Major changes as Northland Inc board gets new blood

In an almost clean sweep, only one of five directors has been retained on the economic and development arm of the Northland Regional Council.

As well as four replacements coming in as the current Northland Inc board's terms expire next month, the council also increased the overall number from to five to seven.

The six new members join the only existing director not replaced, Kaikohe-based chartered accountant Sarah Petersen who has been on the board since 2012. There were 35 applicants after the directorships were publicly advertised in April.

NRC chairman Bill Shepherd described the changes as building on current achievements by introducing 'new blood'.

The changes reflect a territorial spread and the dynamics of the whole region, he said.

Joining Petersen on the board will be Geoff Copstick of Hikurangi, Kris MacDonald of Matapouri and four Kerikeri residents, Nicole Anderson, Denis Callesen, David Crewe and Jim Makaweo.

Leaving the fold is Karleen Everitt, who has been on the board since 2013 and chairwoman since last August. Also going are Whangārei residents, deputy chairman Jeroen Jongejans, Irene Durham and Warren Moyes.

Everitt, who is the first woman and Māori in the role of chairman, is proud she and her colleagues leave the organisation in ''great shape''.

"It's an exciting time for Northland; this is a region very much 'on the up' but there is more work to be done,'' she said.

The cost of having two extra directors on the board will be met through NRC increasing its funding to Northland Inc. NRC group manager of corporate excellence, Dave Tams, would not reveal how much the directors' honorariums were.

''While it is publicly funded, individuals can expect a reasonable amount of privacy,'' he said.

The Northern Advocate has requested the figures under the Official Information Act.

Northland Inc was established in 2011/12, and is floated to the tune of $1.7 million from the NRC's Investment and Growth Reserve - or from the council's investments rather than directly through rates.

Of the new directors, Copstick is an independent (non-elected) member of the NRC's Audit Working Party, on its investment subcommittee and is a financial adviser to the council.

With his new role any conflict of interest will be managed using the council's existing declaration process, Tams said.

Anderson is a director for various organisations, Callesen is a tourism consultant and Crewe has a background in economic development. MacDonald is CEO of Ngātiwai Trust Board CEO and Makaweo is a governance consultant.

Their terms, from one and three years, will be confirmed when the appointments take effect on July 1. The new chairman will be decided at the board's first meeting.