Auckland Branch

The Auckland Branch of the Institute of Directors Emerging Director Award is open to Auckland Branch members in the very early stages of their governance journey.

• Are you newly engaged on a directorship path and aspire to enhance your governance pathway?
• Can you demonstrate a commitment to development and a high level of integrity?
• Are you committed to development of your governance pathway?

The focus of this award is to identify executives, managers and directors with potential and to foster the discipline of good governance through the acquisition of technical knowledge in addition to creating opportunities for networking via branch events and functions. 

2023 award recipient

Cath Lomax

Past recipients

• Sam Johnson (2022)
• Anchali Anandanayagam (2021)
• Matthew Payton (2020)
• Jaya Prasannan (2019)
• Nagaja Sanatkumar (2018)
• Carol Cheng (2017)
• Rachel Hopkins (2016)
• Paul Adams (2015)
• Shane McMahon (2014)
• Nicola Duggan (2013)

Jonathan Mason MBA, MA, BA, CFInstD

Jonathan is a Chartered Fellow of the IoD, the current Chair of the Auckland Branch Committee and also sits on the IoD National Council.  Jonathan’s experience in financial markets over the past 30 years has had a strong emphasis on emerging markets and he has extensive governance experience New Zealand and the United States. Previous directorships include Air New Zealand and Vector Ltd. He is currently director on the boards of Westpac NZ and Zespri Group Ltd.  In addition to these roles he serves as an Honorary Adjunct Professor of Management at the University of Auckland, with a focus on international finance.

Ross Buckley CMInstD

Ross is Chair of the IoD Board and sits on  the Auckland Branch Committee. He  has a variety of directorships including ASB Bank, Stride Property, Investore Property and chairs the Board of Service Foods. Ross is also a member of the Massey University Council and before that role spent nine years on the Massey Business School Advisory Board.

Ross had a 38-year career with KPMG, 27 years as a Partner and has managed the firm’s Audit, Risk and Tax practices in addition to the firms’ People, Performance and Culture function. During his last nine years Ross was the Executive Chair of KPMG New Zealand and a member of KPMG’s Asia Pacific Board and KPMG’s Global Council.

Ross was brought up in the Wairarapa and attained a Bachelor of Business from Massey University. He joined KPMG in 1983 and has seen the world from many different perspectives having worked in KPMG’s Amsterdam, Toronto, International and Wellington offices before moving to Auckland in 2008.

Ross is married to Irma and father to 21 year old triplets Zachary, Michaela and Jordan. In his free time, Ross is an active family man and enjoys road cycling, mountain biking and social running.

Bindi Norwell BBSc, MBA, PostGradCert Business, MInstD

Bindi is a visionary leader with more than 25 years’ experience working across a range of sectors including health, property, professional services and telecommunications.

Bindi brings extensive commercial leadership and governance experience, is highly strategic, and has proven expertise in leading organisational diversification and growth strategies, leveraging technology and innovation, transformational change, and organisational redesigns, to enable successful, thriving and sustainable businesses.

Bindi is currently the Group Chief Executive of ProCare, a leading healthcare provider. She is passionate about health and wellbeing, and relishes the opportunity to use her strategic and leadership strengths to improve equitable health outcomes for all New Zealanders. Before ProCare, Bindi was Chief Executive of REINZ and she has also held various executive roles across New Zealand, Australia and the UK.

Bindi is a Director for CareHQ, Chair of the Fresh Minds Board and Deputy Chair of the Auckland Branch of the IoD. She has held various governance roles including with Whakarongorau Aotearoa, EMA, Marketing Association and Warehouse Group.

Dame Jo Brosnahan DNZM QSO, MA Hons, FCILT, FNZIM, CFInstD

Jo is a Chartered Fellow of the IoD, Chair of Northpower Fibre (ultra-fast broadband), Chair of Maritime NZ, Chair of Rotorua Lakes Audit and Risk Committee, Chair of Harrison Grierson, a member of the Auckland Museum Trust Board and Principal of Leaders for the Future. She is Chair of the Taitokerau Education Trust, supporting digital learning in low decile schools in Northland, a member of the Centre for Brain Research Advisory Board, and of other trusts. She is the Founder and Advisory Trustee of Leadership NZ, was chair for more than a decade and has had an extensive governance career.  She was previously CEO of the Northland Regional Council and of the Auckland Regional Council. 

As a Harkness Fellow and Aspen Scholar, Jo spent a year researching leadership in the USA.

Suneil Connor BCom (DipGrad), CA, MInstD

Suneil Connor is the Group Chief Financial Officer for Service Foods. He is a Chartered Accountant, director of KiwiHarvest and the New Zealand Food Network, and board member of Auckland Foundation. Suneil is Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee for KiwiHarvest, New Zealand Food Network and Auckland Foundation. He was previously the CFO for LINK, and has worked for KPMG. Suneil is a Member of the IoD and joined the Auckland Branch Committee in February 2018.

Franky Wang 王俊生, BBS, BBS (Hons), MFin, MInstD

Franky is the Head of Asia Business Activation for the Bank of New Zealand. He significantly contributes to the development and execution of the BNZ Asia Strategy, an enterprises-wide national role, from the Consumer & Partners to SME divisions as well as Corporate and Institutional Banking. 

Franky volunteers with Cure Kids as the first and only Asian Special Advocate tasked with promoting the Cure Kids brand withinNew Zealand’s Asian community. Franky sits on the Board of Kāhui Tū Kaha to support the diversity and inclusion from culture and ethnical aspects to ensure proper governance is in place for the organisation that is part of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei. He is also an ICE Angel Investor growing start-up businesses in New Zealand.

Franky has strong business networks, domestic and overseas contacts, is bilingual and understands ethnic and geographical challenges and opportunities in the business and governance space.

Simone Iles MInstD

Simone is an experienced independent director, chair and CEO. Her diverse career spans a range of organisations from corporate to SOE, in multiple industries including technology, telco and retail. Her specialisation is in data, technology and digital transformation. She has held various governance roles including CEO and executive director of ASX-listed digital transformation specialists Asia Pacific Digital. Previously she was an independent director and Chair of Just Eater’s remuneration committee and Chair of the New Zealand Marketing Association. Simone has served on the IoD’s Auckland Branch Committee since 2013, is currently Deputy Co-Chair and is also a member of New Zealand Global Women.

Brent Impey BA, LLB, CFInstD

Brent is the director and chair of the Remuneration Committees of Yellow Pages Group and Devon Funds Management Limited, and director of Strategy at Ports of Auckland. He is also a media consultant and a professional mentor. Previous board, consultancy and chief executive positions include: chair of The Radio Bureau, Television Broadcasters Council and Fred Hollows Foundation; director of Hutchwilco NZ, Freeview, Pumpkin Patch and Radio Broadcasters Association; on the management board of CanWest Global (operators of the FM Group); management consultant to Market Pulse International and the New Zealand Rugby Union; and media and business consultant to Gerson Lehrman Group. For 11 years he was CEO of MediaWorks NZ, and drive host on Radio Live (2010-2011). He was CE of Independent Broadcasting Group (1989-1992) and a partner at McElroy Milne Barristers & Solicitors (1984-1989) specialising in media law. Brent is a Chartered Fellow of the IoD and joined the Auckland Branch Committee in 2013.

Dr Jim Mather CFInstD

Dr Jim Mather is of Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tūhoe and English descent, growing up in the communities of Te Teko, Ōtara and Māngere.

A Chartered Accountant with the Chartered Accountants of New Zealand/Australia and Chartered Member of the IoD , Jim has been a professional director and the founder of a specialist Māori development consultancy,. He holds a Masters of Business Administration from the Henley Business School in England and a Bachelor of Business Studies (Accounting). He also completed a PhD in Māori economic development through AUT University in 2014.

With business management experience spanning 25 years, Jim has held a variety of private sector roles and currently holds numerous governance roles within private, government and iwi organisations.  In 2018 he completed his final Chief Executive role with Te Wānanga o Aotearoa (New Zealand’s second largest tertiary institution) after a five-year term. This followed a nine-year tenure as Chief Executive of Māori Television, and before that he was Chief Executive of the Pacific Business Trust for almost three years.

Jim is passionate about Māori development and contributing to the strengthening of all entities that he is entrusted to support in either advisory or governance roles.

Aligned with his commercial background, Jim is also a former officer in the New Zealand Army, and was awarded the Sword of Honour in recognition of his distinguished achievements in Officer training. He served for six years in the NZ Army before leaving to further his career and educational aspirations.

Julian Smith LLB, BCom, CMInstD

Julian retired from his executive career in 2019 as the Chief Customer Officer for Meridian Energy where he was responsible for $1.2b in revenue and a team of 400.

His executive career saw him hold a number of senior executive roles in the utilities, internet/digital, financial services, telecommunications sectors as well as central government. 

Julian is an independent director for Watercare Services in Auckland and is a board trustee for The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and for the Look Good Feel Better cancer charity. He also sits on the advisory board for Vadacom, a New Zealand-based software developer and telco.

A strategy and customer experience expert with extensive marketing and corporate affairs credentials, Julian is an adept communications and digital services expert and has worked in international markets across Asia, Australasia, the Middle East and the UK.

Julian is especially interested in emerging governance trends and development around climate change, Te Mana o te Wai, Agile governance, complex business transformation and capital project oversight. 

Susan Paterson BPharm, MBA (London), ONZM, CFInstD

Susan has been a professional director since 1996 and is Chair of Steel and Tube and Theta Systems Ltd. Her other directorships include the Reserve Bank, Arvida Group, Goodman Property Trust, Les Mills NZ,  EROAD and the Electricity Authority. Previous directorships include Abano Healthcare, SkyTV, Ports of Auckland Ltd, Transpower NZ Ltd, Auckland Regional Holdings, Tower Health and Life, Housing NZ and America’s Cup Village.

Susan has a keen interest in sport, education and the environment, was Chair of the Avantidrome, past Chair of Auckland Hockey and the NZ Eco-Labelling Trust and a past board member of St. Cuthbert’s College, EECA and commissioner of TEC. Susan was a member of the working group reviewing Swimming NZ, is a Chartered Fellow of the IoD and has been on the Auckland Branch Committee since 2010. She was made an Officer of the NZ Order of Merit (ONZM) for services to corporate governance.

Hilary Poole CFInstD

Hilary is a Chartered Fellow of the IoD, having been a member since 2002. She recently completed the IoD’s Mentoring for Diversity programme and highly values the IoD’s professional development and focus on all aspects of diversity.

She has held governance roles in the finance, food, sport, education, and not-for-profit sectors. This includes her current roles as a director of Creative New Zealand, director of Hockey New Zealand, and as a trustee of the Play It Strange Charitable Trust. Previous appointments include deputy chair of High Performance Sport New Zealand, director of Sport New Zealand, independent director of Prolife Foods and Martin Jenkins and as chair of Just Life Group, Diocesan School for Girls, and the First Foundation.

Her executive roles include CEO of Hockey New Zealand, CEO of Netball New Zealand, and as a senior executive in strategy, marketing and operations at the Bank of New Zealand.

Julia Steenson LLB, BBus, MInstD, Ngati Whātua | Tainui | Ngāti Hine | Pākeha

As a director, trustee, lawyer, and former Royal Commissioner, Julia brings a broad range of skills to the Auckland Branch Committee, including a wide range of networks to assist with organising diverse events.

She currently sits on Youth Horizons/Kia Puawai Trust and is a director of Whai Manawa Holdings Group for Te Runanga o Ngāti Whātua.  She is also on the board of Ngāti Whātua o Ōrākei Trust.

Among her former roles, Julia has been chair of the Kia Puawai Charitable Trust Waikato, and General Counsel for Te Wānanga o Aotearoa (TWoA). She founded the NZFreeLaw Podcast providing better access to legal services for New Zealanders.

Clayton Wakefield BSc, PG Dip Mgmt, CFInstD

Clayton Wakefield is a Chartered Fellow of the IoD, and a member of the IoD Auckland Branch Committee. Clayton has over 35 years’ experience as an executive and director in banking, financial services, telecommunications and technology. He is a non-executive director of The Co-operative-Bank and Co-operative Life Ltd, chair of the Auckland Te Araroa Trail Committee, and chair of HealthAlliance NZ Ltd.

Leah Peacock CMInstD

Leah is a Chartered Member who supports business owners, primarily in contracting, engineering and construction, to develop good governance to achieve strong businesses, with excellent returns. Leah currently chairs the IoD Northland sub-committee which aims to enhance the quality of governance skills available in Northland, enhance awareness of the value of the IoD and encourage Northland organisations to appoint qualified governors who live in Northland. In her former role as a Chartered Accountant for 30 years Leah coached Northland SME business owners and their teams to develop their leadership, management and financial skills to maximise profits and life balance through sustainable growth. Leah’s not-for profit-work has included the last four years on the board of Multicultural Whangarei.