Selected Engagements

Ichor is pleased to announce the formal appointment of Emma Hickson to the role of Chief Nursing Officer at the Capital & Coast District Health Board (CCDHB). Emma had previously been acting in the role since January 2019.

Reporting to the Chief Executive, this role is responsible for providing professional direction and oversight of the nursing and healthcare consultant workforce of over 2,000 nurses and midwives.  A primary focus will be to help advance the quality and safety of every healthcare experience and deliver care “beyond the walls of the hospital” in localities, through community health and support networks.  

Capital & Coast District Health Board (CCDHB) receives funding to improve, promote and protect the health of around 300,000 people in Wellington, Porirua and Kapiti. CCDHB has around 5,600 staff.

Originally from the UK, Emma joined the DHB around 18 years ago. Since then her roles have included preceptor educator, charge nurse manager, and educator lecturer. She also spent 18 months managing Hutt Valley DHB’s community nursing services before returning to CCDHB.

Emma commences her role in March 2019.

Ichor is pleased to announce the appointment of Christian Hawkesby to the role of Assistant Governor/General Manager – Economics, Financial Markets & Banking with The Reserve Bank of New Zealand. In his new role, Christian is responsible for the full cycle of monetary policy formulation, implementation and maintenance of liquidity in financial markets, provision and circulation of currency, and the operation of interbank payment and settlement systems.

As New Zealand's central bank, the Reserve Bank is primarily a policy organisation with three main purposes. It ensures that, throughout the economy, money works as well as possible as a mechanism for making transactions, storing value, and keeping account.

Previously Christian was part of the team that established Harbour Asset Management, which was awarded Morningstar New Zealand Fund Manager of the Year in 2014, 2016 and 2017. As an Executive Director, Christian was a member of the executive team, headed the fixed interest business, led the firm’s macroeconomic research applied across fixed interest, equity and multi-asset portfolios, and chaired the Risk Committee.

Prior to this, Christian spent nine years at the Bank of England, where he held senior positions including Private Secretary to the Deputy Governor, Chief Manager of the Sterling Markets Division and Head of Market Intelligence. During the Global Financial Crisis, he was part of the team created to resolve UK bank failures.

Christian commences his role in March 2019.

On behalf of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Ichor is pleased to announce the appointment of Simone Robbers to the role of Assistant Governor/General Manager – Governance, Strategy & Corporate Relations. This position is responsible for the Bank’s strategic planning and performance, communications, legal, risk and audit teams, and the Board secretariat.

As New Zealand's central bank, the Reserve Bank is primarily a policy organisation with three main purposes. It ensures that, throughout the economy, money works as well as possible as a mechanism for making transactions, storing value, and keeping account.

Simone’s background includes a wealth of public and private sector experience. She was most recently the Director of Strategy, Risk and Assurance at the Financial Markets Authority. Simone's previous experience includes time spent at the Securities Commission and in the private sector in banking and wealth management, as well as in legal firms.

Simone commences her role in February 2019.

On behalf of Capital & Coast District Health Board (CCDHB), Ichor is pleased to announce the appointment of Arish Naresh to the role of Executive Director - Allied Health, Scientific and Technical. reporting to the Chief Executive.

With direct accountability for a specialist team, this is a key professional services leadership role responsible for leading, co-ordinating and facilitating the development of Allied Health, Technical and Scientific professions. These individuals work primarily in the areas of clinical safety, patient safety and workforce development.

Capital & Coast District Health Board (CCDHB) receives funding to improve, promote and protect the health of around 300,000 people in Wellington, Porirua and Kapiti. CCDHB has around 5,600 staff.

Arish previously worked for Tairawhiti District Health Board, where he held various Executive Leadership Team portfolios and led the development of the Allied Health strategy. Arish also established the first publicly-funded maternal oral health service in New Zealand.

Arish commences his new role in February 2019.

Ichor is pleased to announce the appointment of Sandy Blake to the role of General Manager – Quality, Improvement and Patient Safety at the Capital & Coast District Health Board (CCDHB), reporting to the Chief Executive.

Leading a large team, this role is responsible for directing and driving the ongoing development of a patient safety culture and continuing systems improvement across the organisation’s clinical activity. It is also accountable for overseeing customer relations, risk management and the integrated operations centre.

Capital & Coast District Health Board (CCDHB) receives funding to improve, promote and protect the health of around 300,000 people in Wellington, Porirua and Kapiti. CCDHB has around 5,600 staff.

Sandy has more than 15 years’ experience in the New Zealand and Australian health sectors. Prior to this role, she was the Director of Nursing and General Manager, Patient Safety and Service Quality at Whanganui DHB, where she markedly improved the safety and quality performance of the DHB.

Sandy commences her role in February 2019.

On behalf of Registered Master Builders Association (RMBA), Ichor is pleased to announce the appointment of Caroline Doube to the position of Chief Financial Officer. In this role, Caroline will lead the corporate services function, with accountability for ICT services and systems, human resources and payroll, as well as general administration.

RMBA has been building the foundations of this country, its homes, and workplaces for over 100 years. It works with the Government and the sector to develop and uphold the highest standards. RMBA has six regional branches throughout the country to ensure builders are provided with local support and networking opportunities to share best practices with their peers.

Caroline joins RMBA after working with Federated Farmers as its General Manager - Corporate Services for almost six years. This was a senior leadership role, reporting to the Chief Executive.

Caroline commences her new role in January 2019.

Ichor is pleased to announce the appointment of Jane Wenman to the position of Chief Executive at Careerforce.

Careerforce is the Industry Training Organisation (ITO) for a range of sectors including health, aged care, disability, social services and youth work. With approximately 150 staff distributed across Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, Careerforce supports workplace-based training, enabling employees to achieve nationally recognised qualifications, and deliver superior outcomes.

Jane joined Careerforce as its Chief Financial Officer in 2016, with additional accountability for its Human Resources, Health and Safety, and Marketing & Communications functions. Previously, Jane spent eight years at the professional services firm, Grant Thornton, with her most recent role being that of Service Line Leader for the Business Advisory Services division. 

She commences as Chief Executive of Careerforce in December 2019. 

On behalf of the State Services Commission, Ichor is pleased to have assisted with the appointment of Chris Seed to the position of Chief Executive and Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) has approximately 1,500 staff, including a network of 60 posts in 53 countries.   

As an experienced diplomat and public servant, Chris' most recent role was as New Zealand's High Commissioner to Australia, a position he held for five years. Over the years, Chris has led a number of key initiatives to advance MFAT's agenda, including working to raise NZ's profile in the Pacific region.

In both his international postings and senior leadership roles at MFAT, Chris has successfully balanced competing interests, managed international relationships and optimised opportunities to represent and protect NZ's overseas interests.

In his new role, Chris will be accountable for delivering on the Government’s foreign, international trade, development and climate change policy objectives, as well as contributing to New Zealand’s broader security, economic and environmental objectives.

He commences his new role in February 2019, for a term of five years.

Ichor is pleased to announce the appointment of Tania Smith to the position of Chief Financial Officer at the Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO). Tania's key focus in her new role will be to develop the maturity and value of a finance team in a growing organisation that supports a sector critical to New Zealand. 

BCITO is recognised as one of New Zealand's most successful educational institutions and is the country's largest provider of building and construction trade apprenticeships, supporting over 11,000 trainees.

Tania joins BCITO after four years at Registered Master Builders where she led the finance function for the recently merged and centralised organisation. This was a senior leadership role, reporting to the Chief Executive.

Prior to this, Tania held a range of finance manager / controller, project management and research advisory roles across the local government (Wellington City Council), tertiary education (Victoria University of Wellington) and professional services (KPMG) sectors, both here and in the United Kingdom.    

She commences her new role in October 2018.