Vision, values and voice
Roz Henry, pictured, is our new Chief Executive Officer of Cooperative Business New Zealand, starting her new role in time to meet Members at our recent AGM and Annual Awards Dinner in Wellington.
In announcing the appointment, Cooperative Business New Zealand Chair Jonathan Lee said the Board was excited to work with Roz to promote and strengthen the co-operative and mutual sector
“Roz has strong leadership and commercial experience working across multiple sectors and industries, both domestically and internationally, and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge relevant to our Members,” Jonathan said.
“Recent experience with ATEED (Auckland’s economic development agency) has enabled Roz to build relationships across government agencies and provides her with a strong understanding of New Zealand’s economic landscape and the challenges facing businesses today. Her formative years were also spent working for New Zealand Dairy Board, now our largest co-operative Fonterra, and provides her with an affinity for the co-operative and mutual sector and our values, business model and principles.”
Roz, who holds a Bachelor of Consumer and Applied Sciences from Otago University, said the values upon which co-operatives are founded, align closely with her own
“I’m excited to lead Cooperative Business New Zealand and will work hard to ensure this country’s policy-makers appreciate the enduring contribution made by co-ops and mutuals to the economy and New Zealand society,” she said.
The Kiwi co-op sector currently generates more than 16% of NZ’s GDP, employs 43,000 people and serves over 1.5 million Kiwis as members.
“As a sector, we need to raise our voice to ensure the nation’s leaders know who we are, what we’re about and be recognised for what we contribute to New Zealand,” Roz said.
“The co-operative model remains highly relevant, enabling multiple generations to build highly profitable businesses. We need to be innovative and nimble around strategy and governance to navigate our way through challenging times and ensure ongoing success. I want to support these outcomes.”
Roz joined us officially on Monday, 12 August which provides a month transition period with our current CEO, Craig Presland. Her induction began with attendance at the Co-operative Governance Accelerator Programme in her first week, followed by our AGM and Gala dinner on the night of Thursday, 15 August.
Jonathan said a road trip is underway to get Roz around the country to meet Members and learn about Kiwi co-operatives first-hand.
“Please join me in welcoming Roz to the co-operative and mutual family!” he said.
