Emerging Napier director Michele Frey goes the distance

Michele Frey has won the Institute of Directors' Wellington Branch Emerging Director Award. Photo/Supplied

A New Zealand sporting representative has been recognised as an emerging talent in governance, taking out the Institute of Directors' (IoD) Wellington Branch Emerging Director Award.

Napier's Michele Frey, an Environmental Services Principal at Opus International by day, represented New Zealand in the Long-Distance Triathlon World Championships in Canada on the weekend. In her application for the Emerging Director Award, she said she was committed to lifelong learning.

"Ultimately, I seek to impart my best practice learnings to others who will come next, so that our future generations can lead in the best way possible," she said.

"I want to make a real difference, a positive difference, to the future of New Zealand.
Through the learnings and opportunities that come with this award, I intend to maximise it through my shared learnings with others, both in the board environments that I am involved in, but also other areas where good governance knowledge could be beneficial."

IoD Wellington Branch Committee member and judge Dave Frow says the judges were impressed by her passion and vision for professional governance development and desire to add real value to boardrooms.

"Michele stood out as someone with a deep and diverse skillset," he said.

"She recognises good governance as being the foundation of great organisations, and has a real drive to grow her capability as a director."

Frey receives an award package consisting of IoD professional development, the opportunity to sit as an observer on a board and build her governance expertise with the help of an experienced mentor and IoD membership, all for a year.

The IoD Wellington Branch Emerging Director Award was established to foster upcoming talent in governance through mentoring, formal training, and access to the IoD Wellington Branch events and development opportunities across the region.