Ex-Air NZ manager for Southland board

A former Air New Zealand and Telecom (Spark) senior manager has been appointed as the chairperson for Southland’s new regional development agency.

The Southland Regional Development Agency will incorporate existing agency Venture Southland. The new agency’s board will be led by chairperson Ian Collier and is made up of Southland and national figures.

The board members are: Dean Addie (Southland), Sarah Brown (Southland), Lucy Griffiths (Wairarapa), Maria Pera (Southland) and Joc O’Donnell (Southland). They will replace the joint committee and board that previously oversaw Venture Southland.

The appointment of the board was carried out by the joint shareholders’ committee, a committee of Southland Regional Development Agency shareholders. The shareholders comprise the four councils – Invercargill City Council, Southland District Council, Gore District Council and Environment Southland – plus five community organisations: Southland Chamber of Commerce, Invercargill Licensing Trust, Southern Institute of Technology, Community Trust South and the Mataura Licensing Trust.

Joint shareholders’ committee chairperson Gary Tong, who is also the Southland District mayor, was delighted by Collier’s appointment. ‘‘While he is not a Southlander, he has had strong ties with the region over a long period of time.

‘‘In particular, through his position in Air New Zealand, he supported local tourism development such as the Bluff Oyster Festival and more latterly helped deliver the direct airlink to Auckland. This is a board of real achievers in their own rights, and we know they will work with us to achieve the . . . goals we all have for Southland.

‘‘There is a good balance of individuals with public and privatesector experience ... We deliberately selected a couple of directors from outside the region to help facilitate relationships with government, other regions and national businesses.’’

The board takes up its role on April 1, which marks the beginning of the transition of Venture into the Southland Regional Development Agency .

One of the first tasks of the board will be to appoint a new chief executive following the resignation of Paul Casson last month.