Board of Directors

President

Richard Wood

Over the last three years, Richard has worked with over 40 BAs to help them attain CBAP®\CCBA® certification. His energy, enthusiasm and commitment have contributed directly to a marked acceleration of certification figures amongst BAs in New Zealand. Richard is currently involved in the Auckland study groups on a weekly basis and has recently helped facilitate the kick-off of new study groups in Christchurch and Wellington.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed helping build achievement and success within the New Zealand Business Analysis community and also, for the New Zealand Chapter of the IIBA®

I would like to step up and contribute more strategically to the development and advancement of the business analysis community in New Zealand by serving as the President of the IIBA® NZ Chapter.

I believe that, as an institute, we can do even more on behalf of our members to drive awareness of the value and contribution of the role of the business analysis professional.

I would like to see a step change for the better - an evolution in the value we deliver to our members.

I'd like to work with you to build the new New Zealand IIBA® Chapter - more events, exciting new speakers – both local and international, new forums for collaboration and networking, a new BA mentorship program, wider national coverage and a greater sense of engagement and community.

I ask for your support of my nomination as President of the New Zealand Chapter of the IIBA®.

I commit to working with you to further shape a world class professional institute that we can all be proud to be part of."

Richard has held leadership positions in a number of organisations in the past and currently leads the Business Analysis practice for GE Capital New Zealand. He has served as IIBA® NZ Chapter Vice President of Professional Development & Certification for the last 12 months.

VP Sponsorship

Suzanne Maxted

Suzanne is a Certified IT Professional Member of the British Computer Society and certified TOGAF9 & CBAP® Practitioner. She is a business architect and analyst (at both project and enterprise levels) with experience from around the world; an accomplished business modeler, workshop facilitator and presenter. Suzanne's linguistic and mathematical background has proved very useful in her work and she has been described as a persuasive thought leader. Suzanne coaches business analysts and project managers, is a regular conference speaker and also contributor to the Business Analyst Times magazine, with extensive hits and positive feedback.

Outside of her working life, Suzanne has acted as a teacher and as Privacy Officer for the local dance academy; dance being a prominent feature of her and her children's lives. Throughout her career, Suzanne has developed very good working relationships, such that she has won repeat work with her clients.

Bringing this track record, her energy, vision and courage for her work, she is very keen to focus on the goal of securing sponsorship for the organisation that defines and qualifies her life long career.

VP Membership Services

Andrew Willoughby

Andrew Willoughby is a new member to the NZ Chapter board being elected for Membership Services. He is very familiar with the NZ Chapter having been a host in Auckland to the IIBA study group. Andrew has gained his 10+ years experience as a BA working for P&O in NZ, UK, USA and Australia; and most recently he is working at the Ports of Auckland Limited. He is focused on improvement through business process engineering and is very keen to grow people’s knowledge in this area. He sees the NZ Chapter as an ideal medium for people to learn BA standards and techniques in the study groups and believes in the future it will be a prerequisite for employment as a BA.

VP Professional Development & Certification

Martin Lewis

Martin is a Certified Business Analysis Professional with over twenty years of experience in business analysis consulting, training and coaching. As the BA Practice Lead for Westpac his focus is on developing the analysis framework for the BA team and improving their overall delivery quality.

He is a keen advocate for IIBA certification and has helped many BA's to apply and study for the CCBA and CBAP examinations through facilitating study groups and formal training courses focused on the BABOK knowledge areas. This experience has given him a good understanding of the challenges faced by BA's in becoming a certified business analysis professional and what is required to get a successful result.

Martin has indicated that as VP for Professional Development and Certification he would pro-actively promote IIBA certification to BA's, and seek to increase the availability/quality of learning opportunities available to them through tertiary education institutes and training vendors. He would also look to establish an online forum for NZ BA's to share their application/examination experiences and obtain timely guidance and support from CCBAs/CBAPs.

VP Marketing & Communication

Tim Wright

Tim Wright has been a Business Analyst since he left University - working in government, finance, and private sector. He has a Ph.D. in Computer Science (Human Computer Interaction) and lectured User Interface Design at Victoria University of Wellington. He has board experience, being on the board of directors of a boutique distillery in the Wairarapa and is a (pending) member of the Institute of Directors in New Zealand. Tim is passionate about the value great business analysts can add to an organization and sees the IIBA as a place where Business Analysts can take a break from "project-land", reflect, communicate, and become great analysts.

Treasurer

Desiree Purvis

Desiree is a Senior Business Analyst with the Bank of New Zealand, and is based in Wellington, New Zealand. She has spent over 18 years in the IT industry, taking on many roles including programming, operations, system administration, and management. However, she has settled on business analysis as the role where she could indulge her geekiness without getting too technical. Desirée is passionate about supporting the goals of the IIBA and in particular recognition of the Business Analyst as a profession. She joined the IIBA in 2007 and gained Certified Business Analyst Professional® (CBAP®) status the same year. In 2008 she was accepted as a volunteer Practitioner Reviewer for v2.0 of the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK). In March 2009 she was appointed to the IIBA’s Role Delineation Item Writer team to help develop the v2.0 CBAP exam, and in 2010 to help develop the CCBA exam.
Desiree is enjoying the challenge of the role of Treasurer as this gives her the opportunity to give something back to the industry in New Zealand. When not BAing she can often be found stacking wood in the summer and watching it burn in the winter (wine optional). Alternative activities include cat slave, ukulele playing (badly), reading, wine tasting (lots), T'ai Chi, and synching her iPod.

Secretary

Kirsten Eriksen

Kirsten is an experienced Business Analyst who has had experience across the Software Development Life Cycle. She has excellent communication and stakeholder management skills. She provides key consultancy/advisory services and builds excellent relationships with clients and technical staff. Kirsten’s experience at key government agencies over time have given her exposure to different processes and standards which enables her to deliver successfully.

Kirsten is practicing Member of International Institute of Business Analysts (IIBA®) and holds a Certification of Competency in Business Analysis (CCBA ™) (2011).

Kirsten has been a member of the Wellington Events Committee over the past year and chaired the Venue Committee for the New Zealand Chapter IIBA BA Development Day Conference in 2012.

Kirsten’s Key Skills

• Communication skills including both verbal and written communications

• Time management skills evidenced by successfully managing multiple pieces of work whilst volunteering for the IIBA local chapter and participating in other activities

• Organisation and planning skills evidenced by the successful delivery of the venue for BA Dev Day 2012

Immediate Past President

Sarah Gibson

Sarah is CEO of Redvespa Consultants Limited, an IT consultancy specialising in business analysis. Sarah is primarily responsible for HR, governance and the financial direction of Redvespa Consultants and its subsidiary company The BA Kit. Prior to Redvespa, Sarah was heavily involved in HR, both within organisations and as an external freelance consultant. Redvespa was a proud winner of the 2011 Recruit IT Hi-Tech Employer of Choice Award and 2010 JRA Best Small Workplace. Redvespa also prides itself on sponsorship and support of various BA events and forums throughout NZ including the IIBA's annual BA Development Day, Auckland & Wellington CBAP study groups and BA Leaders & Managers Forums. Redvespa is currently a Gold Sponsor of the NZ chapter of the IIBA.
Sarah was elected as a new member of the International IIBA Board in September 2012 for a 4 year term. Sarah has considerable experience at Board governance level ranging from school boards through to elite sporting boards. Sarah brings to the NZ IIBA, knowledge of the Business Analysis industry and an open and honest approach to leadership. Sarah’s vision is to enhance and develop the business analysis profession through the promotion and recognition of the NZ Chapter of the IIBA.

Director at Large

Brent Lewis

Brent has been an IT professional for over 15 years, most of which has been as a Business Analyst. He is currently the manager and leader of a team of 40 analysts for Telecom NZ in Wellington. Despite his managerial function, he still prefers to call himself a Business Analyst. A true believer in business analysis as a profession, he is passionate about raising the awareness of the role within Telecom and the wider IT community. When not coaching and mentoring his large and talented team, or doing IIBA work, Brent can be found having fun with his family at his home by the beach on the wonderful Kapiti Coast.