Our Trust Board

Di and her husband Phil have one daughter Sophia, who attended St Margaret’s Year 8 after returning from Auckland back to their hometown.

Di has 13 years of experience in CEO positions leading publicly-listed retail companies, as an Executive Director of these companies and over 26 years in Senior Executive positions specialising in retail, design and marketing.

Di was elected Chair of the Trust Board in 2020 and brings a wealth of experience in commercial business management, strategy, and marketing. She is also a member of the Finance Committee.

Cindy graduated from Canterbury University with a First Class Honours degree in journalism and has spent the last 23 years in brand and advertising roles in London and Christchurch. Throughout her career, she has had a range of advertising agency and client-side marketing management positions across a spectrum of industries. Cindy currently owns and operates a strategic marketing consultancy, and is a Trustee on two not-for-profit boards.                

Cindy is married to Richard and has two daughters, one currently attending St Margaret’s, and one who graduated in 2022.

Cindy is the Board Representative on The St Margaret’s College Foundation.

Gareth is the director of Abdinor Employment Law Limited, where he provides specialist employment and information law advice to individuals and organisations, ranging from SMEs to multi-national businesses.

Gareth has extensive experience in the Education and Healthcare sectors, having acted for schools, educators, District Health Boards, medical practices and medical professionals in relation to dispute resolution, privacy and employment matters.

Gareth is active in leadership of the legal profession and was a long-standing member of the NZLS Canterbury/Westland Branch Employment Law Committee, a member of the New Zealand Law Society Canterbury/Westland Branch Council and was one of the founding members of the Legal Culture Committee.

Gareth is a LEADR trained mediator and AMINZ trained workplace investigator.

Gareth is married to Kate and their daughter attends St Margaret’s.

Tim is the CFO – NZ Contracting at Fulton Hogan where he oversees the financial management, strategy, procurement and commercial aspects for the company’s New Zealand operations.

He is a qualified Chartered Accountant with over 25 years of experience in New Zealand and internationally. He has developed his expertise in strategic planning, corporate finance, financial control, and audit within sectors including Civil Construction and Financial Services, as well as Public Practice. Tim’s proven track record in commercial and governance roles (including a previous school board) highlights his ability to deliver robust financial leadership, effective capital management, and navigate key stakeholder relationships. He is dedicated to contributing to St Margaret’s strategic planning and ongoing success through his financial acumen and strategic insight.

Tim is married to Jude and has two daughters currently attending St Margaret’s  He joined the Board at the start of 2024 and is chair of the Finance Committee.

Nicola has one daughter at St Margaret’s and a son who is about to start his high school journey. Nicola has had over 25 years experience in education in various schools in Christchurch and internationally. At the end of 2020 Nicola resigned from her Deputy Principal’s role to work full time as the Director of her own company.

Although Nicola has stepped away from working full time in a school, she continues to be passionate about teaching and learning. As a member of the Trust Board, Nicola uses her experience and knowledge as an educator to support St Margaret’s in the next stage of its strategic plan.

Nicola joined the Board in 2021 and is the Chair of the Compliance Committee, and is a Synod Representative on the Board for the Anglican Diocese.

Melanie is an Old Girl who is a past president of the Old Girls’ Association and served on the OGA committee between 2007 and 2016.

Melanie and her husband Hamish have a daughter, Alice, who will be a future St Margaret’s College student.

Melanie is a Chartered Professional Engineer specialising in civil/transport engineering and in her 25+ years working in consulting engineering companies has fulfilled technical and people leadership roles, leading successful teams. She is actively involved in national industry organisations to further the engineering profession.

Melanie is the Trust Board’s Old Girls’ Association representative and she is also a member of the Compliance Committee.

Tim is the Managing Director and Head of Investment Sales at CBRE Christchurch. He has 25 years of experience working in real estate. Tim has advised international and national corporate groups globally, running teams in London, Singapore, and New York.

He returned to New Zealand in 2011 to join CBRE based out of Wellington and relocated back to his hometown of Christchurch in 2016. Tim’s wife Victoria is a SMC Old Girl, and they have three fantastic children, Monty, Harry, and Tilly who is flourishing at St Margaret’s. Tim is a member of the Property Committee.

Ben is a Principal at Beca in Christchurch and has over 25 years’ experience working as an Infrastructure Engineer, where he manages the design and construction of a wide range of projects, principally in the water sector. Ben is passionate about sharing his experience and mentors a number of other engineers across New Zealand. His career has seen him working for four years in the UK before spending ten years in Cape Town, South Africa where he was involved in projects across the continent.

Originally from Christchurch, Ben returned in 2012 with his wife Kate and young family to help with the post-earthquake rebuild. He has a son studying at University of Canterbury and a daughter at St Margaret’s.

Richard and his wife Jo have two daughters at St Margaret’s.  Richard is the Chief Digital Officer (Pou Āpiha Matahiko) responsible for the strategy, delivery and execution of digital technology programmes at Auckland Airport.

Richard has over twenty years’  experience in senior technology leadership roles in large, complex, and high-profile environments that have made a significant contribution to Aotearoa, including Farmlands Co-op, New Zealand Rugby, Fairfax Media/Stuff and Tourism New Zealand.

Richard brings a strong connection to Te Ao Māori, and is also a trustee for the airport marae, Te Manukanuka o Hoturoa.