Our People

Richard has been Port Taranaki board chair since late 2019 and has been a director since 2012. He has extensive experience in the infrastructure and energy sectors, including as the former chief executive of Powerco Ltd. A chartered member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors, Richard is chair of Top Energy Ltd, chair of Ngawha Generation Ltd, chair of PKW Farms GP Ltd, and a director of First Gas Group of Companies and Gas Services NZ Group of Companies. Richard is the director of his consultancy practice Energia Ltd. An electrical engineer, Richard is a chartered member of Engineering New Zealand. 

Appointed to the Port Taranaki board of directors in 2001, David is chair of the Taranaki Regional Council, Port Taranaki’s sole shareholder. David was raised on a dairy farm, trained as an electrician and established one of Taranaki's largest electrical contracting businesses. His current directorships include PKW Farms GP Ltd, Predator Free 2050 Ltd, Waimate Investment Properties Ltd and AJ Greaves Electrical Ltd. He also served on the board of Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd for six years before retiring in 2017.

An experienced senior executive and director, Peter was appointed to the Port Taranaki board in May 2016. He was Dow AgroSciences managing director Australia and New Zealand for nine years until 2016, and is now a company director and advisor. Peter is a chartered member of the Institute of Directors in New Zealand, and has been a director and chair of several companies in Australia and New Zealand.

Charlotte is a chartered director, a regional councillor, and holds a variety of governance roles. She co-chairs the Taranaki Regional Skills Leadership Group, chairs the port’s Health, Safety and Environment Committee, and the Taranaki Regional Council’s Policy and Planning Committee. She is also a director of Te Kura Matatini o Taranaki (WITT Limited), and is a trustee for the Taranaki Trails Trust and Pukeiti Trust Fund. She has worked in a variety of management, regulatory and strategy roles across Powerco Ltd, Venture Taranaki, the Ministry for Social Development in Wellington, and the Department for Work and Pensions in London.

Kathy is a professional director, and was appointed to the Port Taranaki board in December 2017. With more than 12 years’ executive experience at Lyttelton Port, she has also held executive roles with Telecom/ConnecTel and Ngāi Tahu Holdings Corporation. Kathy is a director on Enable Services, Magic Memories Group Holdings, NZPM Group, Shipowners Mutual Protection and Indemnity Association (Luxembourg), and Transpower New Zealand. She is also a trustee of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra. Kathy is a Member of the Institute of Directors and a Fellow Chartered Accountant of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

Graeme has worked in the port industry for more than 40 years, holding senior management roles at Port of Napier Ltd and Port of Tauranga Ltd, and having consulted to Timaru Container Terminal, PrimePort Timaru and Northport. That experience has been utilised on the Port Taranaki board since 2014. Graeme currently has leadership roles in initiatives covering biosecurity, air quality and tourism in the Bay of Plenty.

Simon joined as Port Taranaki Chief Executive Officer in October 2021, following a career spanning professional services, engineering, aviation, and governance. He has a background in corporate strategy, operations and performance improvement, having held senior management positions at Air New Zealand, and having worked at Deloitte and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare. Before taking up the role at Port Taranaki, Simon operated consulting practice Orua Strategic Advisory, which worked with boards and senior executives on strategy, transformation, operations, technology development and performance improvement. A chartered member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors, Simon has had significant governance experience as a director of a number of companies, including Public Trust, WRAL Group (Hamilton Airport), Sounds Air Group, and Airwork Holdings Limited. 

Allan leads the Finance team, which covers accounting, risk and compliance, treasury, tax, internal audit, procurement and company secretariat functions of the business. Allan joined the company in 2015 as Commercial Manager, before taking on the Chief Financial Officer role in 2017. Before joining Port Taranaki, Allan held senior roles in the energy industry with experience in leading teams, joint venture governance, acquisitions, contract negotiation and management, project delivery and new business. He also has experience in investment banking, strategy consulting and the government sector.

Ross has responsibility for leading the commercial, marketing, customer and community aspects of the Port Taranaki business, including managing the company’s property portfolio. An experienced senior financial and commercial executive, before joining Port Taranaki in 2019, Ross was chief executive of Illion Tenderlink for eight years. A former chartered accountant, Ross has worked across a broad range of commercial, financial and management roles. This has included management accountant and then Taranaki onshore asset finance manager at Fletcher Challenge Energy, chief operating officer at online health management software company Doctor Global, and chief financial officer with KCL Property Ltd.

Catherine leads the Human Resources and Safety team at Port Taranaki. She is responsible for the leadership of people strategy – creating an employee orientated, agile and high performance culture that promotes engaged, empowered and productive teams. This includes developing and implementing the health and safety strategy across all port activities, employees and users. Before joining Port Taranaki in 2017, Catherine held senior management roles in both global and local organisations. Her previous roles have included operational general management as well as sales and marketing within the service sector. She has held accountability for global and national change management projects and has a background in talent and succession development.

John joined the company fulltime in 2020, having previously assisted with Port Taranaki risk reduction projects. His role is to lead, guide, direct and manage the infrastructure, asset and maintenance functions of Port Taranaki. It includes the development and implementation of long-term infrastructure strategies, policies, planning and practices that support the company’s strategic goals and objectives. During a long career at Ballance Agri-Nutrients Ltd, including as former general manager of operations, John undertook a variety of roles covering delivery of strategic and operational outcomes. He has significant experience in a range of technical competencies, including oversight of engineering, maintenance, HSE, quality systems and projects.

As Head of Operations, Ashley leads the group of teams that cover pilotage and marine management, tugs and launches, and landside operations such as cargo services, wharf services, security and communications, the Newton King Tanker Terminal, and cranes. A former Australian navy officer, Ashley joined Port Taranaki in 2019, having spent the previous 10 years as a marine pilot at six Australian ports. Ashley spent a decade in the Australian navy, gaining a degree in chemistry and oceanography, and working as a navigating and diving officer. He also captained a crew of 350 on a passenger ship that carried out mission and aid work around the world.