TIA Board of Directors

Chair

Dame Kerry Prendergast

Dame Kerry is a Director of Oceania Healthcare, Fish Serve and a Trustee of both the Wellington International Arts Foundation and the New Zealand Community Trust.

She is the Chair of Wellington Free Ambulance, Wellington Opera, the Royal New Zealand Ballet and the Victoria Foundation.

She formerly chaired Tourism New Zealand, the New Zealand Film Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency and the New Zealand
Festival.

In January 2019 she became a Dame Companion (DNZM) for services to governance and the community, after being awarded a CNZM in 2011 for her services to local government.

In July 2016 she was awarded a Lifetime Excellence Award for Outstanding
Contribution to Local Government.

Holiday Parks, Motels & Other Accommodation

Deryck Shaw

Director, Holiday Parks New Zealand (HPNZ)

Deryck brings extensive skills, experience and a long-term commitment to the NZ tourism industry. Currently he is Chair of Te Puia, director of Waitangi Ltd, Waimangu Volcanic Valley and NZ Holiday Parks Association.

As the owner and operator of five holiday parks, he understands the pressures that businesses currently face and future opportunities for them.

Deryck’s governance experience includes current and former roles in education, health, forestry, wood processing, sports, community and disabilities. He has also mentored many people in governance and business.

He is a keen supporter of sustainability as one of the founders of the Rotorua Sustainable Charter over 25 years ago and understands the importance of community in tourism through his role as a volunteer organiser of the Rotorua Walking Festival for over 30 years.

Co-opted Director

Reuben Levermore

Head of Tourism and Regional Affairs, Air New Zealand

Reuben Levermore is Head of Tourism and Regional Affairs at Air New Zealand. Prior to joining Air New Zealand, Reuben was Director of Communications at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade and served as New Zealand Ambassador to the Philippines and as Ambassador to Thailand, Cambodia and Lao PDR. He has also worked in international trade negotiations, and as a financial markets advocate in the City of London.

General Industry Sector

Nicole Botting

Manager - Marketing | Te Koroī - Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu

Nicole has over 10 years’ experience in the tourism sector. She has volunteered her time on the BYATA Board, as a co-opted TEC Board Member, as part of the Tourism Futures Taskforce Advisory Group, and held the position of chair of YoungTEC for two years. She was a 2021 Emerging Leader finalist at the New Zealand Tourism Awards.

Nicole believes clever digital solutions can help shape a more sustainable future for our industry and its people.

General Industry Sector

Anna Black

Executive Director, General Travel

Anna is an executive director of a successful family-run inbound tour operator that has continued to change and adapt over the 50 years they have been in business.

Anna has been in the business for 19 years and served on the TIA Board for 3 years and the TECNZ board for 12 years.

Adventure & Outdoor Sector

Geoff McDonald

Chief Executive, Skyline Enterprises Group

Geoff is currently CEO of the Skyline Enterprises Group which has a range of business interests across tourism, outdoor attractions, and adventure activities in New Zealand and a range of offshore locations including, Canada, Korea, and Singapore and a member of the NZ Institute of Company Directors and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Directors. He has held board and subcommittee chair roles with both the NZ and Australian Medicines industry sector.

Air Transport

Scott Tasker

Chief Customer Officer, Auckland Airport

Scott is on the executive leadership team at Auckland Airport and has been with the company for nine years. Scott is responsible for Auckland Airport’s customer, aeronautical commercial and marketing teams, focusing on customer experience, marketing and sustainably growing airline capacity and network connectivity.

Scott leads Auckland Airport’s engagement with the tourism sector and tourism policy, which included co-chairing the Tourism Sector Group as part of the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum for several years.

Scott has more than 20 years’ experience in the travel industry, both in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, and has held a number of roles in airline sales, marketing and management with Emirates and Lufthansa. Prior to joining Auckland Airport, Scott held leadership positions in the travel insurance industry with Cover-More Travel Insurance and the Healix Assistance Group.

Attractions, Conferences and Events Sector

Callum Mallett

Chief Operating Officer New Zealand, SkyCity

Callum was appointed Chief Operating Officer New Zealand of SkyCity in February 2021 and has operating responsibility for SkyCity’s New Zealand businesses, including the day-to-day operations of SkyCity Auckland.

Callum has significant gaming and hospitality experience having held a number of senior roles at SkyCity since joining in 2009, including as General Manager of SkyCity Darwin, General Manager SkyCity Auckland Hotels, Convention Centre and Sky Tower, and Executive General Manager of Hospitality for SkyCity Auckland.

Prior to joining SkyCity, Callum held numerous senior leadership roles across the hospitality, retail and financial investment sectors. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Victoria University of Wellington, and has completed studies with Cornell University, The London Business School and the University of Nevada.

Culture and Heritage

Jake Downing

Director of Museum and Commercial Services, Te Papa Tongarewa

Since November 2022, Jake has been Director of Museum and Commercial Services at Te Papa Tongarewa. Jake leads the directorate responsible for Venues, Visitor Services, Sales & Commercial Business, Te Papa Stores and Event Operations.

Prior to this Jake was Head of Tourism at Wētā Workshop for eight years, a role which encompassed all aspects of strategy and management: from sales, marketing and product development, through to operational delivery, leading and managing teams.

Jake’s governance experience began in 2007 when he was appointed Director of the Falkland Islands’ Development Corporation, and General Manager of the Tourism Board. Jake has also held governance roles at i-SITE New Zealand, BEIA and recently Tourism Export Council.

Hotels and Lodges Sector

James Doolan

Strategic Director, Hotel Council Aotearoa

James Doolan is strategic director of Hotel Council Aotearoa, an industry body that advocates on behalf of New Zealand hotels and hoteliers. James returned home to New Zealand with his family in December 2018, following 13 years in Hong Kong where his final role was Regional Vice President of Hotel Development for Marriott International.

James was lead executive responsible for securing new hotel franchise and management contracts in Thailand, New Zealand, Australia and the South Pacific for all Marriott International group brands including Bulgari, Ritz-Carlton, W Hotels & Resorts, Marriott, Sheraton, Westin and Courtyard. He also worked on hotel development projects in other Asian locations, including Vietnam, Hong Kong, Korean, Macau and Japan.

Prior to becoming a hospitality industry executive, James practiced as a corporate/commercial lawyer with Norton Rose (Hong Kong) and Bell Gully (Auckland), focusing on off-market mergers & acquisitions and complex contract negotiations.

James holds BCom/LLB degrees from the University of Auckland. He is a member of the Institute of Directors and is actively involved in Auckland’s Ice Angels group, which invests in New Zealand start-ups. James provides strategic advice on hotel development projects through his own consultancy, Fantail Advisory.

Co-Deputy Chair & Land Transport Sector

James Dalglish

Director, GO Rentals

Former president and current council member of the Rental Vehicle Association and Director of GO Rentals, James Dalglish has been a passionate business and tourism leader for over 20 years.

A key focus for James in his role with the RVA has been building a stronger industry through collaboration and promoting a safer driver experience for our international tourists. As a pioneer of the Safer Journeys Tourism Forum, GO Rentals has led by example within the sector to drive awareness of driver safety and promoting industry responsibility as part of the Tiaki promise.

Under James's leadership GO won TIA’s Visitor Experience Tourism Award in 2018 and were back as finalists in 2019, Canstar Awards in 2018 and 2020, involved in the highly regarded ITS Bluetooth Trial and became the first rental car company to achieve Qualmark Gold and be CarboNZero certified.

James is proud to lead a business focused on sustainable growth and innovation through industry leading technology. He is a passionate member of the Icehouse Alumni, an honorary member of Les clefs d’Or New Zealand and rugby continues to be his major love outside of work and family!

Māori representative

John Barrett

Kapiti Island Nature Tours and Nature Lodge

Ngati Raukawa, Te Ati Awa and Ngati Toarangatira

John Barrett is the managing director and founder of Kapiti Island Nature Tours and Nature Lodge, a family operated, multi award-winning tourism business located on one of New Zealand’s premier nature reserves, Kapiti Island. The business is strongly focused on developing whanau (family) hapu and Iwi (tribal group) members into tourism work that is meaningful financially, culturally, environmentally and socially.

He has 40+ years of management and governance experience in a range of private and public organisations and enterprises.

Not surprisingly, John’s interests (when time away from whānau and the whānau business permits) are: nature based tourism, Māori and international indigenous tourism development, local/regional economic development, indigenous higher education and conservation practice and education.

Regional Tourism Organisations Sector

David Perks

Chair, Regional Tourism New Zealand

Mobile: 027 530 4947

Email: david@rtnz.org.nz

In over 25 years in New Zealand’s tourism industry David has enjoyed a variety of corporate, public sector, and governance roles.

David's career experience is founded in the hotel and tourism sector having spent a decade with Millennium Hotels. Managing the Copthorne Hotel at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands, David led the redevelopment of the hotel and the significant expansion of its conference and banqueting capacity and business.

In 2008 David took on the leadership of Positively Wellington Tourism as the city capitalized on being named #4 city in the world by Lonely Planet, hosting Rugby World Cup and his team’s establishment of Visa Wellington On A Plate and Beervana.

Since then, David has continued to lead in Wellington, having been General Manager of Venues Wellington, led the business, tourism and screen activities of WellingtonNZ as General Manager Regional Development, and most recently David has and continues to lead, for Wellington City Council, the commercial development of and around the newly opened Tākina, Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre.

As Chair of Regional Tourism New Zealand, David leads the representation of local government interests in all aspects of the visitor sector to government, its agencies, and the industry.

David is also a Board Member of Business Events Industry Aotearoa, Chair of the Wellington Cable Car Company, and holds several other appointed governance roles in tourism sector organisations.

Co-deputy Chair & Tourism Services and Services to Tourism

Kristin Dunne

Director of Destination Strategy, Miles Partnership

Until July 2021, Kristin was Chief Executive of a regional Destination Management & Marketing Organisation and has first-hand experience in leading, transforming and marketing a destination. She is an experienced tourism practitioner with strengths in destination strategy, regeneration, community engagement, indigenous partnerships, crisis management and insight-led destination marketing.

Kristin is a certified company director. She is a strategic and critical thinker, thought leader, robust decision maker, and influential communicator with strong sector relationships across Aotearoa and internationally.

Tourism New Zealand Representative

René de Monchy

Chief Executive, Tourism New Zealand

René de Monchy joined Tourism New Zealand in August 2015 bringing 20 years' global experience in consumer-led businesses including local and international marketing roles for Fonterra and Heineken and Asia Pacific Breweries in Singapore.

René was appointed Chief Executive of Tourism New Zealand in April 2021. Before this, René was Tourism New Zealand's Director Commercial. In this role René led a team across 15 offices in 14 countries responsible for identifying key markets and audiences to target for travel to New Zealand. René also led the development of Tourism New Zealand's Aviation Strategy to guide partnerships with international airlines including establishing Memorandum of Understandings with major airlines including Air New Zealand.

Water Transport & Cruise Sector

Hannah Ballantyne

Chief Financial Officer, RealNZ

Hannah Ballantyne joined RealNZ in 2016 and was appointed into the CFO role in 2017. RealNZ operates tourism experiences in Fiordland, Rakiura and Queenstown as well as Ski operations at Cardrona and Treble Cone.

Hannah has led various operational and commercial functions at RealNZ including finance, legal, logistics, asset management, maritime operations, technology and procurement.

Prior to RealNZ, Hannah spent 10 years abroad in Australia and London in senior finance roles with global consumer brands Apple and Burberry as well as two years with Heathrow Airport.

Hannah holds a BCom (hons) and a BA from the University of Otago, is a qualified chartered accountant with CAANZ and is a member of the Institute of Directors.