Governance Essentials

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.

With over 30 years of management experience in commercial and not-for-profit organisations in New Zealand and Australia and eight years in CEO roles, Carol specialises in helping organisations understand their vision, improve their systems and build teams to achieve success. As a consultant, Carol has provided board and executive coaching, mediation, facilitation and strategic planning with corporate, government and not for profit organisations. Her specialities are leading change, governance, financial management and conflict management. Carol has a Bachelor of Business in Human Resource Management, a Graduate Diploma in Dispute Resolution (Mediation), and Certificate IV in Executive Coaching, is a qualified trainer using accelerated learning techniques, is a Master NLP practitioner, International Master Coach, Master Clinical Hypnotherapist and a certified mBit coach. Carol is an accredited coach with the International Coach Federation, a member of the NZ Association for Training and Development and a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors in New Zealand.

Phil is an experienced company director and investment banker. His governance experience extends across banking, infrastructure, health, insurance, telecommunications, broadcasting, education, peak industry bodies, investment management, arts, central and local government and Maori affairs. He has a strong reputation for improving business performance through effective collaborative strategic governance.  He also has a strong commitment to building an improved economy for New Zealand through public service. His extensive experience covers retail and wholesale banking, international capital markets, derivatives, project finance, particularly in the areas of the funding of public infrastructure by the private sector, minerals and energy, capital raising, funds management and technology relating to financial services.

David is a highly-respected, leading New Zealand corporate lawyer with a reputation for providing clear, concise advice, and for achieving pragmatic, commercial outcomes.

He holds a number of regulatory and governance roles and has recently established a boutique corporate law firm – Flacks & Wong, after retiring as a senior corporate partner of Bell Gully. David also spent four years with Carter Holt Harvey as a member of the senior executive team, general counsel and company secretary. David is Chair of listed company Aft Pharmaceuticals,  Harmoney, and a director of the Suncorp NZ companies and other private companies and charitable organisations.  He is also involved in regulation as Chair of the NZX Regulatory Governance Committee having previously Chaired the Markets Disciplinary Tribunal and been a member of the Takeovers Panel.

Fiona is a full time governance professional with board (including chair) positions in both the private and public sectors and in sectors as diverse as superannuation, professional services, commercial property, cyber security and financial crime software and renewable energy. Fiona is also a member of the Inland Revenue Risk & Assurance Committee. Fiona is a regular panel member of panel discussions on the subject of governance and has presented on corporate governance for various audiences. Fiona’s initial career was in law as a commercial and corporate lawyer, specialising in corporate finance. She practised in both private practice in London and Auckland and as in house counsel in Sydney and London. As a lawyer, she advised boards on corporate and corporate finance matters and governance practise and has acted in the role as company secretary. Prior to taking up a full time career as a governance professional (and after her career in law), Fiona held executive level roles in substantial asset and funds management businesses and private equity, including managing the risk function for AMP Limited’s private equity business in Sydney and London, leading Westpac’s investment arm, BT Funds Management, and more recently, was GM of Wealth Management at AMP.

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.

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.