Hon Chris Hipkins

Minister of Education

20 December, 2017

Tertiary Education Institution Council Appointments

Education Minister Chris Hipkins today announced two appointments to university governing councils and a reappointment to the WelTec Whitireia combined council.

The appointments are:

Mr Malcolm WONG as a member of the University of Otago council.
Mr John ALLEN as a member of the Victoria University of Wellington council.
Dr Deborah HUME has been reappointed as a member of the WelTec Whitireia Combined Council.

“I welcome the important skills and experience these appointees will bring to the leadership of their institutions,” Mr Hipkins said.

“I also wish to recognise and thank outgoing members – Sir Neville Jordan of Victoria University of Wellington and John Ward of the University of Otago – for the tremendous service, commitment, and contribution they have made to tertiary education.

“They have both served as elected Chancellor of their respective universities, and I want to recognise the valuable leadership they have provided,” Mr Hipkins said.

Biographies

Malcolm WONG is a fellow chartered accountant based in Dunedin and an alumnus of the University of Otago. He is director and founding partner of Cook North & Wong Ltd. Malcolm graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Otago in 1980. In 1984 Malcolm worked in Singapore and the United Kingdom in 1985 before returning to New Zealand in 1987. He is immediate past Chair of the Dunedin Shanghai Association, a position he held for ten years, and has been Chair of the Dunedin Chinese Gardens Trust since 2008. Malcolm was born in Dunedin of Cantonese parents and is heavily involved in the local community in general. His Fellowship of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) was awarded in 2016.

John ALLEN is the Chief Executive of the New Zealand Racing Board, and was the Chief Executive and Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2009–15) and Chief Executive of New Zealand Post earlier in his career. A former Partner of Rudd Watts & Stone, specialising in commercial and public policy issues, John has also been a visiting Lecturer in Law at Victoria University of Wellington. He is an experienced company director and advisor to boards, currently Chair of the New Zealand Police Assurance and Risk Committee and Be Accessible Charitable Trust. Other roles include the Territorial Forces Employer Support Council, the New Zealand International Arts Festival, and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Foundation.

Dr Deborah HUME is the Public Transport Transformation Programme Director for the Greater Wellington Regional Council. She has led strategic risk management consultancies that worked with public and private organisations and was responsible for Wellington’s Metro train operations (Tranz Metro) and New Zealand’s long-distance passenger train services (Scenic Journeys) for KiwiRail. Dr Hume has served one term on the WelTec Whitireia council, is Chair of Whitireia NZ Ltd and WelTec Enterprises Ltd, and a director of LCB Management NZ Ltd. She has a PhD in Biology from Queen’s University in Canada and is a member of the Institute of Directors and Global Women.

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