Our board

NIWA's Board of Directors is responsible to our shareholders (the New Zealand Government) for the strategic direction and operational performance of the company. 

Barry
Harris
> Chairman Barry Harris is a company director with extensive governance and executive experience. Barry has held a number of chief executive roles including Environment Waikato, Greater Wellington Regional Council and Hamilton City Council. He was also a senior executive with Fonterra for five years. Barry currently chairs Food innovation Waikato, OSPRI , McFall Fuel, Hamilton Airport Company and Wel Networks. He is also a member of the Waikato River Authority. Previous boards include DairyNZ, Primary ITO, CentrePort, RD1, AgResearch, International Nutritionals, Hamilton Riverside Hotels and Local Authority Shared Services. Barry has a Masters of Agricultural Science (Honours) and lives in Hamilton.
Dr
Tracey
Batten
Tracey is an experienced non-executive director who currently serves on the boards of EBOS Group Limited, Medibank Private Limited and the Accident Compensation Corporation where she is Deputy Chair.  She was previously a non-executive director of Abano Healthcare Group Limited and various other healthcare related research institutes, charities and industry and government bodies.  During her executive career she was Group Chief Executive of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in the United Kingdom,  Group CEO of St Vincent’s Health Australia and CEO of a number of other healthcare groups in Australia. Tracey is a qualified medical practitioner and holds a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University.  She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Chartered member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors
Livia
Esterhazy
Position: 
NIWA Board Member
Livia is a strategic business leader with experience across various sectors, including marketing, communications, finance, business, science and the environment. She has led retail brands in the IT and banking sectors, including the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Kiwibank. She has also worked in the advertising sector, leading agencies including Clemenger BBDO, The Assignment Group, Saatchi & Saatchi and Ogilvy. She was most recently CEO of WWF New Zealand, which included participation in the Prime Minister’s Chief Scientist panel for the future of commercial fishing in Aotearoa New Zealand. Livia has been a director both locally and globally and is currently a director of GNS Science, the Programme Director for A Lighter Touch and CEO of The Thrive Collective. 
Janice
Fredric
Position: 
NIWA Board Member
Janice is a professional director with over 20 years governance experience.  She has a broad portfolio of current and past directorships with significant experience in commercial, public sector and not-for-profit sectors. She is currently Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority and the Aviation Security Service, a director of Mainpower NZ Limited, Mt Cass Windfarm, Unity Credit Union, Ministerial Appointee to the Lincoln University Council, an independent member of the Timaru District Council Audit and Risk Committee, and a trustee of the NZ Shipwreck Welfare Trust.  Janice has held senior executive positions in the professional services sector and the finance and banking sectors both in New Zealand and internationally. She is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Directors and a Chartered Accountant. She has a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master of Business Administration. 
Margaret
Hyland
Position: 
NIWA Board Member
Margaret is Vice-Provost (Research) at Victoria University of Wellington. Margaret is a director of Cirrus Materials Science, a deep-tech spinout from university research and a trustee of the Karori Sanctuary Trust (Zealandia). She previously held the position of Chief Scientist at MBIE. Prior to that she was Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Auckland, and a director of the Science for Technological Innovation National Science Challenge.Margaret was also a member of Te Pae Kahurangi, the independent review of how well the CRIs were positioned to meet New Zealand’s current and future needs. 
Mary-Anne
Macleod
Position: 
Director
Mary-Anne is a professional director and also provides strategic advice principally to local and central government agencies. She is currently on the boards of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), DairyNZ, AgResearch, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, and on the University of Waikato Council. She has previously served on the boards of Bay Venues Limited, Quayside Holdings Ltd, and House of Science. She was the Chief Executive of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council for seven years and held senior roles in the Ministry for the Environment.  She worked internationally in multi-national environmental and engineering companies where she specialised in environmental management providing advice across a range of sectors including the oil industry, high tech, heavy industrial manufacturing, the nuclear industry, water, and waste management, and the mining industry.  Mary-Anne has a Master of Science (Hons) in Earth Sciences and Geography.
Dean
Moana
Position: 
NIWA Board Member
Dean Moana has held various director and senior management roles in Aotearoa’s food and seafood sectors. He was Managing Director and CEO of Prepack Ltd and previously held Chief Executive and General Manager roles within Aotearoa Fisheries Group, New Zealand’s largest Māori-owned fisheries company. He is a director of Plant & Food Research and AsureQuality, as well as serving on the board for Akaroa Salmon NZ and Port Nicholson Fisheries. Of Ngati Porou and Apanui descent, Dean is also a Director of Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou, and its commercial entity Ngati Porou Holdings Ltd. He is a Fellow Chartered Accountant, has a BCA from Victoria University and has worked in audit and business advisory for Ernst & Young.

Contact

Free phone within New Zealand:
0800 RING NIWA
(0800 746 464)