Catherine Isaac, Chair

Catherine is Managing Director of Awaroa Partners Ltd, a company specialising in Strategic Communications and Marketing, and a consultant for the New Zealand Business Roundtable and other corporate clients. She has many years’ experience in senior communications roles and directorships in the public, private and not-for-profit sector. She joined the board of trustees in 2006 was appointed the Chair in July 2010.

Don Huse

Don is a company director. He has had senior roles in a range of enterprises, including Auckland, Sydney and Wellington Airports; TransAlta New Zealand; Tourism Auckland; and WWF-New Zealand. He was an advisory trustee of the Karori Sanctuary Trust in 1996/97 and joined the board of trustees in 2009.

George Hickton

George was appointed Chief Executive on the New Zealand Tourism Board in 1999. He repositioned the organisation as Tourism New Zealand and launched the 100% Pure New Zealand campaign. During this time tourism growth to New Zealand has increased by 50% and Tourism is now one of New Zealand’s largest single export industries. He left Tourism New Zealand in December 2009 and joined the board of trustees in 2010.

Professor Charles
Daugherty

Charles is Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Research) at Victoria University. His research interests focus on evolutionary and population biology of vertebrates, conservation genetics, and ecological restoration. He joined the board of trustees in 2007.

Graeme Mitchell

Graeme has a finance background. He is a chartered accountant, recently retired from Deloitte, Wellington, where he was an Audit and Assurance partner for over 28 years. He is a Member of Council of Victoria University of Wellington, a Director of Barnardos New Zealand and Honarary Consul General for Norway. He joined the board of trustees in 2009.

Sir Paul Callaghan

Paul is the Alan MacDiarmid Professor of Physical Sciences at Victoria University and the founding Director of the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology. He has published around 240 articles in scientific journals and is a regular speaker on science matters. He was knighted on 14 August 2009.

Dr. Russell Ballard

Russell holds several Board appointments and was recently elected Chancellor of Massey University. He has over 60 articles published in various science journals and books, and was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 1994.