Board of Governors

Jenny joined the Diocesan Board in 2023 and serves as the Chair. She is also a trustee of the Heritage Foundation and has been on the Committee of the Diocesan School Alumnae Association from 2015 to 2023, serving as President from 2017 to 2021. Jenny attended Diocesan from 1979 to 1986 and was Head Prefect in her seventh form year.

Jenny graduated from Auckland University in 1992 with a BCom/LLB. She worked in private practice and then as an in-house corporate lawyer at DB Group Limited and TelstraClear Limited. After the birth of her children, she left the paid workforce for several years and focussed on her family and her community. Jenny restarted her legal career in 2017 and now works as Senior Legal Counsel - Corporate and Commercial at Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities. Jenny’s work is varied across the organisation and she gains great satisfaction doing her bit for an organisation with a strong purpose.

Jenny is married to Charles and they have two daughters, Eleanor and Natalie, both of whom are former Dio Girls. With her daughters now both exploring all the opportunities that Diocesan gave them, studying at university in Brisbane, Jenny enjoys walking, reading, and cooking, and she and Charles love spending time at their “little piece of paradise” in Northland and travelling to see their girls whenever they can.

Sarah Stevens-Cross (nee Stevens) joined the Board in February 2019. She is a priest of the Anglican Diocese and Old Girl of the School (1990-1996). Prior to ordination Sarah studied Geography, Psychology and Journalism. She has worked in boarding schools in the UK and Waikato and as a community journalist in the Waikato. She was involved in the 2002 review of Chaplaincy at Religious Studies at Diocesan.

Ordained in November 2009, Sarah served as curate at Holy Trinity Cathedral, Parnell, before moving to the Bay of Islands. Here she was priest-in-charge of the Waimate North Parish and worked as a trainer and facilitator with small rural and coastal church communities. From 2010-2015 she was a member of Diocesan Council – the governing body of the Anglican Diocese of Auckland.

Sarah is the proud Mum of two girls, preschooler Sophia and primary school aged Keziah. She has been the Vicar of St Andrew's Parish in Epsom since May 2019.

Laurent joined the Diocesan Board in 2018. Since then he has chaired our Marketing & Development, Curriculum & Assessment, and Succession Committees.

Laurent is a Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company and a leads McKinsey Transformation Practice across Asia. Laurent works with clients cross the region to help them transform their business through radical performance improvement, and fast adoption of technology and innovation. He also leads McKinsey work in capability building and cultural change. He has been based in Europe, Africa, North America, China and New Zealand.

Laurent has a Masters in Engineering from Ecole Polytechnique and Masters in Finance from Solvay Business School in Brussels. He also holds a MBA from Harvard Business School where he was a Fulbright Scholar.

Laurent is the proud father of Manon (Year 8), and James, and is married to Diane with whom he shares his passions for education, technology and travel. As a family, they enjoy tinkering with tech toys, travelling around the world, playing golf and supporting children’s education in Africa.

Ross Bay was ordained the 11th Bishop of Auckland in 2010. He joined the Board of Governors that year and is also a member of the group with an interest in the Special Character of Diocesan.

Bishop Ross was born in Auckland and grew up in Papatoetoe. He has previously served in several Auckland parishes, including St Mark’s Church in Remuera and as Dean of Holy Trinity Cathedral prior to becoming Bishop. He was ordained in 1989, having begun his working life with the Bank of New Zealand before undertaking his theological education.

Outside the church, Bishop Ross is a keen squash player and is a volunteer officer in the Auckland Operational Support Unit of the NZ Fire Service.

Ross also has a personal connection with Diocesan School for Girls. His wife, Jacquie, is an Old Girl of the School and was Head of Science at Diocesan for six years before moving in 2006 to research work at the University of Auckland.

Jane joined the Diocesan Board in December 2012. She is a Barrister specialising in employment law. Jane was a partner at a large legal practice for 20 years and has worked extensively in New Zealand and in the United Kingdom. She is a Heritage Foundation Trustee, and Chair of the Women2Watch Committee. Jane is also a member of the Recovery Solutions Board.

Jane is a past Head Girl of the School and with her husband, Julian Bell, has two daughters who are both Diocesan Old Girls.

Indy joined the Diocesan Board in 2021 and is chair of the Board’s Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee.

Indy is a partner at PwC New Zealand and works with a broad range of clients including listed companies, private equity owned groups and private companies. Indy has significant financial reporting and financial risk management experience working with PwC Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the Financial Markets Authority.

Indy is married to Indi who works part time as a GP. They have two daughters, Anika and Anya. Indy enjoys spending time with his family at their farm on the West Coast of Auckland.

Paula joined the Diocesan Board at the start of 2023.

Prior to returning to NZ in 2011 she lived in Europe, Asia and Latin America working with international Not for Profits in areas including Environment, Health, Overseas Development and Children’s Rights.

Paula completed a Masters Degree (Technological Futures) focused on Cyber Security, Privacy and Online Harm for Families and consults in this area, as well as advising and assessing Masters Candidates focused on Emerging and Disruptive Technology.

She is passionate about Innovation, Sustainability, Ethics, Future of Work, Gender Equality and Education, including STEAM subjects for girls.

Paula and Ross are current Diocesan parents.

Mike joined the Diocesan Board in 2023.

Mike is from Christchurch and studied at the University of Canterbury. He started his career as an accountant in a Chartered Accountant firm before working in the public health sector. Mike then moved into the advertising industry where he has had a 23-year career, most recently as CFO/COO of NZ’s largest advertising group, Clemenger where he was on their trans-Tasman holding company board and the board of OMG NZ. He has also been actively involved at an industry level serving on the boards of the NZ Comms Council and The Advertising Standards Authority.

Mike was a keen sports person and played rugby at a representative level in Canterbury, and now enjoys being involved in coaching and administration.

Mike is married to Anna, who also works in advertising, and they have three children - Violet (year 7), George, and Beatrix. As a family they are keen on skiing, golf and fishing and can often be found out in the Hauraki Gulf enjoying all that it offers.

Mike is a proud New Zealander and having school-aged children is passionate about the education sector as it is an enabler to a successful future for all.

Tom is a lawyer with a specialisation in the banking and project finance sectors. He has worked for an international law firm in Singapore and London and for various domestic firms in New Zealand. Having served as a partner at a leading New Zealand law firm for 13 years, Tom has now embarked on an exciting venture by establishing his own practice in his area of expertise.

Outside his professional commitments, Tom cherishes his role as a family man. He is married to Dawn, and together they have three wonderful children (Genevieve, Nicholas, and Jacqueline).

Tom is an avid outdoors enthusiast. He enjoys skiing, fishing, wing foiling, diving, hiking and is always keen to get the family out when willing. His goal is to maintain a healthy balance between his personal and professional life, ensuring he brings dedication and enthusiasm to both his personal and professional pursuits.