Although they're at the top, our key people like to keep their feet on the ground. Let's meet them.
Sam Knowles is the Chief Executive of Kiwibank. Sam has considerable experience in the banking industry. He's been a senior manager for trading banks in New Zealand and Australia, specialising in areas including strategic planning, retail services, marketing and business development.
Sam is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors and has degrees from Waikato and Canterbury Universities.
Kiwibank has its own Board of Directors, with a wide range of experience in banking, finance and other sectors.
Chairman of Kiwibank and New Zealand Post.
Mr Bolger was Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1990 until 1997 and served as New Zealand's Ambassador to the United States from June 1998 until January 2002. He was elected Member of Parliament for King Country in 1972 and has held Ministerial portfolios including Labour, Fisheries, Maori Affairs, Immigration, State, Associate Foreign Affairs and Trade, Associate Agriculture, and Minister in Charge of the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service. Mr Bolger was President of the International Labour Organisation in 1983 and was appointed member of the Order of New Zealand in 1997.
Before joining the Post Board, Dr Michael Cullen was a Member of Parliament. His political career spanned three decades, much of it in government. During that time he held a number of portfolios, and in particular was the Minster of Finance, and Attorney-General, and was Deputy Prime Minister for 6 years. Dr Cullen was also responsible for Treaty of Waitangi negotiations and the introduction of KiwiSaver.
Ian established Burleigh Evatt, a management consultancy company based in Wellington. Ian is an Accredited Director of the Institute of Directors and holds a number of directorships with private and public entities. He has a Masters Degree with Honours in Economics from Canterbury University.
Alison is a business consultant specialising in treasury management. Before setting up her own business, Alison was Group Treasurer for Lion Nathan Limited in Sydney and also spent four years in Hong Kong with Lehman Brothers. She has also worked with a number of banks in Sydney, Tokyo and London, providing fixed income and foreign exchange expertise. Alison is a Visiting Fellow at Macquarie University in Sydney, where she regularly lectures on corporate treasury risk management. She has a Masters of Applied Finance from Macquarie University and was awarded several prizes for her academic work.
James is a Director of New Zealand Post. He is also a Director of Macquarie Equities and Macquarie New Zealand. He has worked in investment banking and has had a long association with the dairy industry. James is a trustee of the Scots College Foundation and the Victoria University of Wellington Foundation. He has a First Class Honours degree in Accountancy.
Richard has a Masters Degree from Oxford and is a decorated Royal Air Force pilot. He received the Sword of Honour while completing his Royal Air Force training. He is Chairman of Quotable Value New Zealand, Chairman of the Holmes Group and a Director of the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences. He was Chief Executive of Trust Bank Canterbury and General Manager of Mortgages with the Housing Corporation (now Housing New Zealand). Richard has worked for several banks including Lloyds, Chase-NBA and Barclays.