The Authority

A qualified Chartered Accountant, Nigel graduated from Victoria University and following an initial period in public practice, has had a career in finance and establishing businesses in information technology, farming, and more recently, tourism.

Nigel played a key role in the establishment of Massey University in Wellington in 1999, was Chancellor of Massey until 2008 and was subsequently awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Commerce.  He also served as President of the Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce, and subsequently New Zealand President.

Elected to the Wellington Harbour Board in 1980, Nigel became Chairman in 1986 and following local government restructuring, became Chairman of Centreport — a position he held until 2008.

After a winter spent pursuing his passion for sailing in the Pacific, he re-established his interest in governance with appointments in the private sector, and in 2011 was appointed Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand.

Nigel is a Fellow of both the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Institute of Directors.  In 2010 he was appointed Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

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.

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.