Trustees​​​​​​​

Founding Trustees
​​​​​​​

Sir Graeme Avery

Founding Trustee

Sir Graeme has over 50 years experience of working in sport and health – at community, national and international levels.

He was involved in the founding and development of the AUT Millennium Institute of Sport & Health on the North Shore of Auckland in 2000. Now the founding in 2016 and development, for the benefit of the whole Hawke’s Bay region, of a scaled down version EIT Institute of Sport & Health at Mitre 10 Park in Hastings.

Sir Graeme is passionate about helping people to become the best they can be in health and wellbeing and sports performance.

Bruce Mactaggart

Founding Trustee and Deputy Chair

Bruce has a long involvement in many community projects and is a Founding Trustee of HBCFCT.

Originally from Australia, he has an extensive background in marketing, tourism, major events and venue management and is perhaps best known in New Zealand for having constructed, owned and operated Spark Arena in Auckland.

He has been involved in initiating and delivering many major sporting and cultural events around the world including the acclaimed arena touring show based on the BBC’s ‘Walking with Dinosaurs’.

Trustees
​​​​​​​

Iain Taylor

Trustee – Chairman

Aayden Clarke

Trustee

Aayden is Chief Executive at K3 Property. Leading the Ngāti Kahungunu owned company as part of the solution for the housing crisis in the region. He has been Ngāti Kahungunu iwi representative on Sport Hawkes Bay board since 2017.

Aayden brings a strong background in tertiary education, entrepreneurship and sporting experience to the Trust. Following being a professional rugby player in NZ, Europe and Japan, he also spent five years as CEO of Pacific Rugby Players and operated in the professional rugby landscape across the world with player welfare and strategic projects for Fiji, Tonga and Samoa.

Dan Druzianic

Trustee

Dan holds a number of local independent directorships including the Hawkes Bay Regional Investment Company, Bostock NZ Limited and Unison Networks Limited. Dan is also a member of the Institute of Directors.

In 2016 he was conferred as a fellow of the Australasian Accountants professional body. He has a strong interest in sport and community progress.

Robyn Kiddle

Trustee

Robyn was formerly Chief Executive at Child Cancer Foundation. Her interest in the not-for-profit landscape began with her appointment as Chief Executive at Tennis Auckland where she transformed the annual international tennis events. Prior to this Robyn had an extensive commercial and leadership career predominantly with Westfield in Australia and New Zealand – in senior marketing and general management roles.

Having brought significant change to both for-purpose organisations Robyn is now an independent consultant and has governance roles in sport, health and social impact. Being an advocate for animals, giving children the best start in life and making sport a part of every New Zealander’s life is what fills Robyn’s heart.

Grant Russell

Trustee

Grant is the Hastings Branch Manager and Senior Principal Planner at Stantec NZ, and brings his shared experience gained through over 20 years’ in environmental consultancy and 10 years governance in youth and education sectors to the Trust.

Currently sitting on the school Board of Hastings Girls’ High, he is a past Board Chair of Parkvale School and previously was involved in either mentoring high school students under the Graeme Dingle Foundation or in a governing role on its local Hawke’s Bay Board.

Never far from a good coffee, Grant is excited about the next steps in the health, wellness and fitness journey the Trust brings to the community.

He has lived in Hawke’s Bay since moving back here in 2005 and is married to Pam with three thriving and active teenagers.

Professor Natalie (Nat) Waran

Trustee

Nat is the executive Dean and Professor of One Welfare for the Eastern Institute of Technology’s Faculty of Education, Humanities and Health Science, which includes the School of Sport and Health, and part of her portfolio includes responsibility for EIT’s Research and Innovation Centre.

She is an animal scientist, with research interests in equitation science and equine performance, and she has developed the concept of ‘One Welfare’ to investigate the relationship between human and animal welfare.

She moved to Hawkes Bay to join EIT in 2016 after working as a Professor and Dean at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

Thank you to our Major Sponsors