John Morgan
Chief Executive
John has extensive senior executive and governance experience in public and private sector organisations covering a range of markets and activities including business, science, education and sport. His science sector roles have included Chief Executive of AgriQuality Ltd, Executive Director of Orica New Zealand Ltd and Chairman of New Zealand Pharmaceuticals Ltd. He is currently Deputy Chairman of Science New Zealand. John is passionate about the role science can play in transforming New Zealand's economy, environment, society and global reputation.
Dr Rob Murdoch
General Manager - Deputy Chief Executive
Rob has a specialist interest in oceanography and marine ecology, and has been a practising scientist on projects associated with the Southern Ocean, aquaculture, oil and gas exploration and marine conservation. He has overseen the planning and direction of NIWA’s science and the operation of the research vessels since 1999, and helps manage NIWA’s relationships with key stakeholders and collaborators.
Contact for scientific research enquiries.
Geoff Baird
General Manager - Communications and Marketing
Geoff has extensive experience in science publishing and communication from working with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, MAF Fisheries and NIWA. He became NIWA’s Communications Manager in 2003 and General Manager, Communications and Marketing in July 2007, with a focus on reinforcing the values underlying the NIWA brand and demonstrating how NIWA enhances the benefits of New Zealand’s natural resources.
Patrick Baker
Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary
Patrick is a Chartered Accountant. He began his career as an engineer with Ford Motor Company in the UK before moving into financial management. He served in senior country finance management positions in Europe and the Middle East before joining Ford New Zealand in 2004. After choosing to settle permanently in New Zealand in 2012, he was appointed CFO of The Network for Learning Limited, a Crown company established to deliver managed internet services to New Zealand’s schools. He joined NIWA as CFO and Company Secretary in May 2014.
Dr Mary-Anne Dehar
General Manager - People & Capability
Mary-Anne joined NIWA in March 2008. She has a PhD in psychology and is a registered psychologist, specialising in industrial/organisational psychology. Before joining NIWA, Mary-Anne worked as a senior human resources consultant for 15 years, both in private practice and for several large consulting firms.
Warrick Johnston
General Manager - Technology & Innovation
Warrick is a technical and commercial leader who has a passion for technology and strives for innovative uses that positively impact businesses and people.
With more than 20 years’ experience in strategy and development, product development, service creation and delivery, and niche technologies he has the ability to understand complex technology combined with a practical nature and the experience to understand the market and business needs’ which drives a unique perspective. This perspective shapes services, products and business strategies that bring real quantifiable business benefits.
Warrick has developed his skills through a career in start-ups, ISVs, niche technology companies and product companies such as Microsoft and Esri. He has most frequently been aligned with technical incubators, business growth and thought leadership, and possesses a particular expertise in all things spatial, with many years’ experience working in developing the GIS market and adoption.
Dr Helen Neil
General Manager - Operations
Helen is an experienced geologist with interests in seabed mapping, oceanography, and stable isotope geochemistry. Her expertise has been applied to the management and delivery of large-scale multi-disciplinary projects and research voyages associated with seabed surveys, telecommunication cables, marine infrastructure, and ocean exploration within the subtropical and subantarctic oceans surrounding New Zealand. Helen has previously led the Ocean Sediments Research Group, she joined the Operations Management Team in 2016 as National Projects Manager, and was appointed General Manager, Operations in July 2018.
Marino Tahi
General Manager - Māori & Pacific Partnerships
Marino sits on the NIWA Executive Management Team and provides strategic leadership and advice to NIWA’s science, operational and cultural functions on matters pertaining to Te Ao Māori, with the aim of maximising the transfer of environmental and natural resource scientific knowledge to whānau, hapū, iwi and Māori entities and communities for the economic, social, cultural, and environmental benefit of the nation.
Marino is also responsible for NIWA’s science delivery and partnerships within the Pacific Rim (Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa).
Dr Alex Thompson
General Manager - Science
Alex is a science leader who is passionate about delivering science that achieves impact. With extensive experience in research strategy, investment and the science-policy interface, Alex joined NIWA in 2017 after a decade in government policy advisory and science investment roles. Alex had previously held research posts at British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge UK, University of California at Berkeley, and Forschungzentum Jülich in Germany, and was a founding editor at Nature Geoscience. Her research addressed the interface between the earth’s surface and the atmosphere, with a focus on using stable isotopes to understand trace and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Alex has an MSc in quantum chemistry (University of Canterbury) and a PhD in atmospheric chemistry (York University, Canada).
