The KNZ Board is made up of six members.
Three of the Directors are grower elected, and the other three, including the Chair, are appointed by the responsible Minister, currently the Minister of Agriculture.
They all serve a three year term, with a maximum of three terms a Director can serve.
Chair
Samantha Sharif is a Professional Director with extensive global leadership experience in infrastructure, resources, safety critical industries, as well as investment and capital markets. Ms Sharif is an experienced Board and Board Committee Chair, and a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Directors.
Samantha has experience as a CEO and has also practised as a senior commercial lawyer, with post-graduate legal and finance qualifications.
Current governance roles include:
New Talisman Gold Mines Ltd (ASX/NZX) - Independent Chair
SIL/MFL Mutual Funds – Director
Edison Consulting Group - Director
Auto Stewardship New Zealand - Director
Samantha lives on a rural lifestyle block and enjoys supporting and learning from New Zealand's world leading farming communities.
Grower Elected Director
Colin Olesen has been involved in the kiwifruit industry for 21 years as a grower and has represented Trevelyan Growers Ltd as a Director for 12 years and Chairperson for the last 9 years. In October 2018 he became a Director of Kiwifruit New Zealand and in 2019 was appointed to chair the Audit and Assurance sub-committee.
Colin is a Chartered Accountant and is actively involved in his local community particularly through his Church and Rotary, where he has previously been District Governor.
He was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1985 and has been awarded a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow for community service. In 2020 Colin was awarded Fellowship of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand for his contribution to the Accounting profession and his community.
Colin enjoys his armchair rugby referee's role, along with his grand parenting duties where his love of song comes in handy.
Government Appointed Director
Sarah Paterson is a consultant based in Wellington, focusing on trade and primary sector policy, strategy and collaboration.
She has worked on trade and primary sector issues for almost 20 years, initially with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Since then, Sarah has been the Trade Policy Manager for Meat & Wool New Zealand and headed up Fonterra's global Trade and Policy teams.
Sarah is currently a Director of the New Zealand Meat Board, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, and Landcorp Farming Limited - Pāmu, the Chair of Inter-weave Limited, a member of the New Zealand Army Leadership Board and a Trustee of the Who Did You Help Today charitable trust.
Sarah has an LLB/BA (Hons) from the University of Otago.
Government Appointed Director
Jacqui Caine (Ngāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha) is the Group Head Strategy & Environment at Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. The role is charged with protecting and advancing the Ngāi Tahu settlements, engaging with the Crown across a range of kaupapa and protecting te taiao. Jacqui leads Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu stakeholder engagement, strategic relationship development and the alignment of strategic workstreams, and manages the Te Whakaariki/Strategy & Influence and Te Ao Tūroa teams.
Jacqui has 25 years of experience at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and was New Zealand’s Ambassador to Chile, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia, from 2015 to 2018. Her roles in the Ministry including in trade negotiations, as Deputy Director of the Legal Division and Lead Adviser in the Americas Division. She served as the Deputy Ambassador in both Singapore and Mexico and as Deputy High Commissioner in Vanuatu.
In 2019 Jacqui was appointed as one of the two Commissioners to lead the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Christchurch Mosque Attacks on 15 March 2019. She served alongside Supreme Court Justice Sir William Young until the conclusion of the Royal Commission in November 2020. Jacqui is also a Trustee of Te Rūnaka o Awarua.
Grower Elected Director
Neil comes from a science background having graduated with an MSc in chemistry and for the following 20+ years, he worked in a variety of technical roles in the rubber and plastics industry.
Neil moved to the Bay of Plenty becoming a full-time kiwifruit grower in 1998, having bought into his first orchard a couple of years previously. Growing kiwifruit (both organic and conventional, Hayward and G3) is his main source of income.
From 2003 to 2015, Neil served on NZKGI and a number of industry bodies and grower entities. He was Vice President, and then President, of NZKGI during that time.
Neil joined the KNZ Board as a grower elected member, in December 2023.
Grower Elected Director
Debbie lives in Te Puke on her family-owned Hayward Organic orchard. She is also a shareholder and director of a Gold Conventional investment orchard.
She served as Head of Supply at Trevelyan Pack and Cool for over two decades. A key component of the role was contributing to tactical and seasonal decisions as a member of the Industry Supply Group (ISG) and the annual negotiation of commercial contracts and agreements.
Debbie has actively participated in several industry groups and sub-groups; these included serving as a forum member for NZ Kiwifruit Grower (NZKGI) where she represented growers on Kiwifruit Product Group to Australia (KPG) and the Organic Management Committee (OMC). Previously she spent 8 years as a member of the NZKGI executive and is a member and the past chairperson of the Women in Kiwifruit Charitable Trust.
Her interests outside of work include spending time with family and friends and keeping fit by walking, climbing the Mount and the Papamoa hills as well as regular Pilates and gym sessions.
She prides herself on being organised, efficient, and an effective communicator. Being hugely passionate about the Kiwifruit Industry she’s focussed on ensuring it remains highly successful and delivers excellent sustainable results for growers.
