21 January 2013

Callaghan Innovation Board announced

Science and Innovation Minister Hon Steven Joyce today announced an eight-member board to lead Callaghan Innovation—the new Crown entity that will better connect New Zealand firms with science, engineering and technology, in order to drive the innovation and commercialisation of products and services and economic success.

“The Callaghan Innovation Board consists of members with a broad range of skills and expertise and the right mix of business and science experience relevant to the high-value manufacturing and services sector,” Mr Joyce says.

The Callaghan Innovation Board will be chaired by Sue Suckling, who is currently chairing the establishment board to set up the new Crown entity and has extensive experience in change management at a governance level.

IRL Board member Richard Janes, Auckland Transport director Paul Lockey and Australian company director Dr Michele Allan will also move from the establishment board to the new board.

New board members are New Zealand Trade and Enterprise director Robin Hapi, Professor Peter Hunter from Auckland University and commercial entrepreneurs Sir Peter Maire and Craig Richardson.

“Ms Suckling has successfully led the establishment phase of Callaghan Innovation, and it is important that continuity and momentum are carried forward into the implementation and operational phase,” Mr Joyce says.

“I am confident this board will successfully set up Callaghan Innovation as an organisation that is fully in tune with businesses’ needs and will help them grow through science and innovation. It will deliver fresh thinking and offer a diversity of perspective and experience that Callaghan Innovation will benefit from.”

The board’s key focus over the coming months will be overseeing the bedding in of Callaghan Innovation operations in Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury. This will include bringing together the current operations of IRL, MBIE’s business investments team and the Auckland Foodbowl.

The crown entity will commence initial operations in ten days time on 1 February 2013 and is named after the late Sir Paul Callaghan, who championed the role science could play in making New Zealand an economic success.

Callaghan Innovation is a key deliverable of the Government’s Business Growth Agenda, and received funding in this year’s Budget of $166 million over four years.

Media contact : Charlotte Haycock 021 359 076

Biographies - Callaghan Innovation Board members

Sue Suckling is a Fellow of the NZ Institute of Directors with over 20 years experience covering sectors spanning: agriculture, international marketing, electricity, education, health, banking, science and technology, manufacturing, education, service sectors, communications and government.

She is currently the Chair of ECL Group, Barker Fruit Processors and NZQA; a director of Sky City Entertainment Group, Restaurant Brands and HSR Governance; Managing Director of Acemark Consulting Group; and a member of the Takeovers Panel.

Previously, Ms Suckling has been Chair of NIWA and AgriQuality NZ, and Director and Deputy Chair of GNS. In 1996 she was awarded an OBE for her contribution to New Zealand and in 2011 was made a Companion of the Royal Society of New Zealand

Dr Michele Allan has leadership experience across many facets of the Australian food industry, strong strategic vision and valuable Australian and Asian networks. Her areas of expertise include manufacturing strategy, organisational strategy, risk and insurance leadership, food safety systems implementation, food packaging innovation and commercialisation.

Dr Allan has held senior executive positions with Amcor Limited, Bonlac Foods, Bioinformatics Centre of Excellence Tasmania, Kraft Foods and ICI. She has held board positions within both the private and public sectors.

She currently holds board positions at William Angliss Institute, CRC Hearing, MG Corporation and Go Grains Health and Nutrition Limited, and was until recently a member of the Food Standards Australia and New Zealand Board and the Board of the New Zealand Food Innovation Network.

Paul Lockey is a current Director for Auckland Transport. He has broad governance experience, having served on subsidiary boards for Lion Nathan Ltd, as well as the Board of the Enterprise New Zealand Trust.

He brings strategic and corporate finance skills, having served for five years as Lion Nathan’s CFO and Board Secretary, and as a consultant for McKinsey & Co before joining Lion Nathan.

Dr Richard Janes is a current director of IRL and continuity with IRL will be essential through the implementation phase. Dr Janes is a Wellington-based company director, current appointments include Deputy Presiding Member of the New Zealand Lotteries Commission, Chair of the Electricity and Gas Complaints Commission, Deputy Chair of TELARC, and Director of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand, Centreport Ltd, Gallagher Holdings and Castlepoint Station Ltd.

Previously Dr Janes was Chief Executive of the New Zealand Game Industry Board, and the Cervena Company Ltd. He also worked at the International Wool Secretariat (London, Melbourne, New York), was Deputy Chair of the state-owned enterprises Landcorp Farming Ltd and AsureQuality Ltd, Chair of Asure New Zealand Ltd and a Director of Merino New Zealand and Kapiti Cheeses Ltd.

Robin Hapi is currently the Chair of BERL, a Commissioner for the Tertiary Education Commission, a member of the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Board, Chair/Te Amokapua of the Council of Te Wananga-o-Raukawa, Chair of the Maori Statistics Advisory Committee and the inaugural recipient of the Haomoana Fellowship at Massey University.

Robin is also the Co-Chair of the Te Aute Trust Board and Chairs their Farm Management Committees. Robin Hapi has extensive experience in the fisheries industry and held the roles of Chairman of Aotearoa Fisheries Ltd (AFL) and Board Chair of Sealord Group from 2007 until 2011. He was previously CEO of AFL for three years and CEO of the former Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission for thirteen years.

Robin is of Ngati Kahungunu descent and resides in his hometown of Foxton with his wife Kathy. Robin was educated at Hato Paora Maori Boys College in Feilding and has an MBA (with Distinction) from Massey University. He was also awarded a Massey Medal in 2002 as one of their distinguished alumni celebrating Massey University’s 75th Anniversary.

Craig Richardson is the CEO of New Zealand-based global security and intelligence software company Wynyard Group, and a Director of parent Jade Software Corporation. Prior to this, he was a Chief Financial Officer with ASX-listed anchor bottler, Coca-Cola Amatil in New Zealand, with responsibility for planning, mergers and acquisitions and finance in the Pacific.

Before joining Coca-Cola Amatil, Mr Richardson was vice president of Finance for BlueScope Steel’s integrated manufacturer New Zealand Steel and had operational responsibility for manufacturing and construction business units in the Pacific.

Mr Richardson has also held senior executive roles at Optus Communications and Vodafone in Australia and Europe. Mr Richardson is a fellow of CPA Australia and a previous President of their New Zealand chapter. He has also previously held board roles with Christchurch ultra-fast broadband operator Enable Networks, humanitarian not-for-profit organisation SISHA (South East Asia Investigations into Social and Humanitarian Activities) and the Motor Neurone Disease Association of New Zealand.

Sir Peter Maire is a director of Fusion, and principal shareholder of Fusion Transactive which is a supplier of retail automation systems to the petroleum industry and Fusion Electronics, which specialises in marine and automotive audio systems.

He founded Navman in 1987, and sold it to Brunswick seven years ago, when it was on the rise. He is a director and shareholder of Rakon. He received the inaugural Antonio Rosmini Award for innovation technology at the school’s 50th jubilee in June.

Professor Peter Hunter is director of the Auckland Bioengineering Institute at the University of Auckland. He is on the scientific advisory boards of a number of research institutes in Europe, the US and in the Asia-Pacific region.

He is an elected fellow of the Royal Society (in both the UK and New Zealand), the World Council for Biomechanics, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and the International Academy of for Medical and Biological Engineering. Professor Hunter is the past chair of the Marsden Fund Council.

He is based in Auckland and is a member of the MBIE Science Board. Peter will stand down from this role, when he takes up the Callaghan Innovation role on 1 February 2013.

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