Following Chief Executive Sandra Budd's announcement on the restructure of the senior management team in May 2008, the Foundation has now appointed five new Executive Directors (EDs) and one Acting Executive Director.

The Foundation is extremely pleased to welcome:

Neil Jarvis, ED Access, Innovation and Enterprise

Neil has had an extensive career working in the disability sector, both in the United Kingdom and, since 2004, with the RNZFB. Neil has worked in consulting and project management, established new businesses and has run his own business for a number of years, providing consulting services around IT accessibility. A key accountability for Neil’s portfolio is to support our members’ independence by providing accessible information and by creating innovative solutions that improve their environment. Neil started his new role on 21 July.

Alison Wheatley, ED Marketing & Fundraising

Alison has twenty years of experience with international consumer goods, services and retail companies including Lion Nathan and Nestle. She has gained wide exposure to all facets of brand building, marketing management, and team leadership. With her team, Alison will be focusing on building a lifetime relationship with our supporters and donors. Alison joins us on 1 September.

Paulette Cotter, ED People & Culture

Paulette has had over 13 years’ international experience as a human resources professional, working with a range of commercial and corporate organisations in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Within her portfolio, Paulette will be focusing on developing a learning culture that attracts and retains the best talent and supports staff and volunteers. Paulette joins us on 1 September.

Sara Peary, ED Stakeholder Relations

Sara has had over ten years' professional experience in marketing, political marketing, government relations, PR and consumer affairs working in the USA, Europe and New Zealand. As ED Stakeholder Relations, Sara will be responsible for building excellent collaborative partnerships with all our stakeholders to improve our members’ experience. She will also be responsible for setting internal and external strategic communication and growing our profile nationally and internationally. Sara joins us on 1 September.

Gerard Rahman, ED Strategy, Improvement and Performance

After being educated and qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in the United Kingdom, Gerard had 20 years' professional services experience spanning the Caribbean, UK, Middle East and New Zealand. Gerard joined the RNZFB as Chief Financial Officer in 2007. The key focus for Gerard is to ensure the Foundation is run efficiently and effectively, demonstrate good corporate governance systems, continuously improve our processes and progress the RNZFB 2020 project. Gerard started his new role on 21 July.

Gary Henry, ED Direct Client Contact Services (Acting)

The initial recruitment round did not result in an appointment to the ED Direct Client Contact Services (DCCS) position. Until that candidate is appointed, Gary Henry will be on board as the Foundation's Acting ED Direct Client Contact Services. Gary will take up this position on 1 August. Gary is an extremely experienced senior executive having spent many years in consultancy, general manager and chief executive roles, including six years as General Manager of NZ National Women’s Hospital.  Gary will lead the DCCS team’s work around service modelling and help with preparation for the new Executive Director.