Mark McGuinness Joins Westpac Stadium Board

Wellington City Council and Greater Wellington Regional Council have made a new joint appointment, and a number of reappointments, to the board of Wellington Regional Stadium Trust. This Trust is responsible for the operation of Westpac Stadium, the region's leading sporting venue.

The appointments were confirmed at recent meetings of each council.

Mark McGuinness has been jointly appointed by the councils to serve on the Wellington Regional Stadium Trust board for a three year term. In addition, the terms of Sue Elliott and Liz Dawson have been extended for three years each.

Both councils gratefully acknowledge the services of David Bale during his seven-year tenure as a trustee of Wellington Regional Stadium Trust.

Greater Wellington Chair Fran Wilde says she is delighted Mark McGuinness was available. "Mark's knowledge of Wellington and of the construction sector will be critical as the stadium moves into its next phase of development. The communication and marketing skills of Sue Elliott and Liz Dawson will also important in the next few years and we are grateful both trustees were willing to be re-appointed."

Wellington's Acting Mayor, Ian McKinnon, adds: "Mark is a deeply-committed Wellingtonian and a highly-successful businessman who'll bring great experience to the Trust Board."

Profiles of Appointees

Mark McGuinness:

Mark McGuinness is Managing Director of Willis Bond & Co, which he co-founded in 1988.

He has over 30 years' experience in real estate investment, development, funds management and private equity activities including acquiring and managing various leading large-scale mixed-use development projects including the Chews Lane Precinct project and the Overseas Passenger Terminal development.

He has a close involvement in the establishment of Property For Industry and Direct Property Fund, two successful New Zealand property funds.

Mark has acted as executive chairman of Pencarrow Private Equity Limited for a number of years, a company founded in 1992, and is the current chairman of Donaghys Limited. He was previously chairman and/or a director of a number of other private and public companies (including Kapiti Cheeses and Restaurant Brands).

Sue Elliott:

Sue Elliott was a founding trustee on the Wellington Regional Stadium Trust (1995?2001), having been a founding member of the Wellington Stadium Development Committee. She was also a founding member of the Wellington Museums Trust from 1995 to 2001. Sue is also currently a trustee of the Wellington Sculpture Trust, the New Zealand International Arts Festival and Deputy Chair of the Life Education Trust.

Sue is a highly successful public relations and strategic business advisor, providing clients with comprehensive strategic public relations programmes and issues management.

Sue has also been responsible for the implementation of several highly innovative sponsorships including the PostBank Helmet Campaign, Amway Tennis Classic, Visa Olympics of the Imagination, Visa Gold Art Award, the WestpacTrust Stadium sponsorship packages and memberships, and the sale of the Embassy Theatre seats as a fundraising exercise.

Liz Dawson:

Liz Dawson is a marketing consultant with more than 15 years experience in professional sports administration and marketing in New Zealand and Australia including roles with the New Zealand Rugby Union, the Auckland Warriors, and the Hurricanes. She also has significant retail marketing experience.

She was responsible for the marketing and public relations for the successful Rugby World Cup 2011 bid. She is based in Wellington and is a board member of the New Zealand Racing Board.