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WorkSafe is a Crown agency; we have a governance board. Board members are appointed by the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety.

Members of our Board have backgrounds in New Zealand’s work health and safety environment, including work illness and occupational disease, public sector governance, central government processes, worker and business perspectives, administration of work health and safety legislation and risk management frameworks, and business generally.

Jennifer Kerr - Chair

[image] Jennifer Kerr

Jennifer is a professional director who has extensive senior executive experience, predominantly in human resources management, in New Zealand and overseas.

Jennifer has strong skills and experience in leadership, change management, stakeholder relations and international business.

Her current governance roles include Chair of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, Deputy Chair of Callaghan Innovation, director of Waipa Networks Limited, director of Eke Panuku Development Auckland and member of the New Zealand Police Assurance and Risk Committee. 

Bill Moran - Deputy Chair

[image] Bill Moran

Bill has significant experience in the public sector, particularly in business transformation leadership, and economic and financial expertise. He currently holds governance roles with government, private sector, and not-for-profit organisations. 

Bill worked at the New Zealand Treasury for 30 years, and is now the Chair of Sport New Zealand, High Performance Sport New Zealand and the New Zealand Sports Foundation. He is deputy Chair of Community Trust South and a director of Pioneer Energy, Southern Generation, Invest South, Youthtown, and Sky City Charitable Trust Queenstown. He is also an independent member of the Audit and Finance Committee of the Queenstown Lakes District Council.

In 2019 he was awarded a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to State, Sport, and Youth.

Kristen Thompson

[image] Kristen Thompson

Kristen is an experienced lawyer with a background in employment, health and safety, and ACC/personal injury law.  She works as a litigator and legal advisor to several not-for-profit incorporated societies and charities, as well as professional bodies. 

Kristen has extensive experience in health and safety regulation, and was heavily involved in the policy and drafting process of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and its regulations.

She sits on a number of other boards, including the New Zealand Institute of Safety Management. She also delivers governance training to crown entity directors.

Bill Newson

[image] Bill Newson.

Bill recently retired as the National Secretary of E tū, New Zealand’s largest private sector union. He has senior governance experience as a Board member of Competenz Industry Training Organisation, a founder and trustee of Apprentice Training NZ, and was a member of the ‘Work Related Health Advisory Group’ advising the WorkSafe Board on occupational health and CHASNZ (Construction Health and Safety NZ).

Bill is a current Board member of Waihanga Ara Rau (the Construction and Infrastructure WDC), a member of the Construction Accord Steering Group (ASG) and MATES in Construction, a Trust that intervenes in the issue of mental health in the construction industry. 

Mark Leslie

[image] Mark Leslie

Mark is passionate about health and safety, which he believes should always be at the heart of every operation, as everyone should be supported to get home safe every night.

He is the CEO of Pāmu (Landcorp Farming Limited), and has held various influential roles throughout his career, including operations, logistics, and quality assurance, together with technology and product development. Before joining Pāmu, he served as the Chief Operations Officer at Silver Fern Farms and spent nearly two decades at Fonterra.

His extensive experience has been recognised through various board and ministerial advisory roles. He is currently also serving as a director on the board of Safer Farms, which is about supporting farming leaders and workers to protect each other from preventable harm.

Growing up on a dairy farm in Reporoa on the North Island’s Central Plateau, Mark has a deep understanding of the agricultural sector and its safety challenges.