Howick ward councillor Maurice Williamson chaired the panel that selected Auckland Transport’s (AT) two new board members and he’s happy with the choices it’s made.
Auckland Council announced today it’s appointed Julie Hardaker and Andrew Ritchie to the AT board.
The council sought candidates who would assist the board with experience from the transport sector, organisation transformation and culture change, strong commercial acumen and in implementing innovative technologies for the transport sector.
Williamson chaired the selection panel, representing the council’s performance and appointments committee, and he welcomes the new appointments.
“Arriving at the final two appointees was an incredibly difficult task as we were fortunate to have had a long list of exceedingly well-qualified applicants,” he says.
“In Julie Hardaker and Andrew Ritchie, Auckland Council has found two directors who will make a very strong contributions for the betterment of Auckland.
“Julie’s record as an experienced governor and thorough understanding of the issues facing transport means that she will be able to bolster the board in key areas and make an immediate impact as a director.
“Andrew was particularly impressive to the panel in his deep industry understanding from his career leading Ritchies Transport Holdings.
“His voice will be a different perspective around the board table that will help us get the best out of our services for Aucklanders.”
The appointments bring AT’s board up to its full complement of eight council-appointed board members along with one non-voting New Zealand Transport Agency representative.
Hardaker is a practicing lawyer, experienced independent director, and chair in a range of public, private and not-for-profit roles.
She’s a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute and has first class LLB (Hons) and MMS (Hons) from Waikato University.
Hardaker is the former mayor of Hamilton and her previous board roles include chair of the Environmental Protection Authority and Heads of Australasian Environmental Protection Authorities.
Ritchie has more than 30 years’ experience as a leader across the transport and tourism industries, with a focus on public transport as director of operations for Ritchies Transport Holdings.
He’s a former chair of Northland Rugby and chairs North Harbour Rentals and Traveller Australia.
