Advisory Board

Danny has had a long involvement with the education, investment and export industries, and has an extensive network of contacts in Asia. He is the Deputy Chairman of Academic Colleges Group Limited, the largest private education group in New Zealand. In 2009, Danny was appointed to the Board of Abano Healthcare Limited, an NZX listed healthcare provider. His other directorships including Flowerzone International Limited, Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development Limited and Farmers Mutual Group.

Danny was a former director of Everbright Pacific Limited, a subsidiary of one of the largest Chinese government owned conglomerates, China Everbright Limited. He was also a director of Airways Corporation Limited, a state owned air traffic management company and AgResearch Limited, a crown owned scientific research company that specializes in agricultural and biotechnology developments.

Michele is the Chair of the External Reporting Board. She served as the Chair of PwC in New Zealand from 2016 to 2020, a partner for 15 years and held numerous leadership, executive and governance roles within PwC in New Zealand and Asia.

Michele is a Board Member of Toitū Tahua – The Centre for Sustainable Finance, served as Co-Chair of Champions for Change from 2018 to 2020, and was a board member and Deputy Chair of Global Women from 2011 to 2018.

Pete Jones is the Principal of Manurewa High School, the largest decile 1 high school in New Zealand with about 2000 students made up of over 50% Pasifika, 25% Maori and a mix of more than 50 nationalities. He is originally from the UK and has a BA from Liverpool University, a PGCE from Birmingham University and an MSc from Manchester Metropolitan University. In 2017 he also completed the University of Auckland Business School NZLI Executive Leadership course.

Pete came to NZ in 2006 and restarted his teaching career at Manurewa High School as a Health and PE teacher. In 2009 he was appointed Deputy Principal and then Principal in 2016.  

Jeanette has held international management and senior executive positions with many world-class companies. She has an extensive background in people experience, transformation & talent strategies and managing major change & international growth programs. Spanning sectors such as automotive, pharmaceutical, fashion, e-commerce, global commodities & financial services, baby accessories, and business consultancy, they include Ford Motor Company, Cargill Inc, Novartis AG, Agile People Ltd, Mexx/Liz Claiborne Inc, Priceline.com, Spark NZ, ASB Bank and Mayborn Group (Tommee Tippee).

Jeanette is currently managing director, Asia Pacific, for Ph.Creative and is also an independent Director, Executive Coach, and business consultant. Jeanette is also an Advisory Board member for Global Angels and the University of Liverpool Management School. She holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) from Loughborough University.

Jodie is One New Zealand’s Chief People Officer, having joined the digital services provider in May 2020 from Air New Zealand where she spent seven years playing a key role in further building the company’s iconic culture and customer focus, four of those as Chief People Officer. 

Jodie is a people leader with a wealth of knowledge in developing a customer centric culture, proven expertise in talent development, and strong commercial acumen. 

She is passionate about helping organisations, teams and individuals to reach their full potential in a technology-focused environment, and enabling a better digital future for all New Zealanders. 

Prior to returning to Auckland, Jodie worked at KPMG in London for 16 years in both management consulting and in HR leadership roles. She holds a double degree in Commerce (Human Resource Management) and Arts (History) from the University of Otago, holds an Executive Management Qualification from INSEAD and is a member of Global Women. Jodie’s whakapapa is Ngai Tahu and has 3 children.

Eru Lyndon, Independent Advisor, Investment Committee, Sport New Zealand, is of Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Whatua, Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Kahu and Ngati Toa descent. As an executive, Eru is the Regional Commissioner for Social Development, Northland, at the Ministry of Social Development, and the also the Public Service Lead for Northland.

Eru also holds a portfolio of governance roles spanning tourism, health, and sport, and has also had governance experience in the tertiary education sector. 

Eru holds a Bachelor of Laws degree, an MBA (dist.) and has completed executive programmes at IMD (Lausanne, Switzerland), Stanford and MIT (Boston, USA).

Rob McDonald’s finance career spans over 35 years, having worked overseas before joining Coopers and Lybrand in the corporate advisory and valuations practice in 1985. He joined Air New Zealand in 1993 and left in 2018 after 13 years as CFO.

Rob is Chair of Contact Energy Limited and is a director of Fletcher Building, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and Sovereign Assurance Company Limited. He is a former board member of the Institute of Finance Professionals New Zealand Inc. and former vice chairman of the IATA Financial Committee.

Rob has a Bachelor of Commerce from Auckland University and in 1999 completed the Program of Management Development at Harvard Business School. He is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

Fady is an inspirational leader, globally successful business creator and one of our alumni. He studied at The University of Auckland and graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Engineering. He later went on to found PowerbyProxi as a spin-out from the University of Auckland’s world leading wireless power department. The company was acquired by Apple in 2017.

He is an active and involved alumnus of the University of Auckland and regularly participates in the life of the University. With countless hours of advising, mentoring and speaking engagements, Fady has supported the development of the next generation of leaders.

Fady was awarded the University of Auckland’s Distinguished Alumni Award and also The Velocity (formerly Spark) Entrepreneur of the Decade Award.

Paul has a strong association with the University of Auckland which goes back over two decades during which he has advised the University on several matters. Two of his children are current students.

As a senior partner at PwC, Paul is an accomplished commercial and strategic adviser with over 25 years of practice, he brings a unique breadth and depth of experiences as both a strategic and operational leader. Paul has held several senior positions for PwC, including the Managing Partner of their NZ Consulting business, the ASEANZ Risk Consulting leader, member of NZ PwC Firm Executive, ASEANZ Consulting Leadership and NZ Firm Financial Assurance leadership teams. 

He is a Chartered Accountant, and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Accounting and Financial Management. Paul has a deep passion for education, in addition to his board advisory role with the University, he is the deputy trust Board chair of St Cuthbert’s College.

Outside of work, Paul enjoys spending time with his family, is a passionate road cyclist and skier, and loves to be in the outdoors.

Roger Partridge is chairman and a Senior Fellow of The New Zealand Initiative, the think tank supported by CEOs of a majority of New Zealand’s largest companies.

He led law firm Bell Gully as executive chairman from 2007 to 2014 and was a partner of the firm for 24 years. He was executive director of the Legal Research Foundation, a charitable foundation associated with the University of Auckland, from 2001 to 2009, a member of the Council of the New Zealand Law Society, the governing body of the legal profession in New Zealand, from 2011 to 2015 and is a chartered member of the Institute of Directors.

David Skilling is the founding Director of Landfall Strategy Group, a Singapore-based economic advisory firm that provides insights on global economic, political, and policy developments to governments, firms and financial institutions.

David has recently served as Senior Adviser to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand. Prior to founding Landfall Strategy Group in 2011, David was an Associate Principal with McKinsey & Company in Singapore, as well as being a Senior Fellow with the McKinsey Global Institute. Before joining McKinsey, David was the founding Chief Executive of the New Zealand Institute, a privately-funded, non-partisan think-tank. Until 2003, David was a Principal Adviser at the New Zealand Treasury, advising on various strategic economic policy issues.

David has a PhD in Public Policy, and a Master in Public Policy degree, from Harvard University, as well as a Master of Commerce degree in Economics from the University of Auckland. David was named as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2008, and was the University of Auckland’s inaugural Young Alumnus of the Year in 2006.

Vanessa Sorenson was appointed GM of Microsoft New Zealand in February 2020. A passionate advocate for Aotearoa, Vanessa is responsible for ensuring Microsoft empowers all its customers and partners to achieve more. Vanessa joined Microsoft in October 2017, after more than two decades at Spark, New Zealand’s largest telco.

In her first role at Microsoft as Director of Enterprise, Sorenson was tasked with driving business growth, forging strong relationships, managing Microsoft’s large Enterprise sales team and working closely with partners and key stakeholders.

Even with decades of tech experience, Vanessa doesn’t consider herself a ‘classic techie’ – rather, she is driven by what technology can do for all New Zealanders. She is a noted champion of diversity and inclusion across the ICT industry, encouraging change, fostering diversity and inclusion, driven by the belief that D&I is not optional but essential. Having carved out an extraordinary career that has included both wins and losses, Sorenson has committed herself to a lifetime of actively mentoring other businesswomen to become the best they can be.

Outside of work, Vanessa is passionate about education, championing equal access to technology for all children and encouraging girls to embrace STEM.

David has extensive experience in financial and non-financial boards. He is Deputy Chair of NZ Green Investment Finance, a Director of Toitū Tahua: Centre for Sustainable Finance, a Director of Whai Rawa Fund Ltd, and member of the NZ National Advisory Board on Impact Investing.

David has held leadership positions in various financial service organisations across various cultures and countries including in the United Arab Emirates, as CEO of Rasmala, a regional investment bank, as well as roles in Ireland, Scandinavia, Japan and the Middle East at ABN AMRO. He has a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University.