Governance

Board of Directors

Charles Breurkes

During my 17 years of service to play centres, kindergartens, primary, intermediate and secondary schools, I have been involved with matters relating to almost all of the services and assistance CES provides.

I have two children, currently at Burnside High School. I have been their primary caregiver since they were born, and accompanied them to play-centres and kindergarten where I involved myself in organisational activities and committees. My children attended Ilam Primary School, where I was a board member for six years - three as board chair, and five as property committee chair. I was a member of the PTA as board representative for six years.

As chair of the Ilam School Property Committee I managed and facilitated many significant property development and maintenance projects and wrote numerous project briefs and contractual documents. I worked with local stakeholders, including other education providers, and have spoken at Community Board meetings in support of the greater Ilam district primary and tertiary student communities.

I am currently chair of the Burnside High School Board of Trustees. I am on the school’s property committee and the finance committee, and participate in property related planning and financial decision making.

Doug Dixon

BOT Chisnallwood Intermediate from 2000 and still going. Core roles Finance and profession guidance across a number of business areas. 2016 decided to remain as BOT to assist with the transition of long term principal and add stability to BOT during this period

Committee and Life Member Waimairi Tennis Club, Canterbury’s biggest club leading financial and strategic planning. www.wtc.co.nz

Geordie Hooft

Geordie was a tax partner in the Christchurch office of Grant Thornton New Zealand Ltd, where he provided commercial tax advice to clients across a range of sectors.

He is Christchurch born and bred, and married with four children. Geordie has been on the board of Somerfield School since 2001 and Is Chairperson of Cashmere High School Board . He is also on the board of the Bone Marrow Cancer Trust.

Geordie is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Institute of Directors.

Adrian Hayes

I am able to bring a significant level of relevant experience to CES as a Chartered Accountant, having previously having worked in the Office of the Auditor-General in New Zealand specialising in education matters, but with responsibility for a wide range of public sector organisations (including health and local government) and related commercial entities.

Previously, I spent 10 years working for a US listed company as the Head Office representative in Europe, with a wide range of responsibilities, from tax and financial accounting compliance to internal audit, external professional stakeholder relationships and acting as pension trustee.

I am used to attending senior Board deliberations in my role as auditor, having experience of some of the pivotal organisations in Christchurch, such as CERA, Christchurch City Holdings Limited, Orion New Zealand Limited, and City Care Limited.

In my time in the profession at Coopers & Lybrand (before the merger with Price Waterhouse), I was audit manager on a range of education and commercial clients in the UK and New Zealand, ranging from the UK Automobile Association (7.5 million members) to small and medium-size manufacturing (Rheem New Zealand Limited) and service and investment companies (including Schroder Unit Trusts in the UK and Rainbow Corporation in New Zealand).

I am keen to continue to make a contribution to the wider education community in Christchurch. I believe I can add value and bring considerable experience to the CES governance team.

I remain an avid Canterbury and Crusaders supporter, of course!

Susan McAuley

Susan McAuley is a self-employed business strategist with a strong background in education. She has experience in the public, private and online tertiary education sectors as well as being the Chair of the Finance Committee for the Burnside High School Board of Trustees, one of the largest secondary schools in New Zealand, having been a parent representative on the Board since 2012. During this time she was involved in the appointment of the Principal, and other senior leadership team positions, post-earthquake funding issues, provision of an annual staff survey for 250 staff and the review of our finance and related functions resulting in a restructuring process with redundancies and new appointments. The changes made have led to improved workflows and the implementation of more effective reporting.

Susan’s background includes management and marketing roles in tourism, industry training, and systems. She is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, with experience in both public practice and corporate (management accounting) although in recent years has been focussed more on marketing and business strategy.

Dr. Robin Williams

Robin’s professional background covers academic research (Bio-Medical Engineering), product and service development, multi-national projects and senior roles in award winning technology companies. He has broad organisational and governance experience with a keen eye for customer service and commercial sustainability.

Being a local lad who’s been fortunate to live and travel overseas for many years, he has a real appreciation of the value of our education system and how it underpins NZ Inc.’s performance on the world stage. He is a current Trustee for Cashmere High (5 years) and previously for Christchurch South Intermediate (6 years).

Deborah Callahan

Deborah Callahan has been an active member of the Papanui High School Board of Trustees since 2012. She has chaired the Board’s finance committee since 2017. She enjoys working with the school to achieve excellent outcomes for the students and staff.

Deborah has a strong business background, having completed a masters of business administration at Massey University and worked in a variety of industries such as manufacturing, shipping and corporate leadership training. For the past 17 years Deborah has worked as a manager in the Canterbury health system, working across the health system to support transformational change. She brings her broad business management skills, along with strategic planning, marketing and policy development expertise to her role.