Our Board and Chief Executive

Dame Patsy served as the Governor-General of New Zealand for five years from 2016 – 2021. Trained as a lawyer, she has had extensive experience in non-executive governance and business consulting roles in both the public and private sector, and with creative and charitable organisations.

She is currently Chair of the Climate Change Commission and the NZSO Foundation, and is a Trustee of the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research and the Aspen Institute of NZ.

Dame Patsy has previously served as Chair of New Zealand Rugby, the NZ Film Commission and as Deputy Chair of NZ Transport Agency. She has been a non-executive director of a wide range of companies including Air New Zealand, Crown Regional Holdings, NZ Post, Sky City Entertainment and Telecom New Zealand. She has been a Chief Crown Negotiator for Treaty Settlements and also led, with Sir Michael Cullen, an Independent Review of Intelligence and Security in 2015.

She is Patron of the NZ Centre for Brain Research, Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua Whanganui, the Wellington Sculpture Trust, NZ Opera, Hospice Wairarapa and He Ringa Āwhina – the Wellington Regional Charity Hospital Trust.

Lisa Tumahai is the Kaiwhakahaere (Chairperson) of the Tribal Parliament of Ngāi Tahu. She has served in the Tribal Parliament for over 20 years and has held the role of Kaiwhakahaere for the last seven. She is also an active and important leader for her hapū, Ngāti Waewae, and a commercial director for her Papatipu Rūnanga (Marae entity) on Te Tai Poutini West Coast.

An experienced Governor and Iwi Leader with a firm understanding of the role indigenous leadership can, and should, play in making important decisions about the future; Lisa is a sought-after and respected advisor in both the public and private sectors. She has provided advice and governance oversight across a range of different areas including public health, indigenous rights in resource management and environmental protection, the provision of health and well-being services, and community and regional development.

Jo Hendy has led the Climate Change Commission since its inception. She has a background in environmental and climate research. As Director of Research and Analysis for the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, she led independent investigations into sea-level rise and agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. She also led the Commission’s precursor, the Secretariat for the Interim Climate Change Committee, where she oversaw the Committee’s inquiry into renewable electricity.

Dr Kingi is an agricultural economist with over 30 years’ experience in New Zealand’s primary industries as a research scientist. He holds several government and Ministerial advisory group appointments on Māori land tenure and environmental policy reforms and is affiliated to Ngati Whakaue, Ngati Rangitihi, Te Arawa. 

Dr Lawrence is a strong international thought leader on climate change adaptation. Judy’s expertise is reflected in having been appointed as a Coordinating Lead Author with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). She has developed extensive networks across central and local government and served as an elected member of a regional council. Judy is a multi-disciplinary team player set between climate change science and national mitigation and adaptation policy.

Devon McLean has thirty years’ experience in New Zealand's commercial forest industry, including ten years as Chief Operating Officer for Carter Holt Harvey. He has previously served on the boards of Scion, the Conservation Authority, and the NZ Biological Heritage National Science Challenge. Over the last decade he has led the environmental transformation work of the philanthropic NEXT Foundation with governance roles on many of these projects. He brings skills in building coalitions of influence, and passionate and innovative teams focused on transformative outcomes.

Distinguished Professor Steven Ratuva is Pro-Vice Chancellor Pacific and Director of the Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies (University of Canterbury), Chair of the International Political Science Association (IPSA) Research Committee on Climate Security and Planetary Politics and former Fulbright Senior Fellow at the University of California (LA), Duke University (North Carolina) and Georgetown University (Washington DC). With a PhD from UK, he has led a number of international research projects and networks on climate security, social protection, geopolitical security and other issues. He was co-awarded the University of Canterbury Research Medal in 2019, was recipient of the Metge Medal for social science research excellence by the New Zealand Royal Society and a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. He is a global interdisciplinary scholar with research expertise in various fields such as sociology, anthropology, political science, post-colonial studies, indigenous studies, development studies and history and has carried out research all around the world in Asia, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, US and Pacific.

Dr Reisinger brings an internationally recognised scientific profile in climate change (specifically agriculture, multi-gas mitigation strategies, and adaptation and risk management) and experience in climate policy advice.

Felicity Underhill has spent twenty-five years working in the energy industry in a career spanning strategy, commercial, innovation, project and executive leadership roles across almost thirty countries. Initially working with Shell, in Europe and around the world, and then Origin and Fortescue in Australia, Felicity moved into renewable fuels and decarbonisation in 2018. She has been responsible for building the renewable energy and future fuels portfolios for two major Australian companies, and has worked with customers across multiple industries around Asia Pacific on their decarbonisation strategies, investments and offtake contracts. In these roles, and as her time as Director and Deputy Chair of the Australian Hydrogen Council, Felicity worked closely with counterparts and governments around the region to help influence policy and regulatory regimes to support the growth of the renewable energy and renewable fuels industry. Felicity is currently a director of Channel Infrastructure NZ, as they transition from oil refinery to fuel import terminal to energy hub, and is a director of Australian renewable energy platform, Intera Renewables. Having recently returned home to Aotearoa, she is on a journey to find out more about her Ngati Raukawa and Te Arawa roots.