100 People Behind Bay Business - 2023
100 People Behind Bay Business profiles Bay businesses in an intelligent, insightful and inspiring way so readers can learn more about them, their expertise, experience, offering and their business.
100 People Behind Bay Business profiles Bay businesses in an intelligent, insightful and inspiring way so readers can learn more about them, their expertise, experience, offering and their business.
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BUSINESS MEMBER ORGANISATIONS | PEOPLE<br />
ANDREW WATSON<br />
gM, eastern bay chamber of commerce<br />
The Eastern <strong>Bay</strong> Chamber<br />
of Commerce provides local<br />
businesses with the support,<br />
advocacy and opportunities they<br />
need to thrive.<br />
Based in Whakatāne but<br />
serving the entire region, we<br />
are a small but enthusiastic<br />
team, committed to helping<br />
our member businesses to<br />
grow, benefitting the entire<br />
community. Andrew Watson is<br />
the General Manager and has been leading the team since<br />
mid-2022 but has been a member since arriving in the region<br />
several years ago.<br />
Andrew brings to the Chamber a strong background<br />
leading IT service teams having led IT support businesses<br />
within Fujitsu, Unisys, and AT&T as well as eight years as the IT<br />
Operations Manager for a NZ based Insurance Company. More<br />
recently, he was the Manager, Driver and Operator Training for<br />
Toi EDA, the Eastern <strong>Bay</strong> of Plenty Economic Development<br />
Agency, where his role was to promote driver training and<br />
support locals into sustainable employment within our region.<br />
It is this passion for helping others that has led to Andrew<br />
taking on the role within the Chamber.<br />
www.ebopchamber.co.nz<br />
KIRSTEN PATTERSON<br />
chief executive, institute of Directors in NZ<br />
Kirsten leads New Zealand’s<br />
professional body for governance,<br />
the Institute of Directors (IoD).<br />
The IoD is at the heart of New<br />
Zealand’s governance community.<br />
It supports directors to add value<br />
to their organisations and wider<br />
communities, and prepares them<br />
to positively transform the future.<br />
She is a qualified lawyer, a<br />
Chartered Member of the IoD<br />
and a Distinguished Fellow of the<br />
Human Resources Institute of New Zealand.<br />
Her governance roles include:<br />
• co-deputy Chair, Global Network of Directors Institutes (GNDI)<br />
• chair, Brian Picot Ethical Leadership advisory board<br />
• trustee, Voices of Hope<br />
• board member, XRAP Advisory Panel, External Reporting<br />
Board (XRB)<br />
• ambassador, Wellington Homeless Women’s Trust.<br />
A strong advocate of diversity, Kirsten was a founding<br />
member of Global Women’s “Champions for Change”, a group of<br />
senior executives and directors who commit to diversity in the<br />
workplace, and a founding member of WiSPA, an organisation<br />
promoting women in sport.<br />
www.iod.org.nz<br />
JOANNA HALL<br />
senior policy advisor, ema<br />
A Tauranga local, I’ve been based<br />
here working for the EMA for<br />
over five years. I first headed up<br />
ExportNZ, then worked as BOP<br />
Regional Manager, and I now work<br />
in our policy team where we look<br />
at issues affecting businesses<br />
in the <strong>Bay</strong> and the wider EMA<br />
region.<br />
For many local businesses,<br />
their productivity has been<br />
hugely impacted by the current<br />
skills and talent shortages.<br />
We launched a Skills Shortage Survey in partnership with<br />
Malcolm Pacific Immigration to begin <strong>2023</strong>. The survey data<br />
provided us with fantastic insights into how businesses in<br />
the region are looking to solve their skills gaps, whether it<br />
be through upskilling current staff, utilising immigration, or<br />
considering new talent pipelines e.g., youth engagement or<br />
apprentices.<br />
The data from our survey along with your feedback will<br />
enable us to continue shaping our policy positions and allow<br />
us to advocate for change on your behalf with Government.<br />
Please get in touch if you’d like to see how the EMA can<br />
support your business.<br />
www.ema.co.nz<br />
BRYCE HEARD<br />
ceo, rotorua business chamber<br />
During the 1980s through to<br />
2005, Bryce was well known as<br />
a forest industry leader. He held<br />
positions as chief executive of<br />
Tasman Forestry and Forest<br />
Research (now Scion) during<br />
these years. He also presided<br />
over the NZ Forest Owners<br />
Association for several years in<br />
the 1990’s.<br />
Throughout the whole time<br />
Bryce has been an active farmer<br />
running stud deer for 30 years. In 2017 he and wife Karen<br />
converted to stud Herefords which they still farm.<br />
These days Bryce runs the Rotorua Chamber of Commerce<br />
and says he is happy to “give a bit back” to the city that he has<br />
called home for almost 40 years.<br />
He is passionate about Rotorua and passionate about<br />
business. Bryce says “nothing gives me more pleasure than<br />
see courageous and entrepreneurial people starting up their<br />
own businesses.<br />
As far as the chamber is concerned, we do not have<br />
competitors – only partners and potential partners. There is<br />
more than enough work for everyone.<br />
www.rotoruachamber.co.nz<br />
16 | <strong>100</strong> – PEOPLE BEHIND BAY BUSINESS | <strong>2023</strong>
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