Chamber Board

warwick de vere - President

Warwick is the General Manager Operations for Ballance Agri-Nutrients, with responsibilities covering the factory network Ballance operates from Invercargill to Whangarei.

Ballance is a significant participant in Tauranga businesses with Head Office, and operations at its Hewletts Road and Maru Street sites and strongly supports the concepts of business vitality that the Chamber of Commerce represents.

Warwick is keen to maintain an active role in the business sector and is seeking support from the Chamber Members to continue another term on the Chamber board as President. Building on his second term experiences with the Chamber will mean continuity and improved contribution to the Board.

toni palmer - Vice President

Toni is a partner of Tabak Business Sales Tauranga and also holds the position of Chairman of the Board of Surtees Boats a Kawerau based manufacturing company with 35 staff.

She is also the Chairwoman of the Business Womens Network and an Active Business Mentor through the Chamber Business in the Community. She has run several training courses for the Chamber and is a Judge for this years Business Awards.

Toni also previously held the position of Chairman of the Business Brokers Division of the REINZ which sets education, policy and offers training for her industry.

Paul Bowker - Vice President

Paul Bowker is a current serving Vice-President of the Tauranga Chamber of Commerce and has served on the Chamber Board for 4 years.

He also sits on the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic Council and is a trustee of Tourism Bay of Plenty. His involvement in these organisations reflects his interest and desire to facilitate growth and a dynamic future for not only the business community but for Tauranga in general.

Paul has supplemented his construction management degree with a recently completed MBA through the University of Waikato and as an owner operator of Hotel on Devonport, a property developer and a mentor for the newly established ‘Repertoire’ fashion stores can bring to the Chamber successful management and governance expertise.

Kevin Palmer - Treasurer

Kevin is a fully qualified Chartered Accountant currently working as the Financial Controller at TrustPower. This role involves managing the finance function including treasury, overseeing risk management and financial evaluation of development projects. TrustPower earns $700m a year, has $750m of debt and $2b of assets which create a very challenging work environment.

Kevin has long held a strong passion for local economic development. Prior to moving to Tauranga with his family, Kevin was a Board Member on the Waikato Chamber of Commerce for seven years.

Kevin has been on the Board three years and is currently Treasurer. He brings well established commercial and financial skills coupled with strong governance experience.

ANNE PANKHURST

Anne Pankhurst is a member of the Chamber Board and is an active member of the Business Women’s Network. Anne has a very strong interest in Economic Development for the region because a strong sustainable economy builds strong communities.

Anne has a business background in the hospitality sector and has opened and owned several well known and highly successful restaurant businesses.
Anne sits on several other boards, Supporters Council of Enterprise New Zealand Trust, Chair of the Artsville Trust, Chair of Tarnished Frocks and Divas, Chair of Tauranga Moana Restorative Justice Trust, Board Member on Main Street and member of the City Centre Action Group. Anne’s strong community passion and strong work ethic make her a valuable member of the Chamber board.

David Ensor

David is a senior Accountant at Young Read Woudberg Limited, a Tauranga based Chartered Accounting firm that has established strong links with businesses in a wide variety of industries and services and has a close working relationship with the Chamber. As a Board Member of the Chamber of Commerce David's expertises as a Chartered Accountant and wealth of business experience will be welcome additions in helping the Chamber achieve its aims and objectives.

His interests are varied but trout fishing and enjoying time with his 8 month old son are top of his list!

David Lyon

David Lyon is the Head of Business School at Bay of Plenty Polytechnic, Bongard Centre, and has held this role for the last thirteen years. He is currently teaching Strategic Management for the University of Waikato in Tauranga and is completing his PhD researching Airport Management in New Zealand.

David is committed to working with industry to develop tertiary programmes tailored to the distinctive needs for our sub-region.

Frances Denz

Frances's company Stellaris has been a member of the Chamber for more than six years and are also members of City Partners and Priority One.

Frances has completed terms on the Boards of TCAL, TECT and Smart Growth.

Frances's company Stellaris PTE Ltd is an NZQA registered PTE and specialises in business education.

Frances has trained approximately 6000 people in business skills with around 4000 of those actually starting their own successful businesses.

Luke Stewart

Luke is a Solicitor at Holland Beckett practicing in company, commercial, property, trust and employment law. Luke joined Holland Beckett in 2006 after practising in Napier and working for the Department of Trade and Industry in London.

Luke will continue to direct his energies as a Board Member to ensure the Chamber focuses on, and achieves, the following goals:

Providing proactive leadership in issues affecting the local business community;
Cementing the Chamber's role as the "voice of business"
To facilitate the seamless (and cost effective) delivery of business services in the Tauranga Region and tangible benefits to Members.

Matthew Billet

Matthew is a Solicitor at Sharp Tudhope working in the Asset/Property Team, specialising in property, trust and private client matters.

Matthew completed his high school education at Tauranga Boys’ College and attended the University of Waikato (LLB/BSocSc 2000).

Matthew has had a broad career and business experience in New Zealand and London, which combined with his local knowledge will bring a unique perspective to the Chamber.

Matthew's personal interests include: rugby, cricket, running, arts and culture.

Matthew looks forward to working with and being an advocate for local business and creating and developing business and work opportunities for young people in Tauranga.

Murray Denyer

Murray Denyer is a partner at Tauranga firm Cooney Lees Morgan. Murray's corporate/commercial practice serves local, national and international businesses. He also provides specialist advice to the kiwifruit sector.

From 2003 to 2009 Murray was General Counsel at Zespri Group Limited where he managed that company's global legal affairs, and was also responsible for government relations in the trade policy arena.

Murray's career began at Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, where during eight years in the diplomatic service he served overseas assignments in The Hague and New York, and was part of the Ministry's international trade law team.

At the local level, Murray is also Vice-Chairman of Priority One, our local Economic Development Agency.

Nick Elsmore

Nick Elsmore is a litigation solicitor with 20 years experience. He has been a partner in a large South Island law firm and a barrister before moving to Tauranga.
Nick has previous Board experience currently serving as a director of Mainland Football and is Mainland Football’s Judicial Officer.

Prior to returning to the Bay in 2011 Nick lived in Tauranga from 1997 to 2004. He has a good understanding of business needs and a wide range of experience in dealing with large corporates, SOE’s and SME’s through his role as their legal advisor.

Peter McKinlay

Peter works nationally and internationally on the role of local government, and how it can best facilitate business growth.

His positions include membership of the Forum of Federation's Roundtable on metropolitan governance, and of the research advisory group of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum.