Advisory board membership

The Wellington School of Business and Government Advisory Board is made from members across the private and public sector.

Fiona Ross - Chair

Fiona Ross has over 25 years’ public services experience with particular expertise in change and State sector reform. In government, Fiona has worked at the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Women's Affairs, the New Zealand and United Kingdom Treasuries and most recently she lead the Joint Venture to eliminate Family Violence and Domestic Violence. Fiona is currently at the New Zealand Red Cross as General Manager People Experience and Support, supporting Red Cross achieve its strategy 2030.

Fiona holds an Honours degree in Arts and a Master's degree in Public Policy, both from Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. She has been actively involved with a number of not-for-profit groups, including in the areas of sexual abuse, services and care for people with disabilities and the promotion of women’s sport and fitness.

Jane Bryson

Professor Jane Bryson is the Dean of the Wellington School of Business and Government. She was previously Acting Dean, Acting Pro Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Dean and Associate Dean (Research). Professor Bryson joined the academic staff of Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington in 1999, prior to this she has worked as a Human Resources Manager in the public sector, and as a management consultant for twelve years in New Zealand, Australia, and Great Britain. Professor Bryson’s work has been widely published and focuses on facilitating the achievement of human capability through work.

Dr Peter Stevens

Peter has been Chief Executive of GS1 New Zealand since 2004, sits on the GS1 Global Advisory Council and is a founding director of GS1 in Asia-Pacific. Peter has expanded GS1’s role to serve many sectors of the New Zealand economy, including fast moving consumer goods, DIY/hardware, healthcare, agribusiness, government and cross-border trade. He has a particular interest in the impact of non-tariff barriers and is a Board Member of NZ Pacific Economic Collaboration Council and an associate board member of the NZ International Trade Forum.

Peter’s other roles include being a member of the NZ public healthcare system’s programme to adopt standards for products, a Director of Enable Ltd which is the largest disability services business in NZ.

Peter has previously been a senior lecturer in high technology marketing at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, an Adjunct Professor at Unitec Institute of Technology in the Department of Information Systems Computing, Board Member of Ako Aotearoa (The National Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence), a Director of KPMG Consulting and worked early in his career at Apple NZ.

Peter has post-graduate qualifications in science & marketing.

Ian Clarke

Ian Clarke is the CEO at ADInstruments Ltd, an international company that produces data acquisition and analysis systems for research and teaching in the life and physical sciences, and has broad business experience in the gas, agriculture, broadcasting, and television production industries.

He has an MBA from Otago University and a diverse background—including farming and general management and operational experience among major New Zealand corporates.

Julia Davidson

Julia Davidson has been Principal of Wellington Girls’ College since 2008 and before that  at Aotea College for seven years.

A graduate of Canterbury University and an English teacher by training, Julia’s  parents were teachers, her husband is a teacher and far too many of her friends are teachers.  She lives and loves schools and education and thinking about how to make things better for the people she works with. She is a passionate supporter of state education and of NCEA.

Since 2012, Wellington Girls’ College has had a much greater focus on staff and student wellbeing which has been useful as they negotiated Covid, lockdowns, protestors, school buildings being demolished around them and the most recent decision to move away from NCEA Level 1.

Julia is currently the Chair of the Australian branch of the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools and College Sport Wellington. She has previously chaired the NZ Secondary Principals’ Council , the Teacher Refresher Course Committee and the NZSecondary Students’ Choir.

Souella Cumming

Souella Cumming is a former partner in KPMG New Zealand’s Advisory practice and has over 30 years’ experience in providing governance, risk management, assurance, project advisory, and internal audit services to a range of public and private sector clients in New Zealand and overseas.

She works extensively with audit and risk committees providing good practice advice and assurance to committees on governance, risk management, and internal audit activity, with clients in the financial services, insurance, education, energy, health, justice, and social services sectors.

Souella has a BCA from Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington and is a chartered accountant and certified risk management professional. She is an independent member of the Order of St John in New Zealand and chair of the St John Risk and Audit Committee, a board member of Zonta International New Zealand and immediate past chair of the Zonta International Finance Committee, a member of Women Corporate Directors New Zealand chapter, and a member of Global Women.

Iain Rennie CNZM

Iain Rennie was appointed Secretary and Chief Executive to the Treasury in November 2024. From 2008 to 2016 Iain led the public service in the role of State Services Commissioner, and Deputy State Services Commissioner (2007–2008). Between 2016 and 2024 Iain worked internationally advising national and state governments on public sector and economic reform.

Iain started his public service career at the Treasury in 1986 when he joined as an economic and financial analyst in the agency’s budget and macroeconomic branch. Iain was an economic advisor at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, on secondment from the Treasury, from 1990 to 1993. For ten years Iain was a Treasury’s Deputy Secretary, overseeing Budget and Macroeconomic Branch from 1997 to 2003 and Regulatory and Tax Policy from 2003 to 2007. Between November 2021 and November 2024 Iain was the Independent Chair, Financial Statements of Government Audit Committee, at the Treasury.

Iain holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours), majoring in economics, from Victoria University of Wellington. He was awarded the Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) in 2017 for services to the state.

Steve O'Connor

Steve O’Connor is the founder and CEO of Flick Electric. Prior to establishing Flick, Steve was CEO of Wellington’s business incubator Creative HQ and Lightning Lab, a national business accelerator. He has considerable experience in technology-based growth businesses, from startups through to corporate innovation, both in New Zealand and in offshore markets including Europe and North America.

Steve has a BSc and BCA from Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington and is a passionate Wellingtonian. He is active in mentoring to help build and support entrepreneurial talent and business in the Wellington community.

Brooke Roberts

Alumna and CEO of Sharesies, Brook Roberts founded the start-up to make the world of investment more accessible to everyday New Zealanders.

After finishing high school in Hawke's Bay, Brooke was drawn to the hum of the capital city. After graduating, Brooke planned to travel overseas, but exciting opportunities kept springing up which kept her in Wellington. She first landed a role as a marketing assistant for not-for-profit organisation GS1 and went on to finance, product, and marketing roles at AJ Park, Kiwibank, and Xero.

While she enjoyed these roles, Brooke says she knew she wanted to start her own business and combine her twin interests in marketing and finance. Her dream started to gain momentum when she met a group of like-minded entrepreneurs. She says the philosophy behind Sharesies is trying to create a level playing field when it comes to investing.

Tim Pankhurst

Matt Prosser

Professor Nic Smith (ex-officio member)

As Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University, Professor Nic Smith is both the administrative and academic head of the University. He is responsible for ensuring that the University carries out its statutory and contractual functions in teaching, research, and community service.

Nic joined the University in 2023 after holding professorial appointments as the Provost at Queensland University of Technology, Dean of Engineering at the University of Auckland, Head of Biomedical Engineering at King's College London, and Professor of Computational Physiology at the University of Oxford.

Professor Bryony James (ex-officio member)

Professor Bryony James became the Provost at Te Herenga Waka in October 2023. She has previously held various leadership roles in the New Zealand university sector, including Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of Waikato, and Deputy Dean (Research) and Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Auckland.

Professor James has been recognised for her teaching with an Auckland University Engineering Alumni Teaching Excellence Award, an Ako Aotearoa National Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award, and a University of Auckland award for Sustained Excellence in Teaching.

Professor James gained her PhD in Materials Engineering from the University of Auckland, and her Bachelor of Engineering with Honours from the University of Bath in the United Kingdom.

As Provost, Professor James is Te Herenga Waka’s chief academic officer. She is responsible for driving the highest standards of academic excellence across the University, and providing strategic participatory leadership to Deans and all academic, teaching, learning and research activities.