Board of Directors

29 January 2013

Board of Directors

Mr Anthony (Tony) Nowell (Chairman) is a professional company Director and Founding Director of Valadenz Limited, a trade and export development company. Previously he was the CEO of Zespri International, and positions he held before then included Managing Director of Griffin’s Food Limited and Regional Vice President of Sara Lee Asia. Mr Nowell brings extensive experience in corporate management, governance and international trade and development to the Board. He is currently Chair of Wellington Drive Technologies Limited and a board member of New Zealand Food Innovation Auckland Limited, Food Standards Australia New Zealand and the Export Advisory Board of Business New Zealand. Mr Nowell also is Deputy Chair of Leadership New Zealand and represents New Zealand on the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). He has previously Chaired the New Zealand Food and Grocery Council, the New Zealand Food and Beverage Taskforce and the New Zealand Packaging Accord Governing Board.

Lizzie Chambers (Director) joined the Scion board in December 2012. Lizzie commenced her career as a valuation practitioner at PwC, where she focused largely on the energy sector in New Zealand.  She subsequently gained extensive transactional experience while working with Cameron Partners in Wellington. After developing an interest in regulatory economics and environmental markets she received a Masters in Utilities Regulation from the London School of Economics before joining Climate Change Capital, a large London-based private sector carbon fund. On her return to New Zealand, Lizzie consulted extensively to businesses impacted by climate change regulation and the development of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme.  In early 2011 she established Carbon Match, New Zealand’s first online trading platform for emissions units acceptable under the New Zealand ETS, primarily serving the energy and forestry sectors. Lizzie continues to run Carbon Match, which aims to foster the development of a stronger and more transparent New Zealand carbon market. Lizzie is a member of the NZ Institute of Directors.  She also holds a BA (German) and a BCA (first class honours in Finance) from Victoria University.

Mr Sheldon Drummond (Director) – has served on the New Zealand Forest Owners Association Executive for three terms. He is the General Manager Forests for Juken New Zealand Ltd as well as sister company First Light Mushroom Ltd. Sheldon has a good appreciation of radiata processing and marketing as well as forest management in New Zealand and worldwide. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Government’s Wood Processing Strategy and the subsequent benefits such as rural roading and labour and skills strategies which have assisted East Coast and Northland forestry during recent years. Mr Drummond is a long standing member of the Eastland Wood Council and maintains a keen participation in local and national forest issues. He has sound contacts and relationships throughout the industry and Government.

Mr Chris Karamea Insley, Te Whanau a Apanui and Ngati Porou (Director) – has extensive experience in plantation forest management in New Zealand and has spent time living and working in the US and Canada. He is highly active in working nationally with Maori to develop scalable sustainable economic development strategies in response to climate change and, is actively working with Iwi to develop medium to long term strategies that will engage the best research, innovation and technology capabilities available to enable these programs. He is active doing similar work with other indigenous peoples of the world. He is a Director on several Government, Private sector and Maori Boards, and has a Bachelor of Business Studies, Post-Graduate Diplomas in Marketing and Logistics and Business Research and an MBA from Waikato Management School. As well he has completed executive development programmes in international finance and global strategy at Harvard Business School.

Barry O'Neil (Director) is currently Chief Executive of Kiwifruit Vine Health, the organisation leading the response to the bacterial vine disease Psa-V.  Barry is also a Director of Biosecurity NZ Ltd, a company specialising in biosecurity consultancy, and is an independent Director on the Bio-Protection Research Centre based in Lincoln.  He has significant biosecurity and leadership career experience from several years in senior management and leadership roles in government, working in New Zealand and overseas. Barry's experience includes policy and international standard setting and trade negotiations; and operational biosecurity risk-management activities involving the border, surveillance, response and eradication; and organisational change management. Barry also owns a kiwifruit orchard in Katikati.

Dr Brian Rhoades (Director) is a business adviser and professional director with extensive management and governance experience. Dr Rhoades started his career as a lecturer in mechanical engineering at the University of Canterbury, moved into manufacturing and company management with the AHI/Carter Holt Harvey Group, and is a former Chief Executive of Sealord Products Ltd. He has served on the boards of a broad range of listed and unlisted companies and not-for-profit organisations; and is currently Chairman of the Forest Industries Training and Education Council, Ngai Tahu Seafood Ltd, Polytechnics International New Zealand Ltd, and Brian L Rhoades and Associates Ltd. Dr Rhoades holds BE (Hons) and PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering and is a Fellow of IPENZ and the Institute of Directors.

Mrs Judith Stanway (Director), a qualified accountant, is the Managing Partner of BDO Rotorua Ltd and until recently was the Chair of BDO New Zealand Ltd, a New Zealand wide Chartered Accountancy and Business Advisory firm. Judith is a Fellow of the NZ Institute of Directors and a Director of the Charities Commission, Te Papa Tipu Properties Ltd and a number of private companies. She has also chaired the Lakes District Health Board and been a director of Te Puia. Judith lives in Rotorua, has worked with the forestry sector for many years and has wide experience in tourism and with charitable organisations and was a Director of the Charities Commission.