Board of Directors
Back Row, left to right: Chin Chi Haw, Don Trow (resigned 13 April 2010), Fraser Whineray, Keith Watson, Abd Rahim bin Md Noh.
Front Row, left to right: Suhaimi Halim, Kerry McDonald (Chairman), Kevin Thompson.
Alan Isaac has been appointed as a Non-Executive Director of the company with effect from 13 April 2010.
Opus has a success driven culture. The current management team has delivered consistently strong financial results under the direction of a very experienced Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors of Opus is responsible for setting the strategic objectives of the Company and the policy framework within which business is conducted. The Board is also responsible for monitoring performance of Opus and the enhancement of Shareholder value. The Board comprises eight Directors: an independent Chairman, three further Independent Directors, three representatives of the Company’s majority Shareholder, and a Managing Director. The Directors have an appropriate range of proficiencies, experience and skills.
Kerry McDonald
BCom, MCom (Hons), DCom (hc), AFInstD, FAICD, FNZIM
Chairman and Director
Independent
Kerry is currently a Director of Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd, Chairman of the i-lign Limited Advisory Board, President of the Institute of Directors (NZ), a Trustee of WWF New Zealand, and Deputy Chairman of the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research. He was appointed to the Board of Opus on 1 April 2007 and elected Chairman on 1 September 2008. Kerry has an economics degree from the University of Canterbury and received an Honorary Doctorate in Commerce from the University of Canterbury in 2008.
He was previously Director of the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research before he joined Comalco/Rio Tinto in Melbourne in 1981. He had various senior executive roles with Comalco in Australia and New Zealand, including those of Managing Director of Comalco New Zealand and Managing Director of Energy, Environment and External Affairs, and was a member of the Comalco Group Executive Committee from 1988 to 2000. Kerry has held numerous directorships, including: Bank of New Zealand (also Chairman), National Australia Bank, GRD Macraes Limited, Oceana Gold Limited (also Chairman), Oceana Gold Corporation (also Vice Chairman), Carter Holt Harvey, Ports of Auckland Limited, Gough Gough & Hamer and Owens Group. Kerry has also chaired both the New Zealand-Japan and Australia-New Zealand Business Councils, and was the New Zealand Chairman until 2006 of the Australia - New Zealand Leadership Forum. He was a Director of Antarctica New Zealand, a Trustee and Executive Committee Member of the Business Parliament Trust and has been involved in numerous State Sector Activities including, Chairman of the State Sector Standards Board and the Department of Conservation Oversight Committee (following the Cave Creek tragedy). He was also a member of the e-Government Advisory Board and the Foreign Direct Investment Advisory Board.
Suhaimi Halim
BSc (Hons) (Civil)
Director
Non-Independent and Non-Executive
Suhaimi Halim has been Director since 2002. Suhaimi holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Glasgow, and was appointed as the Managing Director of Opus Group Bhd in August 2002, having originally joined predecessors to the current Opus Group Bhd in 1988. He is also on the Boards of Opus Group Bhd, Pengurusan Lantas Bhd, and several other private companies.
Abd Rahim bin Md Noh
BSc (Hons) (Mechanical)
Director
Non-Independent and Non-Executive
Abd Rahim Bin Md Noh is an engineer and was appointed to the Board on 1 April 2007. A graduate of Brighton Technical College and University of Southampton, United Kingdom, he has served many years in Tenaga Nasional and has held senior positions in GE Power Systems, Kuala Lumpur, as well as EPE Power Corporation Berhad. He is currently the Chairman of Salwana and Rahim Associates Sdn Bhd, a business advisory consultancy, and Rakan Ternaktani Sdn Bhd, a firm involved in agricultural business. He is an independent Director of Opus Group Bhd, and UEM Builders Bhd.
Kevin Thompson
BE (Hons) (Civil), PhD, CPEng, DistFIPENZ
Managing Director
Non-Independent and Executive
Dr Kevin Thompson joined Opus in March 1998, was appointed Chief Executive in April 2001 and Managing Director on 1 August 2007. He has been responsible for leading Opus’ growth, particularly in offshore markets. Kevin has been instrumental in lifting Opus’ market share, brand and profile in New Zealand and in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom through organic growth and acquisitions. Prior to joining Opus, Kevin was Chief Executive of Works Civil Construction and was responsible for the successful transformation of the physical works resources of the former Ministry of Works and Development into a successful private sector owned contracting company. Kevin holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) with First Class Honours and a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Canterbury. In 1993, he attended the Stanford Executive Programme at Stanford University. Kevin is a Fellow of the Institution of Professional Engineers of New Zealand; a Chartered Professional Engineer; a member of the New Zealand National Society for Earthquake Engineering; a member of the New Zealand Concrete Society; a member of the Institute of Directors (NZ) and a member of the New Zealand Business Roundtable.
In 1981, he received the American Society of Civil Engineers T Y Lin Award, the Institution of Professional Engineers of New Zealand Structural Award in 1988, the award for the Wellingtonian of the Year in the business category in 2008 and the IPENZ William Pickering Award for Engineering Leadership in 2008.
Keith Watson
Director
Independent
Keith Watson was appointed to the Board on the 1st September 2008. Keith is currently Managing Director of Hewlett Packard New Zealand (HP) and has held general management roles with HP in Australia, Asia Pacific and at HP Corporate Headquarters where he was Senior Vice-President and General Manager Worldwide Commercial Channels. Before returning to HP New Zealand in 2001 he was Executive Vice President Worldwide Sales and Marketing for Silicon Graphics. Keith has considerable international leadership experience in technology related and professional services business. Keith is a member of the Auckland University Business School Advisory Board.
Fraser Whineray
BE (Hons) (Chemical), MBA (Cambridge), GRADDIP DY.SCI.TECH (Distinction)
Director
Independent
Fraser Whineray was appointed to the Board on the 13th October 2008.
Fraser is currently General Manager Generation for Mighty River Power. Prior to this he held a number of senior positions in Carter Holt Harvey and the dairy industry, including the New Zealand Dairy Board, Fonterra and the Puhoi Valley Cheese Company. Between 1997 and 2002 he was an investment banker with Credit Suisse First Boston, based in Wellington and Sydney. Fraser has considerable international business experience including commodities, professional services, strategy and innovation.
Chin Chi Haw
BE (Civil), MESc, MIEM
Director
Non-Independent and Non-Executive
Chin Chi Haw has a background of over 25 years involvement in transportation infrastructure and built environment sectors and has played key roles in the development of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and the National Sports Complex in Malyasia.
In addition to the Opus International Consultants Board, Chin currently sits on the Boards of Opus International Bhd (Malaysia), Opus International (India) Pvt Ltd, and Noi Bai Development Corporation (Vietnam). His responsibilities include strategic planning for Opus Group Bhd, and the development of business and projects in India. He is also a member of the Sub-Working Group on Asset and Facility Management for the Malaysian Construction Industry and Development Board and is a member of the REAM Road Maintenance Standing Committee and the SIRIM Technical Committee on Roads and Highways.
Alan Isaac
BCA, FCCA, FICS
Director
Independent
Alan has a background in accounting and finance, with expertise in capital restructuring, asset structures, the development of governance models, risk management and performance enhancement. He is an expert negotiator and mediator and has a high level of commercial acumen, and as a respected advisor, enjoys working with businesses to enhance performance and profitability. As a former Chairman of Partners for accounting firm KPMG, Alan was instrumental in guiding the organisation through a period of successful growth and structural change.
He is currently the Chairman of New Zealand Cricket, a Director of Wakefield Health Ltd, and is a Trustee of the New Zealand Community Trust, the New Zealand Red Cross Foundation, and the First Foundation. In addition he is Chair/Advisor to a number of independent committees – including the Ministry of Economic Development Risk Management and Assurance Committee, Wakefield Health Audit and Risk Committee, and the New Zealand Fire Service Audit Committee, among others.
Alan is a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators. He is also a Member of the Institute of Directors (NZ).