Board changes at AgResearch

Reynolds served nine years on the board, five of which were as chair. Kim Wallace has stepped into the role of acting board chair.

In other changes, Hone McGregor, chair of the governance group for the Our Land and Water National Science Challenge, and former B+LNZ chair Andrew Morrison join the AgResearch Board from this month. They replace Jackie Lloyd and Rukumoana Schaafhausen.

Reynolds is being celebrated as a tireless advocate for research and New Zealand’s primary industries.

“Paul leaves an impressive legacy of having successfully shepherded AgResearch through some difficult times, and times of significant change,” says AgResearch chief executive Sue Bidrose.

“Paul comes from a background in science himself and he has always stayed true to those roots as he has led the way in governance for us at AgResearch, and for other organisations.

“He has a deep understanding of the research and primary sectors, and he has worked hard to make sure that high quality research is recognised and to the fore in whatever we have done as an organisation.

“Coming out of a challenging time of proposed changes for our people and campuses across the country several years ago, and amid some tough financial conditions, Paul has guided the organisation as we modernised our facilities, including the successful delivery our fantastic new Tuhiraki facility at Lincoln.

“Paul has also led the organisation through various reviews of the science sector and the evolution of our organisational strategies and priorities to meet the changing needs of our Government shareholders, industry partners and New Zealand as a whole. As the Government progresses the current process to transform the science sector, we are now in a much better position as we move into those reforms,” says Bidrose.