Development West Coast is governed by a Board of Trustees, responsible for setting the strategic direction of the Trust.
Council Elected Trustees
Renee Rooney - Chair : Elected - Grey District
Renee was elected to DWC in 2016 for the Grey District. Renee is a West Coaster by birth, a mum to three teenagers, and a dairy farm business owner with her husband.
Renee is actively involved in her community, and currently holds a variety of roles at a regional level including: director of Tai Poutini Polytechnic; executive member of Federated Farmers West Coast; committee member of OSPRI/TBFree West Coast, and Lake Brunner Community Catchment Care Group. Renee was a long serving member and immediate past Chair of Lake Brunner School Board of Trustees, and also served on the Federated Farmers National Dairy Industry Executive from 2017-2019.
Renee is a graduate of the 2014/15 DWC Leadership and Governance Programme.
Brent Oldham : Elected - Buller District
Brent was elected as the Buller District Trustee in October 2016. Born and raised in Westport, Brent has been involved in the IT industry for over 30 years, the last 20 years of which he has been self-employed running his own IT company, IT@work.
Brent has skills and experience across the IT, management, retail and service sectors. He chairs the regional lobby group, GO West Coast, is a committee member of the Buller Gorge Marathon, and has contributed as a member of the Buller District Council Economic Advisory Group.
Brent is married to Buller district councillor Sharon Roche and has two adult daughters.
Christopher Rea : Elected - Westland District
Chris was elected as the Westland District Trustee in October 2019. Born and raised in Ross, South of Hokitika, Chris is the father of three school aged boys, and a small business owner employing ten people at Hokitika Automotive. His new 2015 start-up venture, ChatR Communications, is now a West Coast wide digital radio network that sees Chris actively involved in the New Zealand radio communications industry.
Currently Chris is a Director of Westland Holdings Limited and Destination Westland (CCO). Past directorships include Tai Poutini Polytechnic, and the West Coast Rural Fire Authority. Chris’s community involvement includes over 20 years’ service with the Hokitika volunteer fire brigade, and past Board of Trustee positions with Kaniere Primary School and immediate past Chair of Westland High School.
Chris is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors, and a graduate of the 2012/13 DWC Leadership & Governance Programme.
Council Appointed Trustee
Dame Julie Christie, D.N.Z.M
Dame Julie Christie, D.N.Z.M. was appointed in 2017. She was born and educated in Greymouth and now resides in Auckland although she has a holiday home near Hokitika.
Julie is a professional director and entrepreneur with governance and industry experience in media, business development, hospitality and sport. After 25 years leading an international television production company, Julie served on the Board of New Zealand Trade & Enterprise for six years, chairing the grants committee. She currently sits on the Advisory Board of The New Zealand Story, a government initiative to help New Zealand businesses and government agencies communicate our country’s unique value to the world, and on the Steering Group for New Zealand’s participation in the World Expo in Dubai in 2020 . Julie sits on the commercial committee of New Zealand Rugby and was a Board member of the Rugby World Cup NZ2011. She was the first New Zealand winner of the Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the year award in 2008. Julie was made a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for Services to Governance and the Television Industry.
Independent Trustees
Patrick Mulligan - Deputy Chair : NZ Law Society
Patrick was appointed to DWC in 2016.
Patrick is a lawyer specialising in resource management and environmental issues. He is a partner in the Auckland office of the national law firm, Buddle Findlay, and heads its litigation team. He has over 25 years’ legal experience relating to a wide range of commercial and public law issues.
Although Patrick and his family now reside in Auckland, he was born and educated on the West Coast, coming from a well-known Reefton mining family.
Tangata Whenua Appointed Trustee
Francois Tumahai
Francois was appointed to the Trust in November 2013. He is of Ngati Waewae and Ngati Whatua descent and while born in Wellington he spent much of his childhood living at the Arahura Pa near Hokitika.
Based in Christchurch as an engineer he became actively involved in Ngati Waewae in the mid 1990s and joined the executive in 2007 before being appointed Chair in 2008. He has project managed the runanga's marae development over the last five years with the $5million facility due to open in November 2014.
Francois is involved in many boards including health provider Poutini Waiora and the Advisory Board of Tā Tau Pounamu. He is Managing Director of Poutini Environmental and General Manager of Waewae Pounamu which is Ngāti Waewae's commercial Pounamu outlet in Hokitika.
BOARD COMPOSITION
The Board of seven Trustees is comprised of:
Three Elected Trustees
One from each of the Buller, Grey and Westland Districts. Elections are held every three years and any person who is eligible to vote at an election or poll under the Local Elections and Polls Act 1976, irrespectively of the place of residence of the person in New Zealand, may be a candidate for election as an Elected Trustee.
Two Independent Trustees
One appointed by the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants;One appointed by the New Zealand Law Society.
One Appointed Trustee
Appointed jointly by the three West Coast District Councils and West Coast Regional Council.
One Tangata Whenua Trustee
Appointed jointly by Te Runanga o Makaawhio and Te Runanga o Ngati Waewae.
SUB-COMMITTEES
DWC operates with a sub-committee structure to assist with some of the specific functions of the organisation.
Two standing committees are the Finance and Audit Committee and the Investment Committee. Additional sub-committee/project committees are established from time to time on an as required basis to deal with specific matters.
Investment Committee
Membership of the Investment Committee comprises all Trustees and assists DWC in the implementation of the Statement of Investment Policy & Objectives and Treasury Policy. The committee meets on a monthly basis.
Finance Committee
The Finance Committee comprises Trustees B Oldham (Chair), C Rea and R Rooney. The key function of the committee is to assist DWC in discharging its responsibilities in relation to financial reporting and regulatory conformance. The committee generally meets 4 to 5 times per year.
HISTORY OF TRUSTEES
Trustee |
Period Served |
Position |
| AUCHINVOLE, Mr C J | 2001 – 2005 | Elected – Grey District |
| BAMFIELD, Mr L A | 2001 – 2005 | Elected – Buller District |
| BOUSTRIDGE, Mr I C | 2001 – 2005 | Elected – Grey District |
| BROWN, Mr K R | 2001 – 2004 | Council Appointee - Grey |
| BUCHANAN, Mr R E | 2009 – 2016 | Independent – Law Society |
| CARRUTHERS, Mr D L | 2005 – 2007 | Elected – Grey District |
| CHRISTIE, Dame J, DNZM | 2017 – present | Council Appointee |
| CLAYTON, Mr J H | 2006 – 2010 | Elected – Grey District |
| COLL, Mrs J C | 2001 – 2007 | Council Appointee – Buller |
| COPELAND, Mr M | 2001 – 2006 | Council Appointee – Regional Council |
| DOOLEY, Mr F T | 2001 – 2016 | Elected – Buller District |
| DRYLIE, Mr J F | 2001 – 2004 | Council Appointee – Westland |
| DUNCAN, Mr M W | 2001 – 2005 | Tangata Whenua Appointee |
| FRASER, Mrs S J | 2004 – 2006 | Council Appointee – Westland |
| JONES, Mr E | 2010 – 2013 | Elected – Westland District |
| KOKSHOORN, Mr A F | 2004 – 2007 | Council Appointee - Grey |
| LITTLE, Mr H | 2013 – 2019 | Elected – Westland District |
| LOCKINGTON, Mr M W | 2005 – 2019 | Independent – New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants |
| MULLIGAN, Mr P | 2016 – present | Independent – New Zealand Law Society |
| OLDHAM, Mr B | 2016 – present | Elected - Buller District |
| PEGLEY, Mr A J | 2001 – 2005 | Elected – Westland District |
| RASMUSSEN, Mrs H | 2010 – 2013 | Tangata Whenua Appointee |
| REA, Mr C J | 2019 – present | Elected – Westland District |
| ROCHE, Mr B | 2008 – 2009 | Crown Appointee |
| ROONEY, Mrs R | 2016 – present | Elected – Grey District |
| ROUTHAN, Mr D C | 2001 – 2004 | Elected – Westland District |
| SAWYERS, Mr W H M | 2001 – 2005 | Independent – Law Society & Accountants |
| SHAHADAT, Mr M | 2005 – 2007 | Elected – Westland District |
| SMITH, Mr B | 2007 – 2010 | Elected – Westland District |
| SMITH, Mr C | 2010 – 2016 | Elected – Grey District |
| STURGEON, Mr J, ONZM, MBE | 2010 – 2017 | Council Appointee |
| TUMAHAI, Mr F | 2013 – present | Tangata Whenua |
| WHITE, Mrs C P | 2005 – 2007 | Elected – Buller District |
| WILKINSON, Mr B T | 2005 – 2007 | Elected – Westland District |
| WILLIAMS, Mr A G | 2007 – 2010 | Council Appointee (Joint) |
| WILLIAMS, Mrs G A | 2005 – 2007 | Elected – Grey District |
| WILSON, Mr B A | 2004 – 2010 | Tangata Whenua |
Chairs and Deputy Chairs/Office Holders
Trustee |
Period Served |
Position |
| ROONEY, Mrs R | 2017 – present | Chair |
| STURGEON, Mr J | 2010 – 2017 | Chair |
| DOOLEY, Mr F T | 2001 – 2008 | Chair |
| ROCHE, Mr B | 2008 | Chair |
| WILLIAMS, Mr A G | 2009 – 2010 | Chair |
| MULLIGAN, Mr P | 2016 – present | Deputy Chair |
| BUCHANAN, Mr R E | 2009 – 2012 | Deputy Chair |
| SMITH, Mr C | 2012 – 2016 | Deputy Chair |
Chief Executive Officers
CEO |
Period Served |
| TROUSSELOT, Mr M C | 2001 – 2008 |
| CHANG, Dr J | 2009 – 2013 |
| THOMAS, Mr J | 2014 – 2015 |
| MACKENZIE, Mr C | 2016 – 2019 |
| MILNE, Mr H | 2020 – present |