NZ Memorial Museum Trust – Le Quesnoy announces a new line up.
The NZ Liberation Museum – Te Arawhata, is moving into a new phase. The museum is open and getting busier by the minute. It is now the day-to-day running of the museum that is important to realise the endeavour as a successful business. To that end, we have a group of new people joining us as Trust Board members.
As Sir Don says, “Our new Trust Board line up, as you will see, is populated with some of New Zealand’s most extraordinary business, legal, financial and creative minds. The common thread being that they all care deeply about the need to maintain Te Arawhata as the legacy of the New Zealand soldiers who liberated Le Quesnoy, and to maintain Te Arawhata as the relevant place it is – to strive for a peaceful future. And ultimately, for Te Arawhata to stand as the symbol of friendship between Le Quesnoy and Aotearoa New Zealand, and keep that friendship going for the next 100 years.”
So please reacquaint yourselves with our current board members and meet our new trustees. Some of them will be familiar to you and together they possess a wealth of talent from many community sectors.
Sir Don McKinnon ONZ GCVO PC, is now Patron of the New Zealand Memorial Museum Trust – Le Quesnoy, alongside the Rt Hon. Helen Clark.
Sir Don is no stranger to most of you and he has been involved in the NZ Liberation Museum – Te Arawhata since 2014, as Trustee and then as Chair of the Trust Board. This has been a labour of love for Sir Don and he has taken many of us along on the journey with him. Sir Don served as the 12th Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand. He was the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations from 2000 until 2008. When National, won the 1990 election, McKinnon became Deputy Prime Minister. He also became Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Minister of Pacific Island Affairs. Among many other things, during his tenure in the former role he oversaw, New Zealand’s election to the UN Security Council, increased activity in the Commonwealth of Nations, and was instrumental in the attempts to broker a truce on the island of Bougainville. He received recognition as a result of the Bougainville negotiations.
Sir Don is married to Lady McKinnon, Clare de Lore, and together they have a son. Sir Don also has four other children from a previous marriage. In the 2008 New Year Honours, he was appointed as a Member of the Order of New Zealand, New Zealand’s highest civilian honour. And then in 2009, appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order for services to the Commonwealth. He is a vice-president of the Royal Commonwealth Society.
David McLean is the new Chair of the NZ Memorial Museum Trust – Le Quesnoy
David is the current Chair of KiwiRail, New Zealand’s national rail operator, having had a career as a lawyer and banker. David is also Chair of Kiwi Group Capital, a member of the Council of Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington and the National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women.
He retired after seven years as CEO of Westpac NZ in June 2021 and is a former chair of the NZ Bankers Association, former co-Chair of Champions for Change, former chair, and a Distinguished Fellow, of INFINZ.
Of his appointment, David says, “Our challenge now is to give as many people as possible the chance to learn more about the story of New Zealanders in the First World War and the lasting friendship with the people of Le Quesnoy.”
Major Mark Hall (Rtd) is the Deputy Chair of the Trust.
Mark served as a police officer for 42 years. His role encompassed frontline operations, planning and command. His final role in the NZ Police was the management of the operational support elements in the Auckland region – Air Support (Eagle), Maritime Unit, Dogs, Armed Offenders Squad, Search & Rescue, and Specialist Search. He commanded the Auckland Armed Offenders Squad from 2001 – 2012.
He joined the Territorial Force in 1976, serving through to 1998, and retired with the rank of Major. A highlight of that service was a year’s posting to the United Nations in Palestine as a military observer on the Israeli borders.
With a keen interest in New Zealand’s military history, Mark became a trustee in 2017. He currently holds the position of Deputy Chair and provides guidance to everyone involved with Te Arawhata. In the parlance of a rugby match, he is safe hands. Day to day operations, forward planning and financial management all fall within Mark’s ambit, and those who work with Mark appreciate his straight talking.
Mark also has a personal connection to Le Quesnoy. His grandfather was in the NZ Artillery from Gallipoli through to Cologne as part of the occupation after 11 November 1918; he was a Battery Sergeant Major of No. 4 Howitzer Battery in support of the 3rd Rifle Brigade which liberated Le Quesnoy.
Innovator, entrepreneur and philanthropist Andrew Barnes has made a career of market-changing innovation and industry digitisation.
Andrew is a director of Complectus Limited, the parent of the Perpetual Guardian Group of companies including the leading crowdfunding platform Givealittle where he currently serves as chair. He is a shareholder in various other financial services companies both in New Zealand and the UK. He formerly chaired the Regional Facilities Auckland board and the board of New Zealand payroll provider PaySauce.
Andrew is the innovator and architect behind 4 Day Week Global, which was named as a 2023 TIME100 Most Influential Company. The trial Andrew led at Perpetual Guardian in 2018 made global headlines and reached billions of people in 70+ countries through widespread news and social media coverage. Andrew regularly talks to international audiences about the future of work, governance, philanthropy, business leadership, entrepreneurship, company culture and change management. He presented a TEDx Talk and published a white paper on the 4 Day Week in 2019 and wrote The 4 Day Week book, released in 2020 in North America, New Zealand, Australia, the UK and Europe, and in French and Danish translation. He is the only Kiwi to make the 2024 Thinkers 50 Radar list and was also named as Forbes’ inaugural Future of Work 50, in 2022.
Bruce Bernacchi is a lawyer and a chartered accountant with over 27 years’ experience.
Bruce advises on a wide range of taxation issues, including domestic and international corporate tax matters, indirect taxes, and employee tax issues. Bruce has advised on buy-side and sell-side M&A transactions for domestic and offshore clients transacting in New Zealand. He is an expert in undertaking purchaser tax due diligence, vendor tax due diligence, reviewing sale and purchase agreements, advising on transaction structuring and leading post-acquisition tax integration activities.
Bruce is currently a partner at Dentons New Zealand and has previously worked as a tax advisor in a “Big 4” accounting firm, a major US multinational and another major New Zealand law firm. Bruce is an experienced and pragmatic tax adviser who brings a strong mix of technical skills, commercial acumen, and a focus on explaining complex tax issues to clients in a clear and straightforward manner. He is also a regular media commentator on topical New Zealand tax issues, appearing on television, radio and in print media.
Bruce has been on the NZMMT-LQ Trust Board since January 2023 and has steered the financial requirements of the Board through the fundraising and opening of the museum.
Peter McKinnon has been involved with the NZ Liberation Museum – Te Arawhata, as a Strategic Advisor since 2017.
His involvement with the project has encompassed many roles including setting up websites, accounting systems, overseeing the French property transaction and being a member of the Project Control Group. Peter is currently contracted to manage an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Programme for a NZ bank. He has 15 years’ experience leading large scale business transformation and change projects in multiple countries, and has previous experience in consulting, software development, risk management and civil engineering.
Peter spent 18 years in Europe including time in UK, France, Switzerland, Germany and Spain. He has three children: Nika (16), Ronan (12) and Gerard (9) with his European partner Adriana and has been based in Auckland since returning to NZ in 2013.
Rt Hon Sir Lockwood Smith KNZM, has been a Trustee on the Board since 2018 and has made a huge contribution to the museum’s realisation along with his wife Lady Alexandra.
Sir Lockwood, a New Zealand politician and diplomat, served as NZ High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Ghana and Nigeria, as well as Ambassador to Ireland, from 2013 to 2017. He was the Speaker of the NZ House of Representatives from 2008 to 2013.
Sir Lockwood attended Auckland Grammar School. He is a Distinguished Alumni with an M Agr Sc (Hons) from Massey University and a PhD in Animal Science from the University of Adelaide. A Commonwealth Scholar, before entering politics, he lectured at Massey, worked as a television quizmaster for the children’s quiz shows It’s Academic and W3, and was a Marketing Manager at the NZ Dairy Board. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1984 until his retirement to pursue diplomatic roles in 2013. He represented both the Kaipara and Rodney electorates, and in the Fourth National Government, he served as Minister of Education from 1990 to 1996 and later as Minister of Agriculture, Minister for International Trade, Minister of Tourism and Deputy Minister of Finance. Sir Lockwood was appointed a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services as a Member of Parliament and as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
He currently serves on the Trade & Agriculture Commission of the United Kingdom as well as Chairing the Board of the Riddet Institute Centre of Food Research Excellence at Massey University. For the last 40 years he has also run his beef farming operation at Matakohe in Northland.
Liz Stolwyk is Waipa District Councillor & Deputy Mayor.
As Deputy Mayor Liz’s leadership portfolio includes being an environmental commissioner, and chairing the Strategic Planning & Policy committee. She currently manages Mighty River Domain at Lake Karapiro and the Sir Don Rowlands centre. Liz’s Cambridge history also includes CEO of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce and roles in Central Europe.
Liz is married to Andrew and has three teenage boys. Cambridge and Le Quesnoy are sister cities and the relationship between the towns is extremely special to the Waipa District.
Francois Tumahai (Ngāti Waewae, Ngāi Tahu and Ngati Whatua Orakei) is the CEO of Arahura Holding Limited and Chair of Te Runanga o Ngāti Waewae a sub tribe of Ngai Tahu.
Francois started his career as a mechanic and has over 25 years’ experience in heavy machinery. After travelling the world to develop his skills and expand his knowledge he became invested in the regional economy of his forever home, the West Coast of New Zealand. Francois has been involved in various West Coast industries and developed strong relationships and connections including with local Iwi, Governmental organisations, local councils, conservation agencies and commercial enterprises.
Francois has over 15 years of governance experience as a company director and 20 years of governance experience with not-for-profit organisations. He is currently on the board of New Zealand Institute for Minerals to Materials Research, Bathurst Resources Ltd, Westland District Council, Grey District Council, and the West Coast Regional Council. Is an executive director on Te Ara Pounamu Ltd and a director of Pokeka Poutini Ngai Tahu Ltd.
Benoît (Ben) Upton is a law partner at Simpson Grierson in Auckland.
His firm is the legal advisor to the trust, with Ben taking the lead in the pro bono relationship that is in place. With a French mother and keen Francophile father, Ben was brought up in a French speaking home in Christchurch, spending regular Christmas holidays with family in France. He is bilingual as a result. His grandfathers both fought for New Zealand and France respectively during the Great War. They may well have crossed on the roads of the Western Front, as his French grandfather was a truck driver and then a chauffeur for front line officers.
His Kiwi grandfather fought for the Second Aucklands, who were on the flank in the advance towards Le Quesnoy. His father, as Honorary Consul for France in Christchurch, then worked in the early 1990s with the then mayors of Le Quesnoy and Beaudignies who visited New Zealand, in their successful attempt to develop the connection between New Zealand and the Le Quesnoy area. In particular, the connection between the village of Beaudignies and families of nine Canterbury Regiment soldiers who are buried in the local cemetery. From that, Ben’s interest in the Le Quesnoy story and related museum project grew. He is proud to carry on the family contribution to the Le Quesnoy / New Zealand story. He was also a passionate military history student during his time at Canterbury University.
Luke van Velthooven has over 36 years’ experience in the property industry.
This is experience spanning, valuation, construction and portfolio management across local and central government, SOEs, and private companies, with particular expertise in the management and development of corporate property portfolios and project management of significant civic structures and communal portfolios.
This, together with extensive knowledge of relevant statutory and regulatory requirements, equips him with the unique diversity of skills required for portfolio management and successful project management. Luke has also worked closely with local authorities, Crown and Iwi during Treaty settlement negotiations and has managed post settlement Iwi portfolios.
Luke’s voluntary work includes his roles as a board member for Rowing New Zealand, as the Chair and Patron for the Marlborough Stadium Trust, as Chair of the Marlborough Kaikōura Trail Trust, and he received the Civil award for services to community.
Luke is the managing director of APL Property.
Luke was the chair of the NZ Liberation Museum – Te Arawhata Project Management Group and oversaw the renovation and opening of the museum – on time and under budget.