Our management team
Management team
Following is a summary of confirmed or acting managers in the Department, by business branch.
- Strategy and Governance
- Service and System Transformation
- Information and Knowledge Services
- Policy, Regulatory and Ethnic Affairs
- Service Delivery and Operations
- Shared Services Branch
Mervin Singham – Deputy Chief Executive Strategy and Governance
Mervin Singham
Mervin Singham is Deputy Chief Executive Strategy and Governance. In his role he supports the Chief Executive and the Executive Leadership team to provide effective organisational governance for the Department. Critical responsibilities for the Branch 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.
Mervin’s career encompasses management roles in both the private and public sector. 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.
As Deputy Chief Executive Strategy and Governance, Mervin has the following people reporting to him:
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
|
Kris Pervan |
Manager Organisational Performance - Strategy and Planning |
|
Peter Burke |
Manager Organisational Performance - Governance and Assurance |
|
Hiranthi Abeygoonesekera |
Chief Legal Advisor |
|
Caroline Gall |
Manager Branch Development and Support |
| Claire Eden | Chief Portfolio Officer |
Tim Occleshaw - Deputy Chief Executive Service and System Transformation, Government Chief Technology Officer
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 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:
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
|
Graeme Osborne |
General Manager System Transformation |
|
Alison Schulze |
Director ICT Assurance |
|
Russell Cooke |
Director Relationship Management |
|
Chris Webb |
General Manager, Commercial Strategy and Delivery |
|
Helen Jamison |
Government Relations Manager |
|
Gaynor Bradfield |
Manager Branch Development and Support |
Peter Murray - Deputy Chief Executive Information and Knowledge Services
Peter Murray
Peter commenced in his current role of Deputy Chief Executive Information Knowledge Services (IKS) on 1 July 2014. Previously he was Deputy Chief Executive Shared Services Branch, a position he has held since joining DIA in April 2011. In his role he leads IKS in a strategic role in all of government information management and privacy, and adapting the services of the National Library of New Zealand and Archives New Zealand to a digital environment.
Prior to joining the Department, Peter was DCE Organisation Services at the Ministry of Fisheries. This role covered a wide range of corporate services and Māori Aquaculture Settlement.
Before joining Fisheries in 1999, his work experience included Capital Coast Health, IBM Australia and IBM New Zealand.
Peter has completed his Australia/New Zealand School of Government Executive Master in Public Administration and holds a BCA from Victoria University. He is also a Chartered Accountant.
As Deputy Chief Executive Information and Knowledge Services, Peter has the following people reporting to him:
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
|
Bill Macnaught |
National Librarian, General Manager of National Library of New Zealand |
|
Marilyn Little |
Chief Archivist, General Manager Archives New Zealand |
|
Laura Sommer |
Acting General Manager Government Information Services |
|
Russell Burnard |
Government Chief Privacy Officer |
|
Brian Clarke |
General Manager Strategic Projects |
|
Kristina Wickham |
Manager Branch Development and Support |
|
Hugh Karena |
Acting Director Māori Relationships and Strategy |
| Richard Foy | Director Digital Strategy |
Helen Wyn - Deputy Chief Executive Policy, Regulatory and Ethnic Affairs
Helen Wyn
Helen commenced her role as Deputy Chief Executive Policy, Regulatory and Ethnic Affairs in August 2015.
Prior to her current role, Helen 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 Policy, Regulatory and Ethnic Affairs, Helen has the following people reporting to her:
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
|
Raj Krishnan |
General Manager Policy |
|
Maarten Quivooy |
Acting Director Office of Ethnic Communities |
|
Gareth Bostock |
Acting General Manager Regulatory Services |
| Suzanne Doig | Chief Executive Local Government Commission |
|
Kylie Berg-Evans |
Manager Branch Development and Support |
Maria Robertson - Deputy Chief Executive Service Delivery and Operations
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:
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
|
Jeff Montgomery |
Registrar-General and General Manager, Births, Deaths, Marriages and Citizenship |
| Christine Bennett |
Director, Branch Development and Support |
| Natasha Weight |
General Manager, Charities Services |
| Robyn Nicholas |
General Manager, Community Operations |
| Justin Rowlands |
General Manager, Customer Services |
| Karl McDiarmid |
General Manager, Digital Transformation |
| David Philp |
General Manager, Identity and Passport Services |
| Mike Nathan | Pou Ārahi |
Morag Woodley - Deputy Chief Executive Shared Services Branch
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:
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
|
Morag Ingram |
Director Communications |
|
Lesa Kalapu |
Director Human Resources |
|
Chris East |
General Manager Technology Services and Solutions, and CIO |
|
Matthew Needham |
Chief Financial Officer |
|
Pepi Batsos |
Manager Branch Development and Support |
|
Andrew McConnell |
General Manager Ministerial and Secretariat Services |
|
Harley Spence |
General Manager Operations |
