Our Board

Brent Impey is currently the interim Executive Director of The Fred Hollows Foundation and was the chair of the board from 1998 to 2009. He is also involved with a number of other organisations:

• Director Pumpkin Patch Limited
• Director Devon Funds Management Limited
• Director Fred Hollows Australia
• Management Consultant
• Media Consultant
• Director Hutchwilco NZ Limited
• Consultant to Board Market Pulse Limited

He was chief executive officer of MediaWorks NZ Limited from 2000 to 2009, which operates two national television channels (TV3 and C4), radio stations out of 23 markets and a media division (NetWorks).

Brent has been involved with The Fred Hollows Foundation for many years.

"I am a great believer in the work of The Foundation. Its goal of building sustainability with a 'do it' attitude is one I identify with. I am forever amazed by the core work of The Foundation, namely the quality cataract surgery in developing countries, and affordable lenses. In addition, it has been a humbling experience to not only witness these dedicated people work, but also to assist in a small way to build The Foundation, whether the South Africa or the Pacific projects."

Brent has been a leading media executive in New Zealand for many years and was named as 'Media Personality of the Year' in 2003. He received the award for 'Broadcaster of the Decade' in 1990, and 'Queens Commemorative Medal for services to broadcasting', also in 1990. He was also executive director of the Radio Broadcasters Association from 1983 until 1998.

Rob Fenwick is an experienced businessman and company director with interests closely aligned to promoting sustainable development. He has had a long association with Antarctica: for nine years until 2007 he was a director and later chairman of Landcare Research, one of several CRIs involved in Antarctic research, and is a former chairman of the Antarctic Heritage Trust. In 2005 the New Zealand Geographic Society named the Fenwick Ice Piedmont in the Ross Sea for his work in Antarctica. 

He is a co-founder and director of Living Earth Ltd, New Zealand’s principal organic waste management business and is active in policy development around waste minimisation and climate change, and has been a member of several Government working groups in these areas. He is a special advisor to the Department of Conservation and was conferred with the degree of Doctor of Natural Resources, honoris causa, by Lincoln University this year.

Franceska Banga has been Chief Executive of the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund since 2001 and is responsible for all aspects of the day to day operation of NZVIF.

Franceska has direct and deep knowledge of how to execute and manage a portfolio of private equity funds, from manager selection, through to contract negotiation, and ongoing monitoring and management of these funds. Over the last seven years, she has led the establishment of a full fund of funds venture capital investment business at NZVIF. As part of this, she has overseen over 60 due diligence on potential fund investments. She chairs NZVIF’s Investment Committees for the Venture Capital fund of funds and Seed Co-investment Fund.

Franceska has a wide knowledge of Australasian venture capital and private equity markets, through her involvement in the industry over the last eight years and is currently the Chair of the NZVCA.

Prior to the establishment of NZVIF, Franceska was responsible for advising the New Zealand Government on a range of strategic investment issues. Previous roles include Chief Strategist for the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology; Director for the New Zealand Treasury, responsible for hospital infrastructure investment; Senior Advisor, Reserve Bank of New Zealand.

Franceska has an Honours degree in Economics and Finance from the University of Auckland, New Zealand.

Craig Fisher has been an audit partner since 1996 and is Chairman of Hayes Knight Chartered Accountants, a firm he helped form in 2001. Craig's role includes representing Hayes Knight New Zealand internationally in their Australasian and wider international affiliations.

Craig is a passionate presenter and has taught courses throughout New Zealand since the mid-1990s in many areas of accountancy and auditing including ethics, fraud detection, practice management and business improvement. He is also co-author of the Thomson Reuters (formerly Brooker's) Practical Auditing Manual; the most widely used auditing guide publically available in New Zealand.

As well as acting for a wide variety of commercial and not-for-profit clients, Craig is an Approved Auditor for the Office of the Auditor-General and has been active in the audit of a significant number of state schools and other public sector entities such as the Museum of Transport & Technology.

In 2007, Craig's contribution to chartered accountancy was recognised with a Fellowship from the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants for services to the profession and excellence in research, teaching and writing. Support for the non-profit sector is also a large facet of Craig's work; a significant proportion of his clients at Hayes Knight are non-profit organisations including being on the committee of the NZ Institute of Chartered Accountants Not for Profit Special Interest Group.  He's also a member of the Government's NZ Auditing and Assurance Standards Board.

"Having an eye condition myself I realise how fortunate I am to live in a first world country with easy access to eye care.  Fred's legacy and The Foundation's work is fantastic and life changing for people in countries less fortunate than us.  It is an honour to serve and help continue the positive difference." says Craig.

Dr Mantell is an eye surgeon specialising in cataract and retinal surgery.

Following thirteen years of medical training to qualify as an ophthalmic surgeon, Dr Mantell spent a further three years working to master the latest surgical techniques in prestigious international eye centres—Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital in Melbourne, and the Royal Manchester Eye Hospital.

He has since performed thousands of cataract and vitreoretinal operations and helped to pioneer same-day vitreoretinal surgery, making him one of the most active and highly trained surgeons in New Zealand.  

John McElhinney is chief executive officer of The Radio Network Limited (TRN), one of New Zealand's largest commercial radio businesses which has over 120 stations. These include the country's major networked stations, such as Newstalk ZB, Classic Hits, ZM and Radio Sport, as well as genre stations Radio Hauraki, Coast, Easy Mix and Flava. The company is also a joint venture partner in The Radio Bureau, New Zealand's radio advertising placement agency.

John joined the radio industry in 1972, firstly with the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation, then Radio New Zealand and most recently with The Radio Network.

The early part of his career was spent in programmes and promotions (he was named the radio industry's Program Director of the Year in 1980) before he became a general manager and then head of Mmrketing for Radio New Zealand. From 1987 to 1997 he was general manager for The Radio Network in Taranaki, being promoted to sales and marketing director for TRN in April 1998 and then chief executive in June 2001.

John is currently chairman of the Radio Broadcasters Association and a member of the Institute of Directors. He joined The Foundation's New Zealand Board in 2003 and the Australian Board in 2006.

“Like many people, I had the need for more fulfilment in my life and thought I should give of my time to a worthy charity. I thought long and hard about the various options and came to the conclusion that the very worthy work of The Fred Hollows Foundation was the one that I wanted to be involved in. It has such practical aims and outcomes and improves the quality of life of so many people, it was just too hard to go past,” John says.

Aseta Redican is General Manager, Pacific Health at the Auckland District Health Board.  In this role she has successfully established two Pacific primary health organisations and a number of Pacific initiatives, including the Parish Nursing Services.

Aseta won a scholarship from the Samoan Government to attend secondary school in New Zealand. She then went on to become the first Pacific person to qualify from the School of Physiotherapy at the University of Otago in 1964. Aseta then returned to Samoa in 1966 and established the physiotherapy department at the public hospital in Apia. Since then, Aseta has been involved in improving the health of Pacific people in New Zealand.

In 1991, she established the Pacific Island Heartbeat Program at the National Heart Foundation.  As the manager for Pacific Issues with the Northern Regional Health Authority and the Health Funding Authority, Aseta has also established a number of other Pacific healthcare providers.

Aseta is a member of the council of Samoan Women in New Zealand and PACIFICA (a national Pacific women's organisation in New Zealand).  Aseta was PACIFICA's representative on the Ad Hoc Committee, which monitored the implementation of recommendations from the Cartwright Cancer Inquiry in 1988.

Aseta has been a member of the Ministry of Health's Pacific Reference Group since 2001 and has been a key speaker at a number of local and international forums on Pacific Health.

Aseta has been a Director on The Foundation's New Zealand Board since 2004.

“I have always been a great admirer of the work The Fred Hollows Foundation has been doing in developing countries and was very honoured and humbled when asked to join the Board in New Zealand in 2004.  I am excited and impressed by The Foundation's courage and commitment when expanding the range of its work and venturing into the Pacific establishing a number of projects, clinics and training programs of which I hope to play some small part,” says Aseta.

Dr Colin Tukuitonga is a medical graduate and a public health medicine specialist with extensive experience in New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and internationally. He was the Head of Pacific and International Health, School of Population Health in the University of Auckland, and is now Chief Executive at the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs in Wellington. Before this, he was responsible for surveillance and prevention of chronic diseases at the World Health Organization (WHO) based in Switzerland. A key achievement in that role was the development of the WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health.

Prior to joining the WHO, Colin was the Director of Public Health for New Zealand, where he was involved in a number of public health programmes. He has held a number of health policy, management research and teaching roles in New Zealand. In 2000/2001, he was awarded a Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy in the USA. Colin has published a number of papers on the health of Pacific peoples in New Zealand.

David Walden's first exposure to Fred Hollows was whilst he was working in Australia. Fred's profile was high and David was intrigued by the work he was doing.

David is the managing director of Whybin/TBWA in New Zealand. When the network's Sydney office was being established it became involved with The Fred Hollows Foundation in Australia. David was happy to volunteer both his personal time and the agency's time to assist The Foundation in New Zealand.

“I believe Fred is truly one of the remarkable individuals from last century and the more I have worked with The Foundation the more in awe of his vision and tenacity I have become,” David says.