Oversight

Capital Markets Advisory Committee

The Capital Markets Advisory Committee (CMAC) provides independent perspectives and advice to the Treasury's Executive Leadership Team. The committee offers challenge to functions that effect financial outcomes related to debt management, export credit, treasury services and supporting functions. This includes; strategy and prioritisation, business performance, strategic and business risk management, control and compliance functions and assurance framework.

The committee will also consider appropriate strategic targets and key performance indicators for the Treasury's Capital Markets Directorate as well as monitoring and advising on the directorate's performance against them.

Current members of CMAC are: Leilani Frew (Chair), Michael Allen, Phillip Anderson, Debbie Birch, Martin Jones, and Linda Robertson.

 

Leilani Frew (Chair)

Leilani Frew is currently the Deputy Secretary of New Zealand Treasury Te Tai Ohanga, responsible for overseeing the management of the NZ Government's activities in Capital and Export Credit markets, infrastructure and urban growth investment and the performance of the Crown's entities and financial institutions.

With a career spanning over 25 years, Leilani has extensive global infrastructure and finance experience having held leadership roles in global investment banks, and in Australian commercial banking and the public sector. Leilani has held several board and advisory committee positions for organisations focussed on significant infrastructure investment and major project delivery. She is currently an Advisory Board Member of Infrastructure Partnerships Australia.

Leilani holds a Masters of Applied Finance from Macquarie University and a Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Engineering, both from Queensland University of Technology.

Leilani's contribution to the infrastructure industry was recognised by her peers in 2015 when she received the Women's Achievement in Infrastructure Award from Infrastructure Partnerships Australia.

 

Michael Allen

Michael has an extensive 25-year background in financial markets, sovereign debt and financial risk management. He has managed a number of large financial, corporate and financial services organisations in both the public and private sectors. Michael works for the Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance as the Director for Balance Sheet Management. Previously the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Office of Financial Management, Michael has also held senior management positions with the New South Wales Treasury Corporation and the Treasury Corporation of Victoria. In the private sector, Michael has held senior risk management and advisory roles with UBS Investment Bank, Ernst & Young Corporate Finance and Telstra.

Social capital is as important to Michael as financial capital and so in his (limited) spare time, is a director of Aussie Deaf Kids - a charity that supports children with a deafness disability.

Michael has a Bachelor of Economics and has completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

 

Phillip Anderson

Phillip is an independent consultant with over 30 years' experience in public debt management and market development. From 2002 to 2015 Phillip was Senior Manager of the Banking and Debt Management Department at the World Bank Treasury, where he led the advisory activities of the department in over 100 countries.

Prior to this, Phillip worked at the New Zealand Treasury and during a 17 year tenure held a number of front office and management positions, including Head of the New Zealand Debt Management Office (1997 -2002). During this time Phillip also made a significant contribution to the public debt management reforms implemented in the early 1990's.

Since 2016, Phillip has provided consultancy services to a range of organisations including; the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, non-profit organisations, and private companies.

Phillip has authored publications on a variety of topics including; reform implementation, institutional arrangements, asset-liability management, and debt in emerging market economies. He has master's degree in natural resource management from the University of Canterbury and is a member of the Panel of Experts of the World Bank's Debt Management Facility.

 

Debbie Birch

Debbie has over 30 years' experience in financial markets including global investment portfolios in Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Her governance experiences have been diverse but with a particular focus on economic development and long term sustainable wealth creation. She is a member of the Sustainable Finance Forum tasked with creating a roadmap for a financial system that values social and natural capital alongside financial capital.

She is a founder of a unique new private equity fund model for Māori/Iwi, Te Puia Tapapa Fund, which co-invests alongside institutional investors in unlisted NZ Companies looking for expansionary capital.

Debbie is a Chartered Member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors, a Registered Financial Adviser, a Member of the Institute of Financial Professional NZ Inc (INFINZ) and have a post-graduate certificate in Investment Analysis from Otago University.

 

Martin Jones

Martin Jones is an independent consultant and a Justice of the Peace, after 24 years' experience in trade credit insurance and 18 years in law. This included 18 years performing underwriting and senior management roles with Atradius, one of the world's largest private trade credit insurers.

Martin served as Atradius' in-market Country Manager in China (where he established Atradius' first office), Singapore and New Zealand until his retirement in January 2018. These roles included business planning and control, policy underwriting, marketing, stakeholder relationships and compliance controls.

Martin holds a number of degrees such as a Bachelors of Laws and Arts, Diplomas of Management Studies, International Trade, and Accounting and Finance. He is also a certified Better Business Case practitioner.

 

Linda Robertson

Linda has over 28 years' experience in financial markets working across the banking, corporate treasury and export credit fields. Her time in the banking sector has included positions in debt origination, capital markets, and risk management. She has also held treasurer roles at Meridian Energy and Contact Energy. As Group Treasurer for Meridian, Linda oversaw US private placements and transacted a number of export trade-finance deals.

Linda has held a number of Director roles since 1999; spanning a broad range of sectors and is currently a non-executive director at the NZ Local Government Funding Agency Ltd, Crown Irrigation Investments Ltd; and Dunedin City Holdings Ltd and its subsidiaries Dunedin City Treasury Ltd and Dunedin Stadium Property Ltd. Linda is a member of the Audit & Risk Committee for the Ministry of Social Development and Chairs the Audit and Risk Committee for Central Otago District Council. Linda is also Chair of Pacific Radiology Limited and Central Lakes Trust. Linda has recently been appointed the Treasury's Risk and Audit Committee (RaC). She has also previously been a member of the Treasury's Technical Advisory Committee (TAC).

Linda was recently recognised with a Distinguished Fellowship for her leading role within the Institute of Financial Professionals New Zealand (INFINZ) and for her efforts in advancing the skills amongst the treasury profession. She also a Certified Treasury Professional, a Fellow of Governance New Zealand; a Chartered Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Directors and a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.