Our management team

Management team

Following is a summary of confirmed or acting managers in the Department, by business branch.

• Office of the Chief Executive
• Stewardship and Organisational Sustainability
• Central/Local Government Partnerships
• Strategy and Governance
• Service and System Transformation
• Information and Knowledge Services
• Policy, Regulatory and Ethnic Affairs
• Service Delivery and Operations
• Shared Services Branch

Karl Le Quesne - Director, Office of the Chief Executive

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  Karl Le Quesne

Karl Le Quesne is Director, Office of the Chief Executive. He supports the Chief Executive to lead the Department and undertake his leadership responsibilities across the public sector. That includes supporting the performance of the Department as a member of the executive leadership team and facilitating effective relationships across the Department and with other stakeholders and agencies. The Director also provides strategic advice to the Chief Executive, may lead special projects, and acts as the Chief Executive’s delegate when required.

Karl joined the Department in June 2017. Prior to that he held a range of deputy secretary, associate deputy secretary and group manager leadership roles in the Ministry of Education, covering policy and significant areas of operational delivery. Karl has also had policy roles at the Department of Corrections and Department of Justice.

Mervin Singham - Deputy Chief Executive Stewardship and Organisational Sustainability

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  Mervin Singham

Mervin’s career encompasses management roles in both the private and public sector. Until July 2017, Mervin was the Department's Deputy Chief Executive Strategy and Governance. Prior to taking up this role in 2013 he was the Director of the Office of Ethnic Affairs for nine years. Mervin has a particular interest in conflict resolution, public policy and intercultural issues. He has extensive experience in the field of human rights and was Chief Mediator at the Human Rights Commission. His achievements include several United Nations consultancy projects in the Middle East and the Asia Pacific region. 

Mervin has an Honours Degree in Law from the University of Canterbury in Christchurch and a First Class Honours Masters Degree in Laws from the University of Auckland. He has also attended executive management programmes at the London Business School and Harvard Business School in Boston.

Helen Wyn - Deputy Chief Executive Central/Local Government Partnerships

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  Helen Wyn

Helen commenced working for the Department as Deputy Chief Executive Policy, Regulatory and Ethnic Affairs in August 2015. Prior to that, she was Acting Chief Executive at the Ministry for Culture and Heritage. From 2010 to 2015, she was Deputy Chief Executive at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, her second spell at DPMC, where she was a Policy Advisor between 2005 and 2008. She has also managed policy at the Ministry of Health, and was General Manager of Public Law at the Ministry of Justice. Helen is a graduate of Wellington’s Victoria University with an Honours degree in Sociology and a Master’s in Public Management, and also attended Oxford University in Britain, where she completed a Strategic Leadership Programme in 2003.

As Deputy Chief Executive Central/Local Government Partnerships, Helen has the following people reporting to her:

Justin Rowlands – Acting Deputy Chief Executive Strategy and Governance

Justin Rowlands is Deputy Chief Executive Strategy and Governance. In his role he supports the Chief Executive and the Executive Leadership Team by providing effective organisational governance and assurance for the Department.  His key accountabilities include providing leadership on relevant processes and issues that impact on the department’s reputation and credibility, and promoting integration, coordination and planning to enable effective organisational performance.

Justin’s career has encompassed a diverse number of senior leadership positions across the public and legal sector. Prior to taking up this role he was the General Manager of Customer Services at DIA and he has held senior leadership roles with the Ministries of Business, Innovation and Employment, Health and Primary Industries.

Justin has a particular interest in change management, making things better and getting to know the real people he works with. Before beginning his career in the public sector he worked for the NZ Police for over 8 years. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Law from the University of Otago and became an Executive Fellow of the Australia New Zealand School of Government in 2016.

As Acting Deputy Chief Executive Strategy and Governance, Justin has the following people reporting to him:

Tim Occleshaw - Deputy Chief Executive Service and System Transformation,
Government Chief Technology Officer 

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  Tim Occleshaw

Tim Occleshaw is Deputy Chief Executive, Service and System Transformation and Government Chief Technology Officer. He has a critical role to play in managing a wide-ranging transformation in how citizens experience all government services online – and how this transformation can be applied across the Department. In the all-of-government area his responsibilities include ICT strategy and planning, ICT system-wide assurance, service innovation, information management, privacy and commercial strategy and delivery. He also leads DIA’s ICT strategy, planning and delivery. 

Tim joined DIA in December 2012. Before this, he was with Inland Revenue as Deputy Commissioner, Information, Design and Systems, responsible for information strategy, service and solution design, enterprise architecture and IT operations and services, including modernisation and transformation of IR’s information systems. Prior to that, Tim was Chief Information Officer at the Ministry of Social Development – both jobs for four years.

In July 2008 he won the New Zealand CIO of the Year award.

Tim has spent more than 25 years working in the financial services sector in Australia and New Zealand, in a variety of business and IT management roles including heading IT for ANZ New Zealand.

As Deputy Chief Executive Service and System Transformation, Tim has the following people reporting to him:

Peter Murray - Deputy Chief Executive Information and Knowledge Services

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  Peter Murray

Peter has been the Deputy Chief Executive Information Knowledge Services (IKS) at the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) since mid-2014. The IKS branch encompasses the National Library of New Zealand - Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa Archives New Zealand – Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga and He Tohu, developed in partnership with Maori, a new permanent exhibition of the three documents that define New Zealand as a nation.

He is a Trustee for the Te Puna Foundation, a charitable entity aligned to the purposes of the National Library of New Zealand. 

Peter was previously also responsible for the Government Chief Privacy Officer and Government Information Services. These two all of government functions have been realigned within DIA effective 31 July 2017. Previously Peter was Deputy Chief Executive, Shared Services Branch. He started in this role in early 2011

Prior to joining DIA in 2011, Peter was the Deputy Chief Executive, Organisation Services for the Ministry of Fisheries where he joined in 1999.

Before joining Fisheries, Peter was Chief Financial Officer (including responsibility for IT and HR) for Wellington Area Health Board, and then Capital & Coast Health Limited. He worked prior to that in financial and management roles for IBM Australia and IBM New Zealand, P&O New Zealand and Deloitte.

Peter is a Wellingtonian, and his professional training is as a Chartered Accountant.  He has a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration from Victoria University of Wellington and an Executive Masters in Public Administration (2007), from the Australia and New Zealand School of Government, through Victoria University of Wellington.

As Deputy Chief Executive Information and Knowledge Services, Peter has the following people reporting to him:

Marilyn Little - Acting Deputy Chief Executive Policy, Regulatory and Ethnic Affairs

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  Marilyn Little

Marilyn is currently Acting as Deputy Chief Executive for Policy, Regulatory and Ethnic Affairs (at DIA).

Marilyn's substantive position, held for the last three years, is as the Chief Archivist and General Manager at Archives NZ.  She has also held senior roles in the Office of the Auditor General and the Department of Labour, and holds a Master of Public Policy from Victoria University, and a BA Honours from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

As Acting Deputy Chief Executive Policy, Regulatory and Ethnic Affairs, Marilyn has the following people reporting to her:

 Maria Robertson - Deputy Chief Executive Service Delivery and Operations

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  Maria Robertson

Maria Robertson has held the role of Deputy Chief Executive, Service Delivery and Operations, since February 2013.

She leads a team of 900 staff in the passports, citizenship, births, deaths and marriages, community operations, charities and igovt areas.

Maria was most recently the Deputy Chief Executive for Service Delivery at Building and Housing where she was previously the deputy Chief Executive Organisational Development and Strategy.

Prior to that, Maria was the General Manager Advanced Dynamics (NZ) Ltd and Manager Performance Improvement Woodproducts at Carter Holt Harvey.  She has also held senior roles in Telecom Comalco and Rio Tinto.

As Deputy Chief Executive Service Delivery and Operations, Maria has the following people reporting to her:

Morag Woodley - Deputy Chief Executive Shared Services Branch

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  Morag Woodley

Morag joined the department in 2001.  She was appointed to the role of Deputy Chief Executive, Shared Services Branch in July 2014. Morag has held a number of roles in the Department, including Director Human Resources, a role she held for four years. She was seconded for two years as Director Office of the Chief Executive and was previously Director Local Government and Community Operations. Prior to her work with Internal Affairs, Morag was formerly Service Centre Manager for IRD in Manukau and Regional Manager for ACC in Auckland.

Morag has completed her Executive Master in Public Administration and the Advanced Leadership Programme. She also holds a BA in Psychology and a BBS in Human Resource Management.

As Deputy Chief Executive Shared Services Branch, Morag has the following people reporting to her: