THCL Board Members
Brendan Duffy - Chair
Brendan has been involved in various areas of community interest during his business career in Levin. He has held a variety of community roles including 21 years on the Horowhenua district council, 12 of those as Mayor. He held a variety of Local Govt roles including a term as Vice President of Local Govt NZ. His business career concluded after 30 years owning Canvasland, which he and his wife Sheryl sold in 2017. Brendan currently holds the role as Chair of the Local Govt Commission, chair of the Palmerston North Foundation, and a trustee of Electra Trust. In addition he has independent director and business advisory roles.
Sarah Everton
Sarah is a chartered accountant and a member of the NZ Institute of Directors with extensive experience operating at an executive level in global organisations in NZ and in the UK. Her particular expertise lies in strategy development and corporate governance where she has had expertise in all manner of running the corporate business, most recently for an investment bank. She was the Chair of a Trustee Company in the UK. She has operated as the CFO in a science research and innovation company, Financial Controller in transport services, consultant in telecommunications and was a partner in a mid-tier chartered accountancy firm. Sarah is experienced at running large scale projects around technology implementation, regulatory change, as well as disaster recovery planning and implementation. Sarah is passionate about involving herself in the strategy journey a company takes and loves to be part of a team to drive this. She particularly enjoys mentoring executives through the process.
Philip Harper
My experience across a wide range of business and industry sectors adds a fresh lens to problems and in doing so brings about a competitive point of difference. Having a clear understanding of all aspects of an organisation’s value chain and intimate knowledge of upstream and downstream processes makes me a committed team player. I like to surround myself with people with varied backgrounds and ideas so that they keep challenging me to perform at my best. In the late 2000's I became an accidental Social Warrior, realising that the Social Outcomes for our customers are what drove our operation ... over the last 12 years I have been working in the NFP social sector and have become a mentor and advocate for Social Enterprise. I'm finding it extremely satisfying working for organisations that deliver Social Good in their community.
Cameron Lewis
I am a fourth generation farmer in the Horowhenua. I am married to Catherine and we have three children. Day-to-day I am the Managing Director of our family farming business. We grow asparagus, strawberries as well as a pastoral operation incorporating both dairy and beef production. Our business peaks at employing around 150 people, many seasonally. Before returning to the family business in 2011, I was a rural banker for six years in Canterbury, Waikato and Manawatū. My historical governance experience was National vice chair of NZ Young Farmers and I was also the inaugural Chair of The Horowhenua NZ Trust. I am currently a director of The Horowhenua Company Ltd and Horowhenua Developments Ltd.
Ron Turk
More than fifty years ago, Ron Turk and his family moved to Foxton where they founded their successful poultry business, Turk’s Poultry. Since then, Ron has helped transform a small egg business into a prosperous company employing almost 220 people - as well as raising three children. A strong believer in ethical and sustainable farming practices, Turks has been accredited as a Conscious Consumers supplier. Ron applies the same ethics to his community, with Turk’s supporting a variety of community groups and initiatives including the Foxton Rugby Club, the Horowhenua Taste Trail, Manawatu Boating Club and Rescue Helicopter.