Science New Zealand board

The Board members are the chief executives of the Crown Research Institutes. A Chair and Deputy Chair are elected at the Annual General Meeting in August for a two-year term. The Board meets every second month.

The Board:

  • Provides a forum for chief executives to discuss issues, share views and agree actions.
  • Sets the strategic direction and policies for Science New Zealand.
  • Gives direction to and receives reports from Pan Member groups which have specific focus areas.
  • Meets with groups and individuals with interests in areas relevant to Science New Zealand's work.

 Board members:

  • JM

    John Morgan, Chair

    NIWA

    Chief Executive since April 2007. John has extensive senior executive and governance experience in public and private sector organisations covering a range of markets and activities including business, science, education and sport. John is a graduate of Macquarie University’s Strategic Marketing Programme and the Executive Leadership Programme from INSEAD, France.

  • 5d54c94004c59

    Richard Gordon

    Manaaki Whenua

    Chief Executive since 2011. Richard was previously Manaaki Whenua’s Science General Manager for Environment and Society for five years. Richard holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, and a Doctorate in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge.

  • Keith McLea ESR 200 x 200

    Keith McLea

    ESR

    Chief Executive since 2014. Keith has provided strategic and policy advice to many Government ministries. He is an expert in the personal injury insurance and injury prevention sectors. Keith has a PhD in human genetics and is trained in toxicology.

  • julian elder

    Julian Elder

    Scion

    Chief Executive since March 2017. Julian has held leadership roles in civil infrastructure including renewables, telecommunications, energy, and water. He was the WEL Networks CEO from 2007-2014. He holds a PhD in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Auckland University.

  • david hughes

    David Hughes

    Plant & Food Research

    Chief Executive since February 2018. David was Group GM Commercial of Plant & Food Research from 2009 and has led many business development and innovation teams in the food sector. He holds a BTech (Manufacturing, 1st class honours), and an Applied Stats Postgrad diploma from Massey University.

  • Ian Simpson GNS Science 200 x 200 head and shoulders v2

    Ian Simpson, Deputy Chair

    GNS Science

    Chief Executive since January 2017. Ian spent seven years as the head of the Earthquake Commission (EQC). After holding corporate finance roles, Ian emigrated from Britain in 2006 as GM of Finance at ACC. He has a BSc (Mathematics) from Manchester University and a MBA from INSEAD University, France.

  • Tony HIckmott 10

    Tony Hickmott

    AgResearch

    Acting Chief Executive since October 2019, Tony started in his substantive role of Finance & Business Performance Director in October 2017. He has a wealth of experience in finance, audit and risk management, and government funding models, plus finance team leadership.

  • Anthony Scott Science NZ 200 x 200

    Anthony Scott

    Science New Zealand Chief Executive

    Chief Executive since 2001. Anthony has worked with public and private organisations, central and local government, and not-for-profits in the UK and New Zealand in strategy, policy and communications.