Date: June 25th 2014
New director appointed to Hawke’s Bay Airport Board
Hastings District and Napier City Councils have announced the appointment of Sarah Park to the Board of Hawke’s Bay
Airport. A vacancy on the board arose due to the retirement of long serving board member and current Chairman John
Palairet
Napier based Sarah Park has had wide experience in the finance and investment industries. Most recently, she was a
senior member of PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory practice and established a Corporate Finance and Advisory service in
the Napier branch.
Sarah was also vice president in charge of day to day operations for GHL Financial Services Ltd, was the owner of
Ventures Equities Assets Ltd and held a research and financial modeling position at HSBC Investment Bank.
From late 2003 to 2005 she worked in various roles at three Hawke’s Bay wineries.
Her qualifications include Certification in Company Direction, Institute of Directors NZ and she holds an MA (Hons)
Economics from the University of Edinburgh.
Ms Park says “I am delighted to have been appointed to the airport board. It is an exciting time for the development of
the airport and the business park and I am looking forward to being a part of the decision making team as we investigate
future opportunities for growth.”
Napier Mayor Bill Dalton says “"I am proud to welcome Sarah to the Airport Board. She brings a wealth of experience from
the world of finance and investment and will be a strong addition to the business acumen of the board”
Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule says “I also welcome Sarah to the board and would like to take this opportunity to thank
outgoing Chairman John Palairet for his significant contribution to the success and growth of the company. He has
overseen some of the major growth periods for the airport and leaves with the company in good heart."
Retiring Chairman John Palairet says” The Airport Company is in a very sound financial position, well positioned for
future development and I leave in the knowledge that there is a strong Board and Management team in place to take full
advantage of opportunities for growth and increased services."
John Palairet also announced the appointment of Tony Porter to take over the role of Chairman of the company from 1 July
2014. Tony Porter has been a director of the Company since 1998.
ENDS