Rt Hon Winston Peters
Minister for Rail

Minister for Rail Winston Peters says new appointments to the KiwiRail board bring commercial, freight and rail experience and a ‘can do’ attitude.

“We want railways to be successful for New Zealand and have every expectation that a focus on lower cost, higher reliability, increased volumes, improved safety and better performance will be delivered on,” Mr Peters says.

Sue Tindal has been appointed Chair of KiwiRail and the New Zealand Railways Corporation, and Jeff Kendrew has been appointed Deputy Chair of KiwiRail. Their terms will commence on 1 July 2025.

“Ms Tindal has been a Chief Executive, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer and was on the Mainfreight and New Zealand Post boards. Ms Tindal is currently Deputy Chair of the Infrastructure Commission and Quotable Value boards. She understands construction, freight and infrastructure, and how to get an efficient outcome from an asset-intensive company.

“Mr Kendrew is the Chair of Port Taranaki, and previously chaired Western Australia’s bulk rail freight company Arc Infrastructure. He brings real world experience of rail infrastructure, engineering and freight.

“KiwiRail director Rob Jager has been Acting Chair since June 2024, and we thank him for his service.

“We have also reappointed Liz Ward as a KiwiRail director, reflecting her experience as a former CEO of CentrePort, Gough Group and Kennards Hire and her current role as a senior executive in Sydney’s passenger rail system.

“A reappointment decision has also been taken for Nicola Greer as a director on the New Zealand Railways Corporation given her financial and property expertise,” Mr Peters says.

Notes:

Biographies of new directors:

• Sue Tindal is an experienced C-suite executive having held a number of roles at Westpac, Commonwealth Bank, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Auckland Council and WEL Group. Having worked in Australia, Asia and New Zealand she has extensive knowledge of domestic and global markets, including structuring large multi-currency infrastructure financing programmes. She has 10 years governance experience as a director and chair across both the public and private sectors, currently as Deputy Chair of the Infrastructure Commission and Quotable Value Ltd, previously on the board of NZ Post, and Chair of a large privately owned construction company She has proven experience and knowledge in government, financial services, technology, energy, transport and logistics sectors across both regulated and non-regulated environments. Ms Tindal has led and delivered large infrastructure and technology projects in New Zealand, Australia and Asia, which required complex internal and external stakeholder management. She is a Fellow, Certified Practising Accountants of Australia (FCPA), a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Directors NZ (CFInstD) and a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD).
• Jeff Kendrew is currently the Chair of Port Taranaki. He has extensive experience in engineering, infrastructure, project management and supply chains. His past governance roles include the boards of Powerco Ltd, GeelongPort and Patrick Terminals. Notably, he was the former Chair of Arc Infrastructure, which owns and operates Western Australia’s bulk rail network, and Chair of Linx Cargo Care Group which owns C3 Logistics. He is a member of both the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Directors, and also a member of the New Zealand Institute of Engineers

KiwiRail directors and terms from 1 July 2025:

· Chair Sue Tindal, 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2028

· Deputy Chair Jeff Kendrew, 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2028

· Rob Jager, 20 December 2022 to 31 October 2027 (Acting Chair to 1 July)

· Dr Sina Cotter Tait, 1 October 2024 to 30 June 2026

· Liz Ward, 20 December 2022 to 31 May 2028

· Bruce Wattie, 23 March 2020 to 31 October 2025

New Zealand Railways Corporation directors and terms from 1 July 2025:

· Sue Tindal, 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2028

· Nicola Greer, 15 July 2019 to 31 May 2028

· Angela Edwards, 1 June 2020 to 30 April 2026

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