New Zealand directors

Craig Armstrong

Director, Specialised Manufacturing and Wood

Craig has 15 years experience at a range of levels in the manufacturing sector and in managing a number of products, brands and strategies across international markets. As Sector Director for Specialised Manufacturing, Craig works closely with New Zealand companies and stakeholder groups to help them become world leading manufacturers and to ensure the country’s domestic and export manufacturing industries are sustainable and robust.

Prior to joining NZTE in 2007, Craig was managing director of a boutique consultancy that he set up in Melbourne to provide strategy, marketing and commercialisation resources to blue chip and start-up companies, and also to private equity clients.

He has also held various positions at board, financial, and marketing management levels at a number of leading manufacturing and food and beverage companies such as Heinz, Cadbury Schweppes, and Lion Nathan. Craig is based in Auckland.

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Dr Chris Boalch

Director, Strategic Initiatives

Chris joined Industry New Zealand in December 2002 as an Industry Intelligence Specialist and in that role was heavily involved with the Biotechnology Taskforce.

Previously, Chris was the manager of a business unit in Europe’s largest commercial science and technology organisation ‘QinetiQ’. He has also held senior positions within the United Kingdom Department of Trade and Industry and United Kingdom Natural Environment Research Council. Most recently, Chris was Sector Director, Biotechnology.

Chris has a Doctorate from the University of Dundee in Scotland and is based in Auckland.

Peter Bull

Director, Performance Improvement

Peter has had an extensive career in the food and horticultural industries in New Zealand and overseas and has held general management positions with Zespri and ENZA. Since joining NZTE in 2002, he has been Sector Director Food and Beverages based in Wellington, Regional Director - Americas based in Los Angeles, and has recently been appointed Director Performance Improvement based in Wellington.
 
Peter has a Master of Business Administration from Auckland and a Master of Horticultural Science (first class Honours) from Lincoln University.

Anne Chappaz

Director, Regions and Business Intelligence

Anne has overall responsibility for the six NZTE regional offices around New Zealand, the Regional Economic Development programme and NZTE’s in-house research. She also works with teams on using business intelligence to improve consistency and performance for NZTE.
 
Anne started her career with the Shipping Corporation of New Zealand before taking on administration of export logistics for the French mountaineering and caving equipment company Petzl in Grenoble. This was followed by a stint in Bordeaux, acting as a trader and consolidator of electrical and electronic products into North East Africa and Southeast Asia. A return to New Zealand in 1997 saw a new role exporting ready-to-assemble furniture.
 
In 2000, Anne joined the public sector and became the national sector specialist for the apparel, textile and fashion sector before being posted to Canada (from 2003 to 2008) - first as Trade Commissioner and Consul General in Vancouver, then as the Director West Americas, covering NZTE operations in Canada, Western US and Mexico. Anne holds Masters Degrees in Economic Geography from Auckland and in English from Bordeaux III. She is a fluent French speaker and is based in Auckland.

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Kefeng Chu

Director, Operations – China

Kefeng is based in Wellington where he manages the New Zealand based China Team.  Their focus is on supporting New Zealand’s business relationship with China: enhancing New Zealand companies’ capability and readiness to do business in China, maximising the benefits of the New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement, strengthening links to the Chinese business community in New Zealand, and providing direct assistance, where required, for key clients.
 
Kefeng is of Chinese descent and originates from mainland China. He holds degrees from universities in China, the US and New Zealand, and speaks various Chinese languages. Kefeng was previously Senior Manager-Strategic Ethnic Advisor for the New Zealand Police. He has a broad knowledge of Chinese communities in New Zealand and extensive experience in sectors such as education, social development and foreign relations.

Alan Crofts

Director, Networks

Alan has spent many years in the telecommunications and IT industries in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. His experience includes marketing, operations and business development. Prior to joining NZTE, Alan held business and product development roles with Telecom NZ. Other roles included running the IT Operations for a London based commodity broker, a foray into the wine trade, and engineering roles for British Telecom.
 
Currently Alan is responsible for the global management and development of the NZTE Beachheads programme. The Beachheads programme is a partnership between NZTE and the private sector which provides access to influential executives around the world. Alan is also developing NZTE’s wider international networks and partner programmes.

Leone Evans

Director, Relationships

Leone has over 20 years experience in roles which have contributed to an extensive knowledge of developing and conducting business within international markets.
Throughout her career, Leone has worked in the meat sector, the dairy sector, the arable sector, and the apparel sector, as well as project management and private consulting work. Her qualifications are in food science for roles in laboratory management and product development, with additional studies in marketing for roles in category and brand management in a fast moving consumer goods context.
Leone is based in Christchurch.

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Richard Laverty

Director, Creative, Services, and Information and Communication Technology

Richard is the Operations Director for Creative, Services, and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sectors, based in Wellington. Richard is responsible for development and implementation of NZTE ICT sector initiatives.
 
Richard has 20 years of industry experience spanning engineering, R&D, business development, strategy, and general management, gained during a career within the New Zealand dairy industry. During his time with Fonterra, Richard spent eight years based in Europe, including two years as general manager of the European milk-protein business. Subsequent New Zealand based roles included corporate strategy and global ingredients marketing management. After leaving Fonterra in April 2004, Richard joined a beverage technology start-up, of which he is a director and shareholder. Joining NZTE in late 2005, Richard took up the role of Regional Director, Europe, Middle East and Africa responsible for leading the offshore team and for the implementation of NZTE’s client engagement and project activities.
 
Richard holds a Bachelor of Engineering with Honours in Chemical and Process Engineering from Canterbury, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Dairy Science and Technology from Massey University.

Graham Matthews

Director, Investment New Zealand

Prior to joining Investment New Zealand, Graham was a senior equity partner at international consulting firm EC Harris in London where his responsibilities included advising the UK Government on procurement for the London 2012 Olympics and the creation of the new UK Supreme Court. He was previously global head of workplace solutions at Accenture where he had worldwide responsibility for capital asset strategy, focusing on the delivery of corporate real estate assets and operating solutions.

Graham has extensive experience in capital asset investment and delivery, project management, supply chain management and logistics.

He has been a director of BAA plc, where he had various roles including divisional finance director, development director for Heathrow Express, and group project services director, and Lynton plc, a property development company, where he had responsibility for delivering a wide range of commercial and retail property developments across the UK. Graham is based in Auckland.

Paul Linton

Director, Industry Capability Network (ICN)

Paul manages the Industry Capability Network (New Zealand), part of an Australasian network of 26 offices and 100-plus staff that connects local suppliers with opportunities in major public and private projects.

Paul has extensive international experience in a number of roles including senior management, strategy, marketing and sales. He has worked and lived in a number of international locations and has public and private sector experience (including Trade Commissioner positions in Asia and Australia/Pacific).

Paul's prior roles include senior management positions with MetService, Metra and Arrow. He is based in Wellington.