Chamber Board
The Auckland Business Chamber is governed by a board of senior directors and industry leaders with extensive experience in local, national and global business.
Michael Barnett is Chief Executive of the Auckland Business Chamber, and a Director of both the Auckland Chamber and NZ Chambers of Commerce.
Michael was appointed Chief Executive of the Auckland Chamber in 1991. He has led the Chamber through times of change while maintaining a focus on what was good for business and good for Auckland. His role as Chief Executive enables him to contribute towards issues of trade and policy that grow the economy as well as providing a voice for business. It also allows him to pursue initiatives enabling youth to participate in the workforce.
Michael was appointed Chief Executive of the Auckland Chamber in 1991. He has led the Chamber through times of change while maintaining a focus on what was good for business and good for Auckland. His role as Chief Executive enables him to contribute towards issues of trade and policy that grow the economy as well as providing a voice for business. It also allows him to pursue initiatives enabling youth to participate in the workforce.
Michael provides leadership on matters including diversity, education, transport, international trade, ports, infrastructure and local government efficiency.
The Auckland Business Chamber established the Michael Barnett scholarship in 2016 to mark Michael’s 25 years of leadership of the Chamber.
He was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in 2011.
Charlotte Parkhill, a partner at Kensington Swan, was appointed Chair of the Auckland Chamber Board in May 2020.
Charlotte specialises in employment law as well as acting for a variety of national and international companies, and has a particular interest in the transport, construction and retail sectors.
She provides advice on all areas of employment law, including personal grievances, restraints of trade, restructures and issues involving the Holidays Act.
She has significant advocacy experience and specialist expertise in carrying out employment investigations into matters such as fraud, bullying, harassment and theft.
Charlotte also regularly presents on employment law topics to industry bodies and at national conferences.
Chris Carr is the fifth generation to run Carr & Haslam, which was founded in 1862.
Like many companies of multiple generations, Carr and Haslam has survived by adapting. In the late 1800s it transported goods for the Nathan Family, later Lion Breweries, and products such as Choysa tea and Nestle coffee beans.
When shipping containers arrived in the early 1970s, Carr and Haslam established a container fleet with swing lifts, skeleton and flat deck trailer combinations for operations throughout the North Island. It exited the container business in 2017 and has since been an early adapter of technologies as they emerge.
Chris is a long-standing board member and is also a member of the Auckland Business Forum and a former director of Rally NZ.
Fred Hellaby has been a Director of the Auckland Chamber since 1997. He was appointed to the Chairmanship in March 2011.
Fred is the Managing Director of Wilson Hellaby Limited which includes Auckland Meat Processors Ltd and PVL Proteins Ltd. Wilson Hellaby sources selected livestock from farmers, and delivering PRIME beef, lamb and pork to customers throughout New Zealand and around the world. Auckland Meat Processors and Ruakura Meat Processors undertake the processing operations of the group. PVL Proteins processes and sells rendering products such as tallows and meat + bone meal with the aim of maximising the value from all parts of the animal.
Fred has been an MIA Council member since February 2009. Fred holds an LLB from Canterbury University.
Kirsten Taylor is the founder and Managing Director of SleepDrops International. Founded in 2009, the company is on a rapid expansion path, seeing considerable growth in New Zealand and overseas.
She is a qualified naturopath, medical herbalist, and nutritionist, and taught the business module at Wellpark College for three years.
Kirsten currently serves as an advisor to several Auckland businesses and is committed to using her vast experience to champion small businesses through her role as a board member.’
Mark was appointed Chief Executive of the Stevenson Group in early 2010.
Mark chairs the ATEED Board of Directors and is a passionate Aucklander with extensive commercial and governance experience, and strong networks within local and central government.
Mark chairs the ATEED Board of Directors and is a passionate Aucklander with extensive commercial and governance experience, and strong networks within local and central government.
Mark has been Managing Director of Stevenson Group since 2010, and was previously founding Chief Executive of TZ1, and Chief Executive of Vector, one of New Zealand’s largest companies.
He is a former director of Kiwirail, WEL Networks, Ultrafast Broadband, and has held directorships at Stevenson Group.
Mike is the chief executive officer of Nexus Logistics, a national intermodal supply chain solution business offering container logistics and distribution services.
Mike has experience in strategic management, corporate company restructures, international sales and marketing, retail, franchise and industrial markets.
With experience leading three multi-million-dollar franchise operations, Mike has a successful record in taking these businesses from conception to profitable operations.
Mike became a Company Director at LeaderKit in May 2020. LeaderKit is an online strategy development tool that allows CEO's, Owners and Senior Executives to develop, plan and execute strategy with their teams. Allowing ownership, alignment, accountability and full transparency across the core team.
Peter is the Managing Partner of Deloitte’s Audit practice, having been a partner since 2005.
In this capacity he is responsible for 18 Audit partners and a team of approximately 160 professional staff. During his career with Deloitte Peter has spent two years in the UK as part of Deloitte’s Global Development Programme.
In this capacity he is responsible for 18 Audit partners and a team of approximately 160 professional staff. During his career with Deloitte Peter has spent two years in the UK as part of Deloitte’s Global Development Programme.
Peter’s area of specialisation is external audit, financial reporting and risk management/internal audit. His role and experience include advising clients across several different sectors and industries, incorporating the private and public sector.
This includes working on several cross-border assignments incorporating projects in Europe and Australia.
Peter Thompson is the Managing Director of Barfoot & Thompson. Peter started out in 1981 in the rental division at the Otahuhu branch and continued to move through several positions in the firm including sales, administration and management. He was made a Director in 1997, and ultimately became Managing Director in 2005.
Peter has held several directorships over the years, including being on the Board of Auckland Rugby, and still is a current Board Member of realestate.co.nz. He was awarded Life Membership of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand in 2011 and was made a Life Member of Auckland Rugby in December 2017.
Priti is a strategic business technologist and evangelist for women in business and technology. An engineer by education and training, Priti has 18+ years of experience in various roles across engineering, business, strategy, consulting and education. Over the last 11+ years, in Asia, North America and Europe, Priti has led initiatives and ventures that leverage the dynamics of digital collaboration and emerging disruptive technologies to create thriving societies.
Priti is the Director of New Business and Innovation at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a global leader in digital, IT and business services. She joined the New Zealand team in September 2020 to grow the NZ business and leverage the TCS' global capability for NZ businesses, communities and the environment.
Prior to joining TCS, Priti was the Director of Innovation at Tech Futures Lab in Auckland, where she launched, built and grew their Corporate innovation Practice enabling innovation capability within large NZ businesses, teams and boards, by embedding contemporary business strategies, platform business models and workforce capability to drive business results.
Rakesh is the Group General Manager of the Nauhria Group, a fully owned and operated family business and is one of the leaders in the supply and manufacturing industry in New Zealand.
Rakesh established and chaired the Reinforcing Steel Association of NZ and supports and consults with Government initiated research projects and testing programs.
Rakesh has led his team and Company to win several prestigious awards including the 2015 Excellence Awards, Best of the Best Supreme Awards (Westpac Business Awards).
Managing Director of Direct Capital, New Zealand’s leading private equity fund which has invested in over 70 companies in New Zealand and Australia.
Ross has been involved in the private equity and venture capital industry in Asia, Australia and New Zealand since 1987 and played a key role in establishing the private equity industry in New Zealand. Ross is currently a director of Bayleys, Fishpond, Perpetual Guardian, Qestral and Beca.
