Green Growth Advisory Group members

The Green Growth Advisory Group includes New Zealand businesspeople with extensive experience in business management and market development (in this country and internationally), and in the alignment of environmental and economic outcomes.

Phil O’Reilly – Chair

Phil O’Reilly is Chief Executive of BusinessNZ, New Zealand’s largest business advocacy group, advocating for New Zealand’s success by sustainable economic growth. He is a member of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD and is New Zealand’s employer delegate to the International Labour Conference and a member of the ILO Governing Body. Phil serves on a number of Boards including the Innovation Board of the Ministry of Science & Innovation, and the Council of the Royal Society of New Zealand.

Melissa Clark-Reynolds

Melissa Clark-Reynolds is the founder and CEO of MiniMonos.com, a virtual world for children. As well as being on the Board of Wellington's incubator, Creative HQ, she also serves on the Board of Accuro Health Insurer, and Pivot Software. Melissa has been an entrepreneur for almost 20 years, and holds a Masters Degree with a focus on Environmental Health.

Whaimutu Dewes

Whaimutu Dewes is a director on Ngati Porou Forests, Ngati Porou Seafoods, Housing New Zealand, Aotearoa Fisheries and Contact Energy Boards. Whaimutu is of NgatiPorou and NgatiRangitihi descent.

Lain Jager

Lain Jager has been the Chief Executive of Zespri since December 2008. Previous roles with the company included Human Resources, Grower Relations, Innovation, Supply Chain, and Corporate Strategy.

Prior to joining Zespri, Lain worked for Starwood Hotels and Resorts and Fletcher Challenge in a variety of Human Resources and Operations Management roles. Lain has a Masters degree in Social Sciences from the University of Waikato.

Neville Jordan CNZM

Neville Jordan was Chair of the CRI Review Taskforce. Neville has served six years on the board of AgResearch, and three years each on the boards of the Foundation of Research Science & Technology as well as the Prime Minister’s Growth and Innovation Advisory Board. He has also been Chair of an SOE Establishment board.

In 1997 he received the Governor General's Supreme award for Exporting. He is a laureate of the NZ Business Hall of Fame as well as the Hi-Tech Hall of Fame. He is the immediate Past President of the Royal Society of New Zealand and has an honorary Doctorate from the University of Canterbury.

Dr Andrew (Andy) Pearce

Andrew Pearce is currently the Chair of the Regional Committee to give effect to the Canterbury Water Management Strategy.

During his career, he has been involved with a diverse range of public and private-sector organisations and brings broad governance and management experience. His experience has included roles in the infrastructure sector, banking, publicly-listed companies, research and development organisations, as well as the not-for-profit sector.

Andy was founding Chief Executive Officer of Landcare Research from 1992 to 2005 and sits on a number of boards including the Bank of New Zealand, Christchurch City Holdings, and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority.

Guy Salmon

Guy Salmon is Executive Director of the Ecologic Foundation, an independent think tank on sustainable development. A specialist in environmental policy and governance, his work involves policy research, consulting and advice in New Zealand and internationally.

His research on approaches to environmental governance in the Nordic countries raised interest in collaborative governance in New Zealand. He is a former board member of Landcare Research and of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, and a current member of the Land and Water Forum.

Peter Yealands

After pioneering the mussel farming industry, Peter led the development of embryonic transplant technology in deer farming. A keen interest in the application of new technology allowed Peter to develop the rolling hills of the Awatere Valley, Marlborough into Yealands Estate Wines, at the time some of the first terraced vineyards in the country. Not content with developing the largest single vineyard in New Zealand, Peter set the ambitious goal of becoming the most sustainable wine producer in the world, combining state-of-the art technology with some home grown innovations.

Shortly after the launch in 2008, Yealands Estate Wines received CarboNZero accreditation and in 2010 was recognised as the Global Winner of the Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices accolade. Exporting to over 65 countries the Yealands Estate wine brand has quickly gained an international reputation for producing award winning, sustainably produced wines.