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21 July 2020

Governance changes at Port Nelson herald the end of a governance era and the start of a new one

Governance changes at Port Nelson herald the end of a governance era and the start of a new one. Long time Chairman, Phil Lough and Director Tim King are standing down. Phil Lough steps down in September after 20 years of service, 6 of those as Chairman. Whilst Phil has been on the Board, he has provided a wealth of knowledge and experience, overseeing significant change at Port Nelson. Formerly CEO of Sealords, Phil has been a champion of the Nelson/Tasman region and its economic growth.

In June, following his appointment as Mayor of Tasman District Council, Tim King also stepped down, after 14 years on the Board. Tim has been a tireless champion on the board for the commercial growth of the business, while ensuring it remains connected and contributing to the wider region. During the time Phil and Tim have been on the Board, cargo volumes have increased by 36.6%. In addition, major legacy projects have been undertaken such as the start of QuayConnect, Port Nelson’s sustainable logistics and transport model, the Calwell Slipway remediation project, which saw safe contamination concentrations being reduced and safe navigability restored and, the implementation of the Port’s resilience project which included upgrading Main Wharf North, due for completion in early 2021.

Port Nelson is jointly owned by Nelson City Council and Tasman District Council. Nelson’s Mayor Rachel Reese acknowledged the contribution of both individuals “We have been fortunate to have had the leadership, vision and commercial instincts of Phil and Tim in growing what is one of our critical community assets.”.

Replacing Phil Lough as Chairman is Geoff Dangerfield. Geoff comes to the appointment after near on 2 years as a Director for Port Nelson. He has a background in transport infrastructure and economic development, and was formerly CEO of the NZ Transport Agency, and CEO of the Ministry of Economic Development. Geoff currently holds a number of governance and advisory roles in the public and private sectors. He also has an MSc in Resource Management, is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, and is a Companion of the Queen’s Service Order.

New to the Board are Jon Safey and Paul Zealand.

Jon Safey joined the Board on 1 June 2020, and brings with him a wealth of experience from his previous positions as COO at Sealords, GM Global Marketing at Nissui, and Company Director at JJI Enterprises.

Paul Zealand joined the Board on 1 July 2020, and is currently a director of Genesis Energy and Refining NZ in New Zealand and Lochard Energy in Australia. Paul’s prior executive experience includes Country Chairman for Shell in New Zealand and Upstream CEO for Origin Energy.

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