Clare
Callow

President & Treasurer

Agritour Associates

Limited

Clare is the founder and director of Agritour Associates Limited, a company that since 1983 has been promoting the adoption of New Zealand agri-technology by the international  agribusiness sector.  

Agritour Associates is New Zealand’s leading specialist agricultural tourism company devoted solely to technical agricultural, horticultural and rural tourism – it provides international clients with access to New Zealand’s leading farms, research establishments, agribusinesses, orchards and forests where best-practice is demonstrated. Latin American countries are a key source of clients for Agritour and New Zealand’s agriculturally focused businesses, particularly where pastoral livestock farming is an option.  

Clare is professionally trained with an agricultural science degree from Massey University.  She works in and has business involvement with a range of agriculturally-related areas of which Agritour Associates is one.  She continues a career-long involvement with animal breeding and genetics, focusing on sheep performance recording with The New Zealand Animal Breeding Trust of which she is General Manager; she owns a start-up company, Agritech New Zealand Limited, with the development of liquid organic fertiliser being one of its areas of interest.

Successful technology transfer is the key to all aspects of Clare’s business - her background and training as a former government animal husbandry consultant equips her well for communication of and education in complex technical areas. Further, her interest in the educational sector and her longstanding Trustee position on the Board of New Zealand’s largest independent co-ed preparatory boarding school has ensured Clare has kept abreast of developments in the communication and education fields.  

Thomas
Manning

Vice President

Manning Group Limited

Thomas Manning is the governing director of Manning Group Limited which specializes in developing New Zealand export markets in Latin America for New Zealand products and technologies.   Manning Group's current projects encompass the expansion into Mexico and Argentina of internet-based information technologies developed in New Zealand for the tourism sector.

Since 1987 Manning Group has successfully worked in a wide variety of sectors (principally in Mexico & Argentina but also in Peru, Chile and Uruguay) including Adventure Tourism (Shotover Jet Limited & A.J.Hackett Bungy Limited), Animal Health (MAFTECH), ESL Education (CITEC), Dairy Management (MAF Flock House Bulls), Post-graduate Education (Massey University), Food Processing (Watties Industries Limited), Trade & Product Promotions (Weddel Crown Corporation & NZ Meat Board), Construction (Puerto Vallarta Partnership) and Importing (Café Vallarta Partnership & Mexicorp Limited).

In addition to the activities in Latin America Manning Group Limited has also successfully owned and managed a number of New Zealand-based enterprises in hotel management, property development & investment and latterly, feature film production.

JANE
COOMBS

 Ex Offico

Ministry of

Foreign Affairs

& Trade                 

Jane Coombs is the newly appointed Divisional Manager of the Americas Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.  She has taken up this role on return from Washington DC where she has spent the last three years as Deputy Chief of Mission at the New Zealand Embassy.

Jane is a career diplomat, with wide experience across a range of New Zealand’s foreign policy and trade interests.  Prior to her move to Washington she served as New Zealand’s Ambassador to the Republic of Korea from 2006-2008, (and was concurrently accredited to the DPRK). 

Jane started her diplomatic career in New York, at the New Zealand Permanent Mission, where she represented New Zealand from 1989-91 on the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly which deals with human rights, social and cultural issues.  She was elected Vice Chair of the Committee in 1990.  She was also closely involved in New Zealand’s successful UN Security Campaign.

From 1995-1998 she served as Deputy Head of Mission at the New Zealand Embassy in Moscow.  She and her family were then posted to Canberra, Australia, from 1999-2003, where she was the Economic Counsellor responsible for taking forward the Closer Economic Relationship (CER) between New Zealand and Australia.  

From 2003-05 Jane was lead negotiator for New Zealand in United Nations agreements dealing with biodiversity and biosafety and headed New Zealand delegations to international meetings dealing with oceans and forestry issues.

In November 2008 Jane was invited to participate in the Asia Society’s Young Leader’s Asia 21 Summit. She undertook an executive education programme at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government in 2009.   She is married to US-born Tim Strong, and they have one son, Connor.

PETER
CULLEN

Cullen -

The Employment Law Firm

Peter Cullen established Cullen – The Employment Law Firm and continues to direct it as a partner.

The firm is a specialist employment law firm with a wide range of employer and employee clients. Peter uses his legal skills to impart clients with helpful advice upon which to base their decisions. His strengths lie in his in-depth knowledge ofNew   Zealandemployment law and his abilities as an advocate.

Peter is involved in developing strategies for migrant workers from Latin America to find employment withinNew   Zealandand strengthen the ties between our countries. He is also exploring other business opportunities inLatin America.

Serving as Vice President for the Wellington Employer’s Chamber of Commerce Board and as a member of the Employer’s Chamber of Commerce Policy Council strengthens Peter’s involvement with manyWellingtonbusinesses and organisations.

Media frequently seek his advice on employment and industrial law issues and Peter writes a column for the Dominion Post newspaper.

Strengthening the links between Latin American countries andNew Zealandis important to Peter and he has good relationships with the Latin American diplomats and embassies inWellington.

Visit Cullen- The Employment Law Firm’s website or Facebook:

http://www.cullenlaw.co.nz/ 

http://www.facebook.com/cullenlawnz

Brendan
Mahar 

New Zealand

Trade & Enterprise

Kevin
Murray

Fonterra
Co-operative

Group Limited

Craig
Musson

National Trade

Academy Limited

Craig is the Managing Director of the National Trade Academy Ltd which commenced business in January 2000.  NTA is a Private Training Establishment providing training courses in the Land Based Industries.

Prior to 2000 he was involved in training with the Agriculture ITO and previous to this had a number of years involved in the rural services sector and service administration with the Waimate District Council.

In 2006 Craig started his involvement in South America with the  P4 Trade Mission to Chile with NZTE. Since 2006 he has been to South America a number of times promoting NTA courses in Chile, Uruguay, Argentina Brazil and Colombia. Craig sees many opportunities in South America and is very happy to be involved with the LANZBC.

PAOLA
NEILSON 

Neilson Immigration

Consultants

MATTHEW
O'MEAGHER

University of

Auckland

Dr Matthew O’Meagher is a Senior Adviser – International Relations Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Strategic Engagement) University of Auckland.

Latin America has defined his career since his 1994 PhD in modern Latin American History from Duke University. As the founding Director of New Zealand’s first research centre of Latin American Studies from 2002-07, he worked assiduously to connect the worlds of academia, government and business by organising conferences on business opportunities for New Zealanders in that region.

As the New Zealand government’s first Education Counsellor in South America from 2007-09 he was directly involved in integrating New Zealand tertiary institutions into the Becas Chile scholarship scheme, in promoting New Zealand education expertise in Latin America, and in supporting schools, polytechnics and universities recruiting South American students.

Most recently, Matthew has been instrumental in raising awareness across his institution of the research, recruitment and consultancy opportunities available to its scholars  in fields as diverse as educational leadership, English language provision, community health, environmental science and alternative energy.

Silvana
Schenone

Minter Ellison Rudd Watts

Silvana Schenone is a partner at Minter Ellison Rudd Watts. She is qualified to practice as a lawyer in Chile and New Zealand, and is Master in Laws from Harvard University.

Silvana is experienced in advising local and foreign investors, both in English and Spanish, on a range of corporate matters, having acted for a number of clients on acquisitions, joint ventures and partnership arrangements, private equity investments, securities offerings and general corporate advisory work.

Before coming to New Zealand, Silvana lived and worked in the United States (Boston and New York) and before that she practiced law in Chile (where she was born), receiving multiple recognitions during her career.

Silvana now leads the Latin American practice of Minter Ellison Rudd Watts, the only major New Zealand firm with a dedicated focus and expertise in Latin America.

Minter Ellison Rudd Watts is a long established New Zealand law firm with more than 40 partners and over 120 other legal staff across their Auckland and Wellington offices. For over twenty years, the firm has been a member of the worldwide Minter Ellison Legal Group, which is the only recognised top-tier global legal grouping owned and operated from the Asia-Pacific region.

Giuliana
Silveira

     Kaplan International Colleges

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Giuliana Silveira and I am the Principal of Kaplan International Colleges (KIC) – Auckland. I’m really pleased to say that I’ve just joined the board of LANZBC.

I was born in Brazil to an Italian mother and a Brazilian father. I grew up in Sao Paulo, but was bitten by the travelling bug from a young age. As a teenager I spent several months in Buffalo, NY, where I attended a local high school. Then, as a grown-up I studied in London and Australia, taught in Italy and London (again!). Finally, the southern hemisphere kept calling and here I am in this beautiful country called New Zealand!

I have been involved in education for 14 years. Here in New Zealand I have been at Kaplan for 1 year now. Before that I managed Eurocentres Auckland where I also oversaw all the activities of the school. This included marketing, staffing, quality assurance and academic matters. I am bilingual in Portuguese and English and also speak Italian.

I look forward to working with you and contributing to the LANZBC.

Yovanka
Tomitch 

Language Links Limited - Translations & Interpreting

Yovanka is the director of the Translation and Interpreting Company – LANGUAGE LINKS LTD - founded in 1988.  

Language Links Ltd works with many high profile national and global companies and provides translation services in a wide range of subject areas, including legal, medical, technical, brochure, website, financial, pharmaceutical, aerospace, tradeshow materials etc.

We are able to assist NZ Companies to do business in Latin America by helping them better understand the culture between the different countries.

In 2002, Yovanka was appointed Honorary Consul of Ecuador in New Zealand.

She teaches Portuguese at Auckland University Continuing Education. 

Yovanka is also the director of JCM Destination NZ Ltd – a New Zealand inbound tour operator specializing in the French and Latin American market.

Yovanka was born in Brazil and speaks fluent  Portuguese, Spanish and French.