Risk Management Forum

Dr Roger Blakeley is a self-employed consultant. He is a former Secretary for the Environment, Secretary for Internal Affairs, Local Government and Civil Defence, and Chief Executive of Porirua City Council.

In his most recent role, he was Chief Planning Officer, Auckland Council. His principal tasks included the development of the Auckland Plan, Economic Development Strategy, City Centre Master Plan, and proposed Auckland Unitary Plan, which established the platform for growth and sustainable development of Auckland for the next 30 years.

David Robson is the Internal Audit and Risk Manager at the University of Waikato. Prior to this he worked as a risk manager and crisis manager during his ten year tenure within local government.

David specialises in the building of tailored risk management frameworks and has particular interest in strategic risk. David remains actively involved in the government sector through his PhD research in long term risk management decision making across complex government networks.

David has published journal articles, academic papers and reports on risk and is a regular speaker at industry conferences and seminars.

Jazz is a qualified lawyer with experience in private practice with a top tier law firm and in-house roles in local government. He has over 10 years’ experience in the local government sector. Prior to his appointment as Head of Risk for Auckland Council, he was the Manager for Property and Commercial Legal Services at Auckland Council and before that, the Democracy and Legal Manager at Whangarei District Council. He brings a fresh perspective regarding risks faced by councils and will provide useful insights into to leading change in a large and diverse organisation.

Rowan was appointed as the Risk Management Lead at New Plymouth District Council in November 2015. He came to the Council from Taranaki District Health Board, where he was the Internal Auditor. He has also had roles at the Waitangi Tribunal, Office of Treaty Settlements, and the Office of the Auditor-General. Being new to Local Government, he is keen to learn from the work of others in forums such as this.

Outside of work, his time is spent with his young family and playing sport at a very social level.

Miles is fascinated by uncertainty and how we chose to manage it. This has led to a career working in risk, business continuity, emergency management and crisis management, overseas and in New Zealand. Of the 13 years of Miles’ career so far, he has spent 8 of it working for local government and has a deep understanding of the issues local government face for risk management. Miles now runs a private consultancy business working with the NZ energy sector, the forestry sector, Government, and small business. Miles is the Editor of RiskPost – the professional newsletter for RiskNZ, is completing a PhD on how risk informs policy and procedure for Local Government natural hazard management, and lives in Wellington with his wife and kids (now 2 kids as January!).

Nathanael Sterling is a risk management practitioner within Beca assisting project teams and organisations in the implementation of risk management. Nathanael is the Project and Cost Management lead for Safety in Design and assists in the Risk Management Technical Interest Group within Beca. Nathanael is also a training presenter for IPENZ in Risk Management and Safety in Design.

In 2015 through the work with Higgins Contractors and NZ Transport Agency, they were awarded the RiskNZ Excellence Award for “Building Risk Management Capability”. Nathanael has also been shortlisted for “Risk Management Professional of the Year” in the Global Risk Awards 2016.

Glenn Snelgrove has been involved in both Central Government and Local Government for over 40 years. He was a Government Auditor, auditing Local authorities and Government Departments both in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

His career started in Local Government in 1978, being Deputy Town Clerk for two Local authorities. Appointed Chief Executive for the Mount Maunganui Borough Council in 1986, and then moving to the Western Bay of Plenty District Council in 1989. Appointed Chief Executive Officer in 1991 and retiring after 25 years.

Awarded the New Zealand Business Excellence award – Silver in 2009 and Gold in 2013. Lead Facilitator in New Zealand for LGMA/Taituarā Management Challenge from 2010. Awarded the Institute of Public Administration New Zealand Improving Performance through Leadership Excellence 2014. Awarded Taituarā Distinguished Management Award in 2014. Chair of BOP Local Authority Shared Services from 2009-2014. Director of a number of companies, Chair of the Bay of Plenty Branch of the New Zealand Institute of Directors and National Councillor, Chair of a number of Local Authorities Risk Committees and a member and Chair of a number of Community organisations.

Dave Foster has extensive experience in financial management and strategic planning. He also has sound commercial acumen, strong financial and strategic leadership credentials and senior level local government experience.

Dave is currently the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Rotorua Lakes Council.

Dave also has experience in previous roles as CFO for Rotorua Lakes Council, CFO for Auckland Transport (an Auckland Council-owned organisation), CFO for Manukau City Council, Local Government Sector Manager for the Office of the Auditor-General and CFO for Wanganui District Council.

Tim has had various IM, IT, risk management, insurance, project, financial and corporate roles at Ruapehu DC and before that at Kawerau DC. He has a passion for managing risk and looking at issues from different angles. Tim approaches issues from a blend of high level ‘what are we trying to achieve here?’ and habitually being a detail person. He enjoys the variety of his work. Working in local government continues to be challenging and fulfilling.