Press Release
31 October 2002

Jenny Shipley joins The Cambridge Group

On November 1, former Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Jenny Shipley, will join The Cambridge Group, a leading executive search, business development and international educational services consultancy with business in New Zealand, Australia, the UK, India and Asia.

Mrs Shipley has been appointed a director of The Cambridge Group Limited, which incorporates Cambridge Consulting Services, the executive search arm of the business. She will also be a director of CMS International Consulting, an international joint venture with Multi Serve Educational Trust, presently serving clients in Southeast Asia with the potential to expand into other markets, particularly China.

The Cambridge roles are the first directorships New Zealand’s first woman Prime Minister has accepted since retiring from politics at the 2002 General Elections. She will continue to run her own company and work with private clients.

Mrs Shipley spent 15 years as an MP, 11 of them in key portfolios and senior leadership roles where she drove significant policy reforms in a number of crucial areas across New Zealand’s economic, business and social spectrum to lift competitiveness, efficiency and private sector participation.

In her first official press conference as a private citizen, she said she had been relishing her “freedom” away from the political spotlight and apart from establishing her own consultancy, had bided her time as she considered a number of opportunities for the future.

“I accepted the Cambridge directorships because I saw that I would be able to pursue my passion for promoting New Zealand, its goods, its services and its innovation and expertise. In particular, I look forward to expanding the range of New Zealand educational services that can be exported internationally through establishing constructive public and private sector partnerships,” she said.

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The Cambridge Group, headquartered in Auckland, has expanded its core business as a reputable executive search consultancy with a focus on corporate and academic recruitment to build an international competency as a provider of educational services and consultancy in developing countries like Indonesia and also in mature markets, including the United Kingdom.

“Mrs Shipley will have a key role in continuing to identify and bring to life new business opportunities for Cambridge, both in New Zealand and internationally,” said The Cambridge Group Managing Director, Ken Eagle. “Mrs Shipley brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in public policy analysis, strategic planning and implementation, management strategy and relationship building. We are extremely pleased to welcome her to the team.”

Mrs Shipley will be involved in the full range of services the Cambridge Group offers but will focus, in particular, on developing new international educational initiatives through joint venture partnerships or relationships between the public and private sectors in a number of countries, including China, where opportunities have been identified for New Zealand to sell a range of educational services.

“New Zealand earns around $1.5 billion a year from educational services and the potential is available to treble this amount through selling our expertise offshore and attracting investment in education joint ventures and projects onshore,” she said.

“I’m excited by the opportunity to help grow the New Zealand economy by exporting our competitive skills, experience and unique attributes to markets around the world.”

ENDS

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