“For me, serving a community is not about profit, it’s about achievement. I see the Business and Planning role as helping to create the best possible learning environment, which then allows Dio’s teachers to support our students to achieve their best.”
Kerry is joining the School after eight years as GM Business Manukau, where a large part of her role was stakeholder engagement for the second largest retail district in New Zealand. She notes highlights including the association’s role in improving the social and economic standing of Manukau’s diverse community and the partnership with a range of stakeholder organisations to rollout the 20-year Transform Manukau programme. She is also a professional director on the board of Anglican Financial Care, which manages a range of funds including Christian KiwiSaver.
Adding to her resume, Kerry has worked extensively across the Pacific Islands, providing specialist banking, finance and business advice to support private sector development. She lived in Niue for a year, while providing economic advice to the government, and has also been a director of the Bank of the Cook Islands. When asked which of the islands is her favourite, she names Vanuatu which she says provided her an opportunity to use her University level French.
Kerry grew up with a father who was always renovating houses, and as a pre-schooler she was trained in passing tools up the ladder to him. This interest in property continued into adulthood, and Kerry and her husband went on to own a residential and commercial property maintenance business, which quickly became the biggest insurance reinstatement company in the Bay of Plenty.
Kerry says her experience in property maintenance, strong finance and management skills and ability to successfully lead a team to deliver on complex and challenging projects will be strengths in her role at the School.
She acknowledges the great work done by outgoing Director of Business and Planning, Ian Walker. “This is a wide ranging role, encompassing property planning and development, health and safety risk management, finance and the delivery of technology and business information. Ian has delivered on some fantastic projects, including the new Arts Centre, and I’m looking forward to carrying on his work and picking up on other exciting initiatives in Diocesan’s long term development plan.”
While sad to be leaving Diocesan, Ian’s family was keen to move out of Auckland and the appeal of a rural lifestyle near Taupo was too strong to resist. The School thanks Ian for his contributions and efforts.
Asked for a good work story, Kerry mentions a two year campaign to expand Manukau’s business improvement district. “I ended up campaigning for the expansion over 24 months, including going door to door to hundreds of business owners, to get the vote successfully passed through Election Services. It definitely put an end to any notions I may have had about being a politician!”
Kerry lives in Remuera with her husband, three children and Rosie the Labraspoodle. Her children all attended local schools and she says Diocesan is well known to her. “It’s one of the great things about our local community – all the Schools and students are connected and know each other, regardless of which school they attend.”
She starts the role in November and is looking forward to supporting the Diocesan School community.
