Our people
DNZM, QSO, Foundation Chair
Hon Dame Fran 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.
Deputy Chair
Paul Morgan became a trustee of the Asia New Zealand Foundation Te Whītau Tūhono in October 2021 and is the board's deputy chair.
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.
MNZM
Carol Cheng is an experienced business adviser and chartered accountant with more than 20 years of accounting, auditing and advisory experience.
Mitchell Pham is a Vietnamese-Kiwi technology business and social entrepreneur.
Tupe Solomon-Tanoa'i became a trustee of the Asia New Zealand Foundation Te Whītau Tūhono in October 2021.
Ziena Jalil became a trustee of the Asia New Zealand Foundation Te Whītau Tūhono in October 2021.
Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri), MNZM
Tina is the founder of Poipoia, a kaupapa Māori company committed to providing environmental services to iwi, hapu, the public and private sector
Asia Honorary Adviser, Indonesia
HE Mr Amris Hassan served as Indonesian Ambassador to New Zealand from 2006 to 2010.
Asia Honorary Adviser, Japan
Mr Nakasone had a career in politics, serving as Japan's Minister of Education, Science, Sports and Culture and Minister of State for Science and Technology from 1999 to 2001.
Asia Honorary Adviser, Republic of Korea
Professor Han Sung-Joo is professor emeritus at Korea University and founder of the Asan Institute.
Asia Honorary Adviser, Thailand
Dr Supachai served as Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) from 2005 to 2013.
Asia Honorary Adviser, Malaysia
Hon. Rafidah Aziz serves as the non-executive independent chairman of AirAsia X.
Asia Honorary Adviser, Philippines
Mr Guillermo M. Luz is an associate director of the Ayala Corporation, one of the biggest business conglomerates in the Philippines.
Asia Honorary Adviser, South Korea
Heekyung (Jo) Min is the Executive Vice President and head of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of CJ CheilJedang in Korea.
Asia Honorary Adviser, Thailand
Professor Pavida Pananond is a Professor of International Business at the Thammasat Business School at the Thammasat University.
Asia Honorary Adviser, Thailand
Thitinan Pongsudhirak is director of the Institute of Security and International Studies (ISIS) and professor of International Relations at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.
Asia Honorary Adviser, Vietnam
As a serial entrepreneur, Le has worked in the following areas: human resources, social media, software development and vocational training.
Asia Honorary Adviser, Singapore
Stanley Tan is a proud and happy father of two daughters, a businessman, and a committed humanitarian.
Asia Honorary Adviser, China
Prof Zhou is a highly respected physicist. His life's work, including advancing the theory of spiral amplitude of particles, has earned him widespread recognition and numerous awards.
Asia Honorary Adviser, Hong Kong
Dr Victor K Fung is group chairman of The Fung group and chairman of the advisory board of the Asia Global Institute at the University of Hong Kong, a multi-disciplinary think-tank co-established with the Fung Global Institute in 2015.
Asia Honorary Adviser, Singapore
Dr Ng Eng Hen of the People's Action Party was elected into Singapore's parliament as MP for the Bishan-Toa Payoh Group Representation Constituency in 2001.
Asia Honorary Adviser, India
Dr Raghupati Singhania is the chairman and managing director of JK Tyre & Industries Limited. He is also the chairman of JK Tornel, S.A.de C.V., Mexico and is a member of the one of India's most prominent and highly regarded business families.
Asia Honorary Adviser, India
Reuben Abraham is CEO of IDFC Foundation and IDFC Institute, a Mumbai based think/do tank focused on state capability and political economy issues.
Asia Honorary Adviser, Sri Lanka
Senaka Silva is a long-standing advocate of Sri Lanka-NZ relations, having served as New Zealand’s Honorary Consul in Sri Lanka since 2009, as Chair of the Australia New Zealand Business Council and through business and other connections.
Asia Honorary Adviser, Indonesia
Helianti Hilman is the founder and CEO of Javara, a social enterprise focused on sustaining Indonesia’s food biodiversity heritage by introducing and bringing indigenous food products from Indonesia to the world.
Asia Honorary Adviser, Timor Leste
Adaljiza Magno is Timor Leste's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and former Ambassador to Singapore and former Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Asia Honorary Adviser, Hong Kong
Annie Wu Suk-ching is a senior businesswoman, educational philanthropist and women’s leader.
Asia Honorary Adviser, Japan
Amane Nakashima, is the president of Nakashimato Co. and the chairman of Kewpie Corp. Nakashimato Co.
Asia Honorary Adviser, China
Hu Shuli is the founder and publisher of Caixin Media, professor of the School of Journalism and Communication at Sun Yat-sen University.
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.
Foundation Founder
Hon Philip Burdon has had a distinguished career across the fields of law, business, and politics.
Rob Fyfe is an experienced director, and former CEO of a global airline.
MNZM
Traci Houpapa is the chair of the Federation of Māori Authorities (FoMA). She specialises in strategic and economic development.
CNZM
Manying Ip is Professor in Asian Studies at Auckland University and the author of several critically acclaimed books on Chinese in New Zealand.
ONZ, GCVO, Foundation Founder
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.
Vanushi Walters was elected as the member of Parliament for Upper Harbour in 2020 and currently sits as Deputy Chair of the Justice Select Committee as well as a member of the Regulations Review Committee.
GNZM, QSO, KStJ
Sir Anand Satyanand has worked as a lawyer, Judge and Ombudsman and was New Zealand’s 19th Governor-General from 2006 until 2011.
Warrick is the managing partner of deals, tax and legal, and chairman and CEO of KPMG in Vietnam and Cambodia.
Lianne Dalziel’s third term as Mayor of Christchurch will be her last term after just over 30 years of public service.
Paula Tesoriero is chief executive at Whaikaha - The Ministry of Disabled People.
Sameer Handa is a company director and executive member of the India New Zealand Business Council (INZBC).
Kyle Murdoch is a chief executive, company director and producer with 20 years of experience working in the media industry in Asia.
Simon Murdoch is a former Secretary Foreign Affairs and Trade and served on the board of the Asia New Zealand Foundation.
Ngāti Ruanui and Ngā Rauru
Nicola Ngarewa is the principal of Spotswood College and is the Chairperson of Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Josh Wharehinga is the Deputy Mayor of Gisborne District Council and has had a long connection with the Asia New Zealand Foundation as a former member of the Leadership Network.
Sachie Nomura is a chef and food writer and is the owner of cooking school Sachie’s Kitchen.
Executive Director
Simon Draper is an experienced diplomat with an extensive international background in negotiation and relationship management.
Deputy Executive Director
Adele manages the corporate and governance responsibilities of the Foundation and takes a coordinating role across programmes.
Executive Assistant
Paula provides assistance to the executive director and the Chair. She has been with the Foundation since 2003.
Accountant
Sunita joined the Foundation in 2007 in the role of accountant. She has a BCA in commerce from Victoria University of Wellington, and has previously worked in Australia and England across both the private and public sectors.
Receptionist and Accounts
Liz covers the reception at the Foundation as well as accounts payable and receivable and general administration.
Kaitohutohu Matanga Māori | Chief Advisor, Māori
Veronica (Ronnie) (Morehu, Ngati Kahungunu ki Wairoa, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, Gua Leng) brings a broad range of skills and experience to her role from central and local government and the community sectors.
Project Officer (Education)
Dara is from Singapore. She came to New Zealand in 2019 and has come to accept wind-swept hair as the daily look.
Director Business
Nick has over 20 years’ experience in businesses and commercial entities and has founded a number of successful businesses.
Senior Adviser (Business)
Ethan (Ngāi Takoto, Te Aupōuri) has recently joined the Foundation in the business programme and is based in Auckland.
Project Officer (Internships)
Before joining the Foundation, BoBae (BB) had previously worked as a programme coordinator in Korea where she managed volunteer programmes.
Project Officer (Leadership)
Linh works out of the Foundation's Auckland office as project officer for the Leadership Nework. She joined the Foundation in 2021 as a project coordinator for the Business Programme before moving to her current role in 2022.
Senior Adviser (Entrepreneurship)
Lingy brings a wealth of knowledge from the startup and innovation scene having spent several years working with startup companies in New Zealand and internationally.
Director Research and Engagement
Suzannah Jessep joined the Foundation in March 2019, after serving as New Zealand’s Deputy High Commissioner to India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Deputy Ambassador to Nepal and as New Zealand’s Deputy …
Senior Adviser Research and Engagement
Dr James To has an academic background in Asian languages (Mandarin, Cantonese, and Japanese), political science, and commerce.
Senior Research Adviser
Dr Jordan King is a Senior Research Adviser in the Foundation's research and engagement team.
Director Arts, Director Auckland
Craig Cooper has worked in the arts sector for almost 20 years in both Australia and New Zealand in a variety of roles.
Sports Adviser
Kirsty studied at Lincoln College (way back in the 80’s), then backpacked around the world for four years before returning to settle in Gisborne.
Director Communications and Media
Katie Howe joined the Foundation in April 2023, after 15 years of running her corporate communications consultancy in China, Singapore and Australia.
Website Manager
Ned Wotherspoon joined the Foundation in 2015 after working for a number of years creating website content for the government agency Careers New Zealand.
Communications Adviser (Digital)
Phoebe joined the Foundation in 2020 after graduating from Massey University. She completed a Bachelor of Communications, majoring in Public Relations and minoring in Expressive Arts/Media Studies.
Communications Adviser
Shireen has joined the Foundation as the Communications Adviser, after spending five years working in the education sector.
Media Centre Manager
Graeme Acton joined the team at the Foundation in February 2020, moving from the position of Foreign News Editor with RNZ in Wellington.
Media Adviser, Asia Media Centre
Eleanor joined the Asia Media Centre as a media adviser in 2020, fresh from the newsroom.
Media Adviser, Asia Media Centre
Carla Teng joined the Foundation in 2023. She has over 15 years of experience in broadcast journalism and public relations.
Advisory Board Member
Hannah is a Project Manager at the Christchurch Foundation, a charity with the purpose of making Ōtautahi Christchurch a better city through philanthropic giving and impact programmes.
Advisory Board Member
Ajay is a policy officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Leadership Network Advisory Board Member
Ben is a Policy Practitioner with fourteen years of work and study experience in Māori development and international-related kaupapa.
Advisory Board Member
Xavier hails from the villages of Lotofaga (Aleipata), Matatufu, Falelatai and Falefā in Sāmoa.
Jenny is passionate about the intersection of business, technology and mission-driven entities. Her interests have led her to pursue a MBA (Technology specialisation) at the Australian Graduate School of Business.
Arina Aizal is the Community Connector and Youth Coordinator at Otago Access Radio.
Crystal (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Mahuta) is a Mana Wāhine & Kaupapa Māori researcher and PhD candidate in Waikato University's Management School.