Company Directors' Course

Zoe is a Professional Director who has been working in governance since 2000, successfully serving on the Boards of private and listed companies, government entities, research institutes and not-for-profit organisations. She has held governance positions in both New Zealand and Australia.  She has also been an active Member and Chair of several subcommittees including finance audit and risk, governance and science.  Zoe facilitates governance training for both the Institute of Directors (IoD) NZ and the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD). Zoe has had an international senior executive career across many industries, specializing in science and technology, innovation and commercialisation.  She has held global, leading roles with Owens Illinois, Dairy Australia Ltd, Bonlac Foods Ltd / Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd and Fletcher Challenge Forests. She has worked extensively across food and beverage industries around the world, including 34 years in agriculture/horticulture, 21 of those years in dairy. Zoe is currently a Director of SealStone NZ Ltd and a Committee Member of the IoD Bay of Plenty branch.

Lynda has over 17 year’s governance experience including as a chair and deputy chair. She has led remuneration and performance subcommittees and been a member of finance and audit, fundraising and sponsorship and future operating environment sub-committees. Lynda’s governance experience has been gained in the arts and culture, and wider public and not-for-profit sectors, including the Wellington Regional Orchestra and the New Zealand Institute of Management.  She is currently on the New Zealand Army Leadership Board, a board member for an incorporated society, and a lay member on the Social Workers Registration Board Complaints Assessment Committee. Lynda is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors and an Associate Fellow of New Zealand Institute of Management (NZIM). Lynda has led her own consulting company for the past 20 years, working across New Zealand, Australia, the Pacific and the UK. Prior to this Lynda was the managing consultant of the New Zealand office of Development Dimensions International.

Alastair is a partner with Buddle Findlay in Wellington and has practised corporate and public law for over 20 years, advising a variety of public and private sector clients on corporate governance and directors' duties. He has specific expertise in the health and primary sectors and is an expert on cooperative and mutual company structures. Alastair is currently deputy chair of Medical Assurance Society Ltd, a director of Medical Securities Limited and a member of the Advisory Board of Cancer Trials New Zealand. He also serves on the board of Buddle Findlay, and has chaired the Latin America New Zealand Business Council, and spent nine years as a diplomat at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Juliet is a Chartered Fellow of the IoD and has held over 20 board directorships in a wide range of sectors, with state-owned enterprises, private and publicly-listed companies and not-for-profit organisations. In 1991, she established her New Zealand-based consultancy firm, Broad Horizons Limited, which delivers corporate governance training, policy advice and strategic planning workshops to a wide variety of clients in New Zealand, the Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. Juliet was awarded the Queen’s Service Order and the Commonwealth Medal. She is an honorary fellow of the School of Government at Victoria University.

Mark is a partner at Buddle Findlay.  He joined Buddle Findlay in 2002 and has been practising law since 1995.  Prior to working with Buddle Findlay, Mark worked as in-house counsel at T-Mobile UK.  He regularly advises boards and management on governance issues – including boards of listed companies, council controlled organisations, trusts and public issuers.  Mark is currently a director of Isight Properties Limited which operates the Christchurch Eye Surgery facility and Buddle Findlay's in-house IT services company, Lawtech Services Limited.

Hamish is an Auckland based independent director and a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors. He is an experienced board chair and holds several board committee chair positions.  Hamish is currently chair of DTS Food Assurance Ltd, East Health Services Ltd, The Kennedy’s Ltd, and a director of Restaurant Brands Ltd, AsureQuality Ltd, Pharmaco Ltd, Counties Power Ltd, and Smart Environmental Ltd.  He is also the Independent Chair of the Waikato Regional Council Audit and Risk committee. Prior to his governance career, Hamish held senior executive positions within some of New Zealand’s largest companies, including Tip Top Ice Cream, Heinz Wattie’s, and DB Breweries. Hamish has an M.Com (Hons.) and MBA from the University of Auckland and is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand.

Richard began his international governance advisory business in 2001, with the purpose of building boards into leading teams. He has facilitated programmes for the IoD for more than 10 years and has more than 20 years’ experience as a director and board chair. He is based in Wellington and is currently chair of Careerforce Industry Training Organisation, as well as the first independent director of the Dairy Goat Co-operative (NZ) Limited and a director of RCBC Bank, one of the largest banks in the Philippines. Richard was a founding independent director of Kiwibank Ltd for ten years and has chaired several other organisations, including Intergen Ltd, Standards New Zealand, two SOEs, the New Zealand Telecommunications Forum and Canterbury Opera. In 2013, the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation published a book it had commissioned Richard to write, ‘Guidance for the Directors of Banks’, aimed principally at directors of banks in developing countries worldwide.

Denise Bovaird has had a number of governance and risk management roles. She is currently the Chair of Surf Lifesaving Northern region .  She has been a director on the board of the Real Estate Agents Authority and a Commissioner on the Earthquake Commission and  has chaired the Audit and Risk Committees of both these Crown Entities.   She has served on the Board of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants  and was the chair and President  in 2017.  Denise has had a number of corporate and consultancy risk management roles over the last 20 years and is now a risk management consultant with Navigatus Consulting specialising in strategic and organisational risk with private and public sector clients throughout New Zealand. She has a passion for assisting clients to establish risk management frameworks that add value to their organisation and help achieve strategy.  Denise has developed the Institute of Directors Risk Essentials course and facilitates a number of risk and strategy sessions.

Giselle is an experienced company director and chair, with time recently as a CEO, and is a governance specialist. Her industry roles have been varied, from the agricultural sector right through to being a partner in a law firm, and General Counsel for New Zealand’s largest insurance company. Giselle served as a director for four years on the Earthquake Commission including its audit committee and has held several other board roles. Giselle also chaired the Audit Committee for the Institute of Financial Advisers and is the Chair of Health Central Ltd which is a newly merged GP practice in Central Otago. Giselle now has her own consultancy business – which focuses on growing people and their businesses in a healthy way.

Silvana is a corporate partner at MinterEllisonRuddWatts, experienced in advising clients on a range of M&A transactions and is recognised as a leading adviser in her field. Silvana has a remarkable international background, born in Chile, of Chilean mother and Italian father, and having worked in New York, Chile and New Zealand. Silvana is a Member of the NZ Takeovers Panel, appointed by the Governor General. Silvana is the author of Duties and Responsibilities of Directors and Company Secretaries in New Zealand, the most up to date text, referred to by the directors’ community in New Zealand, on this very important topic. Silvana holds a Master in Laws from Harvard University, with distinction in corporate law and governance. Silvana is a member of the Latin America New Zealand Business Council, Global Women and a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars in connection with M&A and corporate topics, diversity and leadership.

Jo is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Directors, Chair of Northpower Fibre (ultra-fast broadband), Chair of Maritime NZ, Chair of Rotorua Lakes Audit and Risk Comm and also on the Auckland Museum Trust Board, the Harrison Grierson 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.  In addition to her governance roles, she develops and facilitates leadership and governance programmes.

Paul is an independent director with extensive experience as a consultant, executive and director in a variety of industries. Since 2000 he has been a director of a number of listed companies, private companies and public entities. He is presently Chair of the Accreditation Council, Director and of Unison Networks Ltd, Unison Fibre Ltd, ETEL Ltd, Hall’s Logistics Group Ltd and Telarc Ltd. He is founding Independent Chair of the Hamilton City Council Audit and Risk Committee, Chair of Unison Networks Audit and Risk and Chair of Bobux International Limited.

Simon is a partner at Buddle Findlay. He has over 25 years’ corporate governance experience and has been on the Boards of Visa New Zealand, The Warehouse Financial Services Ltd (where he Chaired the Board) and AGC New Zealand. He regularly advises boards and management of listed companies, banks, Crown entities, trusts and public issuers on governance. Prior to working at Buddle Findlay, Simon spent 15 years as general counsel for Westpac Banking Corporation in New Zealand, followed by four years acting as a consultant on pan-industry projects in the banking and finance sector. 

Catherine has experience in the public sector, corporate business and education, in both senior management and governance roles. She currently has her own consultancy business which focuses on professional and executive education, strategy development and business re-structuring. She has held governance roles in a variety of organisations and is currently a trustee with CORE Education Charitable Trust, Te Kōhaka o Tūhaitara Trust and Community Wellbeing North Canterbury Community Trust. In addition, she sits on the Christ’s College Board as the Christ College Old Boys Association representative.

Craig is a fully qualified Chartered Accountant and member of both the Chartered Accountants of New Zealand / Australia and the Institute of Directors (IoD). Craig established Business Innovators Ltd in 2002 which specialises in business turnarounds through providing strategic growth and management advice to a wide range of small and medium sized businesses. Craig also provides ongoing Director, Chair and Advisory Board services, including regularly facilitating director level training for the IoD since 2009 around the topics of Governance, Finance and Strategy. Prior to setting up Business Innovators, Craig worked as a Chartered Accountant, including in a Senior Management capacity at PricewaterhouseCoopers and received the 2005 Young Accountant of the Year Award for the Southern Region.

Over the years, a number of Craig’s clients have won various business awards throughout New Zealand including; Small to Medium Exporter of the Year Award, A national Maori Business Award, Supreme Business of the Year in the Nelson Business Awards, First place on the Deloitte Unlimited Fast 50 list.

Executive and Directorship roles over the past 25 years in the food, data, technology, business development, education, and engineering sectors have resulted in many years of governance, strategy and organisational development experience.

Currently Craig is the owner and Director of a South Island based food manufacturing and retail business; The Divine Cakes and Desserts Group, and employs over 40 staff.

David is an Internal Audit Partner at KPMG Auckland. He was most recently chief audit executive (CAE) for Telecom NZ, a SEC registered company with approximately $NZ4b in revenues, leading the risk, internal audit, and compliance teams. David has been working as a CAE of listed entities for the past seven years. He has international Sarbanes-Oxley experience with Shell Corporation and Microsoft and 11 years with PricewaterhouseCoopers in New Zealand providing risk management, internal and external audit services to a wide range of clients. David is currently president of the Institute of Internal Auditors of New Zealand and was New Zealand Internal Auditor of the Year in 2011.

Mike Wood is a highly experienced consultant with Broadleaf Capital International, providing risk management advice, training, and cost and benefits risk assessments for a wide range of public and private sector organisations. He is a past chair of the New Zealand Society for Risk Management. His work has taken him to Australia, the Middle East and Canada, where projects have included risk assessments for substantial civil and electrical infrastructure, mining, and oil and gas projects. Mike also has extensive governance experience in the not-for-profit sector and is currently the deputy Chair of the Wellington City Mission, and a trustee of the Youth Cultures & Community Trust and the Ignite Sport Trust.

Geof is a corporate and securities partner at Chapman Tripp.  His principle expertise is in corporate transactions (M&A, joint ventures, takeovers and restructurings), equity capital markets (listed and non-listed) and corporate governance. Geof is a previous member of Chapman Tripp’s national board and current member of its Audit and Risk Committee. He also sits on the Partnership Admissions Committee and previously chaired the Incomes Committee. He also sits on the Partnership Admissions Committee and previously chaired the Incomes Committee.  In addition, Geof is a board member of the Orpheus Choir, chair of the Wellesley College board of trustees and a past president of the Law and Economics Association of New Zealand.

Kevin was formerly a Partner in PwC with leadership roles across the Asia Pacific region. His competencies are in Governance, Strategy and Change Management across a range of industry sectors and countries. In 2006 he completed a Master’s degree in Governance and launched his own firm Effective Governance Ltd. In 2015 EY purchased the Intellectual Property of EG where Kevin now leads the Governance practice in Oceania. He currently serves on commercial and NFP boards and guest lectures on the MBA programme at AUT University.