New Directors For Great South – Southland’s Regional Development Agency
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Four new directors are set to join Great South, Southland’s Regional Development Agency, and help lead the region’s recovery and future growth.
Peter Heenan, Rachel Lindsay, Jeff Grant and Jason Franklin have been appointed and will begin their roles as directors at the upcoming AGM for the organisation, being held on Monday 28 September.
Southland District Council Mayor Gary Tong, Chair of the Joint Shareholders Committee (a committee of the Southland Regional Development Agency shareholders) welcomed the new appointments to the Board and said that he and the other shareholders were looking forward to seeing Great South build on the successes of its first year of operations.
“With Great South committed to leading the development of a more connected, contemporary and competitive Southland region, the calibre of these appointments will be instrumental in guiding the organisation to achieve both its long and short-term goals,” he said.
Great South Chair Ian Collier said he was delighted with the appointments that had been made and was looking forward to working with Jason, Jeff, Peter and Rachel along with existing board members Lucy Griffiths and Maria Pera to build on a strong foundation and help drive and support the region’s recovery and future development.
The new appointments have been made as a result Joc O’Donnell resigning in August to concentrate on her own business in response to COVID-19, Dean Addie stepping down as part of the constitution and due to the recruiting process that was already underway to fill the remaining two vacancies on the board.
Mayor Tong said both Joc and Dean had played a significant role in the coordination and implementation of the Southland Regional Development Agency and their input and expertise had been greatly valued.
About the new directors:
Jason Franklin
Chief Executive for PowerNet Limited, Jason has over 20 years’ experience in long term infrastructure industries. Prior to joining PowerNet in 2012 as Chief Executive, Jason worked in a variety of senior roles for Rio Tinto and the Electricity Corporation of New Zealand (ECNZ) and held a number of industry positions including, board member of the Major Electricity Users Group and a member of the Wholesale Advisory Group for the New Zealand Electricity Authority. Currently he is a Director of SmartCo Limited, and Invercargill Airport.
Jeff Grant
A member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors, Jeff has been in governance roles fulltime for 24 years. This includes holding directorships in two family companies – DNG Holdings and Lakeland Adventures Wanaka – and previously being a Director for SBS Bank, Finance Now, PF2050, Southern Institute of Technology and previous Chairman of Mt Linton Station, OSPRI Ltd, AgResearch and Milford Sound Tourism. In July 2018 Jeff was seconded to the New Zealand meat industry for two years and was based at NZ House in London to oversee Brexit EU28 and UK Free trade Agreement process on behalf of NZ Red Meat Industry.
Peter Heenan
Executive Director of Finance for H W Richardson Group Limited, Peter is a Fellow Chartered Accountant and a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors. With extensive financial management experience, Peter is a director on several HWR Joint Venture Companies, the trustee-treasurer for the Hospice Southland Charitable Trust and previously held positions on the Southland Boys High School Board or Trustees and as a director of Netball Southland and Southern TeamCo Limited.
Rachel Lindsay
A Partner at AWS Legal, Rachel is an experienced commercial and corporate lawyer with a background in civil litigation. Having graduated from the Institute of Directors governance development program held in Invercargill, she is now an Associate Member of the NZ Institute of Directors, and serves on the board of directors of Tuatapere Hump Track Limited, is a board member for AWS Legal and is Deputy Convenor of the Southland Standards Committee.