Our executive leadership team

Nicole Rosie joined Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency as Chief Executive in February 2020.

Prior to her appointment, Nicole was the CE of Worksafe for three years. She has more than two decades of senior executive experience across the public and private sectors. This includes a range of industries and functions, such as transport and commercial firms including Toll NZ and Fonterra.

Nicole is passionate about making a difference and sees the land transport system and the critical roles Waka Kotahi plays across infrastructure, regulation and safety as being at the heart of a successful New Zealand.

Brett joined Transit New Zealand before it merged with Land Transport NZ to become Waka Kotahi. He is a qualified civil engineer with more than 18 years’ experience in infrastructure planning, design and delivery, including maintenance and operations. Brett has been involved in the development of some of New Zealand’s largest infrastructure projects including the Northern Busway project, the Northern Gateway Toll Road project (New Zealand’s first electronic toll road), the Waterview Tunnel project and the Te Ara I Whiti (Lightpath) cycleway.

As Transport Services General Manager, Brett is responsible for overseeing design, delivery and management of a single integrated transport system. Brett’s vision for the future of the Transport Services Group is one of collaboration, both internally and externally, and continuing to build strong relationships with local authorities, customers and suppliers to become a true integrated transport system delivery group.

Chris joined Waka Kotahi as Group General Manager System Leadership in March 2023. Prior to this, he was Deputy Secretary, Labour, Science and Enterprise at the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).

Chris brings extensive public policy experience to Waka Kotahi. While at MBIE, Chris also held roles as Deputy Secretary, Managed Isolation and Quarantine, Deputy Secretary for Building, Resources and Markets and spent four years as a General Manager of the building and housing branch.

Chris has held various policy roles in New Zealand and abroad including at The Treasury (New Zealand and United Kingdom) and the Ministry of Social Development. He also spent time in the UK supporting government procurement of infrastructure (mainly schools and urban regeneration projects).

Chris joined Waka Kotahi as General Manager, Pūmanawa Tāngata | People in June 2019. She is passionate about people and culture, and brings a strategic, commercial and business lens to her work. Chris is a human resources generalist with over 25 years of experience, and is known for delivering organisational change, increasing organisational capability and providing strategic leadership.

Chris has qualifications in human resources, economics, management and psychology and has completed executive programmes at Michigan and Cornell Universities. She is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and served on the boards of the Australian National Association of Women in Operations and Australian Terminal Operation Management.

Prior to her appointment, Chris held a number of senior positions in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK including as Vice President HR Fuels in Asia Pacific at BP.

Kane joined Waka Kotahi in April 2019 to lead the regulatory compliance group and help shape the future of land transport regulation in New Zealand.

Kane brings with him extensive regulatory experience from both the public and private sector. His expertise has also been publicly acknowledged as a previous recipient of the ‘New Zealand Compliance Practitioner of the Year’ award.

Prior to his appointment, Kane worked as the Wellington City Council’s Director of Strategy and Governance. He has also served as a Crown Prosecutor and been a partner at law firm Meredith Connell.

Karen joined Waka Kotahi in March 2020. She is passionate about working in large operational organisations and in roles that make a difference to New Zealanders. She is motivated by the Waka Kotahi mandate to keep our country moving and to reduce harm through a safer land transport network.

Karen has a strong background in central government leadership. Before joining Waka Kotahi, she was Deputy Director General People and Engagement at the Department of Conservation where she led the human resources, organisational development, health and safety, security, customer engagement and office of the executive teams.  

Karen’s other previous roles include a secondment to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet as Executive Director Strategy, Governance and Engagement where she led the corporate support functions and assisted with the establishment of the new National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). She also spent more than five years working in the executive team at NZ Police as Deputy Chief Executive Public Affairs, leading the internal and external communications, channels, media, social media, engagement and recruitment marketing functions.

Liz joined Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency in October 2021 as Chief Digital Officer.

Liz is a seasoned leader who brings significant experience with leadership of large transformation programmes, payments and digital technology. She is the former Head of Digital and Transformation at ANZ Bank in New Zealand and was a member of ANZ NZ’s executive leadership team for four years.

Liz is passionate about using digital technology to improve the services we provide to New Zealand and New Zealanders.

Liz is a member of the NZ Institute of Directors and serves on the board of Education Payroll Ltd, a Crown entity. Liz has a Bachelor of Commerce in Management Studies and Labour Relations from the University of Auckland.

Richard joined Waka Kotahi in May 2018 and has served as Senior Manager Government and Deputy General Manager Te Waka Kōtuia Engagement and Partnerships. He was appointed as Chief of Staff in August 2021, and works closely with our Board, Chief Executive and Executive Leadership Team to guide the strategic priorities and partnerships of Waka Kotahi. Richard May is acting Group General Manager System Leadership while we continue recruitment processes for this role.

Prior to joining Waka Kotahi, Richard built up extensive experience in the New Zealand Parliament, spending 12 years in various roles including as a Senior Ministerial Advisor to the Minister of Transport and Defence and as Chief of Staff to a Government support partner.

Sara joined Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency in January 2023 as Group General Manager Commercial and Corporate.

Sara is an experienced finance and corporate services leader and leads our procurement functions and commercial negotiations.

Sara is the former Chief Financial Officer for the Wellington City Council. Before that Sara was the Head of Financial Transformation for Auckland City Council and Head of Financial Transactions. Sara also held the General Manager Procurement role at Auckland City Council and General Manager of Corporate Services at MBIE. Sara has been a board member and treasurer from early 2022, and is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply.

Sarina joined Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency in March 2023 as Chief Customer and Services Officer.

Sarina has extensive expertise in contact centre strategy and operations and has previously worked as the General Manager ANZ Contact Centre, where she was responsible for managing 20 million customer interactions annually across multiple channels and lead one of New Zealand’s largest contact centres (more than 1,000 people). She has led multiple complex organisational changes and is an experienced people leader.

Sarina holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration (BCA) in Marketing (Hons) and Management from the Victoria University of Wellington. She is passionate about providing great customer experience, supporting digital transformation and creating a culture where people can thrive.