Bay of Plenty Branch

The Bay of Plenty Branch of the Institute of Directors Emerging Director Award is open to Bay of Plenty Branch members in the very early stages of their governance journey. Applications for 2025 have now closed. Find out more about the award and past recipients below. 

• Are you beginning to engage on a directorship path and aspire to enhance your governance pathway?
• Can you demonstrate a commitment to governance development and a high level of integrity?
• Are you ready to commit to the development of your governance pathway?

The focus of this award is to identify executives, managers and directors as individuals 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. 

2024 EDA winner

Eleanor Tait CMInstD

Past recipients

• Charles Russell (2023)
• Georgia Mischefski-Gray (2022)
• Jerome Ng (2021)
• Frances Bates-Crisp (2020)
• Annabel Davies (2019)
• Jana Rangooni (2018)
• Laurissa Cooney (2017)
• Anushiya Ponniah (2016)
• Bryan Graham (2015)
• Maria Stockman and Peter Tinholt (2014)
• Darren McGarvie (2013)
• Hemi Rolleston (2012)
• Maree Turner (2011)

Sam Fellows CMInstD

Sam was the runner up in the Institute of Directors Bay of Plenty Branch Emerging Director Award 2019. As a result he is on the Institute of Directors Bay of Plenty Branch Committee and has taken an Emerging Director position with Aotearoa Avalon New Zealand.

Sam is a Trustee of Camp Quality New Zealand and Bethlehem School, Director of Upper Central Zone Rugby League and member of the Bay of Plenty Rugby Referees Management Group. 

He is a corporate solicitor at Tauranga City Council managing and advising on governance, employment, civil and regulatory disputes.

  

Whaimutu Dewes CMInstD

Ngati Porou, Ngati Rangitihi

Whaimutu is a member of the board for Contact Energy and the chair of Ngati Porou Forests and Sealord Group. He is a member of the board for Ngäti Porou Holding Company and of the Major Outsourced Contracts advisory board to the Department of Corrections.

Previous directorships include Ngati Porou Seafoods, Ngati Porou Holding Company, Housing New Zealand, Television New Zealand, Te Runanga o Ngati Porou, and the Advisory Boards to the Department of Corrections (Major Outsourced Contracts),Treasury and to AMP.  Whaimutu has also held senior management roles at Fletcher Challenge and the Department of Māori Affairs.

In the course of his career Whaimutu has been instrumental in developments in New Zealand constitutional law. Particularly the recognition of property rights of Māori people secured under the Treaty of Waitangi.  And setting up the governance and execution structures, to realise the economic outcomes from that process.

He has also negotiated long term and significant joint venture arrangements and now oversees between international and Maori companies; in the fields of forestry and carbon sequestration as well as seafood harvest and marketing globally.

 

Georgia Mischefski-Gray CMInstD

Georgia Mischefski-Gray is the Institute of Directors Bay of Plenty Branch Emerging Director Award recipient 2022. She is an Intern Director with the Elms Tauranga and on the committee of the Institute of Directors Bay of Plenty branch.

Georgia currently serves on a variety of other boards, Reap Eastern Bay, Horizon Energy Group as an associate director and the Bay of Plenty Federated Farmers management committee. Previously, Georgia has been the Vice President of Otago University Students Association for two terms, Tatai Ora and the Otago waste governance group. Within these boards, Georgia has a key passion for sustainability, social justice and youth voice. 

She is currently employed as farm manager in Manawahe on her family's beef farm. Here, she manages the everyday operations of the farm alongside the data management and leading the emission reduction plans. 

 

Eleanor Tait CMInstD

Eleanor has over 13 years of experience working in the healthcare industry. Eleanor currently owns a well-regarded Physiotherapy practice in Mount Maunganui, where she works as a Physiotherapist.

Upon returning to New Zealand in 2018, she ventured into governance. Currently, she holds board positions in four organisations, including a Tauranga-based investment company and two orchards located in the Hawke's Bay.

In addition to these governance roles, Eleanor currently holds positions on both regional and national councils for Sports Medicine New Zealand, an organisation akin to the Institute of Directors in providing valuable development opportunities to its members. For Eleanor, education and professional growth are fundamental factors that elevate the standards of any profession.

She hopes to combine the valuable knowledge from both branches of her career to best serve in this role for Institute of Directors BOP. 

 

Brian Staunton CMInstD, CMC, MBA

Brian is an experienced Independent Director, Advisor, and commercial leader with 30+ years across the technology, property, fintech, aviation, and tourism sectors. He brings governance and executive expertise across listed multinationals, high-growth ventures, and public-sector organisations, with a focus on strategy, commercial leadership, international expansion, and stakeholder engagement.

His current and recent governance and advisory engagements include roles with Tourism Bay of Plenty / Tāpoi Te Moananui ā Toi (Trustee), RealAML (Board Advisor), House of Science NZ / Te Whare Pūtaiao (Trustee), TheAtlas New Zealand Ltd. (Director), Enterprise Angels (Investor Representative), the Institute of Directors NZ Bay of Plenty Branch Committee, and the Irish Business Network NZ. He also advises a number of early-stage and growth-focused ventures.

Brian has held senior leadership roles at WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX), eNett, Travelport (formerly NYSE:TVPT), and Atlas, contributing to growth and governance across more than 50 markets. A Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors, Certified Management Consultant, and MBA strategy award recipient, he is passionate about high-performance governance and supporting the long-term success of listed, export-led, and innovation-driven organisations.

 

Carla Muller MInstD

Carla won the Waikato IoD Emerging Director award in 2018 and has been on the Waikato branch committee since. Following a recent move to Whakatane with her family she joined the Bay of Plenty branch committee in 2024. 

She has been involved in governance since 2015 when she joined the local Life Education Trust Board in Hamilton where she was a trustee for approximately three years. She became an elected board member for the NZ Institute of Primary Industry Management in 2016 where she served two consecutive three year terms including two years as president (2019-2021). 

The Waikato IoD Emerging Director award included an associate position on the Wintec Board in 2018 until the Reforms of Vocational Education meant the governance system was restructured. She joined the PrimaryITO board in 2019 and remained through to the end of 2022 when they transitioned to Te Pukenga. 

She has also previously been a Trustee for Te Waka (the Waikato Economic Development Agency), an associate director for Perrin Ag Consultants Ltd and a board advisor for CyclingNZ for three years. 

Carla works as a Principal Consultant for Perrin Ag Consultants Ltd where she specialises in agricultural and environmental economics. She has a range of recognitions to her name including a 2017 finalist in the Westpac Women of Influence Finalist: Rural and Young Leader categories, a recipient of 2016 AGMARDT Leadership Scholarship and a finalist in the 2024 Zanda McDonald Award and runs a podcast on rural mental wellbeing.

Warren Banks MInstD, MNZM, ED, JP

Warren Banks has been in Tauranga for 41 years.  He has served in several senior management positions of companies in Tauranga and Auckland related to the Chemical Industry.  He has been on the Board of these companies including as the Chair.

He attended the IOD Company Direction course in 2000.  In other Governance roles he was a founding member of Priority One where he is a Life Member and Chair of the Tga Chamber of Commerce.  He was also the Chair of TCAL, a TCC CCO for 5 years.  Currently he is focussed on body Corp governance and has Chaired one organisation for 17 years.  He is also a Director of Saffron Consulting and Training, a Company he jointly owns with his wife Julia.

In a related yet separate commitment he is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment, ResF where he has served for 49 years including an operational deployment. 

In 2004 he was awarded the NMZM and in 2007 won the Tauranga Westpac Business Leader of the year.

Warren is looking forward to bringing his experience to the IOD local committee and Organisation.

Henrik Arlund CMInstD

A Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors in New Zealand (CMInstD) and a partner, entrepreneur, strategist, advisor who loves to find and understand purpose and direction in ventures and organisations. Highly professional and experienced executive and director with over 25 years of experience building and leading organisations of all types and sizes.

Henrik is an accomplished strategist who has dedicated his career to placing the human element and customer experience at the forefront of his work. He possesses a wealth of experience in marketing, sales, organisational design, and tactics, and has a proven track record of successfully creating and implementing winning strategies that deliver exceptional results. Henrik understands how to effectively align organisations with a clear purpose, objectives, and value proposition, in order to drive increased customer value while optimising resources.

With more than 25 years of industry experience, Henrik has held key roles in strategy development, value proposition design, consultancy, audit, business analysis, management, software architecture, and marketing, both as an internal team member and as a consultant for leading firms such as KPMG and BlueOcean. He has earned a reputation for his meticulous attention to detail and has been instrumental in helping companies of all types to maximise investments, cut spending, and increase efficiency.

Kaycie O'Connor MInstD

Using a blend of creative and strategic expertise, Kaycie is a professional with experience in communications, marketing management, commercial photography, brand-building, and advising on strategic direction. She has also actively contributed to various committees and boards, utilising her skills to achieve meaningful outcomes. In her spare time, Kaycie engages in artistic projects, participates in various sports, attends motorsport events, and enjoys outdoor activities like mountain biking and walking.

Ana Morrison MInstD

Ana Morrison (Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa, Pākehā) is an experienced governor and executive leader with expertise in Te Ao Māori, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and Equity within governance and organisational practice. She is an alumni of NZIoD's Mentoring for Diversity programme.

With 16 years of governance experience across local, regional, and national organisations in Aotearoa, Ana brings a wealth of knowledge in corporate services, tertiary education, legal risk management, and health & social services.  

She is the Chair of Hāpaitia Limited (a shared services entity in the tertiary education sector), and a Commissioner and the Chair of the Rotorua District Licensing Committee.

Te Rika Temara-Benfell

Te Rika is an experienced leader in strategy, governance, and sustainability, with a career dedicated to serving his people, hāpori, and the wider public. Formerly Head of Programme Design and Delivery at Tuaropaki, he led kaupapa Māori initiatives for the $1.2B Māori trust and later held senior advisory roles at the Ministry for Māori Development, driving impactful regional outcomes.

He is Deputy Chair of FENZ Bay of Plenty (LAC), an advisory board member for Toi Kai Rawa, and a trustee for Toi Matarua Indigenous Research Trust. Te Rika also serves on the Global Advisory Council for the LEGO Foundation and as a trustee for his marae, hapū, and iwi in Te Rohe Pōtae o Tūhoe.

Recipient of the 2025 IoD Emerging Māori Director Award, Te Rika leads Te Puna Ariki as Chief Executive—empowering excellence, innovation, and sustainability grounded in kaupapa Māori and rangatahi aspirations.