Auckland Council has appointed four new directors to the board of its council-controlled organisation, Eke Panuku Development Auckland.
Over the past twelve months, the Eke Panuku board has reduced in number due to the retirement of three directors and a change in chair. The appointment of these four director vacancies will take the Eke Panuku board to eight members.
Councillor Josephine Bartley has welcomed the new appointments, which were approved at the Appointments and Performance Review (APR) Committee meeting earlier this month.
“I’d like to acknowledge my panel members who made these appointments with me: Eke Panuku Board Chair Paul Majurey; Independent Māori Statutory Board member Tony Kake; and Auckland Council Director Governance and CCO Partnerships Phil Wilson,” she says.
“I am pleased to see that among the new directors, Susan Huria, Jennifer Kerr and Kenina Court have strong Māori and Pasifika connections. I want to encourage people from diverse backgrounds to look at these opportunities and see the difference their voice can make. Increasing the diversity on our boards will reflect the people of Auckland and deliver better outcomes for our communities.”
The APR Committee is responsible for all appointments to the boards of council-controlled organisations, in accordance with the council’s Appointment and Remuneration Policy for Board Members and the Local Government Act.
About the new directors
Kenina Court
Kenina Court is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. She has had a 25-year career in both the commercial arena working through to CFO level and in public practice where she has built two (and sold one) accounting firms. She has extensive experience in property investment through both residential and commercial property and uses this knowledge to help her clients build long term sustainable wealth.
Kenina is on the boards of the Oceania Career Academy, which works with Pasifika youth to provide them with learning pathways into careers within the construction industry and the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, the dispute resolution scheme for New Zealand’s banking industry.
Steven Evans
Steven Evans has led Fletcher Building’s Residential & Development division for the last six years. This includes Fletcher Living, delivering new housing communities such as the award-winning Waiata Shores and Kowhai Ridge developments. Delivering up to 1000 homes a year across numerous sites across Auckland, including terrace housing and apartment buildings, Steven is a leader in urban renewal.
Steven also has extensive experience with residential housing and mixed use developments across multiple geographies including Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the UK. He was one of the founding directors of First Base, a London residential developer focused exclusively on providing mixed-tenure housing solutions in inner and greater London, including developments that won UK planning and architectural awards. He is also a founding board member of the Urban Development Institute of NZ (UDINZ), a member of MBIE’s Building Advisory Panel, and a steering group member of the Construction Industry Accord. Steven has five children and lives in East Auckland.
Susan Huria
Susan (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāi Tuahuriri) is the Chair of Leaderbrand and Gisborne Covered Production. She is a director of Ospri, the Royal College of General Practitioners and Connexis. Susan is also a Trustee of Construction Health and Safety New Zealand and a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Directors.
She is the Independent Chair of the New Zealand Rugby League Zone board appointment panel, a member of the Rhodes scholarship panel and the National Steering Group for Community Governance.
Susan works as an advisor to a number of entities in the Māori economy on governance, strategy development, board evaluation and performance management.
Jennifer Kerr
Jennifer Kerr has been a full time non-executive Director for the past four years. She is a board member of New Zealand Rugby and New Zealand Trade & Enterprise as well as Waipa Networks. She is also the deputy Chair of Callaghan Innovation.
Jennifer has previously held senior executive roles in New Zealand, North America and Europe in Human Resources and Health & Safety, as well as Stakeholder management roles. She is a member of Global Women and holds degrees in Arts and Social Sciences form the University of Waikato.
Jennifer is of Ngāti Mutunga and Ngāti Tama descent.