People

President

Jan Evans-Freeman

DistFEngNZ, BSc(Hons), PhD, CMInstD, FInstP

I was the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Engineering at the University of Canterbury, one of the two largest engineering colleges in New Zealand, until 2021. I then was appointed to the new role of Pro-Vice-Chancellor Sustainability at the University of Canterbury. I have worked in Universities for 30 years, 20 of them in electronic engineering departments. As part of the Engineering New Zealand board, I can bring awareness of the Institute and its professional relevance to students and academics. I have been a Director of Transpower, and served on the governing boards of several national government-funded research projects. I am a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors, and have held several governance roles over the past few years. I was made a Distinguished Fellow of Engineering New Zealand in 2021.

Deputy President

Kennie Tsui

CMEngNZ, CPEng, IntPE(NZ) / APEC Engineer

I joined the New Zealand Geothermal Association as Chief Executive Officer in July 2021. Before this, I was the Principal Analyst at the Climate Change Commission, and have also held previous positions at the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment and the Environmental Protection Authority. I’m a chemical and process engineer by training and hold an MBA. I have a wealth of knowledge across the energy sector from my professional roles and directorships, as well as strong working relationships with central government. I am based in Wellington, and have also chaired Engineering New Zealand’s Wellington Branch from 2016 through to 2019.

Board Member

Wharehuia Dixon

MEngNZ

I am a civil engineer with 15 years’ experience in airport infrastructure across New Zealand, Australia and the South Pacific. I work for Beca but am currently supporting Ngāti Awa by managing projects on behalf of Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa.

Board Member

Hamish Mckenzie

FEngNZ IntPE(NZ) / APEC Engineer

I have been a practicing structural engineer for more than 25 years, working mostly in New Zealand with Holmes Consulting. I am deeply passionate about quality in our industry, not only in the technical disciplines, but also in the way we deliver value to our clients and partners, and the opportunities and environment we provide people working in our sector. I have had input to many Engineering New Zealand sector committees and working groups such as the Engineering Practice Advisory Committee, the Programme Challenge Group and specific sector programmes such as Low Damage Seismic Design, the Engineering Leadership Group that was formed in the aftermath of the November 2016 Kaikoura Earthquake and the C5 Evidence Project. I am currently the Immediate Past President of SESOC, having recently completed a two-year term as President. During that Presidency, I was heavily involved with submissions to MBIE on occupational regulation. I am well-connected in the industry, with a good understanding of the challenges of clients, architects, quantity surveyors, lawyers, contractors, building officials and a broad cross-section of our sector. I have a deep understanding and appreciation of the work Engineering New Zealand delivers and the value it provides—and am very proud and honoured to have the opportunity to contribute to our profession at the highest level.

Board Member

Ann Williams

FEngNZ, PEngGeol, MSc (Hons)

I have been part of Aotearoa’s consulting engineering industry for over 30 years now, and have led Beca’s national geotechnical business for five years, over which time we have doubled in size. Throughout my career I have demonstrated a passion for engineering geology and hydrogeology, and for delivering a values-driven and strategic approach to my leadership – most especially by encouraging and role-modelling opportunities for women in engineering, and to geotechnical in particular. I bring governance experience from time spent as treasurer and chair of the New Zealand Geotechnical Society, and Vice President (Australasia) of the International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment. And, I bring a deep commercial risk understanding from my role on Beca Group’s Audit and Risk committee. Through these experiences I have demonstrated my diversity of thought, objectivity and willingness to speak up. As a life-long learner, I recently began a personal journey towards better understanding Te Ao Māori, reinforcing and deepening my appreciation for meaningful partnership with Māori as collaborators and co-designers, to enable and deliver better outcomes for current and future generations of New Zealanders. As a Board member, I recognise that I represent the wider engineering community, and cherish that I have the ability to influence diversity, equity and sustainability in engineering in Aotearoa.

Board Member

Aidan Cooper

I have a genuine desire to raise the profile of the engineering profession, a strong understanding of what members want from their membership, and am confident I will add significant value to the Board. I am currently an Associate Director at AECOM New Zealand and a Chartered Professional Engineer with more than 20 years’ experience in environmental and civil engineering. I have served on the Auckland Branch committee for the past 12 years and was appointed Chair in 2020. As Chair, the committee has worked with industry and technical interest groups to deliver presentations, forums, and networking events. These events have celebrated engineering and our engineer’s achievements, strengthened our connection and relevance with Engieering New Zealand’s membership, and connected our membership to our region’s schools and tertiary institutions. I am very proud of what we have achieved, particularly given the challenging environment we’ve had to work in due to Covid. Since 2017 I have served as a committee member on the Engineering Practice Advisory Committee (EPAC). This role has provided me with great insight into the risks and future challenges engineering in New Zealand will face as a profession. In 2016, I served on the Institute of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ) Board and worked with them to review their membership structure, with a particular focus on how the organisation could become more inclusive and relevant. As a Board member I will prioritise the following: leading Engineering New Zealand into a sustainable future; strengthening Engineering New Zealand’s connections with other professional bodies; ensuring the public sees Engineering New Zealand as an open and outward-facing organisation, displaying openness, honesty, and integrity; celebrating our members and their achievements.

Board Member

Sarah Sinclair

I’m a civil engineer, and I’ve worked in consultancy, construction and local government at Auckland Council and Palmy Council. I now work at Fire and Emergency New Zealand. I played a key role in Auckland Council’s technical approaches, and I’m really passionate about engineering leadership, and the ability of engineers to improve society. My background is waters (coastal, rivers and 3 waters); I’ve also worked in sustainability, resilience and disaster response, including being Auckland’s Lifeline Utilities Coordinator for several years. I’m a Fellow of Engineering NZ and of the Institution of Civil Engineers (UK). I have various governance experience as a member and as a reporting officer. Currently, I chair the University of Auckland’s Advisory Board for the Graduate School of Engineering, and past board roles include Women’s Infrastructure Network Advisory Board, Institute of Public Works Australasia (IPWEA), Southern Response Earthquake Services, Sustainable Business Network and Chartered Professional Engineers Council. In all roles, I’ve been driven by a desire to serve my community and my profession. As a member of your Board, I bring strategic thinking and curiosity, and am rewarded by broadening my experience and learning more about engineering issues. I actively promote diversity because engineering is, and should be, a superb career choice for everyone. Through my career I’ve moved from being trained, to coaching and mentoring individuals, and working with groups and committees to embed collective improvements. I intend to support Engineering New Zealand’s role in: attracting people to our profession; enabling and supporting ongoing competence development; and working with government and employers to ensure engineering competence continues to be recognised and valued appropriately within society.

Board Member

Anna Bridgman

I’ve been in the engineering industry for over 20 years, and in leadership roles within Stantec NZ for the last 11 years – currently as the Operations Leader for our Water business. As part of Stantec’s leadership, I ensure life runs as smoothly as it can as we deliver for our clients and their communities, and that our teams are engaged and motivated by the work they do every day. I’m keen to continue to grow and develop teams that will meet the needs of the industry in the years to come, and who communicate and challenge each other as they excel in the work they deliver. I’ve been interested in history since I was young, and over the years have continued to learn about how our history has shaped where we are today and how we can continue to improve. I have a strong commitment to increasing the understanding of how we can honour te Tiriti o Waitangi within our industry, and looking at how we can improve our understanding of giving effect to Te Mana o te Wai. I’m passionate about the engineering and infrastructure industry and the opportunities it can offer. I’ve held many different roles since I became an engineer and witnessed a significant cultural change in the industry over that time. It’s important we look at the future to ensure we’re ready for the climate, economic, and technological change to come – by developing teams that can meet those challenges and continue to thrive – because communities rely on us. As a Board member I want to help Engineering New Zealand support its members to be active champions of this change and reap its benefits, setting an example for our entire industry.

Emerging Board Member

Kishan Seger

CMEngNZ CPEng IntPE(NZ)

Currently I am a Technical Director – Sustainability & Design at Preformance, a project delivery and technology company that I recently helped launch. I believe my start-up experience will bring unique insights to our board. Recently I was named Young Engineer of the Year for 2023, demonstrating my commitment to bettering the field of engineering, giving back to our community and striving for low carbon design drawing on my background as a chartered structural engineer. I was born in Malaysia, raised in Papua New Guinea before moving to New Zealand. This background taught me to value diverse cultures, showing me the importance of indigenous heritage to a country's story. I aim to support Engineering New Zealand's efforts to elevate Te Ao Māori in our field. In this role, I plan to advocate for our profession and the well-being of our engineers. I'll be a voice for young and future engineers, encouraging innovation and ensure sustainability is a key focus for our profession. Together, we can achieve positive outcomes for Aotearoa.

Chief Executive

Richard Templer

PhD, FEngNZ

I became Engineering New Zealand Chief Executive in November 2020, after being Chief Executive of Manawatū District Council. I'm a Fellow and have a PhD in mechanical engineering and my career has included work for private companies, industry organisations, central and local government. I’m passionate about the vital role engineers and engineering have to play in New Zealand’s response to the challenges facing us. This includes engineering a better New Zealand in an economic, social, equitable and environmental sense. Engineering New Zealand is uniquely placed to both serve our members and make a difference for New Zealand.

General Manager – Member Services

Tania Williams

FEngNZ

I lead Engineering New Zealand’s Member Services functions. Our Member Services team supports members, connects members, engages members, upskills, and informs members. Works with members to deliver consultancy and programmes. Creates celebrations for members. Member Services includes our engagement team, support services, sector programmes team, engineering practice and learning partnerships team. I and my team are passionate about supporting our members and raising the profile of the engineering profession. I am an engineer and joined Engineering New Zealand in 2017 after a long career at engineering and management consulting.

General Manager – Strategy

Jodi Caughley

I joined Engineering New Zealand Te Ao Rangahau in August 2019 as the Policy and Projects Lead. Since August 2022 I've been a General Manager, first in an acting capacity and now as the General Manager Strategy. My role at Engineering New Zealand involves oversight of our policy, governance, strategic programmes, service design and heritage work. Before joining Engineering New Zealand, I worked in the health industry on programme management, service development and policy. I’m from Canada and have an academic background in science. I'm passionate about supporting improved outcomes for the public, profession and organisation.

General Manager – Global

Brett Williams

HonFEngNZ

I’ve been a GM at Engineering New Zealand since 2005. Before this, I was Manager Quality Assurance at the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, where I oversaw quality assurance of private training providers. My team has a key role in setting and maintaining standards for entry to the profession through our qualification accreditation programme and the operational support that we provide to the International Engineering Alliance and Vocational Engineering Education New Zealand. A key part of my role is to strengthen our international linkages and ensure that New Zealand's standards for qualification accreditation, competence-based membership and registration meet international standards. I love working with the passionate group of staff and members who maintain standards in a profession that makes such a huge difference to the safety and quality of life for New Zealanders and to our prosperity as a country.

General Manager – Promotion & Digital

Justin Brownlie

I joined Te Ao Rangahau as a General Manager in 2021. Prior to that I held a range of communications and marketing roles, with a particular interest in STEM - science, technology, engineering, and maths. My Group undertakes a range of work to support Engineering New Zealand Membership and the engineering profession. The functions the Group covers are marketing, information services, communication, business development, the Wonder Project and Diversity Agenda. So we're a varied team, but with the common passion of bringing engineering to life!

General Manager – People & Finance

Ben Vaughan

I joined Engineering New Zealand in September 2020 and am the General manager of People and Finance. I am a Chartered Accountant with over 12 years of experience. My Finance team has a passion for taking financial information and making it accessible, meaningful and useful for the organisation. Not only do we oversee the finances for Engineering New Zealand, but we also manage the financial process for eight Collaborative Technical Societies which are all separate legal entities. Our People Experience team influences the organisation to make it a great place to work to attract and maintain our exceptional talent.

General Manager – Legal Services & Complaints

Paul Kirby

I joined Te Ao Rangahau as a General Manager and General Counsel in January 2023.  My team is responsible for the functions of the Registration Authority in accordance with the Chartered Professional Engineers of New Zealand Act 2022. We have a Registrar and her team receives applications for registration, reassessments and maintains a register of Chartered Professional Engineers.  We have a legal team that hears complaints about engineers and provides in house legal services to Engineering New Zealand.  We're passionate about what we do and know that professional regulation plays an important role in ensuring the profession is valued and can be trusted by New Zealanders.