About Us

Our Board

Susan Paterson, ONZM, BPharm, MBA (London)

Chair

Susan has been a professional director since 1996 and her directorships include Goodman NZ, Arvida, Sky Network TV, Tertiary Education Commission, Electricity Authority, Les Mills NZ Ltd and Theta Systems Ltd (Chair). Susan was made ONZM for services to Corporate Governance. She has a keen interest in sport, education and the environment, and loves cycling holidays. Her daughter Paige won medals at the Junior World Track Cycling Championships in Moscow and Invercargill.

 

David Heald, BMS (Hons), CA

Trustee

Director at Staples Rodway Chartered Accountants. Specialising in taxation together with business advisory. He advises a diverse range of clients operating and investing in a variety of industries and markets, both on taxation and general business matters. David has a particular interest and specialisation in property taxation and agribusiness, the latter in the form of large multi-farm dairy syndications. He is Chair of St Peters School, Cambridge. He also has a keen interest in agriculture and grew up on a small block close to Hamilton running fallow deer, sheep and dairy beef.

Jennifer Palmer, BA

Trustee

Jennifer has been the General Manager for the Brian Perry Charitable Trust since 2010 and has been associated with the establishment and operations of the Avantidrome since the project’s inception in 2011. Jennifer oversees the development of the Te Awa River Ride and Podium Sports Lodge and is also a Trustee of The Adastra Foundation, and the SKYCITY Hamilton Community Trust. She is a recreational track and road cyclist.

John McDonnell, ONZM, Dip Tchg, Dip Spec.

Trustee

Awarded in the 2016 Queens Honours list the New Zealand Officer of the Order of Merit for his contribution to cycling. John is currently the Deputy Principal at Cambridge High School.

Hails from Wanganui where he was an Assistant Principal of Wanganui High School. Has been a member of the Wanganui Cycling club for 49 years, a UCI international commissaire for Road and Track and has held many positions within cycling including President of Cycling New Zealand. In June 2011 awarded Cycling New Zealand Road & Track life membership, a life member of West Coast North Island Cycling centre and the Wanganui Cycling Club

 

Tony Gainsford

Trustee

Tony has lived in Cambridge for 25 years. After long service in the New Zealand Air Force, Tony is currently the Managing Director of Marops Ltd, a technology based company specialising in interactive 3D graphics and technical surveillance projects in the defense and commercial sector.

Tony is an avid sports fan and became interested in track cycling after visiting the Avantidrome during the building phase. Since, he has become a regular track user and an Avantidrome Coach.

Tony is passionate about community involvement and loves to see mums, dads, children and grandparents on the track and at the Gallagher Bike Skills Park enjoying this magnificent facility.

 

John Mason

Trustee

John is a Director of Cambridge based Construction Advantage Limited. An experience construction professional, John has delivered a wide variety of commercial construction projects in New Zealand and Britain. John holds a degree in Civil Engineering and Law and specialises in development and project management. He has a passion for delivering innovative construction projects, from the idea and business plan through to completion and hand over. Originally from Leeds, he has been based in Cambridge for the last 20 years. John is a Trustee of St Peters School, Cambridge and Chairman of Building and Maintenance.

 

Graeme Maw, PhD

Trustee

After an enthusiastic but innocuous career in junior soccer, badminton and rugby union, Graeme has accrued over 20 years’ experience leading successful international sports programmes. These include stints with Queensland Swimming, British and NZ Triathlon, Welsh Rugby Union, UK Coaching, Millfield School, and as Chef de Mission for Great Britain at the World University Games. Graeme graduated with Honours and Doctoral degrees from Loughborough and Wollongong Universities, respectively, and has the distinction of representing 3 different nations in support at summer Olympic Games. Graeme is currently consulting on sports strategy and planning regionally and nationally – including the Trust Board for St Peter’s School, the Adastra Foundation, Sport Waikato’s Coaching Advisory Group, Canoe Slalom NZ and Paralympics NZ – and can otherwise be found riding bicycles, hiking up or skiing down mountains, or exasperating his family and animals on their Waikato lifestyle block.