NZX appoints Simon Power, Therese Walsh to its board

BUSINESSDESK: Stock exchange operator NZX has appointed former commerce minister Simon Power and TVNZ and NZ Cricket director Therese Walsh to its board.

Mr Power's appointment is effective from December 1 and Ms Walsh's from February 1 next year.

The appointments come ahead of former New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Chris Moller resigning from November 2 to become chairman of Sky City Entertainment Group and Meridian Energy and will take the number of NZX directors to eight.

Existing board member James Miller has also been appointed to the newly created position of deputy chairman.

NZX "is very pleased that Simon has accepted our invitation to join us as an independent director," chairman Andrew Harmos says.

"I am confident he will make a strong contribution to NZX across a number of areas and I would particularly like to acknowledge Westpac's vision and investment in Simon and its commitment to the New Zealand capital markets which this appointment demonstrates."

Mr Power became head of Westpac's private wealth and insurance division after he decided not to stand for re-election in November 2011.

Ms Walsh spent nine years with accounting firm KPMG's audit and assurance divisions, was chief operating officer for Rugby NZ 2011 and is head of NZ for Cricket World Cup 2015.

"Therese has a strong financial background. In addition, her management and operating experience in large scale projects ... will be particularly useful in the context of governance of NZX's operating businesses," Mr Harmos says.

"Coming from a non-financial markets background, Therese's skill set will enhance the experience and diversity of thought around our board and we are very enthusiastic about her appointment."

He also paid tribute to Mr Moller: "His common sense and straight talking has been a real asset."

NZX shares are up 1 cent at $1.13. They peaked at $1.37 last June after its return of capital to shareholders in May and sank as low as $1.02 in August, after poor operating metrics were announced, before starting to recover.