Air New Zealand Group Executive

Mr Rob Fyfe

Rob joined Air New Zealand at the start of 2003 as Chief Information Officer and led the Business Transformation team. Rob then held the position of Group General Manager Airlines from October 2003 until his appointment as Chief Executive Officer in October 2005. Prior to joining Air New Zealand, Rob held a range of Senior Management positions both within New Zealand and overseas, including roles with the National Australia Bank, Bank of New Zealand, Telecom NZ and ITV Group in the UK.

Mr Norman (Norm) Thompson

Norm Thompson joined Air New Zealand in 1968. His diverse portfolio began in the Finance Department followed by various roles in Sales and Marketing before being promoted in 1989 to Regional General Manager, New Zealand and Pacific Islands. From 1992-1996 Norm held the position of Regional General Manager - Americas, based in Los Angeles. He then returned to New Zealand to take up the position of Regional Director New Zealand, Australia and Pacific Islands, leading to the appointment of Vice President Regional Sales for the Air New Zealand Ansett Australia Group. In July 2006 Norm was appointed to the position of Group General Manager Shorthaul Airlines, before being appointed to his current role of Deputy Chief Executive Officer in September 2007. Norm has dedicated his career to developing the airline alongside New Zealand's tourism industry, helping to establish an enviable profile for both around the world. He heads the Air New Zealand Environment Trust, which is committed to research and development into alternative fuels and supporting projects that maintain New Zealand's natural environment and enhance our clean, green image around the world. Norm is also the Chairman of the New Zealand Tourism Industry Association, the largest representative body of tourism operators within New Zealand. These complementary roles within the sector allow him to lead Air New Zealand and the wider tourism industry toward a sustainable future, both environmentally and financially.

Mr Rob McDonald

Rob started his finance career as a commerce graduate with a large Building Products company in 1980. He worked abroad before joining Coopers and Lybrand in the corporate advisory and valuation practice in 1985. Rob took up the position of Group Financial Planning Manager at Air New Zealand in 1993 and was appointed Group Treasurer in 1995. Upon the merger of Ansett and Air New Zealand Rob was appointed Vice President and Group Treasurer and in October 2004 was appointed as Chief Financial Officer of Air New Zealand. Robert graduated from Auckland University with a Bachelor of Commerce and is a member of the Accounting Institute of New Zealand and the Society of Corporate Treasurers. In 1999, Robert completed the Program of Management Development at Harvard Business School.

Mr Ed Sims

Ed joined Air New Zealand in 2001 as Vice President of the airline's retail division, having previously held senior positions with the Virgin Travel Group and Airtours, Europe's largest packaged operator. In 2002, Ed became the Vice President Marketing & Alliances, a role which earned him the 2003 New Zealand Marketer of the Year and the 2004 Tourism Industry Marketing Innovation Award. Ed was appointed General Manager International Airline in December 2003 with responsibility for the international cabin crew and long haul fleet induction and refurbishment programmes. In his new role, these responsibilities have expanded to include all international operations, offshore sales and marketing activity, operation of international airports, and the cargo sales business.

Mr Bruce Parton

Bruce has a Bachelor of Business degree from Massey University. He has worked in a variety of businesses, including 5 years for Coca-Cola in London in the logistics and supplier management field, and 3 years with Tegel Foods in New Zealand in logistics. He joined Air New Zealand in 1996. His roles include Logistics and Components management at ANZES, General Manager of Operations for the Airline, General Manager of the Pacific Airline (Australia, Pacific Islands and Domestic Jets), and General Manager Domestic Jet (737 Fleet and New Zealand Airports). His current role, Group General Manager Shorthaul Airlines, encompasses responsibility for all flights less than 5 hours in duration (Domestic Jet, Tasman and Pacific, Mt Cook, Air Nelson and Eagle Air), together with the sales region of Australia and New Zealand, online, call centres and revenue management.

Ms Vanessa Stoddart

Vanessa Stoddart, who is a lawyer by profession, joined Air New Zealand in May 2003. She came from Carter Holt Harvey Packaging Australia, where she was the Chief Executive. Prior to heading CHH's packaging business, Ms Stoddart was the company's General Manager Performance Management with responsibilities for human resources and prior to that held change management and legal positions. Vanessa graduated from Otago University with both a Bachelor of Commerce & Bachelor of Law (Honours) and went on to complete a PostGrad Diploma in Professional Ethics before attending Insead Business School to undertake their Advance Management Programme. She is also a member of the Australian Institute of Directors.

Nathan Agnew

Nathan Agnew has recently joined Air New Zealand and has responsibility for the group's strategy, network development, fleet planning and government relations. Nathan comes to Air New Zealand from a corporate advisory firm in Australia where he was a Director. Prior to that he was with the Boston Consulting Group in Australia and the USA for a number of years. He has an extensive background in the airline industry having been a senior advisor to multiple airlines and airports, including Qantas, Ansett and Air New Zealand.

Mr Steve Bayliss

Steve Bayliss joined Air New Zealand in 2004 as General Manager Marketing. Steve's responsibilities include the global marketing and sponsorship teams, direct customer communications and loyalty programmes, and the branded experience including product design and specification. Prior to joining Air New Zealand, Steve headed up Coca-Cola Australia's business development area and has previously held senior marketing and business development positions with a leading US bottled water and coffee company and with Lion Nathan.

Captain David Morgan

David joined Air New Zealand in 1985 after a career in General Aviation. After flying various aircraft types on both line and training operations David joined the Flight Operations management team in March 1996. David has held various senior operational management positions and in March 2008, was appointed GM Airline Operations and Safety. In this role, David is responsible for determining the policy, procedures and standards by which our aircraft are operated, is accountable for the delivery of airline logistical support and for defining, implementing and reporting on operational safety. He also has Group emergency management and security responsibilities.

Mr Chris Nassenstein

Chris came to Air New Zealand in early 2005 from Air Transat in Canada, where he was Senior Vice President Technical Operations and Customers. Chris has extensive experience in airline engineering & maintenance and change management. He has been responsible for engineering and maintenance at Canadian Airlines, Air Canada and Lan Chile. Chris has a track record of achieving performance improvement through the involvement of the people in the business.

Mr Glen Sowry

Glen Sowry joined Air New Zealand in early 2003 to head up the public affairs and government relations role. Since early 2005, Glen has been responsible for the airline's operations and network logistics functions. This role has now been expanded to include network and schedule planning with a focus on ensuring a seamless link between medium-term integrated planning and day of operations activity.

Mr Mike Tod

Mike Tod joined Air New Zealand in 2003 and has responsibility for the group's external and internal communications as well as its community relations activities. Mike came to Air New Zealand from Fonterra where he had held the roles of Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer and Shareholder Communications Manager. Prior to that he held senior positions with Television New Zealand and worked in the print media where he was the recipient of several national awards.