The New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology Establishment Board (the Establishment Board) is today announcing directors for the boards of subsidiary Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs), effective from 1 April 2020.
The following people have agreed to serve as directors on the board of Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki (WITT) from 1 April 2020:
Robin Brockie – Chair
Beverly Gibson (Ngāruahine, Te Āti Awa, Te Arawa) – Deputy Chair
Cassandra Crowley
Daniel Fleming
Charlotte Littlewood
Colleen Tuuta (Taranaki Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Maniapoto)
“The appointment of this Board of Directors is a significant step forward in the journey towards a cohesive, sustainable vocational education system,” says Establishment Board Chair Barry Jordan.
“In making these appointments we have balanced the need to ensure continuity of operation with sound local and regional relationships. We are delighted with the diversity of thought within each board, alongside the complementary skills and experience that will drive positive outcomes for their respective communities.”
The Education (Vocational Education and Training Reform) Amendment Act requires that the initial board for each subsidiary ITP comprise at least four and no more than eight directors, of which at least half must reside within the region that the subsidiary primarily serves.
WITT Board Chair Robin Brockie says, “From a Taranaki perspective, we’re very positive about where the reform programme is taking us and the impact it will have on our region, learners, and businesses.
“WITT has gone through significant change in recent years, and the Council has had a great working relationship through this. I am glad we can provide a degree of continuity and consistency at a governance level while we realise the positive impacts RoVE will have in Taranaki.”
To further drive the shift from competition to operating as one regionally accessible network of provision, the Establishment Board has decided that one NZIST Council member will be a director on each subsidiary ITP board. Each board may also receive a ‘cross-Board appointee’. These names will be confirmed in April.
The Establishment Board based its approach to the appointment of directors on the Treasury framework used to appoint directors to the boards of Crown companies. More than 370 expressions of interest were received over the Christmas and New Year period.
All appointments to subsidiary boards are subject to ratification and approval by the NZIST Council on 1 April 2020. Members of this Council will be confirmed by the Minister of Education, Hon Chris Hipkins, before the end of March.
Robin Brockie – Chair
BCA, FCAANZ, MInstD, QSM
Robin currently holds a number of governance roles including:
- Chair of Council of the Western Institute of Technology Taranaki;
- Director of Tui Ora Limited and Chair of its Finance and Audit Committee;
- Trustee of the TSB Community Trust;
- Director of TSB Group Limited;
- Director of New Zealand Institute of Highway Technology;
- member of the Standing Committee of the Anglican Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki and Chair of its Finance Committee;
- Trustee of the Dame Malvina Major Foundation and Chair and Committee member of the Dame Malvina Major Foundation – Taranaki.
Past governance roles include Trustee and Chair of Venture Taranaki Trust, and Managing Director and Director of Baker Tilly Staples Rodway Taranaki Limited.
Beverly Gibson – Deputy Chair
Bev (Ngāruahine, Te Āti Awa, Te Arawa) is a registered nurse with extensive experience in commercial business initiatives and social and environmental enterprises. She presently holds governance positions with the Parininihi Ki Waitotara Committee of Management, Chair of the Human Resource PKW Committee, Chair of Mahia Mai A Whai Tara Trust, Chair of Te Korowai O Ngāruahine Trust, and is an Independent Trustee of Lantern House Trust.
Bev holds a Masters in Management, Bachelor of Arts Degree and is a member of the Institute of Directors and the New Zealand Nurses Organisation.
Cassandra Crowley
Originally from Taranaki, Cassandra is an experienced director with a legal and accounting background and a previous President of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.
Her current board roles include Chair of the Taranaki District Health Board and Director of the New Zealand Transport Agency, where she chairs the Risk and Assurance Sub-Committee. She has served as a WITT Council Member since 2014 and has been a Director of the Skills Organisation industry training organisation since 2013, giving her a strong understanding of the entire vocational training sector.
Daniel Fleming
Daniel is the General Manager and co-owner of luxury boutique hotel King & Queen Hotel Suites, New Plymouth. He is currently Chair of the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce and Chair of the West End Precinct.
Daniel has been on the WITT Council since 2017. As a Taranaki local Daniel is very passionate about our region and ensuring that all learners have access to a large range of high-quality education.
Charlotte Littlewood
Charlotte has been a member of the WITT Council since 2017 and is also a Taranaki Regional Councillor and a director of Port Taranaki. She has worked in a variety of project management, strategy and research roles across Powerco, the Ministry for Social Development and the Department for Work and Pensions in the UK.
She has held a number of governance roles in the community, was joint founder of Taranaki Young Professionals and Vice President of Durham Student Union. She holds a Masters in Finance, BA(Hons) in Economics and Politics, and is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors.
Colleen Tuuta
Ko Taranaki te Maunga
Ko Taranaki, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Mahuta me Ngāti Maniapoto oku iwi.
Ko Parihaka, Urenui, Te Koroha me Te Kauwau oku marae
Ko Colleen Tuuta ahau, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena tatou katoa.
Colleen is currently a Trustee of Te Runanga o Ngāti Mutunga – the post-settlement governance entity. As a mokopuna of Tohu Kakahi and Te Whiti o Rongomai of Parihaka, Colleen is also a pacifist for global peace and justice, and an entrepreneur with a sharp economic edge to her social activism.
She is also currently a member of the Taranaki Iwi Leaders committee “Te Huinga Taumata” which works with the New Plymouth District Council to discuss strategic developments in the region.
Founder and CEO of Albatross Enterprises Limited, Colleen was the first woman and first Māori to serve as the Chair of the TSB Community Trust years of service. She was a member of Te Mana Whakahaere, the governance entity of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa for five years during a transition period with the TEC.