The Authority

Nigel Gould became Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority in April 2011. A chartered accountant by trade, Nigel is a fellow of the Institute of Directors, the Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Institute of Management. He is a former chairman of the Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce, and was last year awarded the Office of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business and the community. He is also a recipient of the Wellington Civic Award for services to business.

He is a former Chancellor of Massey University and has held executive management roles with Broadlands Dominion Group, Fletcher Challenge and Andas Group. He established Comtex Group in 1986, and was Chairman of the Wellington Harbour Board from 1986 until the establishment of CentrePort Ltd, which he then chaired until 2008.

Peter Griffiths has been interested in aviation and aircraft since childhood. He has strong links to the energy industry, both in New Zealand and overseas, and recently retired as Managing Director of BP Oil New Zealand Ltd after a 21-year career. His previous roles include General Manager BP Papua New Guinea and Commercial Manager for BP New Zealand’s Fuel and LPG interests, as well as Terminal Operations Manager. He has served on a number of company boards, including Liquigas Ltd, Bitumix Ltd, New Zealand Refining Co, and was Chairman of BP South West Pacific Ltd.

Peter is currently a board member of New Zealand Oil and Gas, Wanganui Gas Ltd, and Greenstone Energy Ltd. He is also part-owner of New Zealand Diving and Salvage Ltd.

Anita Mazzoleni is an independent corporate finance adviser and company director. She has had a commercial career in industry and finance, particularly the evaluation and funding of infrastructure. She has previously held senior positions in the public and private sector, including as General Counsel of Contact Energy Ltd and Director of Industrial Research Ltd. She is currently a Commissioner of the Commerce Commission, primarily working in the area of telecommunications regulation and competition enforcement, and an independent director of companies owned by Ngati Whatua o Orakei.

No Tamaki Makaurau ahau. Ko Adriatic raua ko Waitemata tooku moana. Ko Kras raua ko Rangitoto tooku maunga. Ko Ngati Pakeha tooku iwi. Tena koutou e nga whanau o Kaiwhakamaru Rererangi korua ko Te Mana Rererangi Tuumatanui o Aotearoa. Heoi ano e koa ana taaku ngakau ki waenganui i a koutou.

John has strong aviation industry experience spanning 45 years, particularly in the area of strategy and development. Recently retired as CEO and Director of Pacific Blue Airlines, his aviation career includes 30 years as a pilot, flight examiner and flight safety expert. He has held senior executive positions in Ansett New Zealand, Virgin Group and the Civil Aviation Authority.

Grant Lilly has had an extensive career in senior executive roles with both Air New Zealand, where he was General Manager International Airline, and Qantas Airways where he was General Manager for New Zealand and Pacific Islands. Grant established Jetconnect Limited for Qantas as their New Zealand based airline operator, employing pilots and crews to operate a fleet of New Zealand registered jet aircraft on a New Zealand licence (Air Operator Certificate). 

He currently has a varied portfolio of governance appointments on a range of central government, local government and corporate entities, and also industry associations.  Grant has a long history of involvement in wider business and government affairs and business councils.  His areas of management strength are strategic planning and project management, sales/marketing and commercial performance, operations management, and safety management systems/risk management frameworks.