Appointments to Tertiary Education Commission board

Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce today announced three appointments to the Tertiary Education Commission board.

John Spencer has been reappointed Chair of the Tertiary Education Commission.  John Morris has been reappointed as a member of the Tertiary Education Commission and Susan Paterson has been appointed a member of the Tertiary Education Commission for the first time.

“Mr Spencer and Mr Morris have performed well in their roles as Chair and member of the Tertiary Education Commission. Ms Paterson has an extensive range of skills and experience in business and governance. Her skills and experience will strengthen the commercial skills of the board.”

Minister Joyce expressed his thanks to departing board member Dr Judith Johnson. “TEC has benefited significantly from Dr Johnson’s experience and expertise, and I want to thank her for her service.”

Biographical details of the appointees:

John Spencer

John Spencer is a Wellington-based businessman and company director. His most recent role was Deputy Chairman of Solid Energy. His background includes a period as the Chief Executive of NZ Dairy Group - one of the two dairy companies that merged to form Fonterra. Mr Spencer brings substantial governance experience, is currently the Chair of KiwiRail, and has a seat on the board of DairyNZ. Mr Spencer is also Chairman of Tainui Group Holdings Ltd and WEL Networks. He serves on the board of Tower Limited, and Dispute Resolutions Ltd. He is also an Independent Advisor to the Board of Mitre 10 Group. In the 2012 Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee Honours List, Mr Spencer received recognition for his services to business through his appointment as a Companion to the Order of New Zealand. Mr Spencer has been the board Chair of the TEC since August 2012.

John Morris

John Morris was Headmaster at Auckland Grammar School (1993-2012) after previously being Principal of Takapuna Grammar School for nearly four years. Mr Morris is founding Chairman of the Association of Cambridge Schools in New Zealand, a former Chairman of the Education Forum (an education lobby group and think-tank) and was a member of the University of Auckland Council for seven years. He is currently on the advisory panel for the new Pre-U qualification just introduced in the United Kingdom by University of Cambridge International Exams. In 1999 he was awarded a Woolf Fisher Fellowship for Outstanding Educational Leadership. Mr Morris has been a TEC board member since November 2012.

Susan Paterson

Susan Paterson has been a professional director for over a decade and is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors. In the 2015 New Year’s Honours list, she was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to corporate governance. She is the current Chair of Airways Corporation and of Theta Systems Ltd (an ICT consultancy), and Deputy Chair of Abano Healthcare Ltd. Ms Paterson is also a director of Goodman NZ (a property trust with $2 billion of assets), Housing NZ Ltd, the Electricity Authority and Les Mills NZ Ltd. Ms Paterson’s skills and experience strengthen the commercial skills of the board. Her governance experience, commercial skills and investment knowledge will add value to the board.