Board of Trustees

Hon John Luxton is the chair of a number of businesses and organisations including Pouarua Farm, Waikato River Authority and Marire Holdings Ltd and Associated Companies. He provided consultancy services in Asia, Africa and the Pacific before being elected to Parliament in 1987. He was a cabinet minister for nine years, holding numerous ministerial positions. He served as a member of the Foundation’s board of trustees in 2001 and 2002.

Lyn Lim (Huei Min Lim) originates from Malaysia and has strong interests and involvement in commercial and community activities relating to Asia. She on the boardsof Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Board and Restaurant Brands and is a trustee of the Middlemore Foundation. Previously, Lim was a board member of the New Zealand China Trade Association, Hong Kong New Zealand Business Association and ANZ Private Bank External Advisory Board. She is also a member of the Institute of Directors, the New Zealand Asian Leaders organisation and the Hong Kong New Zealand Business Association. In 2017, Lim became a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to New Zealand-Asia relations and governance.

Raf is a former Christchurch City councillor. As Chair of the Finance Committee, his main focus was the Council's financial position, as well as its post-earthquake strategic direction and risk management. Raf spent 11 years trading global markets for investment banks in London. In 2002, he moved to New Zealand and has since been actively involved in governance and social enterprise. He has degrees in Economics and Political Science, and a Masters in International Law and Politics from the University of Canterbury. He has spent many years examining the friction between the public and private space and is especially interested in the reform of our monetary, welfare and tax systems, as well our political and constitutional arrangements. Raf is also an independent adviser to the Christchurch Foundation, working with victims of the 15th March attacks.

Simon Murdoch is a graduate of Canterbury University and received an Honorary Doctorate from the University in 2012. He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1972 and was posted to Canberra from 1974 to 1977. He later served in Washington from 1983 to 1987 and returned to Canberra as High Commissioner from 1999 to 2002. He was appointed as Chief Executive and Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2002. He retired in 2009 and was awarded the Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) honour. Mr Murdoch' s other roles include Chief Executive of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet from 1991 to 1998. Since retirement, Murdoch has kept busy including acting as New Zealand Special Rep for Afghanistan and Pakistan until 2012. He is also an Associate of the Victoria University of Wellington Centre for Strategic Studies.

Simon Watt is a partner and board member in the Wellington office of the national law firm Bell Gully and leads Bell Gully' s public law and climate change practices. He has been involved in the development of Bell Gully's Asia strategy and is relationship partner for the Asia New Zealand Foundation and Asia Forum. Watt has advised parliamentary, provincial government and commercial clients in Asia. As a recruitment partner, he has actively promoted Asian language skills and work experience.

Danny Chan is an experienced New Zealand director, with extensive accounting, finance and investment management and education experience. He holds a number of directorships with companies including Academic Colleges Group Ltd, Farmers’ Mutual Group Ltd, Abano Healthcare Ltd and Flowerzone International Ltd, as well as numerous companies associated with his private investments both in New Zealand and Asia. He is a Member of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet - China Project, the NZ China Executive Council, the New Zealand Markets Disciplinary Tribunal and the Confucius Institute. He has lived and worked in Asia for a number of years and is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese.

Chris Seed has been Chief Executive and Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade since February 2019. Prior to this, he spent five years as New Zealand’s High Commissioner to Australia. Chris joined MFAT in 1985. He was Deputy Secretary for the Australia, Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa Group from 2008-2013. His earlier career included assignments in Tehran, Canberra, London and Papua New Guinea, where he was High Commissioner. As well as a number of roles in Wellington, Chris has served with the International Peace Monitoring Team in the Solomon Islands, the New Zealand delegation to the UN General Assembly and was seconded to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Chris has a Master’s Degree in History and a BA with First Class Honours from Massey University.

Dame Fran Wilde has had a distinguished career in national and local politics, including as a Cabinet Minister, Mayor of Wellington, Chair of the Greater Wellington Regional Council and New Zealand representative on the APEC Business Advisory Council. She has many years’ experience in the New Zealand private and public sectors and has a deep knowledge of NZ foreign policy. Dame Fran has been a director of numerous companies and held diverse roles across sectors, from Crown negotiator for Treaty of Waitangi Claims to Chair of the International Festival of the Arts. She has also had a career in the business sector as a company director and chair, and was CEO of the NZ Trade Development Board for six years. She was awarded a CNZM in 2012, a 2015 Westpac Women of Influence Award, an honorary doctor of laws from VUW in 2004 and, in 1995, a QSO and Wellingtonian of the Year. She is currently board chair of Te Papa Tongarewa.