NZ Trade & Enterprise offshore appointments

Media release: New Zealand Trade & Enterprise offshore appointments

05 May 2006

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) has recently made a number of offshore appointments.

Michelle Templer - Trade Commissioner, United Kingdom and Ireland

Michelle Templer has been appointed as Trade Commissioner for United Kingdom and Ireland based in the London office. Her role is to promote and facilitate trade opportunities and strategic alliances throughout Europe.

Michelle has six years experience working for NZTE in a number of roles, most recently as Regional Manager, Waitako. She has also worked briefly for NZTE in Madrid. Prior to that Michelle held leadership roles in the tourism and meat export industries.

Michelle holds a Graduate Diploma in Humanities and Social Sciences and Bachelors Degrees in Sales and Marketing, and Business and Management.

John Crawford – Director, Australia/Pacific

John Crawford has been appointed Director, Australia/Pacific (Auspac) based in Auckland. In his previous role as the Australian Director for Investment NZ, he successfully established Investment NZ offices in Sydney and Melbourne.

John has substantial business and commercial experience, with a focus on advisory activities in the technology and finance sectors. Following a career in IT, John worked for The Boston Consulting Group in New Zealand, Australia and Europe managing business strategy and organisational change. He has also held senior management roles with BellSouth New Zealand and worked as an investment banker with Deutsche Bank in Sydney.

John has degrees in Science and Engineering, as well as an MBA from Auckland University.

Tim Green – Trade Commissioner, Sydney

Tim Green has been appointed Trade Commissioner for Sydney.

His role includes developing strategic and commercially focused initiatives with key Australian and multi-national companies based in Sydney.

Tim has held management and strategic positions in both the private and public sectors. Most recently he has served on the management team of the New Zealand Racing Board and TAB, leading a programme of initiatives to both revitalise the racing industry and improve the TAB's commercial performance. Prior to his appointment as Trade Commissioner, Tim was NZTE’s Sector Director for Tourism.

He holds an Honours Degree in Business Studies from Massey University.

Nicky Thompson – Trade Commissioner, Taipei

Nicky Thompson has been appointed to the position of Trade Commissioner, Taipei, responsible for all sectors in Taiwan. Her experience with NZTE includes a posting as Trade Commissioner and Consul General, Vietnam, and more recently as International Market Manager for South/South East Asia based in Wellington.

For more than a decade her career has had a strong Asian focus, including work on capability development within the education sector when Asian markets were opened up for New Zealand institutions. She has previously been Market Services Manager for South East Asia and Regional Manager Palmerston North.

Nicky holds a Bachelors of Arts from Canterbury University and a Master of Business Administration from Victoria University of Wellington.

Grant Fuller - Trade Commissioner, Kuala Lumpur

Grant Fuller has been appointed Trade Commissioner for Kuala Lumpur.

Grant’s role is to promote and facilitate trade opportunities and strategic alliances throughout Malaysia and Brunei, focusing on the four key sectors of food and beverage, education, ICT and agritech.

He has spent nine of the last fifteen years offshore as Trade Development Manager, Beijing, and Trade Commissioner in Singapore and Shanghai. Most recently, Grant was based in Wellington as Sector Manager for Wood Products and played an important role in the establishment of New Zealand’s first Wood Innovation Centre in Shanghai.

Grant holds a Masters degree in Commerce (Hons).

Richard Laverty - Regional Director, Europe/Middle East/Africa

Richard Laverty has been appointed to the position of Regional Director Europe/Middle East/Africa.

Richard brings 18 years of food and beverage industry experience spanning engineering, research and development, business development, strategy and general management, gained during a career within the New Zealand dairy industry.

He spent eight years living and working in Europe for Fonterra (based in Hamburg),with responsibility for the company’s added-value milk protein business. In 2001, he returned to New Zealand, to take up roles in corporate strategy and ingredients marketing.

Richard holds postgraduate qualifications in Engineering Technology and Science, and Business and Management.

Alan Young - Trade Commissioner, Guangzhou

Alan Young has been appointed to the position of Trade Commissioner Guangzhou. His role is to promote and facilitate trade opportunities and strategic alliances throughout Southern China.

Alan has spent 12 of the last 16 years in senior positions for multinational organisations in Asia, including Westpac Bank, New Zealand Milk Products Ltd, Sealord Asia Ltd and Peterson Asia Ltd.

He holds a Master of Arts degree from the University of Otago and speaks fluent Mandarin and Cantonese.

ENDS

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