MAF appoints new policy head
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) today announced the appointment of Dr Paul Reynolds to the position of
Assistant Director-General Policy. This position has been vacant since Larry Fergusson’s appointment to the position of
Deputy Director-General in early September. Paul Reynolds will take up his new position in November 2002.
MAF’s Director-General Murray Sherwin said that the level of interest shown in this position had impressed him.
“We were able to attract a very high quality field of candidates and I am delighted to be able to appoint someone of
Paul Reynolds’ calibre to the role. He brings a rare blend of skills in intellectual leadership, knowledge of the
process of public policy development and managing for high performance,” Murray Sherwin said.
Paul Reynolds is currently employed as Chief Policy Adviser for the Ministry of Research Science and Technology, a
position he has held since 1998.
His previous career experience is as a scientist. Since graduating from Otago University with a PhD in plant
biochemistry, Paul Reynolds has worked for the University of Waikato, the DSIR’s applied biochemistry division and the
plant improvement division of HortResearch Ltd. At that time his research interests were in the area of plant molecular
biology, with an emphasis on the regulation and control of plant gene expression.