NATHAN FLOWERDAY

CHAIRMAN

Nathan Flowerday came from a farming and kiwifruit orchard background.  After graduating from Massey University, Nathan spent several years as a Rural Bank Manager in the Bay of Plenty before joining Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (London) as Business Analyst and Management Accountant, before returning to New Zealand in 2006.

Nathan became involved in the kiwifruit industry in 1997, when his family moved over from the Waikato and purchased their first kiwifruit orchard. Now, Nathan is involved in all aspects of kiwifruit growing, owning several orchards and an Orchard Management and Orchard Contracting Business. He is passionate about the Kiwifruit industry, as well as ensuring Zespri continues to deliver premium kiwifruit to the world, resulting in strong returns back to Zespri growers and shareholders.

Nathan is a founding Director of the Kiwifruit Breeding Centre, and has been involved in the Kiwifruit Breeding Programme for the last decade. Nathan is passionate about ensuring we continue to invest in Innovation to keep Zespri as the world leader in Kiwifruit.  Nathan is a member of the NZ China Business Council and New Zealand International Business Forum. 

CRAIG THOMPSON

Deputy Chair

Craig Thompson has been in the kiwifruit industry for over 30 years and has orchard ownership both directly and via company shareholding in Gisborne, Ōpōtiki, Te Puke and Latina, Italy. He is a former Managing Director (MD) and was a Director of OPAC until the merger with Seeka in May 2021.

Craig worked for Zespri from 2015 to 2019 as the European Supply Manager for ZGS Europe based in Italy. In his former OPAC MD role Craig was involved in various industry groups and was a Director of Kiwifruit Vine Health (KVH). He grows Zespri Green,  Zespri SunGold, and Zespri Ruby Red Kiwifruit and is actively involved in orchard management via his business Thompsons Horticulture Ltd.

He is also involved with DCD Orchards Ltd and Kaiaponi Farms Ltd in Gisborne and he is a Director and Chairman company shareholding on both companies and has shares in 3 other kiwifruit orchard companies with friends and family.

LAINJAGER

Director

Lain Jager served as Chief Executive Officer of Zespri from 2008 to 2017, leading the company through a period of significant industry transformation and challenge. His tenure included navigating complex market access issues and the outbreak of Psa. Despite these pressures, grower returns doubled and the Zespri share strengthened. He first joined Zespri in 1999 as HR Manager and went on to hold several senior roles including General Manager of Grower and Government Relations, Strategy, and Supply Chain. Under his leadership, the company’s culture evolved to support a truly global sales and marketing approach.

Lain is currently involved in a range of investment projects across tourism, technology, food, and agribusiness, including ownership of two kiwifruit orchards in Gisborne. He chaired the Primary Sector Council, which produced the Fit for a Better World roadmap for New Zealand’s food and fibre sector and was Co-Chair of Te Puna Whakaaronui.

His governance experience includes past directorships with Spring Sheep, AgResearch, and DMS. He currently serves on the boards of The Redwoods Treewalk, Rubisco, Nibblish, New Zealand Avocado Oil, A2 Milk, and Origin Capital, and is a member of the advisory board for the Sustainable Nutrition Initiative.

JONATHAN MASON

Director

Mr. Mason has more than 30 years’ experience in the financial sector, with an emphasis on emerging markets. After joining Zespri’s board in May 2013, Jonathan stepped down as Fonterra Co-operative Group’s Chief Financial Officer.

He joined Fonterra in 2009 from US-based chemicals company Cabot Corporation where he was Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to this he was employed as the Chief Financial Officer at forest products company Carter Holt Harvey and also served in senior financial management positions at US based International Paper and Exxon Mobil.

Mr. Mason has had governance experience for organisations in both New Zealand and the US. His directorships include Vector Limited, Westpac NZ, and Air New Zealand. Mr. Mason is also an Honorary Adjunct Professor of Accounting and Finance at the University of Auckland.

ALISON BARRASS

Director

Alison is an experienced CEO now working as a Professional Director.  She is currently Chair of AA Insurance and Babich Wines and is a Director for Zespri International, Rockit Global Limited, Precinct Property and Suncorp NZ.

Alison has worked as an executive in Sales, Marketing and Operations as well as 12 years at CEO level with both Goodman Fielder and Griffins Foods, and is passionate about people, brands and technology, with a focus on transformation and growth. 

MICHAEL AHIE

Director

Passionate about his country, Michael Ahie (Taranaki, Ngā Ruahine, Ngāti Ruanui) is dedicated to the commercial and cultural success of organisations in New Zealand.

Michael speaks regularly at industry groups and forums on leadership and the food & fibre sector. He draws on his experience growing up in a farming community in Coastal South Taranaki and his previous executive roles with Toyota New Zealand Ltd, the New Zealand Dairy Board and Wrightson Ltd. Michael continues to coach and mentor chief executives and their leadership teams and is a certified Leadership Circle® coach.

Michael completed the Executive Development Programme at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and is a regular attendee of the Te Hono programme at Stanford University. He received his honours degree from Massey University.

SALLY GARDINER

Director

Sally Gardiner has been involved in the kiwifruit industry for over 25 years. This has included 16 years working for Zespri Group Ltd and its predecessor, the NZ Kiwifruit Marketing Board (most recently as General Manager Supply chain), three years in post harvest and nine years as a grower (where she also has proudly spent six years representing growers at NZKGI) and as a co-founder of a horticultural innovation company, Start Afresh Ltd.

Sally’s educational background includes a degree in Accounting, an MBA with Distinction and a degree in Economics and Computer Science. She is a chartered accountant and member of the Institute of Financial Professionals NZ Inc.

Sally is passionate about building on the strong foundation that the industry’s forebears created: delivering health, vitality, exceptional taste and quality to consumers worldwide; coupled with a world-class efficient supply chain and with the entire system backed by innovation.

ANDREW DUNSTAN

Director

Andrew Dunstan grows Gold, Red, and Organic kiwifruit in the Bay of Plenty & Auckland.

He has previously spent many years as CEO of a kiwifruit services business, Southern Cross Horticulture, which develops and manages orchards.

Andrew has served on multiple industry entities prior to becoming a Zespri Director and is deeply committed to the success of the New Zealand’s kiwifruit industry.

Outside of kiwifruit he has active interests in dairy, wood processing, and property.

Jason Te Brake

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Jason was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Zespri in July 2024. Prior to his role as CEO, Jason was Zespri’s Chief Operating Officer leading the response to quality challenges, as well as the planning and execution to deliver the industry's largest ever crop in 2024.

He first joined Zespri in 2020 and has held a number of roles including Chief Global Supply Officer, Head of New Zealand Supply and Commercial Manager.

Jason is a chartered accountant and has extensive commercial experience within New Zealand agribusiness companies, including his supply chain experience at Zespri. Prior to joining Zespri he held commercial, sales and marketing and finance roles at KPMG, AFFCO, ANZCO Foods and Miraka.

Jason is passionate about leading and positively influencing New Zealand food companies marketing premium products around the world and returning value back to New Zealand growers and their communities.

He is based at Zespri’s head office in New Zealand.

TIM MACKLE

Chief Supply Chain Officer

Tim was appointed Chief Supply Chain Officer in June 2025. He was previously Acting Chief Operating Officer and Head of Global Quality after joining Zespri in October 2023.

Before joining Zespri, Tim was DairyNZ’s Chief Executive for more than 15 years, and prior to that he was Chief Executive of Dexcel Ltd.

Tim was previously general manager of Fonterra subsidiary, Anchor Ethanol. He also worked in strategy for the New Zealand Dairy Board before taking a corporate role at Fonterra supporting the CEO during its establishment. Early in his career he was a nutrition and milk characteristics scientist with NZ Dairy Board subsidiary DRC.

He has a PhD in animal, food and nutritional sciences from Cornell University, New York, and a Bachelor of Agriculture Science (Hons) from Lincoln University. Tim is excited to support New Zealand growers and farmers to take their premium food to the world.

EDITH SYKES

CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER

Edith joined Zespri as Chief People Officer in September 2019. Edith brings a passion for organisations being more successful through a people-centric approach, leading best practice, cultural excellence and capability development – attributes that relate strongly to what we value around people and performance.

Edith has over 25 years’ experience in both strategic and operational Human Resources roles, building organisation capability and culture, leadership and talent development, employee engagement, change leadership and performance. Her human resource leadership roles span manufacturing, primary industry, health and financial services, including global companies such as Cadbury, Kraft Foods and SCA. Edith is of Ngati Pikiao and Ngati Makino descent and holds a Bachelor of Business Studies from Massey University.

DAVID SCULLIN

CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER

Dave joined Zespri in October 2019 and leads our Digital Services team which is at the heart of our goal of creating a digital business – delivering a personalised service for our growers and customers, real-time data to drive decision-making, and more simplified business processes.

Dave was previously Chief Digital Officer at Ballance Agri-Nutrients and prior to that Chief Information Officer at LIC. He has held a number of senior digital roles in a number of organisations throughout his career including Rio Tinto and Fonterra.

Dave is a firm believer that any sort of digital change or transformation is not about the technology. It’s about enabling business strategy and solving business problems.

VICKI McCOLL

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Vicki is a talented and seasoned executive and commercial CFO/finance professional with over 25 years’ experience, including over a decade in emerging markets across Asia, Africa, South America, and Eastern Europe. She has a track record of leading through complexity and change, collaborating with Executive teams on business cases and forecast and financial reporting for Boards and Committees. After 17 years internationally, she joined Silver Fern Farms as CFO in 2016, following a successful mining industry career in NZ, Australia, UK, and South America. At Silver Fern Farms, she helped drive strategy for consistent profitability and led finance, treasury, commercial, legal, S&OP, procurement, and corporate services teams .Vicki is enthusiastic, passionate and commercially focused, and has developed herself into a true partner with experience across a broad range of disciplines, but always underpinned by strong financial and commercial acumen. She is an empowering leader with an open style, setting clear expectations and mentoring high-performing teams.

ICHIRO ANZAI

PRESIDENT ASIA PACIFIC 

Ichiro Anzai joined Zespri Japan in September 2014 as a Country Manager. His responsibility was expanded to Korea as GM, Japan/Korea and then took on the role of looking after the APAC region in October 2019.

Before joining Zespri, Ichiro held senior sales and marketing roles across a number of top level FMCG organisations including Bristol Myers Squib, Bausch & Lomb, Unilever and McDonald’s.

Ichiro holds an MBA from Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management in Arizona.

Nikki Johnson

PRESIDENT EUROPE

Nikki was appointed Acting General Manager of Europe in November 2024. Prior to this, Nikki was the Head of In-Market Supply for Zespri with global responsibilities based in Europe.  Nikki joined Zespri in May 2021 as the Strategic Projects Manager for Northern Hemisphere Supply and was based in Bologna, Italy.

Before joining Zespri, Nikki was the Chief Executive Officer of NZ Kiwifruit Growers Inc for 5 years, based in Tauranga, New Zealand.  Prior to this, Nikki was the co-owner and co-founder of consulting business Market Access Solutionz based in Wellington, New Zealand for 13 years providing technical policy and industry representation advice to the horticulture sector.  Previously, Nikki also spent time working with the Ministry for Primary Industries negotiating export market access and for the Foundation for Arable Research working on research project management and information transfer.

Nikki has a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Hons) from Lincoln University.

MICHAEL JIANG

PRESIDENT GREATER CHINA

Michael joined Zespri in January 2019 and is responsible for driving business in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. He is based in Shanghai.

Michael has more than 20 years of marketing and sales experience and enjoys an outstanding reputation in the field of fast-moving consumer goods. He has served at Fortune Global 500 consumer brand companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Danone and Mondelēz. Michael is an expert in new channel development, marketing and integrated management. His intimate knowledge of the China market and diverse range of channels complements his extensive industry experience and excellent leadership skills.

Michael holds a bachelor’s degree in international trade from Guangdong University of Foreign Studies and an MBA from Shanghai Jiaotong University.

KOK HWEE NG

CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER

Kok Hwee was appointed Chief Marketing Officer in October 2025, bringing over two decades of brand marketing leadership across global FMCG and fresh produce sectors. Since joining Zespri in 2017, she has held key roles including Global General Manager Marketing, Senior Marketing Director for Greater China, and Global Marketing Director.

In her previous role, Kok Hwee played a pivotal role in shaping and executing Zespri’s brand-led growth strategy, driving deeper consumer engagement and elevating the brand’s global leadership. Prior to Zespri, Kok Hwee held senior leadership positions at Procter & Gamble and Mondelez International, where she led global brands across diverse categories including Cadbury, Toblerone, SK-II, and Olay. She is passionate about harnessing the power of brands as a transformative force for good—unlocking value and creating meaningful impact for growers, consumers, communities, and people.

Based in Singapore, Kok Hwee holds an Executive MBA (Distinction) from INSEAD and a Bachelor of Business Administration (Hons) from the National University of Singapore.

CAROLYN MORTLAND

EXECUTIVE OFFICER SUSTAINABILITY

Carolyn is passionate about helping businesses thrive through being good for people and planet, building resilience and opportunities through collaborative and innovative solutions. She has over 25 years’ experience in strategic, stakeholder and sustainability roles.

She is a purpose-led leader, and in more recent roles co-founded the Futureful organisation that connects job seekers to employers that do good, before moving into providing strategic advice and governance for public and private sector organisations. Carolyn was Director, Sustainability at Fonterra for six years, setting global targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, building nature-based partnerships and publishing audited sustainability reports.

From 2022 – 2024 she served on Zespri’s Sustainability Advisory Board, providing solid advice and support on our own sustainability strategy. She is a long-time kiwifruit supporter, with fond memories of being raised on a kiwifruit orchard in Tauranga.

CARL COOPER

EXECUTIVE OFFICER, INNOVATION & COMMERCIALISATION

Carl Cooper was appointed the Executive Officer for Innovation and Commercialisation in November 2025, he was Head of Commercial Finance at Zespri International, a role he has held since March 2022.

He is a seasoned finance professional with a strong background in senior financial leadership across various industries. Before joining Zespri, Carl held several high-profile roles, including: Finance Specialist at Synlait Milk Limited, Group Financial Controller at Rank Group Limited, Group CFO at companies such as Walter & Wild, FRAM Group, and Carter Holt Harvey. His career spans over a decade, marked by expertise in strategic financial management, commercial finance, and corporate governance.

NICK KIRTON

EXECUTIVE OFFICER NORTHERN HEMISPHERE SUPPLY

Nick was appointed Executive Officer Northern Hemisphere Supply in March 2021. Nick joined Zespri in 2014 in the role of External Relations Manager, based in the New Zealand office. In 2018 he was appointed to the role of Programme Director – China Supply, based in Shanghai, where he was responsible for overseeing supply chain trials in China. In 2019 he was appointed to the role of Asia Regional Manager – International Production, managing supply operations in Korea and Japan.

Prior to Zespri, Nick worked for the New Zealand Government, where he was involved in the negotiation of international trade agreements and advised government Ministers in the portfolios of Economic Development and Primary Industries. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree, majoring in Economics.

TRACY MCCARTHY

EXECUTIVE OFFICER, GROWER AND INDUSTRY ENGAGEMENT

Tracy  started at Zespri in 1999, and during her time with Zespri, she has built experience in a range of roles in our Grower and Industry team and led key initiatives within the business, including the recent transformation of our licence release programme in 2023.. Tracy’s passion is working alongside our kiwifruit growing community and strengthening the industry for future growth. Tracy’s focus as the Executive Officer for Grower and Industry Engagement will be on reshaping and enhancing Zespri’s engagement with growers and the wider industry as we focus on engaging better and building a more collaborative, successful and resilient industry for growers.

Tracy is committed to collaborating with growers to foster the development of a more resilient and thriving industry to enable a sustainable future for kiwifruit communities.

DARREN LAMOTHE

PRESIDENT NORTH AMERICA

Darren LaMothe leads Zespri’s North American business, driving sales, strategy, and commercial growth in the U.S. and Canada. Prior to his current role, he built a robust 18-year track record across fast-moving consumer goods, technology, and fresh produce. He has held leadership positions spanning Supply Chain Site Leadership, Supply Chain Optimization, Global Account Management, Business Development, and e-commerce & Fulfillment Operations at organizations such as PepsiCo, Syncreon (a DP World company), and Procter & Gamble.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and earned his MBA in Finance from the University of Arizona in 2023. Concurrently, Darren is attending law school part-time at the University of La Verne. He is also certified as a Supply Chain Professional (CSCP).

NICK HAMMOND

CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER 

Nick was appointed Chief Strategy Officer at Zespri in February 2026. He brings experience building premium New Zealand food systems and brands for global markets. Prior to joining Zespri, he was Chief Executive Officer of Spring Sheep Milk Co., where he established New Zealand’s modern sheep‑milking industry. Under his leadership, Spring Sheep grew through farmer partnerships, international market development and award‑winning product innovation, while embedding sustainability and value creation.

Nick has worked across strategy, governance and thought leadership in New Zealand’s food and primary industries. He is a Chartered Accountant and a qualified lawyer, and is passionate about taking high‑quality natural food to the world while delivering value back to growers through innovation, market positioning and execution. He is based at Zespri’s head office in New Zealand

TRACY SHERLOCK

CHIEF EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

Tracy joined Zespri in April 2010 as the Chief Executive Assistant to the CEO and Board of Directors and is responsible for managing the CEO’s Office. Prior to joining Zespri, she spent almost a decade working at the Bay of Plenty District Health Board supporting the GM of Planning and Funding, the Chief Medical Director and Director of Nursing. Tracy has more than 20 years administrative experience within the horticultural, health and hospitality industries and is an active member for the AdmiNZ Association, and previously held roles as Group President for Tauranga and the Northern Regional Leader for the Association of Administrative Professionals NZ Inc.