NZ Honorary advisers

Sir Anand Satyanand has worked as a lawyer, Judge and Ombudsman and was New Zealand’s 19th Governor-General from 2006 until 2011. He and his wife, Susan, have three children and five grandchildren. His grandparents came from India to Fiji under the indentured labour scheme and his father came to New Zealand originally for schooling and medical training. Sir Anand has maintained both professional and personal links with Fiji and India. He received the Pravasi Samman Bharatiya Award from the President of India in 2011. His current activities are in three layers: patronage of a small number of community organisations, undertaking a programme of speaking to audiences in New Zealand and elsewhere; and lastly holding a small number of offices. He was Chairman of the Commonwealth Foundation in London from 2013 to 2016, he is a Visiting Fellow at the Law School of the University of Auckland, and a Member of the International Advisory Committee of Transparency International.

Farib Sos has had wide experience in both the private and public sectors in New Zealand, spanning some 35 years. He has been employed in the energy, resources, health, environmental, educational and business sectors. He has worked for prominent organisations such as Comalco, BP, the Ministry of Health, and the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR). Cambodian by birth, Sos was awarded a Colombo Plan Scholarship in 1972 and received a BSc degree from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Farib was a member of the NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Consultative Committee for the establishment of the Institute of Economic Development Cooperation for the Mekong Sub-Region based at Khon Kaen University, Thailand. In 2009, Farib was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for services to International Relations.

Dr Alan Bollard is a Professor of Pacific Region Business at Victoria University of Wellington. From 2013 to the end of 2018 he was the executive director of the APEC Secretariat based in Singapore, the body that promotes trade, investment and sustainable economic growth in the Asia-Pacific. Dr Bollard was the Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand from 2002 to 2012. In that position, he was responsible for monetary policy and bank regulations, helping steer New Zealand through the global financial crisis. From 1998 to 2002, Dr Bollard was the Secretary to the New Zealand Treasury. He has served as New Zealand’s Alternate Governor to the International Monetary Fund, the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. From 1994 – 2008, he was the Chairman of the New Zealand Commerce Commission. Prior to this, from 1987 to 1994 he was Director of the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research. He is married to venture capitalist Jenny Morel and has two sons. Dr Bollard has a PhD in Economics from the University of Auckland. In 2012, he was honoured as a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. He has written the novels The Rough Mechanical and The Code-Cracker and the Tai-Chi Dancer and a biography of famous New Zealand economist Bill Phillips.

Hon Philip Burdon has had a distinguished career across the fields of law, business, and politics. He graduated in law from Canterbury University, working initially as a lawyer and law lecturer before moving into the private sector in 1970, with the establishment of a highly successful food processing company. Mr Burdon is a leading member of the New Zealand business community, holding positions on the boards of several New Zealand and Australian corporations. He has sat on various private sector boards. Mr Burdon began his political career in 1981 as a member of parliament for the National Party. He was appointed to the New Zealand Cabinet in 1990 and held a number of senior ministerial portfolios including Minister of Commerce, Minister for State-Owned Enterprises and Minister for Trade Negotiations. He retired from politics in 1996.

Rob Fyfe is the non-executive chairman of Icebreaker. Fyfe has additional non-executive roles on the board of international jewellery company Michael Hill International, as a director on the board of Antarctica New Zealand and as strategic advisor to Craggy Range Winery. Fyfe was previously chief executive officer of Air New Zealand. His management style won him CAPA's Asia Pacific Airline Executive of the Year Award for 2010 and Air New Zealand was named ATW Airline of the year in 2010 and 2012. He has held management positions at PostBank, Bank of New Zealand, National Australia Bank in Melbourne, and Telecom Corporation of New Zealand. His experience includes chief operating officer and then managing director of UK' s ITV Digital, from 2000 to 2002, prior to moving to Air New Zealand in 2003.

Trish Carter was the Asia Pacific establishment editor and bureau chief for Al Jazeera. She has held senior news and current affairs management positions in New Zealand broadcasting over a career spanning 25 years. Carter has particular expertise in establishing and managing complex media projects and has specialised knowledge in legal, cultural and ethical issues, competitive news formats and team management. She is a UNESCO national commissioner, leading and advising the New Zealand National Commission on its communications mandate.

Since arriving in New Zealand from Beijing in 1994, Raymond has traversed successful careers in journalism, as Asian affairs reporter for the New Zealand Herald and law, as a Partner at Shieff Angland Lawyers. Before returning to Parliament in March 2017, Raymond had served two terms as a list MP (2008-2014). He was Labour’s Spokesperson for Statistics, Export Education and Building & Construction as well as Associate Spokesperson for Justice and Ethnic Affairs. In April 2013 Raymond was appointed an Honorary Professor of Law at his alma mater, China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing. This appointment was matched by Victoria University in Wellington’s Faculty of Law, where he served as an Honorary Senior Associate. He is a founding trustee and co-chair of the New Zealand Chinese Language Week Charitable Trust. As part of being “Asia-literate”, he believes this will help prepare our future generations and assist them to make sense of the increasingly important Asian countries and markets. Raymond has published 7 books (as an author or co-author) and is a regular Chinese media commentator on current affairs and legal issues.

Peter Chin was born in Dunedin to Chinese parents – shopkeepers who owned and operated laundries and fish and chip shops. He graduated in law from Otago University and practiced in Dunedin as a senior partner in one of the city's oldest law firms until he was elected as Mayor of Dunedin at the end of 2004. He chaired the Dunedin Chinese Gardens Trust with the support of Dunedin sister city Shanghai, which delivered New Zealand' s first authentic Chinese Garden. In 2002, Chin was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

Melissa Lee was born in Korea and grew up in Malaysia, settling in New Zealand in 1988. She has more than 20 years' journalism experience, including a five-year stint with the Sunday News. Lee has written for many New Zealand publications including the New Zealand Herald and the NZ Listener. She spent 15 years as a television presenter and producer on TVNZ Asia Dynamic and Asia Down Under programs. Lee has held many community positions including vice president of the Korean Society and vice president of the Korean Women' s Association. She was elected as a list MP for the National Party in the 2008 and 2014 elections. She is currently the National Party's spokesperson for broadcasting, communications, digital media, and ethnic affairs.

Traci Houpapa specialises in strategic and economic development. She is an experienced company director and holds a number of directorships and Ministerial appointments. In 2012, Houpapa was named as one of the top ten most influential women in New Zealand agribusiness. In 2013 she was listed by the Listener as one of the top ten influencers in New Zealand and was a finalist in the Fairfax Media Westpac Women of Influence Awards (WOI). In 2014, she won the DLA Phillips Fox WOI Board and Management award and was named among the top most influential people in agribusiness by Rural News. Houpapa holds a MBA from Massey University and is a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit. In July 2018, Traci was named a non-executive director on the Treasury’s Board, an advisory body that supports the Treasury's Chief Executive and Executive Leadership Team in ensuring that its organisational strategy, capability and performance make the best possible contribution to the achievement of its goals.

Emeritus professor Manying Ip 叶宋曼瑛 CNZM came to New Zealand in 1974 from Hong Kong. With her strong classical Chinese education at home and colonial English education at school, she grew up sharply aware of the challenges of being cross-cultural. She is Professor in Asian Studies at Auckland University and the author of several critically acclaimed books on Chinese in New Zealand. Dr Ip is a respected advocate for Chinese communities living in New Zealand, and is a sought-after commentator on Asian issues. She was awarded a Suffrage Centennial Medal in 1993. In 2008, she was elected Fellow of the New Zealand Academy of Humanities (FNZAH) in recognition of her outstanding scholarship. In 2009, she was inducted into the Royal Society of New Zealand and became FRSNZ. In 1996, Dr Ip received an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) and in 2018 she was named a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM).

Ian Kennedy is Chair of the Japan New Zealand Business Council. As a former career diplomat, he was posted three times to Japan, most recently as Ambassador from 2007 to July 2012. His other overseas postings were to Solomon Islands and Vanuatu from 1992 to 1994, Turkey, Israel and Jordan (Ambassador) from 1996 to 1999, and Australia (Deputy High Commissioner) from 2004 to 2007. On return to New Zealand Ian was appointed Special Representative Japan (based in New Zealand). He is a partner with I.S.K. Associates, a consultancy business specialising in Japan. He is also a board member of the New Zealand Asia Institute, and an Honorary Chairman of the Japan New Zealand Business Council. 

Richard Long ONZM is a veteran journalist who spent more than 20 years in the parliamentary press gallery and is now a life member. He was editor of The Dominion newspaper for a decade before it was merged with The Evening Post in 2002. He briefly edited The Dominion Post before leaving journalism and going on to become chief of staff for National Party leader Bill English and his successor Don Brash. He was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to journalism in the 2011 New Year Honours.

Mitchell Pham is a Vietnamese-New Zealand business, technology and social entrepreneur, who originally came to New Zealand as a refugee at the age of 13. He is the co-founder, director, board member, and head of marketing and international development of the Augen Software Group. Mr Pham has over a decade of establishing and managing business operations and partnerships between New Zealand and Asia. He has been honoured as an Asia 21 Fellow by the Asia Society, and a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. In the New Zealand business community, Pham is involved with the Ethnic People In Commerce (EPICNZ) network, the New Zealand Asian Leaders (NZAL) forum, the informal New Zealand-Asia business club, and the Venture Vietnam group.

Sir Don McKinnon was first elected to parliament in 1978. He was sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister in 1990 and became the longest-serving Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand's history. During his term in this role, he developed the Asia 2000 programme, which evolved into the Asia 2000 Foundation before becoming the Asia New Zealand Foundation. He was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his work brokering a ceasefire between Bougainvilleans and the Papua New Guinea Government, which lead to the signing of a peace agreement in 1997. Following his 21-year career in New Zealand politics, McKinnon served as Commonwealth Secretary-General for eight years from 2000 to 2008. He is currently chair of Regional Facilities Auckland, New Zealand China Council and Brain Research NZ and a trustee of the Waitangi National Trust and NZ Dementia Trust.

Simon Power is general manager, consumer banking and wealth at Westpac New Zealand. He joined the company in 2012 after a 12-year career as a member of parliament in New Zealand. While in parliament he served as Minister of Justice, Minister of Commerce, Minister of State-Owned Enterprises, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Associate Minister of Finance, Minister Responsible for the Law Commission and Deputy Leader of the House between 2008-2011. In 2010, he was selected by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader and in that capacity attended Harvard University in Boston in 2011. Power sits on the Board of the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX) and is chair of the NZUS Council.

Chief executive of Sport NZ Peter Miskimmin has a wealth of experience as an athlete, coach and sports leader. Peter was appointed chief executive of Sport NZ in 2008. Since then he has overseen two of New Zealand’s most successful Olympic Games (Beijing and London) and driven an increased focus on community sport. Prior to his time at Sport NZ, Peter spent 17 years at New Zealand Post, where he held a number of management roles in the sales, marketing and in the commercial side of the business. A two time Olympian (Los Angeles and Barcelona), Peter has been Captain of the New Zealand Men’s Hockey Team, played 150 test matches for his country and twice won the New Zealand Hockey Player of the Year Award. He is currently a selector for the national men’s side, the Black Sticks. He has served on the Boards of the New Zealand Olympic Committee and the New Zealand Sports Foundation. He was on the New Zealand Olympic Committee’s Athletes Commission and is a past President of the Olympian Club of New Zealand.