Kris Faafoi
Kris Faafoi joined the Insurance Council of New Zealand Te Kāhua Inihua o Aotearoa (ICNZ) as chief executive in April 2024. He is a former member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister who served in a number of roles, including Minister of Justice, Immigration, Commerce and Consumer Affairs and Broadcasting and Media. Before that, Kris worked as a journalist, including at TVNZ and the BBC.
Jonathan Rowe
Jonathan is the Programme Manager for South Dunedin Future, a joint initiative between the Dunedin City Council and Otago Regional Council to develop a climate change adaptation plan for the low-lying and flood affected South Dunedin. Jonathan has led design and delivery of the programme, navigating council systems to deliver a blend of science, engineering, land use planning, and community engagement work over a five-year period. Jonathan’s background is in sustainable development and prior to joining council, he spent 15 years working in central government, primarily for Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and the New Zealand Aid Programme (NZAID). Jonathan has worked across the Pacific, including diplomatic postings in Cook Islands and Fiji, where he led work in areas of health, education, infrastructure, climate change, and disaster response. He has also had roles in Parliament advising the Minister of Foreign Affairs (2015) and Minister of Climate Change (2019-21).
Allan Leahy
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: The past, the Present and the Future (maybe) of the Water New Zealand – Stormwater Interest Group
Allan is a Civil Engineer by training who has spent his nearly forty-year career operating in the stormwater management practice area. He has worked predominantly in the consulting environment with roles ranging from summer intern to company director, from graduate engineer to national technical specialist.
He has worked within multi-disciplinary consulting, land development consulting and transportation focussed consulting. In each of his roles Allan has applied and grown his stormwater management expertise. This personal growth has occurred in conjunction with the stormwater industry growth and maturing. In his consulting roles he has worked for developers, local and regional councils, transportation agencies, industrial interests and private property owners.
Allan left consulting in 2021 to join the Auckland Council Healthy Waters team. A big change late in his career but actioned to allow him to keep learning. Allan quips that after 35 years in consulting and then 35 years in council he might actually know what he is doing – but don’t hold your breath. 😊
Allan has contributed to the engineering and stormwater industry in a number of ways over his career and acknowledges the support of the various organisations he has worked within and his family (especially his wife) in enabling him to do this.
Examples include:
Stormwater Interest Group / WaterNZ
- Founding committee member of the stormwater interest group
- Stormwater conference committee member for a number of the early WaterNZ stormwater conferences.
- Continued support of the interest group, via conference papers, awards judging, workshops (in and out of conferences), conference attendance and session chairing.
ACE New Zealand
- Area rep for 3 years
- Board member for 3 years
- 21 years on the panel of judges for the Awards of Excellence including five years as convenor of judges
- Contributor to a range of ACE New Zealand projects.
Engineering New Zealand
- Involvement with engineers in schools
- Judge on the New Zealand Engineering Awards (since replaced by the ENVIs)).
- Development and presentation of two one day courses on stormwater management and design (for something like 14 years? And still going).
Other
NGICP
- Technical work supporting the adaptation of the 5 day NGICP (developed by WEF in the USA) course on the maintenance of green infrastructure.
- Lead presenter of the presentation of these courses (pre-Covid).
- Technical lead on converting these courses to on-line learning.
Christ The King School
- Working with CTKS (in particular the teacher) on understanding stormwater impacts and school project development.
Karen Tataiwhetu Vercoe MNZM
Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Makino, Te Arawa
Karen Vercoe is an established Leader, an experienced Governor, Businesswoman and Senior Executive holding roles across numerous sectors including Iwi, Commercial, Government, Sport, and Not for Profit organisations.
A former Black Fern representing NZ in Womens Rugby Karen is passionate about achieving results and building high performing teams.
In 2021 Karen received a Queens Honour, named as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Karen holds a Master of Management degree from the University of Auckland and her hobbies include coaching and mentoring female Rugby players.
Karen lives in her hometown of Rotorua and has two children, Hinemihi (LGBTQ) aged twenty-five and Kahuao (Male) aged twenty-one.
Hon Simon Watts
Minister of Climate Change, Minister for Energy, Minister of Local Government and Minister of Revenue
Simon Watts was elected as the Member of Parliament for North Shore in the 2020 election. He is the Minister of Climate Change, Minister for Energy, Minister of Local Government and Minister of Revenue.
Simon grew up in the Waikato, where his family were farmers and orchardists. He is married, has two sons, and lives on the North Shore with his family.
He studied Accounting and Finance at Waikato University and worked in investment banking in Asia, Europe and the United Kingdom. He has worked for one of the world’s largest investment banks, the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), where he held several management roles during and in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis.
Simon has also completed a Health Sciences degree at Auckland University of Technology. He continues to volunteer with St John as an ambulance officer and is a registered Paramedic alongside his duties as a Member of Parliament.