NZMEA appoints new Chief Executive
Dieter Adam, a senior executive with experience in a broad range of international and national commercial and scientific
organisations, has been appointed Chief Executive of the New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NZMEA).
Announcing the appointment today, NZMEA President Tom Thomson said Dieter has a solid record of performance and
leadership especially in the areas of international business development and innovation management.
“He comes to us from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) where he worked with a large number of New Zealand’s
leading food and beverage exporters, as well as manufacturers in the agritech sector, helping them grow their export
businesses. This experience gave him a unique oversight of different approaches to international business development.”
With a Ph.D. in plant biotechnology and having held research positions in Germany and Denmark, Dieter Adam arrived in
New Zealand from Germany in 1986 to take up an academic position at the University of Waikato. He joined the commercial
world in 1994 and has held senior management positions in the primary industry (Rayonier New Zealand, Livestock
Improvement Corporation), as well as his own consultancy business.
“Dieter’s experience covers senior executive and governance roles in the manufacturing and service sectors combined with
business-to-business and business-to-consumer relationships, both internationally and in New Zealand.
“His time with NZTE allowed him to build valuable relationships with government agencies charged with implementing the
Government’s Business Growth Agenda,” Tom Thomson said.
Dieter Adam said he is looking forward to joining the NZMEA at a time when there are significant opportunities and
challenges for New Zealand’s manufacturing and exporting sector.
“I have been privileged to see many examples of brilliant minds and hands creating and manufacturing sophisticated
products which are innovative and capable of competing, and beating, the world’s best. These businesses have good
processes and systems and demonstrate resilience to change and an ability to sustain their growth aspirations through
turbulent and challenging market conditions and during times of business disruption as in the Christchurch earthquake.
“The determination exhibited by these manufacturers and exporters demands an environment where economic polices support
growth and where there is a greater public appreciation of the indispensable role that manufacturers play in New
Zealand’s economy – in their own right, and as suppliers and partners to other sectors of the economy.”
ENDS