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Executive Team

George Hickton - Chief Executive

George Hickton

George Hickton

George Hickton was appointed Chief Executive of Tourism New Zealand in March 1999.

From 1994 to 1999 he was Chief Executive of the TAB. Prior to that George was General Manager of the New Zealand Income Support Service and New Zealand Employment Service. He has also worked in senior positions in the New Zealand motor industry.

Email georgeh@tnz.govt.nz

Tim Hunter - General Manager Operations

Tim Hunter

Tim Hunter

Tim is General Manager of Tourism New Zealand's International Operations which span 13 regional offices in 11 major markets. Tim works from the Wellington Office and is supported by an Operations team of 11 staff.

Tim's team supports Tourism New Zealand's international trade development work, manages the trade marketing strategy including the travel trade website, organises and manages overseas travel industry training programmes, and co-ordinates trade networking events and consumer shows. The Operations team also co-ordinates project planning for international markets.

Email timh@tnz.govt.nz

Jane Dent - General Manager International PR


Jane Dent

International PR and Consumer Marketing are the two "arms" of Tourism New Zealand's Marketing team, based in Auckland. The role of the International PR Manager is to guide the organisation's overall PR efforts to reflect the messages of the global brand campaign.

Tourism New Zealand achieves PR in its key markets through Events, both offshore and onshore, public relations activity and the International Media Programme. We use events such as Rugby World Cup 2011, Chelsea Flower Show, the America's Cup, WOW, Matariki, film projects, sporting events and food and wine festivals to promote the country as a holiday destination.

The International Media Programme hosts journalists who will reach our target markets through their coverage. More than 400 international television and print media are supported annually through the programme. Their coverage, reaching millions of people, is publicity Tourism New Zealand could not afford to buy. All this activity is a team effort relying on Tourism New Zealand staff in market and the New Zealand tourism industry.

Email janed@tnz.govt.nz

Cas Carter - General Manager Corporate Communications

Cas Carter

Corporate Communications directs Tourism New Zealand's internal and external communication strategies.

Responsibilities include liaising with the media, government and other industry stakeholders on issues and results relating specifically to the organisation. Cas is the first point of contact for domestic media enquiries and is also the executive team member responsible for Tourism New Zealand's involvement in Rugby World Cup 2011.

Email casc@tnz.govt.nz

Keith Thomas - General Manager Corporate Services

Keith Thomas

Keith Thomas

Corporate Services includes Tourism New Zealand's human resources, information technology, finance and office administration functions. Keith works closely with all divisions of the organisation to ensure flexible infrastructure and operations to support changing needs.

"We are an international organisation," says Keith. "Every aspect of our work must be first class, and that includes all the operational work that goes on 'behind the scenes'. Firstly, we must look after our people. It's important we recruit the best people in the market, reward them and retain their services. Secondly, to be effective we need to make the right decisions, so it's vital we have accurate, relevant and up-to-date information available at any time".

Email keitht@tnz.govt.nz

David Wilks - General Manager Tourism Development

David Wilks

The Tourism Development team undertakes initiatives that help to position New Zealand as a quality destination, in order to maintain high levels of visitor satisfaction and drive word of mouth promotion for New Zealand.

This is achieved by raising and promoting the quality of the New Zealand tourism experience through Tourism New Zealand’s subsidiary commitments, i-SITE and Qualmark, and also broader destination management initiatives.

The Tourism Development team is responsible for ensuring that Tourism New Zealand naturally expresses the values of our unique Mäori cultural identity in a way that builds the country’s unique international positioning. David's team is also responsible for Tourism New Zealand’s strategic planning and government accountability functions, as well as managing government inter-agency issues that influence our international tourism outcomes.

David is an Executive Manager of VIN Inc, the membership organisation supporting the i-SITE centres around New Zealand, and he also chairs the board of Qualmark.

Email davidw@tnz.govt.nz

Catherine Bates - General Manager Consumer Marketing

Catherine Bates

Catherine Bates

As Consumer Marketing Manager Catherine is responsible for managing, leading and contributing to the attainment of Tourism New Zealand's marketing vision.

Catherine is responsible for developing and implementing integrated creative and marketing communications plans to drive and deliver Tourism New Zealand’s marketing activities across Communication, Online and Research. Catherine oversees the international marketing budget and manages the direction of relevant assigned budgets.

Email catherineb@tnz.govt.nz

Simon Douglas - Manager Corporate Strategy and Planning

Simon Douglas

Simon Douglas

The Corporate Strategy and Planning team leads the preparation of two key documents that set out Tourism New Zealand's objectives, intentions and deliverables: the Statement of Intent and annual Output Agreement.

As a Crown Entity, Tourism New Zealand is accountable for the public money it spends in its activities and this is achieved through a series of regular reports prepared by the Corporate Strategy and Planning team. The team also leads the annual budget process, working with the Minister of Tourism and his advisors in the Ministry, to ensure Tourism New Zealand has sufficient resources to carry out its work. With a background in government and policy, Simon Douglas and his team often find themselves liaising with government policy agencies on issues that impact tourism.

Email simond@tnz.govt.nz