Executive Director Stephen Jacobi read out on the recent Delhi business mission, published earlier by Newsroom.
Our board

Philip Gregan
Chair, Chief Executive, NZ Winegrowers
Philip Gregan is the Chief Executive Officer of New Zealand Winegrowers Inc, the national industry organisation that represents, researches and promotes the interests of New Zealand grape growers and wine makers. Philip has been with New Zealand Winegrowers and its predecessor, the Wine Institute of New Zealand, since starting as a Research officer in 1983. He has held the role of Chief Executive Officer since 1990. Philip has a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts (Hons) degrees, majoring in Geography, from the University of Auckland, and has also completed a strategic leadership course at Oxford University in the UK. Philip is married to Robyn McGregor and they live in Auckland with their three daughters

Sirma Karapeeva
Chief Executive, Meat Industry Association
Sirma joined the Meat Industry Association (MIA) as Trade and Economic Manager in March 2015 following a career in the public sector during which she developed a deep knowledge of trade policy and significant trade negotiations experience.
Prior to joining MIA Sirma was with the Ministry of Primary Industries’ (MPI) trade policy team, where she was involved in progressing the primary sector interests in the negotiations of goods market access and sanitary and phytosanitary provisions in New Zealand’s free trade agreements. Sirma has also worked with the Ministry of Economic Development (now MBIE) in negotiating and implementing New Zealand’s technical barriers to trade obligations.
In addition to a long history of negotiating bilateral and pluri-lateral trade agreements, Sirma has represented New Zealand’s interests at a number of international forums including the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

Raewyn Bleakley
Chief Executive, NZ Food and Grocery Council
Raewyn is an experienced and successful senior leader who has worked across and within government for more than 20 years, 6½ of them in chief executive roles at various industry associations.
Before becoming the CE of the New Zealand Food and Grocery Council, she was one of five Deputy Chief Executives at Fire and Emergency NZ for three years, where she was responsible for leading the Office of the Chief Executive. Before that she spent two years as General Manager Governance, Communications and Stakeholders, and three years as Region Director Central New Zealand at Waka Kotahi (NZ Transport Agency).

AJ Smith
Chief Executive Officer, TradeWindow
AJ Smith founded TradeWindow in June 2018, building on a track record of innovation and investment in successful rapid-growth companies in South Africa, Switzerland, and New Zealand. Some of his previous ventures include MediFin, GreenFin, Commonwealth Finance, and Bonds Africa. With a strong belief in building high-performance teams, AJ is an active executive member of the Young Presidents Organization in New Zealand Chapter and studied a B. Comm from the University of Free State and is currently completing a Master’s degree in Supply Chain and Logistics in his spare time as well.

Reuben Tucker
General Manager Institutional & Business Banking
Reuben Tucker is the General Manager Institutional & Business Banking in August 2022. In this role, he oversees Westpac New Zealand’s business banking sector – incorporating Institutional; Corporate and Commercial; Agribusiness; and Small Business.
Reuben is a senior banker with broad and deep experience in Institutional Banking having worked for almost 25 years in New Zealand, Australia and the Asia Pacific, in a career that has included financial markets, debt capital markets, relationship management, and transactional banking.

Michael Fox
Head of Global Public Affairs, Zespri International Ltd
Michael Fox is Head of Global Public Affairs at Zespri. He leads Zespri’s global public, political and regulatory engagement, advocacy and trade strategy as well as its community investment and tours and events programme. He and his team have responsibility for supporting communities and creating an environment to help the industry to fulfill its growth ambitions through positive engagement and advocacy and building the New Zealand kiwifruit industry’s reputation as one which makes a positive impact on communities and stakeholders around the world. He was formerly Head of Communications and External Relations.
Michael holds a number of advisory roles including sitting on the New Zealand International Business Forum, the India New Zealand Business Council and Export NZ Advisory Board. Prior to Zespri he advised Prime Ministers Sir John Key and Sir Bill English and Opposition leader Simon Bridges as a Press Secretary and Chief Press Secretary.

Kirk Hope
Chief Executive, Business NZ
Kirk Hope is Chief Executive of BusinessNZ, New Zealand’s largest business advocacy body, advocating for New Zealand’s success through sustainable market-led growth. Kirk previously led the New Zealand Bankers’ Association and Financial Services Federation after holding a range of senior positions at Westpac, including Head of Government Relations and Regulatory Affairs. A barrister and solicitor with a master’s degree in law focused on regulation of financial services, Kirk also holds a post graduate honours degree in political science. For five years he was a member of the Commercial and Business Law Committee of the New Zealand Law Society..

Sarah Salmond
Partner, Minter Ellison
Sarah is a Corporate Partner at Minter Ellison Rudd Watts with 20 years’ experience of advising clients on public, regulatory and international trade law matters. She is a leading provider of public law and regulatory advice across a range of industry sectors, including agriculture and fisheries, food and beverage, transportation, postal and distribution, telecommunications, airports and energy. She also specialises in helping corporates to address the challenges of trading goods and services across national borders. She is the only lawyer from a major New Zealand law firm recognised for Trade Law by The Best Lawyers™ in New Zealand 2020.

Tim Silverstone
General Counsel and General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Sealord Group Ltd
Tim is Sealord’s General Counsel and General Manager Corporate Affairs. As part of his role, Tim is the senior legal adviser and company secretary to the Sealord Group. Tim is also responsible for sustainability, corporate communications, government relations and insurance. Before joining Sealord in 2010, Tim was a lawyer at a number of major law firms, including Russell McVeagh in Auckland and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London. Tim’s practice focused on corporate law, including mergers and acquisitions and securities law.

Simon Tucker
Director, Global Stakeholder Affairs, Fonterra
Simon Tucker is Director of Global Stakeholder Affairs at Fonterra. Simon has spent over ten years in the New Zealand dairy industry including in leadership roles at DairyNZ, the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand and with Fonterra Co- operative Group’s US-based business. During his career, Simon has also spent considerable time working for the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He was the Ministry’s Assistant Secretary based in Auckland, and served as New Zealand High Commissioner (Ambassador) to Canada and was concurrently High Commissioner to Jamaica. Earlier diplomatic assignments included postings as Counsellor and head of the trade team at the New Zealand Embassy in Washington DC and three years at the NZ Embassy in Tehran. He also spent several years working in Parliament as adviser to the Minister for Trade.

Sam McIvor
Chief Executive Officer, Beef + Lamb New Zealand
Sam has been CEO of Beef + Lamb New Zealand since April 2016. He is also the CEO of the New Zealand Meat Board, the organisation that manages and administers sheepmeat and beef export quotas on behalf of the New Zealand industry. Sam has a career spanning the agri-food sector from farm to retail. Prior to joining B+LNZ he was the CEO of Preston Corp Ltd a logistics, meat processing, wholesaling and retailing company and CEO of industry good organisation New Zealand Pork.

Mike Pretty
Non-Executive Chairman Kraft Heinz ANZ (Heinz Wattie’s NZ)
Mike’s career spans over 30 years in the New Zealand food industry having started in the food sector in the UK as a graduate at Unigate (St Ivel). In NZ he has held key roles at Heinz Wattie’s NZ including six years as the Managing Director and six years as the Marketing, Research and Development Director. He has also held the role of Sales Director and an export role in earlier years. For six years prior to becoming Managing Director, he was Global VP for Heinz Ketchup and Marketing Capability, with an office at HJ Heinz’ WHQ in Pittsburgh.
Mike has been on the NZ Food and Grocery Council since 2017 and is currently the Chair. For the last year and a half, he’s been on the Food & Beverage ITP working group. More recently, appointed to the newly created Plastic Product Priority Scheme tasked with designing NZ’s extended producer responsibility system that improves recycling levels and lifts plastics circularity.

Amy Tocker
Ko Tāua Ltd & Māori Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated
Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Maniapoto
Amy owns and operates her own consultancy company Ko Tāua Ltd and is the General Manager for Māori Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated. Amy has been working in the kiwifruit industry for 10 years most recently working for Zespri International as the Māori & Community Relations Manager and has in-depth knowledge and understanding of the kiwifruit and horticulture industry spanning the entire supply chain through offshore markets to consumers. In her time at Zespri, Amy coordinated the establishment of the Māori Kiwifruit Growers forum and led multiple Māori grower delegations into global markets throughout Asia, Americas, Europe and the Middle East
Amy has a key focus on improving outcomes for Māori and strongly advocates for increasing the skills and capabilities of Māori in both business and the Primary Industries.

Kimberly Crewther
Executive Director - Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand
Kimberly Crewther is the Executive Director of the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand (DCANZ), the membership association that represents the common interests of New Zealand dairy manufacturing and exporting companies on matters of public policy, both within New Zealand and internationally. Kimberly has worked in the New Zealand dairy industry since 2003, including prior roles at both DairyNZ and Fonterra Co-operative Group. She also Chair’s the Biosecurity Business Pledge’s member reference group, and is a member of the New Zealand National Committee for the International Dairy Federation.

Catherine Beard
Director of Advocacy BusinessNZ
Catherine Beard is Director of Advocacy for BusinessNZ, New Zealand’s largest business advocacy network, representing thousands of businesses of all sizes. The BusinessNZ network includes ExportNZ for which Catherine previously served as Executive Director.
Catherine has spent the last 30 years as a lobbyist and advocate for a wide range of industries on a wide range of issues, including climate change issues for the energy intensive sector, the insurance sector and the agricultural sector (dairy focus). Catherine has participated in Prime Minister led trade missions to Indonesia and China and represents BusinessNZ at various international meetings.
Catherine was also a co-founder of a start-up business designing and manufacturing children’s nursery furniture, for which two products won national design awards.
Our Executive Team

Stephen Jacobi – Executive Director
Stephen Jacobi is managing director of Jacobi Consulting, a consultancy offering strategic advice in international trade, government relations and industry development. Stephen is a former diplomat, ministerial advisor and chief executive. Read an interview with Stephen here.

Stephanie Honey – Lead Staffer (ABAC)
Stephanie Honey is an international trade policy consultant, drawing on over 25 years’ experience in the public and private sectors. Stephanie is a former trade negotiator and diplomat. She runs an independent trade policy consultancy, Honey Consulting, as well as a business that provides executive education in trade, Global Trade Insights.

Glen Candy – Project Manager (Business Engagement)
Glen is a communications freelancer with broad experience of working with businesses, government agencies, local government and not-for-profits. He has also spent nearly two decades supporting exporters from diverse sectors.
REGISTER WITH TRADE WORKS
Register to stay up to date with latest news, as well as saving and discussing articles you’re interested in.
Latest News
EYES OPENED DURING INDIA VISIT
Executive Director Stephen Jacobi read out on the recent Delhi business mission, published earlier by Newsroom.
GUEST BLOG: Raewyn Bleakley, Chief Executive, New Zealand Food and Grocery Council
NZIBF Board Member and CEO, NZ Food and Grocery Council, Raewyn Bleakley, shares her thoughts on why trade is important to kiwis.
New Zealand business delegation “over the moon” with Indian trade and investment opportunities
The largest New Zealand business mission ever to visit India has uncovered significant trade and investment opportunities across a host of sectors.
REMARKS TO INDIA NEW ZEALAND TRADE AND ECONOMIC ROUNDTABLE
Stephen Jacobi, Executive Director NZIBF, gives his remarks to the India New Zealand Trade and Economic Roundtable in Delhi.
Large business delegation bound for India
Fifty business representatives will leave later this week bound for Delhi, making it one of the largest delegations ever to head for India.
India and New Zealand: The next innings
As a trade mission prepares to depart for Delhi, Stephen Jacobi of the New Zealand International Business Forum considers the prospects for growing two-way trade and investment between India and New Zealand.
CRUNCH TIME FOR CPTPP
Following the Ministers’ meeting in Auckland, what is the outlook for CPTPP as the world’s most ambitious free trade agreement?
INDIA AND NEW ZEALAND: GETTING ONTO THE FRONT FOOT
NZIBF is part of the largest commercial mission ever to visit India, in an effort to boost bilateral trade and investment between India and New Zealand.
ADDRESS TO THE HAWKE’S BAY BRANCH OF THE NZ INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS – “TRADE SECURITY – FINDING NEW BASKETS”
TUESDAY 15 AUGUST 2023 STEPHEN JACOBI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NZ INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS FORUM It’s a pleasure to be with you once again. This is an address about trade but also about baskets and eggs – in particular how many eggs and how many baskets we need to prosper...
SUBMISSION TO THE PARLIAMENTARY FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE AND TRADE COMMITTEE
Read NZIBF’s assessment of the #NZEU FTA submitted to the Select Committee: “efforts will need to be made over time in the … review of the Agreement if it is to deliver significant commercial benefits to New Zealand”.