julia is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors.

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  Laurissa Cooney CMInstD

  Laurissa is a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants, and a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors in New Zealand. She has previously held senior manager, auditing and consulting roles with Deloitte in New Zealand and Deloitte Touche in London and was the Chief Financial Officer for Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi.

  Laurissa currently serves as the Chair of Tourism Bay of Plenty, and is an Independent Non-Executive Director for Air New Zealand, Goodman Property Ltd, Accordant Group Ltd and Aotearoa Circle and a Trustee on the Charitable Investment Trust for Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. She also holds a role as Co-Chair for the Tourism Industry Transformation Plan for the Environment with MBIE and the Visitor Economy Adaptation Roadmap Aotearoa Circle workstream. Laurissa is also a Committee Member of the Chapter Zero NZ Steering Group and was a 2017 recipient of the Institute of Directors Emerging Director Award. Laurissa is of Te Āti Hau Nui a Pāpā Rangi (Whanganui) descent.

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  Phil Veal MInstD

  Phil Veal is a private investor and business leader with over 25 years of experience across a wide range of industry sectors. He is currently the Chair of New Zealand’s global talent network and Magic Memories, as well as a Director of Natural Habitats Landscapes and Skyline Aviation Ltd. Previously, Phil has been an investor in and director of several other iconic New Zealand companies including Hellers, Tuatara Brewing, Bio-Strategy Ltd and Rainbows End. He is the Managing Director of private investment company ForthCo, formerly the Chief Executive of Rangatira and ran New York-based M&A consulting company PIPC. A qualified civil engineer, Phil started his career as a construction manager working on infrastructure projects in Europe and Asia.

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  Scott St John CFInstD

  Scott St John is the current Chair of Fisher and Paykel Healthcare. He is also a Director of ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited (ANZ NZ), Fonterra and Mercury Energy as well as a board member of the NEXT Foundation. He was Chancellor of the University of Auckland from 2017 to June 2021 and a member of the University Council since 2009. Previously, Scott was a member of the Capital Markets Development Taskforce, the Financial Markets Authority Establishment Board and the Security Industry Association, which he chaired. In his professional capacity, Scott was the Chief Executive of First New Zealand Capital (now called Jarden) for 15 years and was a former stockbroker. He is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, a fellow of the Institute of Finance Professionals of New Zealand and a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Directors.