Stew Whitehead
Chair (UK)

Stew Whitehead is a kiwi expat, who grew up on a farm in rural Canterbury and subsequently went to school and University in Ōtautahi Christchurch, where he studied law and commerce. He now works for New Zealand based company, Oritain, in its London based office as Chief of Staff. He is a proud and passionate advocate for Ōtautahi, especially as it emerges as a resilient and modern world class city in light of many adversities the city and its people have faced.

Sam Martin
Board Member (UK)

Sam is a kiwi who was educated in Ōtautahi Christchurch, both for high school and university. He describes his time in the city as his “formative” years. Sam is co-owner of the distinguished landscape architectural practice Exterior Architecture Ltd who work across the UK and Europe working on the design of large-scale urban developments, town centre renewal and master planning. The company employs several kiwis. Sam lives in London with his wife and one of their children. Their eldest son is studying in Dunedin at the University of Otago and their eldest daughter is finishing Year 13 at school in Ōtautahi Christchurch.

Karen Pflug
Board Member (UK)

Karen moved from northern England to New Zealand to begin her working life. While in Ōtautahi Christchurch both her and her husband became kiwi citizens. Her career has primarily been in innovation and design, working for some of the biggest brands on the planet around the world. She returned to the UK and is the Chief Sustainability Officer at Ingka Group, a global data insight and business intelligence agency that is owned by the founders of IKEA. Karen lives in the Surrey Hills with her husband and two children. They look forward to bringing the kids to Christchurch in the near future.

Graham Dockrill
Board Member (NZ & UK)

Graham is an experienced entrepreneur within the digital and software industry, having founded and grown a number of companies over the past 20 years within the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

His most recent start-up, Citrus Tree Consulting, focuses on assisting Southern Hemisphere companies successfully expand into the Northern Hemisphere market, has found success globally with his clients extending to North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Graham splits his time between Christchurch and London and sits on a number of commercial and not-for-profit boards.

Amy Carter
Special Projects

A passionate Cantabrian Amy was thrilled to return to the not-for-profit sector when she was asked to establish The Christchurch Foundation. This role brings together all her skills, expertise, and passion with a focus to make Christchurch, Selwyn and Waimakariri better for future generations.

Amy has won global acclaim as an innovator in philanthropy, in particular for the community led approach of the Foundation post the March 2019 terror attacks. Additionally, the Foundation’s all-encompassing focus on impact has turned heads, and ruffled feathers.

For majority of her professional life, she was a consultant specialising in sustained strategic communications and stakeholder engagement. She predominantly worked in the areas of complex social change, large-scale infrastructure and construction projects, emergency response and disaster recovery. She advised central and local government as well as businesses and large not for profits.

Amy had held numerous directorships and regularly speaks about social issues and acting with purpose and impact. She and her husband have diverse interests in several Canterbury headquartered businesses.

Andrew Ellis
Ambassador

Andy is a Cantabrian growing up in Christchurch playing rugby for the Crusaders in Super Rugby, Canterbury in provincial rugby and the All Blacks, more recently he finished his second season with Rugby United New-York in the United States as scrumhalf.

Before Andy Ellis was an All Black, he was a landscape architecture student at Lincoln University. He put his degree on hold to play professional rugby but did gardening work on the side. He has never lost his passion for gardening and the environment. He has even competed in the Ellerslie International Flower Show and Singapore Garden Festival. He has a passion for ecology and native biodiversity and his parents and grandparents are horticulturists. Andy wrote a book “Kiwi Back Yard” with his friend and fellow landscape architect Danny Kamo, celebrating their love of the outdoors.

Andy is the Ambassador for the Green Philanthropy Fund but is also passionate about our work with sport as a means to address social issues.

Hon. Lianne Dalziel
Ambassador

Lianne is the Ambassador of our Kate Sheppard Women's fund.

Lianne was the Mayor of Christchurch for three terms and was elected in 2013 after serving for 23 years in the New Zealand Parliament where she held Ministerial roles.

Lianne has previously served as the Chair of the Canterbury Mayoral Forum, Chair of the Canterbury Joint Committee on Civil Defence and Emergency Management and as a member of Local Government New Zealand’s National Council.

Advocating for ethnic communities, and women are two areas of passion for Lianne. She was also the founder of The Christchurch Foundation in her role as Mayor of Christchurch and was a NZ board member until 2023.

Eli Matthewson
Ambassador

Eli Matthewson the Ambassador of the PRIDE Endowment Fund. Eli will be a familiar face to many having been involved with The Court Theatre as a Court Jester and appearing on television screens since 2013. He's appeared on Shortland Street, as a panellist on 7 days, and most recently he was the head writer of Have You Been Paying Attention. Eli wrote Golden Boy, and hosts an (almost) weekly podcast, The Male Gayz, with friend Chris Parker.

Eli is a leading voice in the modern New Zealand comedy scene and has earned accolades for his work nationally and globally. In 2021 he won the Fred Award for Best Show at the NZ International Comedy Festival.

Growing up gay in Christchurch was at times challenging for Eli. He hopes that through his ambassadorship that he can help support others in the queer community here to thrive.

Gemma McCaw
Ambassador

Gemma McCaw is the Ambassador for the Women in Sport Fund. Gemma represented New Zealand in Hockey at three Olympic Games and is a passionate advocate for the benefits of sport and active recreation.

McCaw, a mother of two young girls, said she was excited to be involved in the initiative that will help foster strong supportive relationships for women and girls involved in sport.

Gemma has a business working with women and girls to grow confidence and aspiration.

Mike McRoberts
Ambassador

Mike co-anchors TV3's flagship news programme Newshub Live at 6pm and has numerous industry awards for his work. He has played a critical role in sharing the stories of Ōtautahi Christchurch throughout his career.

While a resident of Auckland these days home is Ōtautahi Christchurch, as he grew up in the city and completed his education here.

Mike is the Ambassador of our Earthquake Memorial Fund but is also passionate about many other areas of our work.

Humphry Rolleston
Ambassador

Humphry is a Christchurch based businessman. His family company Asset Management Ltd owns businesses involved in the Security, Hydraulics, Tourism, Manufacturing and disruptive technology sectors. He is a fellow of the NZ Institute of Directors and the NZ Institute of Management.

Humphry was the founding chair of The Christchurch Foundation and remains involved in his capacity as an Ambassador. He is particularly passionate about education and leadership. As such is heavily involved in our Alexandra Shackleton project.