Careerforce (Community Support Services ITO Ltd) Board of Directors

Pene Brown

Elected November 2006 - Maori Aspirations

Careerforce's Maori Aspirations board seat has been filled by Pene Brown, who brings a wealth of health governance expertise to the role.

He is the Board Chair of Te Hauora O Turanganui a Kiwa (Turanga Health - Maori Health Provider owned by the three Iwi groups of Gisborne), Deputy Chair of Tairawhiti District Health Board (Gisborne), Chair of the Community and Public Health Advisory Committee and a Director of Turanganui Primary Health Organisation.

Pehimana Haapu (Pene) Brown has an extensive background in governance working with a range of Maori organisations in the fields of health, education, farming and social needs.

He is the Chair of Tairawhiti Polytechnic, and a Trustee or Chair of various whanau, hapu and iwi land blocks. He is also the Chair of the Te Runanga O Turanganui a Kiwa and Chair of Te Aitanga a Mahaki Trust.
Pene and his family have farmed in Puha for four generations and his whanau marae is Tapuihikitia Marae. He has a Diploma in Agriculture and has completed the Kellogg Rural Leadership Course (Lincoln University) and the IOD Company Director's Course (Institute of Directors).

Peter Clark

Elected July 2007 - Finance Planning and Monitoring

Peter's past experience in governance includes serving as a Director for a number of organisations. He retired as the General Manager of The Mount Cook Group Ltd in 1998. Prior to that he occupied a number of posts with BP Oil New Zealand Ltd, served as a Director of a number of operating subsidiaries of BP, retired as Managing Director of the RDL Group of Companies in 1984 and served as a Director of a number of operating subsidiaries of the Owens Group

Currently, Peter is Director of Clark and Associates, which is a Consultant to the Tourism and Travel industry. Peter is also a member of the Institute of Directors (Canterbury Branch). He retired in 2006 as a Director and Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee of Christchurch and Canterbury Marketing Limited and is presently Chair of Lichfield International Ltd. He is also Secretary of a number of not for profit organisations associated with the Tourism and Travel Industry.

Bernadette Hannagan

Elected November 2006 - Education and Learning or Industry

Bernadette brings to the Board considerable education and learning experience. This includes facilitating change management in schools; working with the Ministry of Education to develop EEO programmes in schools. Bernadette has worked as home based tutor and Coordinator for Literacy Aotearoa; for Massey University as Student Liaison Adviser (Otago/Southland/South Canterbury) and Bernadette worked for IPENZ (Professional Engineers NZ) as school industry links coordinator promoting careers in Technology, Science and Engineering.

She has been responsible for course advice, study support, mentoring and tutoring; career advice and planning for students in both formal and non-formal learning contexts. She has been the National Training Adviser for GirlGuiding NZ which also included community development and training assignments in the Asia Pacific. She has qualifications including a BA(Hons) in Classics, Secondary Teaching, Adult Education and Postgraduate Business (HR Management)

Governance experience has been as a School Board of Trustees member (previously on a primary and secondary board) the Board of Mosgiel Abilities Resource Centre and currently a Ministry of Education appointee to the Roxburgh Health Camp School BOT. From 2007, Bernadette has been self-employed (trading as Handle with Care) facilitating training, HR and business solutions for individuals and organisations. She is also a member of the NZ Association for Training and Development (NZATD) which gives her access to conferences, papers, training opportunities in the fields of human resource development, people development and career planning.

Mac Leauanae

Elected November 2006 - Pacific Aspirations

Mac is a New Zealand born Samoan (Father - Leauanae Leauanae, Iva, Savai'i & mother - Ulufale Leauanae, Sa'anapu, Upolu) with three sisters. Graduating from the University of Auckland with a Law degree, Mac practiced for a year and 1/2 before realizing that law was too narrow in scope for his personal vision. With a desire to assist Pacific communities, he worked with good friends who established a trust that had three government contracts which Mac project managed. This led to the opportunity to work at the Pacific Business Trust as a Business Advisor and within a year became the Training Manager, managing a business development training contract with New Zealand Trade & Enterprise.

After three years with the Pacific Business Trust, Mac was recently employed by ProCare Health Limited (ProCare) to be their Pacific Health Manager. ProCare represents more people of Pacific ethnicity than any other Primary Healthcare Organisation and this role is critical in helping address the primary health care needs of over 70,000 Pacific patients. Mac has moved into a new role within ProCare as Senior Manager Primary Care Services. This role includes managing ProCare's three subsidiary companies (ProCare Psychological Services, HomeCare Medical Limited & Home Alert) and the Health Promotion and Community Health Coordinator teams.

Mac is in his final year of studying towards an MBA from Henley Management College.

Wendy Becker

Elected May 2008 - Health and/or Disability

Clive Plucknett

Elected November 2006 - Contract, Project and Risk Management

Clive Plucknett commenced his career with the New Zealand Police. He rose to the rank of Acting Assistant Commissioner, Human Resources. He worked in a variety of roles within the Police specializing in training and education and at one stage was the Director, Training supervising all training and education within the Police through to executive level. Clive took an early retirement option from the Police and established an agri-tourism business specializing in organic produce. The business was noted for its innovation and diversity and grew to be the largest organic venture in New Zealand supplying the overseas market notably Japan and Europe.

Clive sold this business seeking to make a community contribution. He led a team of 500 people providing social services to those in need including neglected children, out of control teens, refugees, battered women and under-privileged elderly.

He is currently the CEO of Challenge Trust and provides services to those affected by mental illness. Clive's qualifications include a Bachelor of Education a Postgraduate Diploma in Adult Education and a Masters of Business Administration (Distinction).

John Ryall

Elected November 2006 - Employee Knowledge

John Ryall is the Central Regional Secretary of the Service and Food Workers Union Mga Ringa Tota and co-ordinates the Union's activity in the Health and Community Services Sectors. He has worked for the union for 23 years and was a part of the group that founded CSSITO in the early 1990s, returning as a board member in 2001.

John represented the union on the National Rest Home Training Committee in the 1980s during the development of the first national qualification for rest home caregivers and has been involved in the subsequent reviews of caregiver qualifications. He was on the committee that drew up the Home and Community Support Sector Standards and is a member of the Government-initiated Health of the Older Person Forum.

John was a member of the organising group that set up the Union Health Services (Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch) between 1987-91 and currently serves on the boards of two of these services as well as chairing Piki te Ora ki Te Awakairangi, a Hutt Valley Primary Health Organisation. He has also done a 10-year stint on the committee of the Wellington Region Kidney Society, a support and advocacy group for renal patients and their families.

Helma van der Lans

Elected November 2006 - Government Policy, Strategy and Workforce Development

Helma van der Lans has had a long and interesting career in health service management since emigrating to New Zealand in 1976, culminating in several senior management positions in the public, private and community health sector, ranging from clinical services, mental health services, services for the elderly (rest homes and elderly care hospitals), quality systems consultancy, organizational and service reviews and restructuring and change management. In 1997 Helma joined Framework Trust as Chief Executive Officer, transforming what was a relatively small NGO (non government organization) to become one of the larger community based mental health providers in the country and increasing its contracts and revenue substantially through skilled application of sound business processes. She left Framework Trust after 9 years and now works for the Wairarapa DHB.

During her career Helma has served on numerous boards and committee's in New Zealand and represented NZ on the Australasian Council for Quality in Health Care.

She has held directorships on Consumer Work Enterprises ( an incorporated employment company ); ASENZ (Ass. of Supported Employment in NZ); PLATFORM (National Executive Committee of NGO's); GROUNDSWIRL Ltd (subsidiary of PLATFORM); Synergy Health Care Ltd; chaired an integrated service organization in the North Auckland region and has been a member of CSSITO (Careerforce) board since 2000. She has a particular interest in workforce development and skills enhancement. She has a strong business and financial management focus, is skilled in policy and strategy development and maintains a wide professional network nationally and internationally.

Helma attained a Masters degree in Business Studies and Postgraduate Diploma in Health Service Management. She was awarded Associate Fellowship of the NZ Institute of Management, is a member of the NZ Institute of Directors and in 2006 successfully completed the Institute Company Directors' Course. Her institutional knowledge and solid understanding of Careerforce's journey frequently provides additional knowledge to Board strategic discussions. She continues to have a keen interest and passion for strong and dynamic growth of Careerforce and applying her experience, skills and ethics in governance leadership to the ITO sector.

Suzanne Win

Elected August 2007 - Board Leadership

Suzanne has considerable experience in governance and in the industry. She is both a Registered Comprehensive and Psychiatric Nurse

Suzanne is self employed providing a range of consultancy and contracted services with a focus on disability areas to Child, Youth and Family, Ministry of Health, national and regional Non Governmental Organisations and undertaking audits for Enhancing Quality Services (EQS) and Ministry of Health. Prior to this, Suzanne was employed on a short term contract as Deputy Director General Disability, Ministry of Health to undertake budget management and strategic work before a permanent appointment was made.

Suzanne's current governance roles include Chair of the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board, Trustee of the Donald Beasley Institute, Trustee of Graceland's Group of Services and Member of the Workforce Taskforce Advisory Committee to the Minister of Health.