Our People


Meet your advisors: a team of outstanding people at every level of the organisation


Directors

Dan Bonifant

Managing Director

Dan is an experienced public sector lawyer who has worked in local and central government in Australia, New Zealand and the UK.

Dan's role as Managing Director followed a period of four years leading the NSW office of Morrison Low.

His work at Morrison Low includes a broad spectrum of advice based on his areas of expertise in governance, procurement, reform, amalgamation and project management.

Dan has recently led the Morrison Low team that has advised over 75% of New Zealand councils during the three waters reform process establishing Morrison Low as the leading consultants in this area.

Dan has practical experience in managing large and complex projects with multiple stakeholders, deliverables and tight timeframes.

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Kevin Best

Chair

Kevin was a partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers for 28 years where he held a number of leadership and governance roles. Kevin has significant international experience and has worked extensively in Australia. His career also includes senior finance roles in central government and as an adviser to a number of New Zealand regional councils.

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Cushla Anich

Director

Cushla is an experienced infrastructure manager and a chartered professional engineer. She provides strategic advice to clients in central and local government sectors in New Zealand and Australia across a diverse range of assets. She enjoys helping clients build their internal asset management capability. Cushla’s recent experience includes strategic practice reviews, infrastructural health checks, asset management improvement programmes, and procurement advice. She is a recognised strategic manager in the water industry.

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Stephen Bunting

Director

Stephen brings a background in community services and public policy having held a number of executive management roles. He has helped organisations develop, integrate and implement a wide variety of strategic organisational plans as well as conducting organisation and service reviews and establishing associated service levels. More recently he has advised NSW councils on merger and sustainability opportunities. Stephen is involved in industry sector groups and has presented at a number of seminars and conferences on integrated planning.

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Ewen Skinner

Director

Ewen is a qualified civil engineer with extensive experience working with local government across Australasia. He has been involved in a wide variety of projects for councils ranging from organisational and governance reviews through to infrastructure development and complex procurement and project management initiatives. Ewen leads waste management and sustainability team at Morrison Low and has been instrumental in the development of a number of best practice documents for both central and local government in New Zealand.

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Greg Smith

Director

Greg is a CPA with extensive executive management, leadership and project delivery experience and knowledge of local government, electricity and the not for profit sectors. He has been responsible for strategic, operational and service delivery functions and has a proven track record in initiating and delivering business change through strategic corporate projects, service delivery reviews, business process improvements and innovation through ICT and partnerships. His experience extends to financial modelling frameworks for operations and property development.  

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Alice Grace

Director

Alice is an experienced asset manager and qualified engineer and has worked in local government and the private sector in both New Zealand and Australia. Alice has worked across all infrastructure areas and has skills in strategic planning, complex procurement and service delivery reviews, including operations models and contract reviews. Alice also has specialist technical expertise in solid waste management including landfill construction and operation, waste and recycling services, wastewater treatment and biosolids management and the aftercare of closed landfills.

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Gareth Chaplin

Associate Director Central Government

Gareth has had an extensive career in central government, having worked at Treasury and the State Services Commission, and having held senior management roles at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and the Ministry of Transport. Gareth’s background is in regulatory economics and policy. He is an expert on funding and business case issues, with a toolkit that includes public policy, public sector funding and finance, business case development, governance, institutional design and regulatory economics.

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Matt Fyffe

Associate Director

Matt has 20 years of experience in both the private and public sector, working in housing, rail and a variety of council infrastructure. Matt has both advised and managed delivery in a diverse range of areas including construction, operations and maintenance service delivery, asset management and information technology. He has also led commercial and contract management, programme and portfolio management and procurement for public sector organisations. Matt has a strong client-side background in complex change and business improvement initiatives covering people, process and systems. 

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Helen Ramsey

Associate Director

Helen is an experienced chartered professional civil engineer with over 30 years’ experience. She has held a number of senior management roles in local government and the private sector in New Zealand. Helen has a strong background in asset management, maintenance, contract management, financial management, supply chain and operational effectiveness, across a range of infrastructure services.

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Mark Wood

Associate Director

Mark has extensive experience in executive management and leadership in local government in the strategy and service delivery of waste, civil, open space and facility management. He has been responsible for developing and maintaining infrastructure, asset planning and delivery strategies for several councils using business improvement processes. Throughout his career, Mark has focused on all facets of council operational service delivery. He has also led and demonstrated the successful reuse of recycled materials in road construction in several projects. Mark has significant expertise in asset management, waste management, maintenance operations and contract management.

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Adam Matthews

Associate Director

Adam brings a wealth of experience in infrastructure program and project management, gained through a 25-year career as a client-side project manager and infrastructure consultant. He has worked in both the public and private sectors, primarily focused on the delivery of public sector projects across all areas of local government assets and programs. Adam is a strategic and creative thinker, with the ability to add value throughout the infrastructure planning and delivery process.

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Emma Zadow

Non-Executive Director

Emma has spent two decades in the professional services environment, predominantly in growth-focused roles. Her experience includes working in top tier law firms in Australia and internationally, and steering a boutique firm as CEO. Emma’s responsibilities have spanned people, business development, marketing, operations, finance and technology.

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Consultants

Stuart Cross

Senior Consultant

Stuart is a Chartered Accountant and Better Business Cases Practitioner with significant experience in analysing the business justification for significant investment decisions and the funding and financing of local and central government projects. 

His recent experience includes providing advice on a review into the funding and financing of local government, financial modelling to support development of policy initiatives, development and review of business cases for large scale capital investment, and best practice assessment of business processes. 

Stuart has led a number of reviews commissioned by Central Government pertaining to the funding and financing of local government infrastructure, including the study into the net costs of growth for the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment, and reviews of the local government financial management framework and the funding and financing of local government for the Department of Internal Affairs.  He has also been heavily involved in three waters reform projects for both local and central government.

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Richard Slater

Senior Consultant

Richard has 14 years’ experience in asset management, embedding systems and processes in the delivery of infrastructure maintenance contracts, specialising in the property and transport sector. He has significant expertise in project planning and delivery, maintenance operations, systems and data analysis. Richard has supported clients in developing systems and processes to continually deliver multi-year programmes of work through data-driven decision making, linking accurate renewal programmes to long term plans resulting in successful investment applications and improvement in asset portfolio condition. He has worked with a variety of contract models: measure and value, alliance, outcomes delivery and lump sum style contracts, and he understands the opportunities and challenges they bring.

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Linda Cook

Senior Consultant

Linda has significant experience in the infrastructure sector, working for a range of clients primarily in local and central government. She currently provides strategic advice to clients in local government sectors across infrastructure assets with a focus on procurement advice and activity management planning.

Her career ranges from construction as a site engineer, civil and environmental design, contract management, resource management planning and strategic advice through to procurement of significant projects and delivery of collaborative initiatives. Her wider skills in project management, communications and engagement together with an ability to think logically and strategically, allows her to develop excellent relationships with clients, colleagues, suppliers and communities.

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Joan Elphingston-Jolly

Senior Consultant

Joan is a civil engineer with five years’ experience in large scale, multidisciplinary infrastructure delivery in the public sector. Her experience includes project and contract management, construction supervision and commissioning. She has delivered several strategic business improvements to great effect owing to her focus on the end user and project outcomes.  She is passionate about the importance of people focused change to deliver long term, sustainable benefits. 

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Egor Ilyukevich

Senior Consultant

Egor is an experienced project engineer with experience in the construction and design industries. He is also skilled in option analysis, modelling and budget preparation and control having managed multiple high profile clients and delivered projects for both the public and private sector. Egor has a variety of experience in tender design and project management with a particular focus on best value, scope management, work health and safety to create a quality end user experience.  

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Evan Ou Yang

Senior Consultant

Evan has worked for various organisations in the public infrastructure sector with extensive exposure to asset management activities across water and transportation. He has developed excellent skills in provision of technical consultancy services to clients and the agility to adapt changes of their expectation. Previously he held engineering roles in local government, contracting, and consulting organisations and has a proven track record in delivery of asset management projects on tactical and operational levels.

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Jessie Williams-Shigeeda

Senior Consultant

Jessie brings experience in evaluation, research, public policy and organisational management. With her public law and policy background she is well versed on central government processes and the breadth of topical issues.  More recent private sector experience in supporting the operation of businesses has sharpened skills in systems management and compliance monitoring. 

She has worked with many government, academic, international, not-for-profit and volunteer organisations and is focused on efficiency and bringing the right skills together to deliver for clients and stakeholders. 

At Morrison Low, she supports the Central Government portfolio to provide strategy and policy, commercial, governance, business and funding advice a to a range of clients across central and local government, and the not- for- profit sectors.

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Matt Boggs

Senior Consultant

Matt is part of the Morrison Low’s Central Government consulting arm providing strategy and policy, commercial, governance, business and funding advice a to a range of clients across central and local government, and the not- for- profit sectors.

Matt has had an extensive career in the New Zealand Defence Force and more recently in Local Government, having held tier two and senior roles in both sectors. He is an expert on strategy, strategy execution, planning and governance. He is a Member of the NZ Institute of Directors and holds current TSV and TSS security clearances.

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Janine McKenzie

Senior Consultant

Janine is an influential leader who brings together a deep commercial background, with a in depth knowledge of local government. Janine’s mission is to help councils solve the critical challenges they face. She has led the mergers, restructures and financial reform for local and state government and the private sector. She has significant expertise in the development of strategy, structure and KPIs to drive the strategic alignment and delivery. She has vital experience championing the transformative change. Janine is a CPA and MBA, and is undertaking a PhD in financial sustainability in local government.

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Brendhan Barry

Consultant

Brendhan is a chartered accountant with extensive financial and advisory experience in both Australia and the United Kingdom. Recent experience includes business partnering, management accounting and leadership roles within Inner West Council and for NSW Ambulance. This included establishing and leading finance teams, developing and presenting budgets, leading the rates harmonisation project, building operational finance teams, being finance lead on system implementations, plus ongoing efficiency and process improvements within finance.

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Michelle Drummond

Consultant

Michelle offers a wealth of experience in infrastructure program support and project coordination, gained through roles in local government and scientific research organisations in both the UK and Australia. She has been heavily involved in assisting leadership teams with research, analysis and reporting. Michelle has a background working on human resource, organisational administration and operations issues and understands the intricacies of the local government environment and the need for strong community and staff engagement processes.

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Tim McCarthy

Senior Consultant

Tim is an experienced council engineer with significant expertise in asset management, project delivery processes, maintenance operations and contract management. His particular focus has been on sustainable asset management practices in councils and he has hands-on knowledge of how a wide range of councils go about asset management and the link between assets, operations and financial management. Tim has tertiary qualifications in engineering, management and law and is NAMS accredited.

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Gillian Woodward

Senior Consultant

Gillian is an engineer by trade with strong experience in consulting, operational management, and project implementation. Her experience spans the public sector in New Zealand and North America, prior to joining Morrison Low she was the Head of Treatment Operations (Inhouse) for Wellington Water.  Gillian has practical experience in operational management, in the design and implementation of projects to meet operational and compliance outcomes and in delivery plans and bylaws related to utility services.

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Karen Lam

Senior Consultant

 Karen's work history covers most of the infrastructure development process from a number of different angles.  From strategy and policy development, through asset performance and financial modelling, feasibility studies, project management and all the way to construction by way of her own earthmoving business, Karen understands how to bring together the policy, funding and planning functions with practical field solutions.  Having worked on projects as Council, Consultant and Private Contractor, she understands the similarities and differences between public and private enterprises.  Karen has worked on both sides of the Tasman and received an inaugural scholarship from the Asia New Zealand Foundation to study Mechanical Engineering at the National University of Singapore.

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Lumi Baloi

Senior Consultant

Lumi is an experienced reporting, data and analytics leader with more than 25 years of hands-on experience in advising the energy, telecommunications sectors and local government departments. She has an established reputation as a technical expert with a strong client focus, specialising in data science, quantitative analysis, applied statistics, operations research. Lumi has a record of solving most difficult business problems and managing and delivering innovative, high-quality, best-practice models, and advice. She has highly developed stakeholder management skills with the ability to negotiate and influence concepts and ideas to achieve business outcomes.

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Chris Murray

Senior Consultant

Chris is a Chartered Accountant with over 10 years’ experience in audit and industry across New Zealand, Australia, and the UK. Over this time, he has had exposure to a wide range of organisations and their specific strategic and financial objectives, including, listed companies, local government agencies, not for profits and charities. His responsibilities have been focused on creating financial plans aligned with an organisation’s long-term strategy, and the subsequent adherence to these plans through strong relationships with the relevant internal and external stakeholders.

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Igor Dupor

Senior Consultant

Igor has 15 years’ experience in central public sector agencies and private research industries in Australia and New Zealand. His focus is on implementing data-driven and evidence-based approaches to budget and portfolio management, finding savings and efficiencies with robust economic underpinnings. Igor has improved oversight of performance and budgeting in both Victoria and New Zealand. He adds significant value when supporting organisations in identifying novel methods and building narratives that bridge the gap between their data and strategic direction.

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Support

Anna Johnson

Accountant

Anna is a Chartered Accountant with sixteen years' experience in various industries including manufacturing, FMCG, telecommunications and banking in New Zealand, Australia and the UK.  Anna is responsible for the financial management of the company, providing support and advice to the Directors and the Boards on business performance.

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Sandra Parkinson

Practice Manager

Sandra joined Morrison Low as the Practice Manager in March 2017. With an excess of 25 years' experience in professional services, predominantly within the Chartered Accounting industry, Sandra is responsible for Human Resources, Health & Safety and Corporate Services along with taking an active role in Operational IT Management.  Sandra is very excited to join the team and apply her wide range of experience.

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Kristina Foster

Project Support Coordinator

Kristina provides project support for Morrison Low; a dynamic role that covers a range of activities and responsibilities. She works closely with the consulting team, proofing and formatting documents, arranging travel and an assortment of other administrative tasks. Kristina has worked across the private and public sectors and is multi skilled with significant administrative experience.

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Nalini Navaranjan

Project Support Coordinator

Nalini started her admin career in the public health sector and joins Morrison Low with considerable experience in administration and project coordination. Nalini’s main responsibilities include supporting the consultants with document editing and providing administrative support in the Auckland office.

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Carlyn Daly

HR Coordinator

Carlyn joined Morrison Low as HR Coordinator in February 2022. Carlyn has a strong background in all facets of Human Resources including recruitment. Carlyn has worked across a wide range of organisations and roles which included business analysis and reporting and management accounting. Carlyn is delighted to provide HR support and coordination across the business, working closely with Sandra and the admin team.

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Fiona Lee

Project Support Coordinator

Fiona joined Morrison Low in August 2022 as project support and office administrator for the Sydney consulting team. With almost ten years of experience developing her skill set in the FMCG and industrial design industry, she bridges the gap between fast-paced product life cycle management and applicability in a consulting environment. Fiona received her Bachelor of Industrial Design (First class honours) from the University of New South Wales.

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