Bay of Plenty Polytechnic’s Council has the overall responsibility for the strategic direction and management of Bay of Plenty Polytechnic activities. There are eight members on our Council including four ministerial appointments and four community representatives.
Our Chief Executive, four directors and other senior managers to provide leadership and management for the organisation.
Polytechnic council meetings are open to the public. Please contact us for details.
Ian is Managing Director of New Zealand Educational Tours, a Tauranga based company. A qualified Chartered Accountant, he has had a strong interest in helping organisations operate more effectively.
He has been a Court appointed non executive director of an outbound travel company, Chair of a large London secondary school board, and recently stood down after 4 years as Chair of Tauranga Chamber of Commerce.
Dr. Neil Barns (Ngati Kahungunu) is the former Chief Executive of Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology. He is chair of the Tertiary Accord of New Zealand and a member of Polytechnics International New Zealand and Te Tapuae o Rehua Board.
He is a trustee of Education New Zealand, CPIT Foundation and Otautahi Education Development Trust.
Local properly developer and hotelier Paul Bowker is Vice President of the Tauranga Chamber of Commerce and a Trustee of Tourism Bay of Plenty.
Paul is a committed advocate of personal lifelong learning and believes learning and education is vital to the development and betterment of our community. He says that the Polytechnic plays an intrinsic role in this regard as well as in the economic development of our region. Paul sees the ability to facilitate and support this endeavour as both a pleasure and a privilege.
Rahera Ohia was raised in Waitao (Welcome Bay) under the shadow of Kopukairoa.
She is currently the Chief Executive and Lead Negotiator for Te Au Maro o Ngati Pukenga, which is the entity responsible for Treaty settlement negotiations for Ngati Pukenga. She was also a public servant for some 18 years, based mostly in Wellington.
Dr. Bryan Gould is current chair of the National Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence, the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO and the Eastern Bay Primary Health Alliance.
He previously was the Vice Chancellor of the University of Waikato (1994 – 2004).
‘Need a Nerd’ Managing Director Paul Logan, has spent 20 years in the motor industry and has seen the benefits of good vocational training with many apprentices achieving solid careers with fabulous futures. He has a keen interest in accessibility to tertiary education for people in the wider Bay area and the availability of quality learning at all tertiary levels.
Paul sees the Polytechnic partnership with the University of Waikato and Awanuiarangi as vital to quality sustainable tertiary education in the area and key to enhancing our position regionally, nationally and internationally.
Sylvia Willison, of Ngati Ranginui iwi and Ngai Tamarawaho hapu, is the Kaunihera Mäori representative. She is one of the founders of the Huria Management Trust and its current Chief Executive.
Sylvia brings more than 20 years of service in the Tauranga and Western Bay Communities to the Polytechnic Council.
Graham Young brings many years experience in education as former principal of Tauranga Boys’ College (1984 – 2008). Graham is current National Secondary Coordinator of New Zealand Aspiring Principals programme, and is a leadership and management consultant for the Institute of Professional Studies at the University of Waikato.
