8 January 2007:

Orr quits Reserve Bank to head Super Fund

Reserve Bank Deputy Governor & Head of Financial Stability Adrian Orr leaves the bank on Monday 5 February to become chief executive of the Guardians of the NZ Superannuation Fund, starting there a week later. Mr Orr was previously chief economist at the National Bank and more recently Westpac, and chief manager of the Reserve Bank’s economics department.

The fund’s first chief executive, Paul Costello, resigned last August and chief investment officer Paul Dyer has been acting chief executive since then.

Anthony Muh joins Infratil board as independent

Infratil Ltd appointed Anthony Muh to the board just before Christmas, effective Thursday 1 February. The company considers him an independent director. He’ll be up for re-election at the next annual meeting.

Mr Muh is Asia Pacific chief executive for UK-listed investment trust company Alliance Trust PLC, and executive director of AT Asset Management (Asia Pacific) Ltd.

Before setting up Alliance Trusts' Asia Pacific operations in April 2005, Mr Muh was managing director & regional head of investment for Citigroup Asset Management - Asia (combining Salomon Brothers Asset Management Asia Pacific, Smith Barney Asset Management Japan, Citibank Global Asset Management Asia & Citibank Private Bank Investment Management - Asia). In this role he had overall responsibility for investment activities in the Asia Pacific region. Mr Muh was a member of Citigroup Asset Management's international asset management committee and a member of Citigroup's Hong Kong country board.

Mr Muh was previously chief investment officer for Citibank Global Asset Management in Asia & New Zealand before Citicorp & Travelers Group merged in 1999. Before joining Citibank Global Asset Management in 1993, he spent 7 years with Bank of New Zealand Investment Management.

Mr Muh holds a degree in commerce & administration from Victoria University Wellington and is a member of the NZ Institute of Chartered Accountants, a fellow of the Hong Kong Securities Institute and on its examinations committee, a past chairman & a fellow of the NZ Society of Investment Analysts, a board member of the Asian Corporate Governance Association, and a past executive committee member of the Asian Securities Analyst Federation, past executive committee member of the HK Investment Funds Association and past member of the cash market consultative panel for Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd.

Stack outgrows High St

Design firm Stack outgrew its High St office last year and relocated to bigger & brighter workspace at 127 Vincent St, opposite Beca Carter up the leafy southern fringe of the cbd.

Says director David Gunn: “Stack still specialises in planning & managing business space change - with interior design & project management at the heart of our business.  We are continuing to provide these services within a total package delivery strategy that allows our client to remain focused on their business.”

Website: Stack

Susan Webb joins Allan & Boyle’s new Star PR firm

Fonterra Shareholders’ Council general manager Susan Webb has joined long-time public relations practitioners Cedric Allan & Malcolm Boyle in their new corporate consultancy Star Public Relations Ltd.

Mrs Webb, who also has a background in change management & business analysis in the health & agricultural sectors, will become the third director of the Auckland Viaduct-based company. Star Public Relations specialises in corporate communications & reputation management, investor relations, major infrastructure projects & strategic advisory work.

Clemenger Group bought Messrs Allan & Boyle’s previous consultancy in 2001 and merged it into Porter Novelli, which they ran for more than 4 years. Star has also attracted former Baldwin Boyle Group senior consultant Alan McDonald & freelancer Paula Jackson, a specialist in local government communications work.

Kidd takes valuation business into PRP alliance

Tony Kidd has taken his Axiom Rolle valuation business into the Australian PRP Group, which also leads the New Zealand business into alliances with King Sturge in the UK & Europe and Corfac in the Americas.

Mr Kidd is now managing director of PRP Auckland Ltd (ex-Axiom Rolle PRP Valuation Services Ltd) and a partner with Sarah Todd in PRP Wellington Ltd.

Mr Kidd told a function to celebrate the new alliance at the end of last year the huge growth the sector had experienced in recent years signalled an increased need for valuation & property consultants to provide a more comprehensive level of service. He believes involvement in such a global alliance is an essential part of providing such a service today, and is particularly important in meeting the needs of the growing number of people who have business or financial interests both inside & outside New Zealand.

He said current trends reflected the increasing numbers of both domestically & internationally based businesses & home owners whose investments in New Zealand covered interlinked assets, such as different types of property and business investments.

Innovations the company introduced late in 2006 include a knowledge bank, enhanced training programmes, new software and an increased focus on both the national & Australasian markets. 

Mr Kidd said the link to PRP created the opportunity for clients to get a comprehensive range of valuation & consultancy services on a global basis, including residential, commercial and plant & machinery.

One of the Ps in PRP, Greg Preston, is president-elect of the Australian Property Institute.

PRP (Preston Rowe Paterson) was established in Sydney & Melbourne in 1988 and now has 8 offices in 6 states, with plans for 4 more.

Website: PRP NZ

Gallagher replaces Murphy at AMP Multiplex

Peter Murphy resigned from AMP Multiplex Management Ltd and was replaced by Peter Gallagher, effective 9 November.

Ex-Lotteries chief Bale gets new Allied Farmers job

Allied Farmers Ltd appointed David Bale as chief executive. Mr Bale was a self-employed consultant undertaking strategic assignments for several major companies after leaving the role of chief executive at the Lotteries Commission. Before that he held a number of senior roles at Inprint Ltd & other subsidiaries of Independent Newspapers Ltd. He started at Allied Farmers on 15 November.

Allied Farmers chairman John Loughlin said the newly created role was intended to strengthen the management capability within the group: "The decision to create the position was followed by a search for the best candidate to fill the role. We did not particularly seek a specialist manager in any of our current areas of business activity. Rather we looked for a manager with very strong experience at high-level management and a track record of business success.”

Energy Intellect chief executive moves to Celsias

Celsias Ltd, the world’s first online community that allows regions, businesses or community groups to be paid for reducing the carbon emissions from their everyday energy use, appointed Nick Lewis as its first chief executive in November.

Celsias is expected to go live in early 2007. It will allow participants to track, create & trade carbon credits all in one place on the internet.

Mr Lewis was previously chief executive of Wellington metering technology company Energy Intellect Ltd, which he joined in 2004 after emigrating from New York.

His career includes spells as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Yemen, a nuclear engineer with Asea Brown Boveri & Westinghouse, heading a power & utility investment banking team at CIBC World Markets in New York and being a senior banker at JP Morgan & Co.

CBRE names Hutt as Auckland cbd office managing director

CBRE NZ Ltd promoted Warren Hutt to managing director of its Auckland cbd office, effective 1 November.

Tom Southern, CBRE president & chief executive for Australia & New Zealand, said: “Under the leadership of Scott Gray-Spencer and in line with the overall development of our business in the Pacific region, we are anticipating a significant uplift in the performance of the New Zealand business, based on the real gains that have been achieved during the past few years.

“The business platform is now in place right across New Zealand, with an effective network of offices across all of the key business centres of Auckland, Wellington & Christchurch. The development of the Auckland business now includes offices in North Auckland and our dominant South Auckland business. We are now well positioned for the next phase.”

CBRE also appointed new managing directors for the cbd offices in Sydney & Melbourne late last year – James Patterson in Sydney & Matt Haddon in Melbourne.

Scott Gray-Spencer will continue to have overall responsibility for the New Zealand business and Mr Hutt will continue to have overall responsibility for asset services throughout New Zealand.

St Laurence appoints mezzanine specialist to head Australian business

Australasian investment & finance group St Laurence Ltd appointed Bruce Munday as managing director of its Australian operations on 18 December, with a focus on driving growth in property-backed lending.

Mr Munday has had an extensive career in property & mezzanine finance, most recently as portfolio manager for mezzanine finance at Perpetual Investments Ltd in Australia. He established Perpetual’s Mezzanine Mortgage Fund and also managed the construction & development portfolio in the company’s First Mortgage Fund. Before that, Mr Munday held senior property & corporate finance positions in Capital Finance Australia, the Bank of Singapore & OCBC Bank.

St Laurence group managing director Kevin Podmore said it was pleasing to see high calibre applicants being attracted to the growing St Laurence Australia business.

St Laurence entered the Australian market in 2001 and provides mezzanine & first-mortgage property-backed lending, including for development & investment purposes, and also markets selected direct property investments and a first-mortgage fund.

Christchurch lawyer John Holland joins Securities Commission

John Holland, a Christchurch-based partner in law firm Chapman Tripp, started a 5-year term as a member of the Securities Commission on 1 January.

Mr Holland is a corporate & commercial law specialist with particular interest in securities. He’s been a commercial partner at Chapman Tripp since the firm established its Christchurch office in 1997.

His current practice involves advising many leading South Island corporates on corporate governance & securities law issues. He has previous governance experience as a board member of Chapman Tripp, a director of Kathmandu Group Ltd and chairman of Securitised Equipment Holdings Ltd & Securitised Equipment Receivables Ltd.

Mr Holland replaces Lloyd Kavanagh, who resigned effective 31 December as he’s now based in New York.

Valuers Registration Board members reappointed

Land Information Minister David Parker reappointed 3 members of the Valuers Registration Board from 1 December – deputy chairman Evan Gamby & James Puketapu, of Auckland, & Bethia Gibson, of Wellington.

Mr Gamby is a director of Telfer Young (Auckland) Ltd and an adjunct professor at the Massey University College of Business’ finance, banking & property department at Albany, and was made a life member of both the Institute of Valuers & Property Institute last February.

Mr Puketapu is The Property Group Ltd’s sector manager dealing with local bodies.

Ms Gibson, Deputy Commissioner of the State Services Commission, was general manager of QV Valuations, corporate services branch manager for the State Services Commission, and involved in creating a viable Crown-owned company from Valuation NZ in 1997 and in establishing Quotable Value Ltd.

The board maintains a register of qualified valuers and has certain disciplinary powers over their conduct.

Mr Gamby and another board member appointed in 2005 were nominated by the NZ Institute of Valuers. The board’s fifth member, Valuer-general Neill Sullivan, of Wellington, is ex-officio chairman.

Royston chief takes over at Wakefield

Wakefield Health Ltd chief executive Richard Barnes has resigned, effective 31 March. Chief operating officer Andrew Blair, who was previously chief executive of merger partner Royston Hospital Ltd for 10 years, will take over as Wakefield chief executive.

Wakefield chairman John Calder said Mr Barnes had foreshadowed his intention to retire some time ago, enabling a smooth transition after his 17 years at the company, which has grown from a small private hospital to a $100 million listed company.

Mr Blair was president of the Private Hospitals' Association for 6 years remains on its executive committee.

Podmore executive chairman at St Laurence P&F after Mallon quits for Allied Farmers job

St Laurence Property & Finance Ltd has named Kevin Podmore as executive chairman following the resignation of chief executive John Mallon, who finished on Friday 22 December. Mr Podmore is currently chairman of St Laurence Property & Finance, and managing director of its manager, St Laurence Ltd, which also manages The National Property Trust.

Mallon to head Allied Prime Finance, Giesbers becomes Allied Farmers’ group CFO

Allied Farmers Ltd has appointed Mr Mallon as chief executive of its subsidiary, Allied Prime Finance Ltd. Before St Laurence, Mr Mallon, a chartered accountant, held management roles at Perpetual Trust Ltd & BNZ Finance Ltd. He starts at Allied Prime Finance on Monday 15 January.

Allied Prime’s chief financial officer, William Giesbers, has been appointed group chief financial officer at parent company Allied Farmers Ltd. Mr Giesbers was previously at Tower Ltd, Contact Energy & Westpac Banking Corp.

4 January 2007:

Keenan replaces Stiassny as chairman of Metrowater

Auckland City Council named Ross Keenan on 22 December to replace Michael Stiassny as chairman of Metro Water Ltd. Mr Keenan resigned as a director of Watercare Services Ltd to take up the Metrowater position.

Mr Keenan is deputy chairman of the 3 district health boards in the Auckland region, chairman of Cabletalk Group Ltd & Allied Work Force Group Ltd and a director of Ngai Tahu Holdings Corp Ltd.

He starts his new role on Monday 8 January. Mr Stiassny resigned on 8 November after 8 years chairing Metrowater. There was more attention pre-Christmas on his role as chairman of power company Vector Ltd, where 3 directors – Tony Gibbs, John Goulter & Greg Muir – resigned on 13 December in protest at his leadership.

Metrowater was established in 1997. It’s a council-controlled organisation, 100% owned by Auckland City Council.

Got an appointment you want the world to know about? Hit this email tab - bobdey@propbd.co.nz.

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