OUR PEOPLE HAVE PURPOSE
The executive develops the strategy, and then our board challenges and supports that strategy, and monitors performance and compliance.
The Executive and Board
The directors of Trinity Lands are appointed by the shareholding trusts – Lichfield Lands, Longview Trust and Hillview Trust. They have a wide range of business experience and a strong connection to the charitable values of Trinity Lands.
“Our purpose at Trinity Lands is to farm for good, to give our profits back into local and community good projects.”
Executive profiles
Peter McBride
Chief Executive Officer
Peter is an orchardist, dairy farmer and grandson of Lichfield Lands and Longview Trust founder Robert Auld.
Peter has been involved with Trinity Lands since it was created to bring together the three founding Trusts in 2011 and has been CEO since 2017.
During his six-year tenure as chair of Zespri International, Peter was named Deloitte Top 200 2018 New Zealand chairperson of the year.
Peter is the chair of Fonterra.
Ngaire Scott
Chief Financial Officer
Ngaire has been a trustee of Lichfield Lands since 1999 and CFO of Trinity Lands since 2011. She was part of the team that worked through the amalgamation and formation of Trinity Lands. She is a Chartered Accountant and has served in a number of service and charitable organisations in the roles of CEO, finance and governance.
Tony Hawkin
Business Development Manager
Tony was the founding CEO of EastPack Ltd. Over almost three decades, he and his team built the company to become New Zealand’s largest kiwifruit post-harvest company. Tony and his family own dairy farms and orchards, and he has a number of governance roles in New Zealand horticulture companies, including Zespri.
Andrew Archer
General Manager Dairy
Andrew is a dairy farmer and farm consultant. His speciality is highly profitable animal production systems, with a focus on soil sciences and animal nutrition. Andrew has worked as a consultant and trustee of the shareholding trusts since 1989 and has overseen the dairy division of Trinity Lands since its establishment in 2011.
Brett Fleming
General Manager Corporate Responsibility and Compliance
Brett joined Trinity Lands in 2019 as the GM of Sustainability. He has held various positions in education, both in the secondary and tertiary sectors. He has pursued various qualifications over the years, including a business studies degree, indigenous studies diploma, and certificate in career counselling.
Nathan Smith
General Manager Kiwifruit
Nathan spent more than seven years dairy farming before he switched to horticulture – and he’s never looked back. In his 22 years with Lichfield and then Trinity Lands, he has done everything from building orchard structures, planting, and installing irrigation to his current role overseeing all Trinity Lands’ orchards. Nathan has a permanent team of around 25, which balloons to around 130 during seasonal spikes.
Cushla Robinson
General Manager People & Culture
Cushla Robinson joined Trinity Lands late in 2022. She brought with her 25 years’ experience in human resources; 15 of those in management roles. She has worked for many large corporates across the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, including Warehouse Group, Bunzl, Kuhne+Nagel, Water Corporation, and most recently, Zespri. Cushla and her partner have four daughters, aged one to eight. As often as they can, the family heads off in their motorhome for adventures in the outdoors.
“Those of us entrusted to oversee Trinity Lands today are driven by the same desire to perform to the best of our abilities, so we can do the most good possible.”
Stuart Bay
Chairman
Stuart is a Waikato dairy farmer whose association with Trinity Lands spans decades. Stuart has, at various times, served on all three of the trusts that make up Trinity Lands and is the current chair of Hillview Trust. He was the founding chair of Trinity Lands from 2011 (with a 2-year gap 2017-19). Stuart has served as Trinity’s chair since 2019. He has also had nearly 40 years’ extensive governance experience, to chairmanship level, in agricultural co-operatives in New Zealand and overseas. He is a former chair of the Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC) and former director of the New Zealand Dairy Group.
Karen Whitehead
Board Member
Karen chairs the board of Longview Trust, one of Trinity’s three shareholders. She has worked in the insurance industry since 1990, and as an insurance broker since 2004. She works in central Wellington and advises business and personal clients on risk and insurance management. Karen became a trustee of Longview Trust in 2017 and Trinity Lands in 2019. She has previously served on the board of SUNZ.
Ian McBride
Board Member
Ian is the chair of Lichfield Lands, one of Trinity’s shareholder trusts, and is a trustee or director of several other charities. He joined the Trinity Lands board in 2019 and has a background in kiwifruit growing, mission, and charitable work. Ian and his wife Nikki worked in various aboriginal communities in Arnhem Land Australia with MAF between 1994 and 2010.
Daryl Wehner
Independent Board Member
Daryl joined Trinity Lands in 2017, having served as a trustee for Longview Trust since 2009. Daryl is a Chartered Accountant and a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors. He has held a variety of senior corporate roles and is currently CFO at Port Nelson.
Gray Baldwin
Board Member
Gray and his wife Marilyn farm 713ha near Lichfield. They milk 850 cows and grow maize and pine trees. Gray worked in rural banking and fertiliser and served nine years on the board of Ballance Agri-Nutrients. His current directorships include Longview Trust, Farmlands Co-operative, and Livestock Improvement.
Gordon Fountain
Chair of ARMC
Gordon is a Chartered Accountant, certified financial advisor and CEO of a family business. He was a foundation director of Trinity Lands and is currently chair of the Audit Committee. He is a trustee of Lichfield Lands. Gordon’s other governance roles include chair of CCCNZ, trustee of several investment trusts, and past chair of Pathways College.
Paul MacKenzie
Board Member
Paul started his career in the building industry. Since 1980, he has been involved in dairying in the Waikato – from farm worker to owner and equity partner. More recently Paul and his wife Chris and family have invested in the kiwifruit industry. Paul is the director of a group that is producing and developing orchards in the Bay of Plenty.
Tim Deane
Independent Board Member
Tim is executive general manager of Business Banking at ASB. His 30-year corporate career spans the domestic and export food sector, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, and the financial services sector. Previous roles include managing director of Goodman Fielder NZ, managing director of Fonterra Brands NZ and chair of the NZ Food and Grocery Council.
Brent McGregor
Independent Board Member
Brent was appointed to the board of Trinity Lands in March 2021 and holds a professional background in commercial real estate. Brent has held a number of senior roles and is presently the Executive Chairman of CBRE New Zealand and leads the CBRE Capital Markets practice.
P: 07 885 1026
E: info@trinitylands.co.nz
Head Office:10 Neal St, Putaruru
Postal Address: PO Box 181 Putaruru, 3443