People in Business: Appointments

Webdivisions Group has appointed Poh Mui Hoon group chief executive. Ms Poh was the former chief executive of the NETS group of companies and sits on several boards including Asian Cultural Enterprise and the finance committee of SATA CommHealth.

AIA New Zealand has appointed former ACC business relationship manager Ben McQuaytrainee distribution development manager. Mr McQuay spent the past seven years in management and business development for Accident Compensation Corporation. Mr McQuay has a bachelor of business studies from Massey University.

Warren & Mahoney has appointed Tim Melville principal in its Auckland studio. Mr Melville was previously with RTA Studio, co-leading the practice alongside Richard Naish in the design and delivery of multiple award-winning projects.

Carlson Wagonlit Travel has appointed Bruce Van Der Waagchief financial officer for CWT Australia and New Zealand. Mr Van Der Waag has worked at multinational businesses such as PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte. He recently migrated with his family to Australia from the UK where he had worked for WH Smith, London for the past 14 years.

Hilton Worldwide has appointedMarija Gecanto the New Zealand sales team as sales manager for the meetings, incentives, conferences and events market. Ms Gecan has a background in hospitality management, having worked for three years as a sales manager for the Accor group in the central North Island.

Harrison Grierson has appointed two new directors and a senior principal to its team.Stephen Finnemore and Poul Israelson have been appointed as directors and Andrew Thompson has been promoted to senior principal. Mr Finnemore is a chartered professional engineer with a BSc in chemical sciences and a diploma in business studies. Mr Israelson has experience as a planning specialist and project manager. He has a masters of regional and resources planning degree and a diploma in business administration. Mr Thompson has led the building and construction section of the engineering division of the company since 2006 and has a degree in civil engineering.

The Institute of Financial Advisers (IFA) has appointed Jeremy Bendallas an independent director. Mr Bendall is a chartered accountant and managing director of Bendall Advisory. He has been a partner of KPMG and held leadership and educational support roles across the country.

Jeremy Kelleherhas joined the industrial team of brokers at Colliers International in Christ-church. Mr Kelleher has had eight years’ experience in the commercial and residential property markets, most recently with Cowdy & Co.

Kiwifruit Growers has appointed Marty Robinson employment co-ordinator. Mr Robinson will match people who have lost their jobs as a result of PSA to other opportunities in the industry. He has over 18 years’ experience as an orchardist, orchard manager and in human resource roles.

Southern Cross Health Society has appointedJustin Vaughanhead of clinical operations. Previously chief executive of NZ Cricket, Mr Vaughan is a qualified medical practitioner, graduating from the University of Auckland medical school in 1991. He has held leadership roles in the healthcare sector including chief executive of BrainZ and leading PricewaterhouseCoopers’ New Zealand health consulting practice.

Foodstuffs has appointed Peter Mugglestonchief information officer of Foodstuffs Auckland andMartin Pricegeneral manager property for Foodstuffs Wellington. Mr Muggleston has held roles at ASB Bank, Shell and Fletcher Energy and has had experience in managing IT functions both in New Zealand and overseas. Mr Price previously held senior positions within property and development companies including Merge Property Group and Trans Tasman Properties.

Yellow has appointed Lara Bancrofthead of marketing and digital and Michael Hendryacting chief technology officer. Ms Bancroft previously worked in the US, the UK and, most recently, as a consultant in Australia. Mr Hendry has worked for IBM and Telecom and has built several private technology companies based in New Zealand, Australia and the US.

Beca Group has appointed Greg Lowechief executive from within its own ranks. Mr Lowe will be based in Melbourne before moving to the Auckland headquarters. He has experience in the Australian consulting engineering sector.