Our Board
At the NRDA we are proud of the extraordinary capability of our Board of Directors headed by our Chairperson Meg Matthews. Directors are appointed by Nelson City Council for a term of 1-3 years, to ensure a sensible rotation of directors is established. The board provides a range of business skills and experiences that will provide the widest possible perspective on regional opportunities.
Meg Matthews
Meg is the chair of the Nelson Regional Development Agency and brings with her a wealth of skills and knowledge from previous roles. A former World of WearableArt (WOW) CEO and Head of Marketing – Australasia for Air New Zealand, Meg started her career at the national airline as an accountant in 1996 after beginning her trade with Deloitte. She is a qualified accountant with diverse experience across key business disciplines of finance, human resource management, strategic planning and marketing. Meg is a Director on the boards of Cawthron Institute, MEVO and Halberg Disability Sports Foundation and is also a future Director of Meridian Energy. She is a Consultant for the Nelson Winegrowers Association and a Trustee of Appleby School.
Alan Dunn
Alan is an experienced corporate leader. He was CEO and Chair of McDonald's Restaurants New Zealand before moving to Chicago to become Vice President of Operations. He later became Regional Vice President in the Nordic region and Managing Director of McDonald's Sweden. Alan's professional director career started in 2009 and he is currently on the boards of Z Energy, NZ Post and Burger Fuel. He also serves on the TDC Commercial sub-committee as well as consulting to several small private companies.
Marina Hirst Tristram
Marina is Managing Director at Tasman Bay Food Group, a business that manufactures and markets a wide range of food products both domestically and in export markets. Marina has a background in sales and marketing for Australasian food and beverage businesses and is qualified with EMBA (University of Sydney) and BCom, BPhEd (Otago University). Marina is a chartered member of the Institute of Directors.
Martin Byrne
Martin is the Chief Executive of Port Nelson Limited. Married with three children and a step daughter, Martin is a keen runner, mountain biker, cricketer and golfer.
Jeremy Banks
Jeremy is the founder of Plink Software and his experience includes growing and managing software companies. Currently on the boards of Wakatū Incorporation, Ngāti Rārua Ātiawa Iwi Trust, The Network for Learning, Nelson Giants and Basketball Development Nelson Trust, Jeremy whakapapas into Te Tauihu through Ngāti Rārua, Rangitāne ki Wairau and Ngāti Kuia.
Sarah-Jane Weir
Sarah-Jane is a director of infrastructure providers Nelmac and Network Tasman, a trustee for the Rata Foundation and the Cawthron Trust Board and the local branch chair and national councilor of The Institute of Directors. Her professional career was as a commercial lawyer and partner at Anderson Lloyd. She and her family live close to Nelson City Centre, where they enjoy access to both the cafes and the city, and the tracks and trails around the Grampians, the Maitai and the Centre of New Zealand. Sarah is a supporter of the arts and of course of her children's sports activities.
David Johnston
David is Ngāti Porou and whānau is his foundation. He has extensive experience in leadership and management and has a strong background in banking and operations management. He was runner up in the local 2013 Duncan Cotterill Aspiring Directors award and was selected for the Institute of Directors Mentoring for Diversity Programme for 2015.
David has a history of community involvement in local non for-profit boards including the Nelson Tasman Housing Trust and Nelson Tasman Kindergartens Board.
David is the General Manager for Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Kuia Trust. In his spare time, you can find him on the ocean on board a waka ama.
