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Mike Arand
Trade Commissioner, Shanghai
Mike Arand is responsible for NZTE’s activities in Shanghai and the provinces of Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hubei, Sichuan, and Chongqing.
Based in Shanghai, Mike has extensive experience in business development in New Zealand, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the USA.
He was instrumental in moving Pumpkin Patch from an Australasian-based retail and mail order business to a multi-channel business active in over 20 countries.
Mike holds an International Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS) from University of Waikato and a scholarship for postgraduate study from Osaka University of Foreign Languages and Chuo University.
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Liam Corkery
Director, Taiwan
Liam Corkery is the Director of the New Zealand Trade Development Centre (NZTDC) in Taiwan and has been based in Taipei since March 2010.
The NZTDC works with New Zealand companies to help them increase their exports to Taiwan and to develop partnerships with Taiwanese companies. It also works with Taiwanese companies interested in working with or investing in New Zealand.
Liam is originally from Dunedin and has lived and worked in Wellington, New York, Singapore and Mumbai in several different roles for NZTE’s specialist investment unit, Investment New Zealand.
Liam has worked with New Zealand companies from many sectors, and with international companies ranging in size from start-ups to multinationals.
Liam has a triple major Bachelor of Arts in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Victoria University.
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Patrick English
Trade Commissioner and Consul General, Guangzhou
In addition to his consular responsibilities Patrick manages the promotion and facilitation of trade and investment opportunities and relationships in southern China.
Patrick has been involved with international trade for almost 20 years, including having lived and worked in China for over nine years. Patrick previously served as Trade Commissioner in Shanghai and Beijing, and for a short term in Malaysia.
Patrick has a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations and Chinese, and a Masters degree with distinction in International Management and Chinese. He has an extensive understanding of China’s economics, history, culture and business environment.
Recently Patrick was involved with the New Zealand-China FTA negotiations and the development of the market implementation programme of the New Zealand-China FTA agreement. In the wider China team, Patrick has responsibility for the ICT and specialised manufacturing sectors.
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Kevin Parish
Trade Commissioner, Hong Kong
As Trade Commissioner in Hong Kong, Kevin is responsible for promoting trade opportunities and building strategic relationships for New Zealand companies in Hong Kong and Macau.
Before taking up the role in February 2012, Kevin was the Regional Manager for NZTE’s Christchurch office, with responsibility for Canterbury and the West Coast. In this role he managed relationships with regional allies and other central Government entities including CERA. He was also responsible for managing NZTE’s work with some of Canterbury’s larger exporters from the ICT, Energy, Specialised Manufacturing and Food and Beverage sectors, and has been involved in a number of NZTE projects focused on bringing companies together to collaborate, leverage scale and achieve superior results particularly in the food and beverage sector in North America.
Kevin has undertaken a range of business roles both in New Zealand and overseas as well running his own business in New Zealand.
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Graeme Solloway
Trade Commissioner, South Korea
Based in Seoul, Graeme is Trade Commissioner to South Korea, New Zealand’s sixth largest export market.
Before taking up the position in December 2008, Graeme was Director of the Industry Capability Network at NZTE, managing a team responsible for assisting New Zealand companies into large-scale procurement and engineering project opportunities.
His background is predominantly in the ICT and telecommunications industry having had various sales, marketing and commercial roles at IBM New Zealand and Telecom New Zealand.
In the mid 1990s Graeme spent three years undertaking business development work in the food and beverage sector at one of NZTE’s predecessor organisations, Trade New Zealand. This role followed his Master of Business Administration and research work on international markets for New Zealand wine.
As well as his MBA, Graeme has a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Geology and started his career as an exploration geologist in Western Australia.
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Benjamin Wilson
Trade Commissioner, Japan
Ben joined NZTE in August 2008 and is responsible for all aspects of running the Commercial Department of the New Zealand Embassy in Tokyo and developing New Zealand’s trade with Japan.
Before joining NZTE, Ben was Director and Japan Country Manager for a UK consulting firm providing market entry and business development services in Japan to high tech EU and US firms. He also has a background in the biotechnology industry.
Ben has lived in Japan for 12 years and speaks fluent Japanese.
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Alan Young
Trade Commissioner, Beijing
Alan is Trade Commissioner to Beijing, and manages the promotion and facilitation of trade and investment opportunities and relationships in northern China. Prior to this, Alan was Trade Commissioner and New Zealand’s first Consul General in Guangzhou.
Alan has had a distinguished career in the public service and has served as Principal Adviser, International Policy in the New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry; and as Deputy Director, South/Southeast Asia Division and Special Advisor (Forestry) in the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Early in his career with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade he was posted to Manila, Hong Kong and twice to Beijing.
His private sector experience includes senior management positions for Peterson Asia, Sealord Group, Young Presidents’ Organisation, New Zealand Milk Products, Westpac and Bank of New Zealand, all based in Asia.
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John Cochrane
Trade Commissioner/Consul, Guangzhou
As Trade Commissioner and Consul in Guangzhou, John is responsible for developing and maintaining an extensive network of business relationships in the region relevant to NZTE clients' trade and investment interests.
John joined NZTE in late 2011 from Commtest, who design machinery health information systems, and was the senior executive responsible for guiding Commtest to such successes as Frost & Sullivan's most recent global "Best Practice" award.
He also led Commtest toward their acquisition by GE Energy in August 2011, as well as being responsibly for establishing Commtest's operations in Beijing.
