Our People

Executive Director

Mike joined SBC in January 2020. His previous role was New Zealand’s High Commissioner to South Africa. Before that he was Director for Sustainable Economic Development at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the founding CEO of Aquaculture New Zealand.

He holds degrees from the London School of Economics and the University of Canterbury.

Mike is based in Wellington.

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Senior Events Manager

Alana joined SBC in November 2021.

Alana has spent the last 10 years working across the private and public sector, leading events of varying sizes, from large-scale conferences to workshops and tours.

Prior to joining SBC, Alana spent a number of years working in the public sector, responsible for managing projects, campaigns and events including visits and announcements with Ministers of the Crown and Government Officials.

Alana is based in Auckland.

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Head of Climate & Nature

Antonia joined the SBC team in 2023 after having spent 5 years working at the Climate Change Commission, and its predecessor, the Interim Climate Change Committee, where she led the development of the second emissions reduction plan advice. Prior to this she worked in roles in the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment, and at the Department for Energy and Climate Change in the UK.

Antonia is based in Wellington.

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Sustainability Manager – Climate & Environment

Charlotte Kootstra joined in September 2022. Before joining SBC, Charlotte spent three and a half years as the Senior Sustainability Specialist for Ports of Auckland where she focused primarily on climate mitigation, adaptation and looking at the risks and opportunities of varying climate scenarios for the Port and the role it plays in New Zealand’s supply chain. Before that she was at BNZ for seven years in the role of Sustainability Consultant where she managed their carbon inventory, emissions reduction programme and sustainability communications and before that she spent five years working as a Communications Advisor – Sustainability for the BP head office in London.

A believer in living the best sustainable lifestyle she can and a passion for helping organisations realise the positive role they can have on the environment, their people, and their stakeholders.  

Charlotte is based in Auckland.

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Head of ESG

Jay believes in doing good in the world, putting her people skills to good use to affect change. Before joining SBC, Jay spent 10 years working in the UK in a variety of programme management and communications roles across the commercial and community sectors. At SBC she supports businesses to embed sustainability at both a governance and operational level, championing them to do the right thing by people and planet.

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Manager – Climate Leaders Coalition

Armed with a passion for making a difference and helping to create a sustainable future for all, Shannil has created and led sustainability strategy implementations and initiatives within business and the public sector, most recently as the Sustainability Manager at NZ Blood. He is currently completing his Doctorate of Business Administration, and has also received his MBA, focused on climate change reporting.

Having chaired sustainability professional interest groups within the Carbon Neutral Government Programme and the Healthcare sector, Shannil has a strong desire to use his skills and knowledge to help companies create new opportunities and improve their environmental and social impact.

Shannil is based in Auckland.

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Senior Communications Advisor

Nicole is SBC’s Senior Communications Advisor, having joined the team in July 2022. In her role, she oversees SBC’s digital channels, including our website, social media, and Pānui newsletter, and runs point on a number of communications projects and initiatives.

Before coming to SBC, Nicole spent two years at Heartland Bank as their Senior Communications Advisor, with a focus on growing Heartland’s digital platforms. Prior to that, she worked for analytics firm Datamine for three years as a Content Marketer.

Nicole is based in Auckland. For all communication queries, including the weekly Pānui newsletter, please contact [email protected].

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Membership & Operations Manager

Pravin manages member engagement, supporting members to connect with SBC services and programmes.

Prior to joining SBC in November 2019, he worked at Fairtrade ANZ for 12 years in a variety of roles supporting commercial partners in developing and promoting sustainable supply chains in the food and fashion sectors.

Pravin holds a BSc in International Management Science from the University of Wales, Swansea.

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Head of Communications & Events (Acting)

Kate joined SBC in 2024 on secondment from her role as Manager, Communications and Content for SBC member EECA (the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority). She is our acting Head of Communications & Events while Rebecca Lowe is on parental leave. Kate brings a wealth experience to the SBC team in strategic communications, PR, events and digital content – across both the private and public sector, with a focus on social sciences.

Kate is based in Wellington. For all communication queries, including the weekly Pānui newsletter, please contact [email protected].

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Manager – Thriving People

Robert manages the Thriving People portfolio. He champions business leadership and collective action that supports employee wellbeing, positively impacts communities and wider society, and puts people at the heart of our transition to a zero-carbon economy.

Robert has over 20 years’ experience providing strategic leadership on critical sustainability issues and their solutions in business, consultancy and public sector organisations in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

Originally from Liverpool, Robert is a passionate Liverpool FC fan, muso and fitness fanatic.

He is based in Auckland.

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Executive Assistant

Sally has joined the SBC team as Executive Assistant, managing administration and scheduling for our team of nine, as well as SBC’s Advisory Board.

Sally’s previous role was EA to the CEO at the Real Estate Authority.

She is based in Wellington.

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