The NZUS Council announced today that long-time Auckland based advocacy strategist Penny Tucker has been appointed as Executive Director of the organisation. The Council is dedicated to strengthening business, diplomatic, academic and cultural links with the United States. It works closely with public and private sector partners to support the bilateral relationship and promote New Zealand’s interests.
Commenting on the appointment, acting Chair Michael Barnett said “Penny brings to the table the experience of being a former diplomat, a Director of a major Washington DC policy consultancy, and a New Zealand based business owner. She has contacts, clients and close friends invested in ensuring that America-Aotearoa linkages remain as strong as possible.
Penny ‘s professionalism impressed the selection panel. She has an Impressive US-related network and a proven ability to marshall a case and build a broad strategic constituency to achieve results,”
Penny is an avid proponent of ensuring that the ties between countries are deep enough, respectful enough and useful enough to remain strong in any geopolitical context. She said “I am tremendously excited and privileged to take on this role. I look forward to engaging with all the stakeholders in this most fundamental relationship to grow it, future-proof it and support our connections with such a key friend and ally.”
Michael Barnett
Acting Chair,
NZ-US Business Council
Fran O’Sullivan
Chair, Advisory Board,
NZ-US Business Council