John and Donna live in Invercargill, New Zealand’s southernmost city.
A chartered accountant, for the past 20 years John was CEO of the Community Trust of Southland, a community-owned philanthropic $225m investment trust, which grants $7m a year for community projects in Southland. John stepped down from this role in mid 2017.
John joined the Invercargill South Club in 1994, and has enjoyed a number of Rotary roles since then, including leading a GSE Team to D5220 in California in 2003, leading the Australasian RYLA Team to Gallipoli, Turkey in April 2005 for the 90th anniversary of the Allied landing at ANZAC Cove, and was District Governor in 2012-13. John has been his District Trainer, District Membership Chair, District GSE Chair, and is a regular MC and speaker at Rotary Conferences, Institutes, and Presidents’ Elect Training events. For the 2015/16 Rotary year John was a member of Rotary International’s Vocational Service Committee.
From 1 July 2016 John has been the Rotary Co-ordinator for New Zealand, and 8 Australian Districts. John was also a training leader at the Rotary International Assembly in San Diego in January 2017, and again in January 2018.
Outside of work, family and Rotary John has been and is involved in the governance of various organisations, including Chair of Camp Quality New Zealand, Chair of Philanthropy New Zealand, Trustee of the Ngai Tahu Fund, Chair of the Catholic Diocese of Dunedin Board of Management, Chair of the Verdon College Board of Trustees, and is a Justice of the Peace.