We are an international natural health products company backed by a strong New Zealand heritage. We are committed to the development of innovative natural health and wellbeing products, backed by credible scientific research.
October 2020
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November 2014
B.Food.Tech, MBA, MInstD | Independent Chair | Mount Maunganui
Brett is a professional director and consultant. He is an Independent Director and Chairman of Comvita Ltd (NZX:CVT), Independent Director of private company BlueLab Corporation Ltd, Independent Director of Quayside Holdings Ltd., and Chairman of Priority One, Tauranga and Western BOP’s economic development agency.
From 2005-2015 Brett was the Chief Executive Officer of Comvita. Prior to Comvita, he held a number of senior roles with global packaging firm Tetra Pak. Other former Governance and Advisory board roles include: Derma Sciences Inc. (DSCI:Nasdaq), SeaDragon (SEA:NZX), Enterprise Angels, NZTE’s Better by Design Advisory Board and Member of the Callaghan Innovation Stakeholder Advisory Group.
Brett has a Bachelor of Food Technology from Massey University, and a Masters of Business Administration from the International Institute for Management Development, Switzerland. He has also completed advanced management programmes at Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management. Brett is a Member of the Institute of Directors.
Independent Director | Wellington
Paul is an innovative thinker who understands digital trends and application in the commercial area. Currently Paul is Chair of Figured (an accounting platform for farming businesses) and Volpara ZHelath Technologies (ASX:VHT), Director of Christchurch Airport and an advisory board member to several technology businesses. He has held a number of key executive roles in the transformation of businesses including NZ Post Group, Air New Zealand, MetService and Carter Holt Harvey. Paul holds honours degrees in Mathematics and Operations Research. In May 2017, Paul joined the Board.
CA | Independent Director | Auckland
A professional director and consultant, Luke has over 30 years’ experience in manufacturing, wholesaling and retailing in both durable goods and FMCG and has considerable experience in financial services and property. He has held senior executive positions in a number of well-known New Zealand corporates, both public and private. This includes ten years with The Warehouse Group where he was Chief Financial Officer and Head of Property, and 10 years with the DB Group where he was Group General Manager Finance and Planning. Luke is a member of the NZ Institute of Chartered Accountants. He joined the Comvita board in July 2014.
MSc | Independent Director | Tauranga
Bob Major has a Master’s degree in Science from Massey University. He has spent the majority of his career in various roles within the New Zealand dairy industry, working for Fonterra, the New Zealand Dairy Board and the New Zealand Dairy Research Institute. He has held global leadership roles for Fonterra in a number of areas including strategy, mergers and acquisitions, ingredients sales and marketing and innovation. He has held regional leadership roles in the Middle East, Hong Kong and China, and was on the senior leadership team of both the New Zealand Dairy Board and Fonterra.
Bob is Chairman of Gibbs Holdings (Nelson) Ltd, and a director of BioVittoria and Miro Berries. He Chairs High Value Nutrition, one of the National Science Challenges, the Avocado Primary Growth Partnership and is a member of the Oriens Capital Investment Committee. Bob is a past Chair of The Mud House Wine Group and has been a director of Westland Milk Products, the Sealord Group, Kiwirail and Barker Fruit Processors. Bob is a Chartered Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Directors.
Independent Director | Auckland
Sarah is the CEO of Calocurb Ltd, a New Zealand owned company commercialised from extensive research performed by Plant and Food Research. The wellness products are currently sold direct to consumer in over 10 countries. Prior to this she was the CEO of Designer Textiles International. From 2011 to 2014, Sarah was with Fonterra and held roles as Vice President International Farming based in China, Managing Director of Dairy Nutrition and Managing Director of RD1 - Fonterra's chain of rural retail stores. Prior to that, Sarah had 10 years as Managing Director of Healtheries/Vitaco NZ Limited and during this time she handled the sales and distribution role for Comvita in NZ. During her time at Healtheries, she oversaw the merger of Healtheries with Nutralife, doubling the size of the organisation and increasing market share significantly in both NZ and Australia, along with taking the business into international markets. Sarah is originally a veterinarian by training and has held a number of other senior executive positions in agribusiness and food industries. Sarah joined Comvita as a Director in July 2015.
Director | Hong Kong
Mr. Cheng Dayong is the General Counsel of the Legal & Secretarial Department at China Resources Enterprise, Limited. China Resources own approximately 6.57% of Comvita. Mr Cheng joined China Resources Group in 2003. Prior to that, he had worked in private practice and has extensive experience in corporate and commercial legal work as well as regulatory compliance.
Mr. Cheng holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of International Business and Economics, China. He is a member of All China Lawyers Association and a resident of Hong Kong.
Director | Shenzhen
Mr. Zhu Guangping established Shenzhen Comvita Natural Food Co. Ltd in 2004, which introduced the Comvita brand into the China market and set up the first franchised store of Comvita. Shenzhen Comvita Natural Food Co. Ltd was Comvita’s exclusive distributor in China for 12 years prior to selling 51% to Comvita in 2017. Comvita acquired the balance of 49% in July 2019.
In addition to Comvita business, Mr. Zhu owns and operates businesses in manufacturing, real estate and retail. He has extensive experience in business management, strategy, investment and luxury goods industries. He has held directorship and chairmanship positions in a number of public and private companies in China and Hong Kong. Mr Zhu holds an EMBA from CKGSB.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
David Banfield joined Comvita in January 2020 as Chief Executive Officer.
An entrepreneurial International Managing Director/CEO with significant experience leading both private and public sector business with revenues up to €300 Million. First-hand experience in Acquisition, eCommerce, Direct to Consumer, Global Retail (Brand and Private label), B2B, B2C Manufacturing and Supply Chain across four continents. Results delivered through deep cultural understanding and motivation and development of multicultural International teams.
Chief Financial Officer
Nigel has had extensive experience in finance having held senior executive finance roles with various New Zealand companies. Prior to joining Comvita, Nigel held CFO roles with Synlait Milk Ltd, Crane Distribution NZ Ltd, Gough Group Ltd and Lyttelton Port Company Ltd. Nigel is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Institute of Directors. Nigel has a Bachelor of Commerce (majoring in accounting) and has completed the General Manager Programme at the University of Michigan. He was also a finalist of the Deloitte CFO of the year in 2018.
DipT, MBA (Distinction) | Chief Operating Officer Supply
Colin Baskin, has had an international career in Supply Chain within the Primary Sector and joined Comvita in 2007 from ZESPRI International Ltd, where he was Global Supply Manager. In 2014, as General Manager Supply Chain, Colin personally received the Bay of Plenty Tertiary Partnership Export Achievement Award and in May 2015 the Comvita Supply Chain was awarded the NZ China Trade Association (NZCTA) award for Supply Chain Innovation.
As Chief Operating Officer Supply, Colin has responsibility for Comvita's global supply network including, Olive Products Australia, NZ Honey and the Comvita Apiaries operations. Leading a large team, Colin's focus is on delivering supply efficiencies and enhancing our Supply Partnership.
Chief Purpose & Transformation Officer
Holly joined Comvita in 2019 and is an accomplished executive leader and advisor. With a corporate career spanning more than 20 years across blue chip brands and organisations, Holly has most recently held the senior positions of Head of HR, Head of Corporate Affairs and General Manager Greater China for Zespri International. Supremely adaptable, Holly has a proven track record as an Executive in the HR field and has successfully made the rare transition to commercial management in Asia. She spent three years in Shanghai, ultimately running the Greater China region for Zespri with P&L responsibility at NZD700M. Holly is genuinely strategic and results oriented.
Chief Executive Officer Asia
Andy is an inspiring leader with entrepreneurial spirit that has driven 20 years’ non-stop successes under GLOCAL environments in retail, consulting, and premium manufacturing; ranging from business transformation ($200M savings), M&A integration ($1.5Bn deal), new market development (built a profitable Asia market in 3 years), corporate culture reshape to family business going public ($800M). As the Regional CEO, Andy is growing Comvita faster and better across Asia to deliver the exponential growth and long-term resilience of total Comvita.
Chief Supply Chain Officer
Tracy Brown joined Comvita in June 2020 and brings a strong primary industry set of experience in operations, commercial management, supply chain leadership and S & OP. Formerly with Zespri, Tracy held a range of Supply Chain management positions during her 16 years with the organisation, including Commercial Manager, Supply Operations Manager, and latterly Head of Global Supply Chain Development. In addition to Supply Chain, Tracy has a background in Finance. Tracy is a Chartered Accountant (CAANZ and ICAEW) and holds a Bachelor of Business Studies. Tracy has also completed executive management programmes at INSEAD (International Executive Development) and Monash University. Prior to joining Zespri, Tracy held roles with Johnson & Johnson, MRI Moores Rowland and KPMG.
Chief Business Development Officer
Adrian Barr joined Comvita in March 2020 as Acting Chief Financial Officer
Bringing extensive experience in both financial and commercial environments to the business, Adrian was retained by Comvita in September 2019 to lead a strategic review of Comvita’s Supply Chain and Financial Planning functions. Previously, he was Chief Operating Officer for The True Honey Co, and he was Chief Executive Officer for Simply Squeezed between 2009 and 2014. Adrian served as General Manager for Invacare NZ and held a number of senior financial and commercial leadership roles with Mainland Products Limited over a period spanning more than 13 years. He is experienced in mergers and acquisitions, capital management, corporate finance, as well as infrastructure export development in line with funding and customer requirements.
PhD, BSc (Hons) Microbiology | Chief Science Officer
Chief Science Officer, Dr Jackie Evans joined Comvita in 2017. Jackie has a background in both the public and private sector and significant experience leading international teams delivering global Science and Research programmes. Prior to joining Comvita Jackie held senior clinical research positions in the United Kingdom for pharmaceutical companies GlaxoSmithKline and Amgen managing global clinical trial programmes for HIV and cancer medicines. More recently she held Senior positions at PHARMAC, the New Zealand Governments’ Medicines Funding Agency, where she was responsible for critically appraising the science behind medicines and negotiating multimillion dollar funding contracts with International Pharmaceutical companies. In her role as Chief Science Officer Jackie is focused on advancing the science supporting the quality and health benefits of our key ingredients and improving productivity and profitability across the supply chain. She combines scientific expertise with excellent leadership and communication abilities and a deep understanding of commercial and strategic outcomes. Jackies hold a BSc (Hons) in Microbiology from the University of Reading, and a PhD in Virology from University College London, UK.
General Manager – North America
Corey Blick joined Comvita in May 2016 where he has successfully led a brand transformation to fit the North American consumer, profitably built out Comvita's e-Commerce business and launched Comvita into wholesale and retail channels. Corey has extensive experience in brand marketing, and omni-channels distribution including Direct-to-Consumer, as well as natural, grocery, and club channel sales management. He co-founded FRS, an innovative healthy energy supplement brand which has amassed over $200M USD in sales since inception, has held executive roles in functional beverage, as well as ran brand strategy and new business development at a leading-edge brand agency in San Francisco. Corey brings both strategic direction and operationally efficient execution to one of Comvita's core growth markets.
General Manager – Australia and New Zealand
Peter Hardy joined Comvita in January 2018 where he has gained distribution in domestic Grocery and Pharmacy channels, re-launched the NZ Travel channel, built more strategic relationships with the Asian Health customer base and re-invested marketing funds in key growth categories. Peter has over 20 years’ FMCG experience making significant contributions to building businesses, categories, organisations. Recognised as a strong leader with a proven track record of success. Known as a leader who thinks and acts decisively, operates with discipline, is adaptable, resilient and grows organisational capability. Thrives on building businesses and expansions to win in the market. He has built teams and grown existing businesses from $60M to >$200M as well as building new divisions designed to drive incremental growth.
Comvita's Board of Directors is responsible for the corporate governance of the Company. They are committed to best practice governance policies and structures.
The corporate governance policies, practices and processes followed by the Board are set out below:
Comvita Corporate Governance
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Constitution of Comvita
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Board Charter
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Comvita Safety & Performance Committee Charter
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Directors and Officers Remuneration Policy
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Audit and Risk Committee Charter
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Code of Ethics Policy
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Diversity Policy
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Financial Product Dealing Policy
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Continuous Disclosure Policy
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Comvita Limited
23 Wilson Road South, Paengaroa, 3189
Private Bag 1, Te Puke, 3153
Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
Ph +64 7 533 1426
Fax +64 7 533 1118
For further queries or information, please contact:
Investor Relations
Investor.Relations@comvita.com
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