Business leaders appointed to fire up state-owned boardrooms

John Bongard. Photo / Martin Sykes

Former Fisher & Paykel Appliances chief executive John Bongard is one of several high-profile business leaders appointed to state- owned enterprise boards yesterday as the Government looks to add commercial edge to its investments.

In all there were 18 new appointments and 11 reappointments across 12 SOEs and one airport company.

Bongard, Westpac NZ chairman Peter Wilson and former Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu chief executive Anake Goodall were all appointed to the board of power company Meridian - one of the crown assets which the Government has indicated could be partially privatised.

Other new appointments included Don Huse and Keith Tempest - the former chief executives of Auckland International Airport and TrustPower respectively - to the board of Transpower.

State-Owned Enterprises Minister Simon Power said he was pleased to introduce a strong group of recognised directors and business executives to add to the expertise on SOE boards.

"These directors have a broad range of commercial experience and I expect them to make a significant contribution to delivering on the Government's goal of better commercial performance from our SOEs," Power said.

"The quality of the appointments highlights the Government's continuing ability to attract some of the country's most experienced governance professionals to serve on SOE boards, as well as developing the next generation of talent."

The Government in January unveiled plans to sell minority shareholdings in power companies Meridian, Mighty River Power and Genesis, coal company Solid Energy and reduce a stake in Air New Zealand from 76 per cent to 51 per cent.

Prime Minister John Key said the sales could raise $7 billion to $10 billion which could be invested in other assets and help reduce the country's reliance on debt.

Finance Minister Bill English and Power said at that time the Government would proceed with extending the mixed-ownership model only if it met certain tests.

The criteria included the Government maintaining a majority controlling stake, New Zealand investors being at the front of the queue for shares and the freed-up capital being used to fund new public assets, reducing the pressure on the Government to borrow.