Combined Council from 1 January 2012
Roger Sowry, ONZM
Chair Combined Council
Roger Sowry was a Member of Parliament from 1990 to 2005, firstly representing the Kapiti electorate, then as a National list MP. Roger retired from Parliament in 2005 moving to become Chief Executive of Arthritis New Zealand. He is a member of the Electricity Commission and a member of Paraparaumu College Board of Trustees.
Roger is a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Aka Arthur
Aka Arthur, of Ngati Toa, has been a resident of Porirua for over 60 years. He is a kaumatua for the Royal New Zealand Police College (since 2000), a member of the Conservation Board and of the Aratahi (the Maori Regional Representative Group of the Wellington Regional Council) and on the Kaiwhaka Manua for the Department of Courts.
"Hutia te rito o te harakeke kei hea te komako e ko, ki mai ki au, hea te mea nui o te ao, maku e ki atu: He tangata, he tangata, he tangata."
"If you should ask me what is the greatest thing in this world, I will tell you, It is people, it is people, it is people."
Dr Alan Barker
Deputy Chair Combined Council and Deputy Chair of The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand
Dr Alan Barker is a Senior Consultant with MartinJenkins. He has extensive international and domestic experience in public sector reform, strategic planning, organisation review and financial management. Alan has worked for a number of education related institutions such as the TEC, MOE, NZQA, and Tairawhiti Polytechnic, as well as a number of other public sector entities.
Gregory Fortuin
Gregory Fortuin (Porirua) is a company director and Families Commissioner. He is a former Race Relations Conciliator and previously served as a director of New Zealand Post, Kiwi Bank, ACC (Investment Committee Chair), Catalyst Injury Management (Chair) and Industry New Zealand. Gregory came to NZ in 1991 as the Managing Director of National Mutual Corporate Super Services Ltd and was also a Crown-Trustee and the meeting chair of the Crown Forest Rental Trust. He was the Founding Chairman of the Youth Suicide Awareness Trust and served on the Boards of Prison Fellowship New Zealand and Youth for Christ. He is presently the Chair of Streets Ahead 237 in Porirua.
Nancy McIntosh-Ward
Nancy holds an MBA and is a Chartered Accountant. She is the Chief Executive of the Karori Sanctuary Trust and has extensive financial, management, commercial, governance, tertiary education and marketing experience. Nancy is a member of the Institute of Directors.
Peter Preston
Peter has an early background in civil engineering (BE Degree) followed by a strong commercial background including senior management roles in BP NZ Ltd and directorships in related companies. He is a professional company director and a Fellow of both the IOD (Institute of Directors) and the Institution of Professional Engineers of New Zealand.
Vaughan Renner
Vaughan has an MBA, and science and engineering qualifications. He runs his own businesses and has strong commercial, strategic planning and IT skills. Vaughan has a background in governance (currently including; The Employers Chamber of Commerce Central, Business NZ, and Standards New Zealand). He is a member of the Institute of Directors.
Dr Kabini Sanga
Kabini Sanga is an Associate Professor of Education in the Faculty of Education at Victoria University of Wellington. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Sasketchewan, Canada. He did his early university education at the University of South Pacific, Fiji. He has held a number of senior roles in education, including being the Director of the Institute of Education of the University of the South Pacific; the Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Solomon Islands College of Education, and the Chief Education Officer, Solomon Islands Ministry of Education.
Dennis Sharman
Dennis owns and operates Sharman Consulting Limited a consultancy company that delivers comprehensive technology services to small and medium sized businesses. Dennis has just completed his term as Chair of the board of New Zealand Institute of Technologies. Dennis holds a number of Directorships, including government appointments to the Combined Council of Whitireia and WelTec and is also a founding member of the Board of Mana Tiaki.
Suzanne Snively
Suzanne Snively, formerly a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Wellington, is the Managing Director of strategic and economic advice company, MoreMedia Enterprises. Suzanne is appointed to the Health Research Council by the Minister of Health Tony Ryall and Chairs the Agri-women Development Trust and Transparency International. She has been the Chief Judge of the Electra Business Award. Previous directorships included the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. She is a member of the Institute of Directors and the New Zealand Association of Economists. Suzanne was awarded the Fulbright and Reserve Bank scholarships and was honoured by the Queen along with 100 women with a Women's Suffrage medal, and is a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Peter Steel
Peter has an economic and engineering background having worked for over 25 years as a Consulting Engineer, becoming a Principal and Technical Director for Beca. He has strong commercial, governance and management experience from his work activities as well as a period as President of the Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce. He is currently General Manager - Engineering & Standards for the Infrastructure and Engineering division of KiwiRail.
Ron Wilkinson
Ron Wilkinson (Kapiti) is the director of Management Answers, consultants in media and marketing. He has a background in radio and has been active in business and community activities in Kapiti for almost 20 years. In 2008 he was presented with a Civic Award by the Kapiti Coast District Council. In addition, he was awarded a 1990 Medal for services to broadcasting by the Queen, in recognition of his previous work with Radio New Zealand. He is a former New Zealand radio broadcaster of the year. A former board member, fellow and graduate of the New Zealand College of Management, he has designed and led workshops on many topics including management and media and worked extensively in Vietnam, Malaysia, the United States of America, Australia and various countries in the South Pacific.
Combined Council Meeting Dates 2012
- 30 January
- 29 February
- 21 March
- 18 April
- 23 May
- 20 June
- 18 July
- 22 August
- 19 September
- 24 October
- 21 November
- 12 December