I have twenty five years experience of managing risk, both for investment banks and for myself

After college, I joined Ackroyd & Smithers as a ‘blue-button’ on the London Stock Market floor. I progressed through the ranks as the firm was taken over by Warburgs, and was made a director in ’92, at that time the youngest in the firm. I worked as a trader in UK equities from 1984 to 1994 until I moved to Amsterdam to run the Netherlands trading operation.  SG Warburg was taken over in ‘95 by Swiss Bank Corporation and European trading was restructured and the risk management was relocated to London.  Back in London I ran the equity and derivative trading for the Netherlands, Spain and Belgium until  ‘97. I left the firm after 13 years in 1997 aged 32. At the time of my departure, I was responsible for a professional staff of 10 and ran a risk exposure of up to nine figures.

In 1999 I began my own client advisory business, fully regulated by the UK Securities and Futures Authority, giving stock market advice to private clients, until 2003 when my wife and I moved to New Zealand.

In the past twelve years I have traded a range of markets, including stocks, indicies, currencies, commodities, precious metals via a number of financial instruments including futures, options, CFDs, and spread-betting. I have strong financial analytical skills, and a good understanding of National And International Commodities, interest rates, Foreign Exchange and Economics.  I have specialised in trading using technical analysis and charting, giving me the ability to discern patterns or fractals over multiple time-frames.  I have a particular interest in the Psychology of Behavioural Investing and the interplay between finance and sociology.

Aside from my professional financial skills, for four years I have been a member of Nelson/Tasman Urban Search and Rescue Teams as well as the Land Search & Rescue & Mountain Safety Council.  I love living in Nelson and I am happy to make my contribution here in any way that I can serve.

I have the proven ability to work under pressure, to keep a clear head, to work as a team and also to stand alone when needed

Awaiting response

I am a very experienced and qualified town planner with 35 years experience working both in (as an employee) and for (as consultant) for Councils all around NZ (large and small), including 2.5 yrs at Nelson City, and consulting since then for Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough Councils. I know how Councils work having been an employee, consultant, hearings chairman and submitter to Councils. As a planner I am trained to think strategically, objectively and comprehensively, to be able to make difficult desisions based on sound analysis. I have chaired hearings making dersicions on my own or as part of a panel.

Hi Catherine,

Having never actually been an effective councillor, I can, at best, only surmise.

I have a Bachelors Degree in Visual Arts, a course of study which was heavily conceptual, and involved papers in contemporary theory and philosophy - my point here being it encouraged socratic thinking / questioning / and deep consideration of various political and social issues. I am widely read, a thinker, I have long-standing interest in politics, economics, globalisation, environmental issues, art theory and philosophy, religious systems... the list goes on.

My work as a Creative Director involves strategic thinking and implementation for various companies and brands, and fundamentally different ways of looking at the world, solving problems, and coming up with new ideas. I have to be able to listen, engage, communicate, write, strategise, project manage, design and create effectively. All of these I can do to a high level, and these skills I will bring with me to Council.

As far as other formal training goes , I am quite versatile here: I have trained in web design, paper making, creative writing, water-colour painting, driving a forklift, attitudes and motivation, goal setting, sales, basketball refereeing and first aid. I\'m note sure any of these will be relevant, although, CPR may be a useful skill, given the age of some of my fellow candidates.

First and foremost, I think, I am a sound and reasonably good person - I care about my fellow human beings, I care about how we treat each other, how we live and how we progress our society. I care about what we do to our natural world, social justice and equality, helping those in need, and resisting stupidity and bureaucratic nonsense. 

I can only hope to serve the people well.

Awaiting response

I have 15 years experience as a hands on Councillor at Nelson City Council, six years as deputy mayor and as acting mayor, for extended periods. I am a certificated commissioner having completed MOE training and updated re certification, chairing the consents hearing committee for 6 years. I am an experienced chairman and knowledgeable about standing orders. I have certificates in listening skills and counselling. I enjoy reading!

I know how council works and have an overview of legisltation that governs the process. I have run and budgeted for a household and raised a family of three.   Worked in Government departments and for numerous voluntary organisations I was honoured with a QSO for my contribution to Local Government, services to the community and to women.

I have a Bachelor of Business Studies in Management.  I have experience in the corporate, SME and non-profit sector, as well as some within local body.  I have also held governance roles and am currently on the national body Cycling Advocates Network (CAN) and am a member of the Cycle Training Advisory Group (CTAG) championed by NZTA.  I have experience working with a wide range of people, also a wide range of organisations including government agencies and private best practice experts.

I am a big picture person and a creative thinker.  As a mother, I see the future of Nelson through the children\'s eyes.  As a carer of my aging Dad, I also see the concerns of the older generation.

I listen to the needs of people.  I seek advise from experts and have I question and debate, to ensure we achieve the best possible outcome.

I believe very strongly in open communication.  It is essential the community, staff and council have all the facts, with no hidden agendas.

I am very concerned with some consultation processes which have somewhat ignored the community.  I want to see council working more effectively accross departments, rather than departmentalising projects and thereby ensuring the best outcome for all, rather than having to re-visit projects, which seems to be a common occurance.  I believe we can do better.

I will be a FULLTIME councillor.

Awaiting response

Hi Catherine

With nearly 20 years of service experience in the public sector - ACC, Department of Internal Affairs, Nelson Hospital and Nelson City Council – and 10 years in the private sector, e.g. The Nelson Mail, - I am well-equipped to drive this region forward.  I have been a Personal Assistant to 3 Mayors and worked closely with Councillors and management of Council for the past 14.5 years, I’m blessed to be at the hub of seeing and learning first hand the ebbs and flows of this community – its hurts, successes, some missed opportunities and opportunities to be had to continually grow.  My degree in Foreign Service (Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service - with Honours Suma Cum Laude) majoring in Political Science, Economics, International Relations, Law and Government fuels my interest in local and world affairs that are likely to impact on the Nelson region.  I also worked with the International Committee of the Red Cross for 5 years and had formal training at its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland for my role as a Research and Tracing Assistant helping the families of political prisoners and refugees.  Life skills, sincerity in helping people and the community, interest in government and politics hopefully all adds up in my aspiration to be one of Nelson\'s policy-makers.  I hope I have been of assistance.  Best wishes,

Marie Johnstone

FINANCIAL EXPERIENCE. GOVERNANCE.

I have a Bachelor of Commerce & Administration from Victoria University.  I was a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants from 1975 to 2008.  I have worked as an accountant for 40 years, initially in Wellington, then internationally before returning to Nelson in 1981.  I was Financial Controller and Company Secretary for Baigent Forest Industries Ltd a local company owned by Carter Holt Harvey, Shell and Todd which employed 345 staff and managed assets of $138M.  Subsequently I was the Trust Board Secretary and Administration Manager at the Cawthron Institute, our local, highly successful, scientific research organisation, for a decade.

In both these roles I developed high levels of interpersonal skills and extensive Financial Experience in strategic planning, budgeting, reporting, project evaluation and priority setting particularly in times of fiscal constraint.  The roles also gave me a clear understanding of and experience in the Governance of significant organisations particularly in regard to management understanding and complying with the desires of the Board.  In this case the Mayor and Councillors.

I currently run my own accounting company servicing a range of local clients.

I left school at 16 with Schoool C and 6th Form Certifacte.

For the past 25 years I have been in business and have owned Everyman Records for 20 years.I also operate a business that distributes CDs throughout the country.

Ten years ago I helped form and was appointed Chairman of The Historic Theatre Trust which raised over $6million to restore the Theatre Royal.Over that time I voluntarally oversaw the overall project from beginning to end.Since reopening on 30 May this year over 15500 patrans have already attended events at the Theatre.

I have the ability to work with most people and understand their point of view. I am a realistic practical person and have no problem saying NO when asked to do something that is not required to acheive a goal.

Most of all I think I am approachable and will discuss mostly anythin with anybody,obviously within reason.

I also dont actually like writing what I have because I dont think people should be blowing their own trumpet but rather should be judged on what they treat people and their actions.

Hi Catherine. I have a bachelor of business studies from Massey University with a major in human resources management. My career has been in human resources (HR) management with Sealord Group Ltd.  I joined Sealord in 1987 and worked there until 2009 when I left to set up my own human resources company. Prior to joining Sealord I worked for 2 government departments (NZ Forest Service and Dept of Labour). While working for the Dept of Labour I was involved in employment and immigration matters.  From 1999 to 2009 I was Sealord\'s human resources manager and I managed a team of HR staff responsible for managing the workforce systems associated with Sealord\'s global fishing, processing marketing and aquaculture networks.  It was a  busy  24/7 job.  Sealord is Nelson\'s largest private sector employer and while I was there the workforce was typically around the 1000 to 1500 mark.  The annual  wages bill was about  $10m more than the NCC annual rates take. I really enjoyed my work because it involved trying to work through solutions to issues that affected people.  I learn\'t a number of very important skills that will hold me in good stead for a council role.  Those skills and principles included;always work with the facts, do your homework on issues, treat everyone fairly and with respect, sometimes the employer is right and sometimes the employee is right ( you have to wear both hats), show good leadership by committing to the company\'s values and practice those values in your everyday work and decision making. You also have to be a good listener and don\'t jump to conclusions. Because it was a large organisation the best way to stay in touch with people and issues was to spend time out in the field talking to staff and understanding their roles.   A typical day could include dealing with an issue in an offshore office to helping Auckland based staff, working through an industrial relations issue at  Port Nelson plant to assisting a deepsea fishing vessel skipper with a people related matter whilst their vessel is fishing in the Southern Ocean. I had to have a good understanding of employment law and interpret it so workable policies and procedures could be implemented across a wide range of operations. The Sealord workforce is very diverse and it is drawn from various socio economic backgrounds. It is essentially an extension of the Nelson community. Therefore when developing policies and procedures it was important to have very good communication processes to ensure all staff had input before implementing change. Sealord was regarded as a good employer and I was always involved in projects that had Sealord interacting with the community. That included Santa Parade floats through  to careers expos. I trust this helps give you an understanding of my applicable skills. Regards Patrick