Two significant changes have this week occurred to the way in which the Invercargill City Council appoints directors to Invercargill City Holdings Limited (Holdco) and its subsidiaries.
Council Chief Executive Clare Hadley said Council, in July, resolved that the Director Appointments Panel, which recommends candidates to council-controlled companies, should be independent, without any political representation.
The panel comprises: Mike Stenhouse of Sheffield, recruitment consultant and member of the Institute of Directors; Tim Loan, Acting Chairman of Holdco; and Kathryn Ball on behalf of the Institute of Directors.
In August, when further considering the Appointment and Remuneration of Directors Policy, Council agreed best practice was to recognise a maximum term that directors could serve, in all but exceptional cases. It also resolved that Council should have a role in recommending directors for appointment to Holdco.
Sheffield was contracted to run the recruitment process and interviews were conducted by the independent panel. Twenty people applied for directorships of Holdco and 31 people for the subsidiaries. Ten people were interviewed, some for more than one entity.
Council considered the Panel’s recommendations at extraordinary meetings held on 24 and 30 October and appointed Brian Wood, of Christchurch, as a Director of Holdco.
Council also resolved to appoint a third independent director to Holdco, thereby increasing the number of directors to six. The Directors Appointment Panel has been asked to report back to Council with its recommendation as to this third independent director.
Council has this week also made recommendations to Holdco on four directors for subsidiary companies. They are Mel Montgomery, Rebecca Keoghan, Tommy Foggo and Jason Franklin.
Mrs Hadley said in considering the applications the panel looked for people with the required skills and, where possible, a connection to Southland.
Details of appointees
Brian Wood has been appointed to Invercargill City Holdings Limited. Mr Wood is a former Managing Director, Asia Pacific, responsible for the overall leadership of MWH in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, China, Taiwan, Vietnam and Brunei with a total revenue in excess of US$120 million.
Since stepping down from MWH, Mr Wood is now concentrating on external directorships and consulting assignments for a small number of clients.
He was a Director of Dunedin City Holdings from 2013 to 2017, is a current Director of the Lyttleton Port Company, and chairs groups relating to the Rebuild of Transport Links Picton to Christchurch, the Christchurch Town Hall Rebuild, among a raft of responsibilities and directorships.
Mel (Melanie) Montgomery, of Winton, is reappointed as a Director on Invercargill City Forests Board. She has served as a Director on Invercargill City Forests Limited since 2015.
Rebecca Keoghan is appointed as a Director on Invercargill City Forests Board. She is a Director of Westland Milk Products and has previously served as a director for a number of companies, including Buller Holdings Limited, Westport Harbour Limited and Buller Recreation Limited.
Tommy Foggo is reappointed as a Director on the Invercargill Airport Limited Board (IAL). He first served as a Director on IAL in 2006 and has been the Chairman since 2016. Mr Foggo has held senior management positions at Sanford Limited and from 2017 has become a professional director.
Jason Franklin is appointed as a Director on the Invercargill Airport Limited Board. He is the Chief Executive of PowerNet Limited and a former Commercial Manager of New Zealand Aluminium Smelters.
