Board of Directors
Back Row, left to right: Don Trow, Fraser Whineray, Tan See Yin, Keith Watson, Dan Stevenson, Abd Rahim bin Md Noh.
Front Row, left to right: Suhaimi Halim, Kerry McDonald (Chairman), Kevin Thompson.
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 nine Directors: an independent Chairman, four 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), AFID, FNZIM.
Chairman
Independent
Kerry McDonald was appointed to the Board on 1 April 2007. Kerry is a Commerce graduate of the University of Canterbury, and was previously director of NZ Institute of Economic Research before joining Comalco in Melbourne in 1981. He had various senior executive roles with Comalco in Australia and New Zealand, including 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 chaired both the New Zealand-Japan and Australia-New Zealand business councils, was New Zealand Chairman until 2006 of the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum, and has held directorships of a number of companies, including Carter Holt Harvey, Ports of Auckland Limited, Gough & Hamer and Owens Group. Kerry is currently Chairman of the Bank of New Zealand, Vice-Chairman of Oceana Gold Limited and a director of National Australia Bank and Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd. Kerry is also Vice-President of the Institute of Directors and has received an Honorary Doctorate in Commerce from the University of Canterbury.
Dan Stevenson, MA (law).
Director
Independent
Dan Stevenson was appointed to the Board in 1991 and is Chairman of Trustees of the Company’s superannuation scheme. Dan graduated in law from Cambridge University (MA) and qualified as a barrister in England in 1963. He returned to New Zealand and joined Wellington-based legal practice Izard Weston in 1964, specialising in commercial and corporate law. Dan is a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand, has held a number of directorships for private and public sector companies (including NZI Insurance and Southland Frozen Meat), is involved in education through a school trust board, and is interested in sheep and cattle farming.
Suhaimi Halim, BSc (civil engineering).
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 Group Managing Director of Opus Group Bhd in August 2002, having originally joined predecessors to the current Opus Group Bhd group in 1988. He is also on the Boards of Opus Group Bhd, Pengurusan Lantas Berhad, and several other private companies.
Tan See Yin, BAcc (Hons).
Director
Non-Independent and Non-Executive
Appointed to the Board on 13 January 2006, Tan See Yin holds a Bachelor of Accounting with Honours from the University of Malaya and is a member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants. He began his career in 1979 as a management consultant with Kassim Chan Management Consultants and subsequently with Pricewaterhouse Associates. In 1990 he joined the predecessor to the UEM Group, and subsequently held a number of senior executive roles within the pharmaceutical and telecommunications industry. Presently, he sits on the Board of Opus Group Bhd, and is the Senior Director of UEM International Business.
Abd Rahim bin Md Noh, BSc (Hons) (Mechanical Engineering).
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 a partner in Salwana and Rahim Associates, a business advisory consultancy. He is an independent director of Opus Group Bhd.
Don Trow, BCom, FCA.
Director
Independent
Appointed to the Board on 1 April 2007, Don Trow holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Accountancy at Victoria University of Wellington. Don has a long standing involvement with the accountancy profession and has the distinction of being a Life Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants as well as recently being elected a Distinguished Fellow of the Institute of Directors. Don’s previous directorships include the New Zealand Stock Exchange and the Northland Co-Operative Dairy Company Limited. He is currently Chairman of NZX Discipline, Chairman of Smartshares Limited, and a director of Ryman Healthcare Limited.
Kevin Thompson, BE (Hons) (Civil), PhD, CPEng, FIPENZ.
Managing Director
Non-Independent and Executive
Dr Kevin Thompson joined Opus in March 1998, was appointed as 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; Chairman of University of Canterbury Civil Engineering Department Advisory Board and a member of the New Zealand Business Roundtable.
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 chem (hons), MBA (Cambridge), GradDip Dy.Sci.Tech. (distinction)
Director
Independent
Fraser Whineray was appointed to the Board on the 13th October 2008. Fraser is currently GM 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.