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John Bedkober
International Market Manager, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau
John is NZTE’s International Market Manager with responsibility for Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, as well as the New Zealand Focus centre in Hong Kong and NZTE’s business centre, New Zealand Central, in Shanghai.
John is also NZTE’s representative on the executive committee of the New Zealand-Hong Kong Business Association.
John joined one of NZTE’s predecessor organisations, Trade New Zealand, where he worked in a variety of areas in trade promotion and market development. He has 15 years of posting and assignment experience in Japan, the Philippines, Iran, Indonesia and Taiwan.
Before his current role, John was involved in account management, mainly in the wood, building and interiors sector and the services sector.
John is based in Auckland.
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Peter Hobbs
International Market Manager, Australia and the Pacific
Peter is NZTE’s International Market Manager for Australia and the Pacific.
Peter joined the public sector in 1996 after a long career in international sales and market development for the New Zealand Dairy Industry. This saw him live and work in many regions internationally including the Pacific, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South America.
Peter was NZTE’s East Coast Regional Manager from 1996 to 2001, based in Napier, working mainly with companies new to exporting. In 2002 Peter was appointed as the Trade Commissioner to India based in New Delhi. Upon his return from India in 2005 he became the International Market Manager for Australia and the Pacific.
Peter is based in Wellington.
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Prashant Kumar
International Market Manager, North East Asia
Prashant is the New Zealand based representative for NZTE teams based in Japan and Korea. He is also NZTE’s representative on the Japan New Zealand Business Council and Korean New Zealand Business Council.
Before taking on this role, Prashant was seconded to Auckland, Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) for the Rugby World Cup 2011 project.
Prior to NZTE, Prashant worked at Deloitte as part of Business and Technology consulting practice where he was involved in consulting engagements across the corporate and public sectors in New Zealand.
He holds a Bachelor of Engineer (Hons.) degree from University of Auckland.
Prashant is based in Auckland.
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Rhianon Berry
International Market Manager - South America, Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Rhianon is the New Zealand based representative for NZTE teams based in Santiago, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, and jointly with colleague Kari White for London, Hamburg, Paris, Madrid, Dubai, Milan, Ankara and Karachi. She is also NZTE’s representative on the Latin America New Zealand Business Council and the New Zealand Middle East Business Council.
Before taking on this role, Rhianon was Business Development Manager in NZTE’s Santiago office for five years working with companies whose strategy was to engage more effectively in South American value chains. She has also held various project management roles within NZTE.
Prior to joining NZTE in 2003 Rhianon’s professional, educational and personal experiences span 17 countries, primarily in Asia, Latin America and Oceania. She has a Bachelor of Arts (Geography and Spanish) Degree from the University of Auckland and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Business (International Marketing) from Auckland University of Technology. She is fluent in Spanish and speaks conversational Japanese.
Rhianon is based in Auckland.
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Jane Liu
International Market Manager, China
Based in Auckland, Jane is NZTE’s International Market Manager responsible for China. She has recently returned to New Zealand after spending most of 2010 based in NZTE’s office in Shanghai working on business leveraging activity for the Shanghai World Expo.
With her ethnic Chinese background she is well versed in general business etiquette while dealing with China, as well as having an in depth knowledge about the inside workings of Chinese companies, business practices and cultural differences of the two countries.
Jane has extensive knowledge and experience on working with New Zealand companies expanding their business to China, and has been heavily involved in a number of key NZTE projects in China including New Zealand Central and Shanghai World Expo.
Jane joined NZTE’s predecessor organisation Trade New Zealand in 1995 in Shanghai, and has since held a number of roles in Auckland, Wellington and Shanghai. She has an MBA from the University of Leicester in the UK.
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Brendan Mahar
International Market Manager, Americas
Brendan is the New Zealand based representative for the NZTE Americas region, specifically North America and Central America. He works closely with his colleagues in the NZTE offices in Mexico, Canada and the USA. His colleague, Rhianon Berry, is the lead NZTE representative for South America.
He has experience with various roles at NZTE, such as, working with NZ export companies as a business development manager in the NZTE office in Chile, working with companies to prepare for and raise capital for business growth, and managing NZTE outsourced business development programmes.
Prior to joining NZTE in 2006 Brendan has lived and worked in United States, Ireland and Argentina. He has worked in medical research at the University of Otago medical school. He has a Graduate qualification in International Trade, and also has a double degree BSc Physiology and BPhEd (Hons) Biomechanics from the University of Otago.
Brendan is based in Wellington.
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Don Rae
International Market Manager, India
Don is NZTE’s International Market Manager for India. He took up the position in 2007 and has since focused solely on India, becoming NZTE’s representative on the India New Zealand Business Council. He joined NZTE in 2005 as ICT Sector Manager.
Don’s background is in the technology sector. He was Internet Development Manager for Tait Electronics and has also held several roles at Jade Software Corporation in marketing, internet, multimedia and technical writing.
Don has had a long involvement with the New Zealand Hi-Tech Awards, as judge (1997-present), a member of organising committees (2004-05 and 2007), and trustee of the governing body (NZHTA) 2007-08.
Since 2007 he has helped judge the Australian Consensus Software Awards (2007-present).
Don is a former Executive Board member of Canterbury Software Inc. and former Trustee of South New Brighton School (1997-2005).
Don is based in Christchurch.
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Claire Richardson
International Market Manager, Southeast Asia
Claire is the New Zealand based representative for NZTE teams based in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, and Vietnam.
Before taking on this role, Claire was Programme Manager for NZTE’s Rugby World Cup 2011 business leveraging activities, which involved leveraging the presence of senior business people visiting New Zealand for the tournament to create new international connections – and as a result new growth opportunities - for New Zealand companies. Prior to this she held the Manager Planning and Reporting role in NZTE, leading the team responsible for the organization’s business planning, accountability reporting, and risk management.
Prior to joining NZTE in 2007, Claire worked in senior advisor roles in central government in New Zealand and worked in the private sector in the United Kingdom.
Claire is based in Wellington.
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Kari White
International Market Manager, Europe, the Middle East and Africa
Kari is the International Market Manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa. She joined NZTE in November 2003 and was previously the International Market Manager for the Americas.
Before joining NZTE, she lived and worked in the US for 13 years and developed an extensive overview of the US market and local networks.
While in the US, Kari worked in public relations at the New Zealand Embassy in Washington DC, and as a business development manager at the Australian Trade Commission in Los Angeles.
Kari is based in Christchurch.
