Our people
Philip Gregan
Chair, Chief Executive - NZ Winegrowers
Philip Gregan is the Chief Executive Officer of New Zealand Winegrowers Inc, the national industry organisation that represents, researches and promotes the interests of New Zealand grape growers and wine makers. Philip has been with New Zealand Winegrowers and its predecessor, the Wine Institute of New Zealand, since starting as a Research officer in 1983. He has held the role of Chief Executive Officer since 1990.
Philip has a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts (Hons) degrees, majoring in Geography, from the University of Auckland, and has also completed a strategic leadership course at Oxford University in the UK. Philip is married to Robyn McGregor and they live in Auckland with their three daughters.
Catherine Beard
Director of Advocacy - BusinessNZ
Catherine Beard is Director of Advocacy for BusinessNZ, New Zealand’s largest business advocacy network, representing thousands of businesses of all sizes. The BusinessNZ network includes ExportNZ for which Catherine previously served as Executive Director.
Catherine has spent the last 30 years as a lobbyist and advocate for a wide range of industries on a wide range of issues, including climate change issues for the energy intensive sector, the insurance sector and the agricultural sector (dairy focus). Catherine has participated in Prime Minister led trade missions to Indonesia and China and represents BusinessNZ at various international meetings.
Catherine was also a co-founder of a start-up business designing and manufacturing children’s nursery furniture, for which two products won national design awards.
Raewyn Bleakley
Chief Executive - NZ Food and Grocery Council
Raewyn is an experienced and successful senior leader who has worked across and within government for more than 20 years, 6½ of them in chief executive roles at various industry associations.
Before becoming the CE of the New Zealand Food and Grocery Council, she was one of five Deputy Chief Executives at Fire and Emergency NZ for three years, where she was responsible for leading the Office of the Chief Executive. Before that she spent two years as General Manager Governance, Communications and Stakeholders, and three years as Region Director Central New Zealand at Waka Kotahi (NZ Transport Agency).
Executive Director - Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand
Kimberly Crewther
Kimberly Crewther is the Executive Director of the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand (DCANZ), the membership association that represents the common interests of New Zealand dairy manufacturing and exporting companies on matters of public policy, both within New Zealand and internationally.
Kimberly has worked in the New Zealand dairy industry since 2003, including prior roles at both DairyNZ and Fonterra Co-operative Group. She also Chair’s the Biosecurity Business Pledge’s member reference group, and is a member of the New Zealand National Committee for the International Dairy Federation.
Head of Global Public Affairs - Zespri International Ltd
Michael Fox
Michael Fox is Head of Global Public Affairs at Zespri. He leads Zespri’s global public, political and regulatory engagement, advocacy and trade strategy as well as its community investment and tours and events programme. He and his team have responsibility for supporting communities and creating an environment to help the industry to fulfill its growth ambitions through positive engagement and advocacy and building the New Zealand kiwifruit industry’s reputation as one which makes a positive impact on communities and stakeholders around the world. He was formerly Head of Communications and External Relations.
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Michael holds a number of advisory roles including sitting on the New Zealand International Business Forum, the India New Zealand Business Council and Export NZ Advisory Board. Prior to Zespri he advised Prime Ministers Sir John Key and Sir Bill English and Opposition leader Simon Bridges as a Press Secretary and Chief Press Secretary.
Sirma Karapeeva
Chief Executive - Meat Industry Association
Sirma joined the Meat Industry Association (MIA) as Trade and Economic Manager in March 2015 following a career in the public sector during which she developed a deep knowledge of trade policy and significant trade negotiations experience.
Prior to joining MIA Sirma was with the Ministry of Primary Industries’ (MPI) trade policy team, where she was involved in progressing the primary sector interests in the negotiations of goods market access and sanitary and phytosanitary provisions in New Zealand’s free trade agreements. Sirma has also worked with the Ministry of Economic Development (now MBIE) in negotiating and implementing New Zealand’s technical barriers to trade obligations.
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In addition to a long history of negotiating bilateral and pluri-lateral trade agreements, Sirma has represented New Zealand’s interests at a number of international forums including the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).
Non-Executive Chairman - Kraft Heinz ANZ (Heinz Wattie’s NZ)
Mike Pretty
Mike’s career spans over 35 years in the New Zealand food industry after starting in the UK food sector as a graduate at Unigate (St Ivel). In NZ he has held key roles at Heinz Wattie’s NZ including the Managing Director and as the Marketing, Research and Development Director. Prior he was Sales Director and has held export roles.
Before becoming Managing Director, for he was Global VP for Heinz Ketchup and Marketing Capability, with an office at HJ Heinz’ WHQ in Pittsburgh.
Externally, Mike has been on the NZ Food and Grocery Council board since 2017 and is the immediate past Chair, a role he performed for six years. In recent years he has served on the Food & Beverage ITP working group, the Plastic Product Priority Scheme tasked with designing NZ’s extended producer responsibility system to improve recycling levels and to lift plastics circularity, and for the last two years on the Ministerial Manufacturing Productivity Advisory Group.
Katherine Rich
Chief Executive - Business NZ
Katherine Rich is the Chief Executive of BusinessNZ, the peak advocacy organisation for New Zealand business, bringing a wealth of experience from her career in both politics and industry.
She served as a Member of the New Zealand Parliament from 1999 to 2008.
Prior to joining BusinessNZ, Katherine was the Chief Executive of the New Zealand Food and Grocery Council from 2009 to 2023, advocating for the interests of grocery manufacturers and suppliers as well as advocating for trade liberalisation as a member for the APEC Business Council for five years.
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Katherine holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Otago. Her early career included roles in both the public and private sectors.
Katherine continues to be a prominent voice in New Zealand’s business and political spheres and her leadership at BusinessNZ focuses on fostering a thriving business environment and advocating for policies that support economic growth and sustainability.
Geoff Rolleston
Chairman – Māori Kiwifruit Growers Limited
Tēnā koutou,
Ko Geoff Rolleston ahau.
Ko Te Arawa me Mātaatua ngā waka.
No Ngāti Whakaue me Tauranga Moana ahau.
Nā reira, tēnā koutou katoa.
I am the Tauranga Moana regional representative on Māori Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated and currently serve as Chairman of Māori Kiwifruit Growers Limited. As Chair, I lead the governance of our commercial strategy, including a key initiative in partnership with Zespri to explore collaborative marketing opportunities across international markets.
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My professional background spans leadership roles across the manufacturing, construction, farming, and vocational training sectors. Today, I serve as a full-time governor across iwi entities in the Bay of Plenty, with a focus on Māori economic development and intergenerational value creation. Previous governance roles include serving in local government and as Chair of Te Arawa Lakes Trust.
I am honoured to contribute to the New Zealand International Business Forum and to bring a Te
Ao Māori perspective to global trade and business engagement.
Sarah Salmond
Partner - Minter Ellison Rudd Watts
Sarah is a Corporate Partner at Minter Ellison Rudd Watts with more than 25 years’ experience of advising clients on public, regulatory and international trade law matters.
Sarah is a leading provider of public law and regulatory advice across a range of industry sectors, including agriculture and fisheries, food and beverage, transportation, postal and distribution, telecommunications, airports and energy. She also specialises in helping businesses navigate complex regulatory frameworks and the challenges associated with trading goods and services across borders.
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She is recognised as a leading authority on trade law, consistently ranked by international directories, and is the only lawyer from a major New Zealand firm listed for Trade Law in The Best Lawyers™ in New Zealand. She is also ranked by Chambers Asia-Pacific for her expertise in public law and regulatory matters.
General Counsel and General Manager, Risk - Sealord Group Ltd
Tim Silverstone
Tim is Sealord’s General Counsel and General Manager Risk. As part of his role, Tim is the senior legal adviser and company secretary to the Sealord Group. Tim is also responsible for sustainability, corporate communications, government relations and insurance.
Before joining Sealord in 2010, Tim was a lawyer at a number of major law firms, including Russell McVeagh in Auckland and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London. Tim’s practice focused on corporate law, including mergers and acquisitions and securities law.
Alan Thomson
CEO - Beef + Lamb
Alan joined Beef + Lamb as Chief Executive in November 2024, from Hitachi Australia, where he was Director of Agribusiness and was focused on agritech. Originally from New Zealand, he has a lifelong career in, and affinity with, the agricultural sector.
Alan has a strong commercial background and is focused on delivering great outcomes for farmers - seeing them thrive and our sector realise its potential.
General Manager Institutional & Business Banking - Westpac
Reuben Tucker
Reuben Tucker is the General Manager Institutional & Business Banking. In this role, he oversees Westpac New Zealand’s business banking sector – incorporating Institutional; Corporate and Commercial; Agribusiness; and Small Business.
Reuben is a senior banker with broad and deep experience in Institutional Banking having worked for almost 25 years in New Zealand, Australia and the Asia Pacific, in a career that has included financial markets, debt capital markets, relationship management, and transactional banking.
Simon Tucker
Group Director of Global External Affairs - Fonterra
Simon Tucker is Group Director of Global External Affairs at Fonterra. Simon has spent over ten years in the New Zealand dairy industry including in leadership roles at DairyNZ, the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand and with Fonterra Co- operative Group’s US-based business.
During his career, Simon has also spent considerable time working for the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He was the Ministry’s Assistant Secretary based in Auckland, and served as New Zealand High Commissioner (Ambassador) to Canada and was concurrently High Commissioner to Jamaica. Earlier diplomatic assignments included postings as Counsellor and head of the trade team at the New Zealand Embassy in Washington DC and three years at the NZ Embassy in Tehran. He also spent several years working in Parliament as adviser to the Minister for Trade.
Joshua Tan (Alternate Member)
Executive Director - Export NZ/Manufacturing NZ
As Executive Director for Export New Zealand and Manufacturing New Zealand, Josh advocates on a broad range of domestic and international policy issues that impact New Zealand’s exporters and manufacturers.
As part of his role, Josh sits on a number of groups, including the NZ US Council, and the New Zealand International Business Forum.
Before joining BusinessNZ, initially as a Senior Policy Advisor, Josh was the Senior Policy and International Relations Advisor for the Wellington Chamber of Commerce and Business Central. He was also previously the Executive Secretary for the New Zealand-Taiwan Business Council.
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Outside of work, Josh is a member of the Asia New Zealand Foundation Leadership Network and is on the Network‘s Advisory Board. He is also the Deputy NZ Chair for the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum Emerging Leaders Programme.
Josh holds a Bachelor of Arts (International Relations, Asian Studies) and a Bachelor of Commerce (International Business) from Victoria University of Wellington, having graduated in 2017.
Executive Director - New Zealand International Business Forum
Felicity Roxburgh
Felicity Roxburgh is the Executive Director of the New Zealand International Business Forum, where she leads the Forum’s engagement on key trade and economic policy issues and represents the interests of internationally focused businesses in dialogue with government and international partners.
Felicity brings nearly two decades of experience in international trade, foreign policy, and regional engagement, with a strong focus on geopolitics and the Indo-Pacific. She most recently served as New Zealand’s Consul-General in New Caledonia and has held a broad range of roles at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, with postings in Hong Kong, New York, and the Pacific.
Earlier in her career, Felicity served as Director, Business at the Asia New Zealand Foundation, where she led initiatives to strengthen New Zealand’s business and people-to-people links across Asia. She has a master’s in communication studies and a journalism degree.
Engage with Felicity on LinkedIn here.
Associate members
ANZCO Foods Ltd (Peter Conley, CEO)
ASB Bank (Mike Atkins, Head of International Trade)
Auckland Business Chamber (Simon Bridges, CEO)
Fisher and Paykel Healthcare (Marcus Driller, Vice President – Corporate)
Wood Processors and Manufacturers Association (Mark Ross, CEO)
GS1 New Zealand (Peter Stevens, CEO)
Roppongi Holdings (Sir Graeme Harrison, Managing Director)
Silver Fern Farms (Dan Boulton, CEO)