Business Central, Wellington Chamber Announce Four New Board Members

The biggest business membership organisation and employer network in central New Zealand has announced four new members for its Board.

The Business Central and Wellington Chamber of Commerce annual general meeting has elected Claire Pedley, Adele Rose, Jo Healey and Karun Shenoy to replace four members of a combined interim board who were rotated out.

Clair Pedley is General Manager of Business Capability at CB Norwood, Palmerston North; Adele Rose is Chief Executive of 3R Group, Hawke’s Bay; Jo Healey is head of Global Technology Services for IBM NZ, Wellington; Karun Shenoy is owner of IT services company Beacon Consulting, Wellington.

The election means the Board is now a 50:50 split of men and women.

At the start of the year, an interim eight-member board, consisting of four members from Wellington Chamber and four from Business Central, was appointed under a new combined council that was formed after a governance review in 2016-17. Under the constitution, four members of that board are rotated off this year, and four next year. Standing down this year were Peter Cullen, Charles Finny, Justin Martin, and Trevor Goodwin.

The members at the annual general meeting recognised the contribution made to the organisation by conferring life membership on Peter Cullen and Charles Finny.

The new members will join Vaughan Renner, Karen Cooper, Chris Gosling, and Brent Callaghan who will all stand down next year.

The board, and Chief Executive of Business Central and Wellington Chamber of Commerce, John Milford, thanked the four outgoing members for their work and dedication to helping make the new governance model work.

"The organisation is now a more nimble and efficient operation thanks to their work, and I thank them for their time and expertise."

He welcomed the four new members, saying they would help create a great mix of experience and views.

"They bring experience from across the business spectrum - small and big business, city and provincial, as well as governance, human resources, sustainability and IT skills.

"It’s a mix of knowledge, skills and experience that businesses need to be able to call on, and we look forward to the perspective they will bring to our work with our members.

"A real bonus is that the Board now has a 50:50 gender mix. As we know, it’s most unusual across the business world to achieve that, and we believe that will also offer a new perspective on many issues of the day."

Mr Milford said the combined council has settled quickly and is performing very well with its smaller, more focused board.

"A key advantage of the consolidation is our ability to speak and advocate for our membership with one voice, and we will continue to deliver on that with the new board.

"The organisation is tracking ahead of its 2015 Strategic Action Plan and membership numbers are up, so we’re in a great space."

Candidate Profiles

Jo Healey

Jo Healy is the head of Global Technology Services for IBM NZ. She was previously Chief Executive of Dimension Data and Fujitsu, and in prior roles. She is on the Ministerial New Zealand CyberSkills Taskforce, and has previously on the Board of NZTech, and is a mentor and coach.

Claire Pedley

As General Manager - Business Capability at farm machinery company CB Norwood, in Palmerston North, Claire Pedley leads a diverse portfolio of functions including organisational development, human resources, health & safety and information services.

Adele Rose

Adele Rose is Chief Executive of 3R Group, with management experience in waste solutions across a range of industries. Her governance experience includes Ministry for the Environment National Resource Recovery Project Taskforce, and Sustainable Business Council, Zero Carbon Climate Action Group.

Karun Shenoy

Karun Shenoy is owner of IT services company Beacon Consulting. He has strong experience in risk management and has been involved in both large technology projects and early stage companies.

ENDS

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