New trustees welcomed to our board

We are delighted to welcome two newly appointed Trustees to our board. The confirmed appointments, as delegated to the Minister of Finance, are:

Vijay Goel, an experienced Chartered Accountant with extensive expertise in financial management, international trade, and corporate governance. He currently serves as a Director at The North and South Trust Ltd, Nine Consulting Ltd and Globestride Ventures Ltd, and is a board member of the Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority (EECA), a Crown entity.

Nicholas Albrecht JP is Managing Director of Massey Coates Ltd and previously headed Vector Limited’s government relations for 14 years. He has been a Director of the Auckland Cricket Association since 2014 and a Trustee of Eden Park Trust Board since 2018.

Existing Trustee Walter Wells (Ngāti Kuri, Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi, Ngātiwai) has also been reappointed as a Trustee. Mr Wells has been on the Foundation’s board since September 2020 and served as Chair from 2021 to 2024.

Chair Michelle Tsui welcomed the new Trustees at a pōwhiri on Thursday morning at the Foundation’s headquarters in Auckland, saying “We warmly welcome Vijay and Nicholas to Foundation North and look forward to the contributions they will make, alongside their fellow Trustees, to all aspects of our governance activities in the service of our communities.”

Tributes were also paid to the two departing board members, Mel Hewitson and Pramjit Rai Suchdev. Mel Hewitson MNZM served two terms on the board from July 2016 to January 2025. This included holding the position of Deputy Chair of Foundation North, Chair of the Investment Committee, as well as Chair of the Foundation’s Centre for Social Impact. Pramjit Rai Suchdev QSM served one term from September 2020 to January 2025.

Trustee biographies can be found on our website.