Lisa Gunnery
Southern Cross Medical Care Society’s not-for-profit status was strong drawcard when Lisa Gunnery, it’s new COO insurance operations, was looking for new role. “It’s great to know,” she says, “that whatever you do to contribute to the performance of the business, it flows back to members by way of better benefits or more affordable access to healthcare or maintaining reserves.”
For her part, her strong global, regional and local experience in the health insurance industry made her natural fit for the organisation. Most recently general manager health insurance with Sovereign New Zealand, Gunnery has also racked up number of group management roles in Central and Eastern Europe and the Asia-Pacific region for Germany’s Allianz Insurance group.
“There’s no doubt that sustainable access to affordable, quality healthcare is important to New Zealanders, especially with the public sector under lot of pressure,” she says. “We’ve seen spending increase in the public sector, but it gets eaten away by medical inflation – such as higher costs of treatment and more sophisticated technologies – and that makes it hard for any real progress to be made. As result, people are seeing private health care as more and more of necessity so the priority for me and for Southern Cross is to ensure it is sustainable, affordable option and that we offer different choices to members.”
Outside of work, Gunnery may be found on the treadmill before work in the mornings, building up stamina for her next half marathon. She likes to sate her appetite for travel. “And when I can squeeze it in, I enjoy nothing more than relaxing in the sun or in front of roaring fire with good book – on just about any topic.”
Brent Wheeler
Wheeler, an economist specialising in capital markets and investment banking, has joined The Boardroom Practice as principal. The current chairman of Ferco and former director of Watercare Services, Wheeler chaired the New Zealand Rail Re-structuring Committee and the Fisheries Legislation Review Group.
Graeme Boyd, Anne Urlwin
Boyd, the chief executive of Comvita, has joined the board of Landcare Research as director. He replaces Marlborough businessman Julian Raine, whose term has ended. Boyd currently serves on the boards of the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic and Extracts New Zealand. Urlwin, company director and chartered accountant succeeds Raine as deputy chair.
Tony Hooper
Hooper, senior lecturer and researcher at Victoria University of Wellington, is now director of professional programmes for the university’s School of Information Management. Hooper has been programme director of Victoria’s Master of Information Management since 2002 and prior to that was senior lecturer in information systems and electronic commerce at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
John Pye
Pye has been promoted to general manager of Finzsoft Solutions (NZ), an Auckland-based software developer. He was most recently the company’s development manager.
John McCarthy
McCarthy has joined McCann Erickson as general manager. Well known as the founder of agency McCarthy Moon, he has, since 2001, worked as consultant and been involved with the set up of digital POS company Open Eye Displays.
Darnell Dixon
Mobile marketing company The Hyperfactory has promoted Dixon to New Zealand general manager. Prior to 2003, when she joined the company as business development manager, Dixon worked for Trantex Agencies and Clear Communications.
Craig Haughey, Graeme Sutherland
Aventine, the administration manager for the SuperLife range of financial solutions, has appointed two new consultants. Haughey’s focus will be the lower North Island, Sutherland’s the South Island.
Will Charles
Charles, most recently with Novartis Korea as business unit head, primary care and previously with Novartis New Zealand, is now general manager technology development at Auckland UniServices, the commercialisation company of the University of Auckland.
Gerard Logan, Mark Dow, John Darroch, Phillip Merfield
The board of the Property Institute of New Zealand has appointed Logan, previously vice president, and its new president. Dow is the new southern region director, Darroch the northern region director, and Merfield has been appointed as an independent director.
Steve Hughes, Peter Collins
Masport has appointed Hughes (left) as manufacturing manager, while Collins takes on the newly created position of business development manager. Both appointments are seen as pivotal to ensure the business – now in its 95th year as manufacturer – takes full advantage of its capability and resources.
Graham Turner
Turner, the founder of Flight Centre, has been appointed executive chairman. He succeeds Norman Fussell who retired on his 10th anniversary as chairman of the company’s board.
Lal Meyer
Meyer will be responsible for the day to day management of Nestlé Purina Petcare’s business thoughout New Zealand in his new role as country manager for the company. He has 14 years’ experience in the petcare industry and has previously worked for Nestlé Purina in South Africa.
