New chairman for Priority One

Brett Hewlett

Brett Hewlett has been elected as the new chairman of Priority One.

Mr Hewlett has spent the last 10 years as the chief executive of global honey and health food company Comvita New Zealand Limited.

He replaces retiring chair Murray Denyer of Cooney Lees Morgan, who did not seek re-election after eight years on the board, for three of which he was the chairman.

Mr Hewlett said: "I am passionate about economic development for the region and delighted to have the opportunity to contribute to my local community in this way."

Priority One chief executive Andrew Coker said: "Brett brings strong entrepreneurial and business leadership skills to the organisation that will be important to shaping Priority One and our future direction.

"He will complement current board members who have expertise across a range of industries that are a focus for us in growing the local economy. Brett also has a very strong sense of community, and this is reflected in his wider contribution to the Western Bay of Plenty sub-region."

Priority One's recent Annual General Meeting saw two additional long standing board members retire, alongside Murray Denyer. Glenn Keaney of KPMG has served on the board for 10 years, while Alister Jones of the University of Waikato was elected to the board in 2011.

In addition to Brett Hewlett, Katikati based entrepreneur, Simon McDonald, and Sharp Tudhope partner, Kylie van Heerden, have been elected as new members of the board.

Brett Hewlett:

* Mr Hewlett has significant international business development experience, including roles in emerging and developed markets such as the Middle East, the United Kingdom and Europe.

* He is a director of US-based specialty medical device and pharmaceutical company Derma Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:DSCI) and a member of the stakeholder advisory group of Callaghan Innovation.

* He was also recently appointed as a director of SeaDragon Ltd (NZX:SEA).

* He has run his own strategy consulting company and has been an active angel investor, supporting start-up companies in New Zealand.