Our People. Our Difference
NZHL is all about personalised service and tailored advice - it's our people across New Zealand who make a difference.
Meet the NZHL Leadership Team backing our Mortgage Mentors.
Meet the NZHL Leadership Team backing our Mortgage Mentors.
Our Board
Chairperson
Richard Westlake
Richard has been a director and board chair for over 30 years, chairing various organisations across a wide range of sectors.
Besides NZHL, he is also chair of Crown Research Institute Scion (New Zealand Institute for Forest Research Ltd) and Hospice New Zealand | Te Kahu Pairuri o Aotearoa.
Previous chairing roles have included being Establishment Chair for two State-owned Enterprises; MetService and Quotable Value, chairing a former Industry Training Organisation, software and engineering consultancies, the NZ Telecommunications Forum, Standards New Zealand, and Canterbury Opera.
Richard was a founding independent director of Kiwibank Ltd and served as the World Bank/IFC’s nominee on the board of one of the largest banks in the Philippines.
Besides his governance roles, Richard runs one of New Zealand’s longest-established Governance Advisory businesses, Westlake Governance, which recently merged with an Australian firm, and he has been a lead facilitator for the Institute of Directors for 20 years.
Originally from the UK, Richard spent nearly 25 years in merchant banking and banking in New Zealand and Australia after obtaining his degree and a rowing ‘Blue’ at Oxford University, followed by an early career as a fast jet pilot in the Royal Air Force.
Deputy Chair
Monique Cairns
Monique is a widely accomplished Independent Director and Business Advisor who leads through change with creativity, positivity, and passion.
Managing a portfolio of governance roles along with a business advisory consultancy she founded, Caribou, Monique is driven by a desire for better business and better stakeholder outcomes, for a better tomorrow.
Currently an Independent Director and Deputy Chair of NZ Home Loans, the Independent Chair of 30 Seconds Group, and an Independent Director of Harmoney and Younity (Ingenium Group). She is also a Trustee of the NZ Portrait Gallery and a Committee Member of The Northern Club. A previous Director of Unitec NZ Limited, Manukau Institute of Technology Limited, DEC International, Lotto NZ, and SPCA Auckland, Monique has held leadership roles in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, The United Arab Emirates, and the United States.
Monique is passionate about helping organisations define and reach their vision and strategic goals, delivering a consistent customer experience, and enabling high-performing leaders and teams.
Independent Director
Kirsty Campbell
Kirsty is a professional director and commercial adviser who has held a range of roles in corporate finance, banking, law, and regulation.
She is chair of Mitchell Vranjes and an independent director of NZHL, Salt Funds, Toitū Envirocare, Ando Insurance, and Montana Group. She is also a member of the NZ Markets Disciplinary Tribunal.
Her previous roles include Public Trust (Board Member), Simplicity NZ (Independent Director), the Financial Markets Authority (Head of Supervision), and ANZ Corporate Banking (Senior Manager).
Kirsty is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors, an Accredited Investment Fiduciary®, a certified member of INFINZ, and a member of Global Women.
A proud Scotswoman, she has a Bachelor of Law (Hons) and a post-graduate Diploma in Legal Practice, from the University of Edinburgh.
Independent Director
Rob Smith
With over 35 years in the New Zealand retail sector, Rob began his career at Foodtown Supermarkets, ascending to General Manager of Operations. He later joined Countdown Foodmarkets as General Manager, achieving substantial year-over-year growth through the introduction of a new big box format and innovative marketing strategies, enhancing turnover and profitability.
At The Warehouse Group, Rob served as Group General Manager of Warehouse Stationery, pioneering online B2B operations alongside new store formats. As CEO of Paper Plus, he and his team strategically rebranded the company, solidifying its position as an industry leader and expanding its market share.
Currently focused on governance, he mentors others based on his experience, while also engaging in property development in central Otago and operating a restaurant in Wanaka.
Our Leadership Team
CEO
Kip Hanna
Kip (Ngāti Ranginui) is a financial services leader with over 25 years of experience in New Zealand and Asia Pacific.
He’s successfully led large – scaled banks in the Pacific and has a strong track record of growing businesses and building high-performing teams. Kip has deep retail and commercial banking customer and credit experience, governance, risk management, and leadership skills. He’s a hands-on leader with well-developed networks and a chartered accountant with financial advisory experience.
Kip lives in Auckland with his wife Jodi and 2 children Charlie (9) and Zoe (5). He enjoys golf, family time, sport, travel, and reading.
Kip’s Favourite NZHL value is Freedom champions – Kip joined NZHL with a strong belief in its value proposition of Financial Freedom, Faster. He’s passionate about financial inclusion, education and empowerment.
Email: [email protected]
Chief Financial Officer
Darren Lauese
Darren Lauese is the Chief Financial Officer for NZHL, with over 20 years experience in financial services. Darren is a qualified Chartered Accountant with a degree in Commercial Law and Finance, working with renowned international banking firms such as ABN AMRO, BNP Paribas & Merrill Lynch.
Darren was the finance lead – launching the (TVNZ on-demand) digital platform channel, and spent almost a decade in the advertising industry before returning to financial services.
Darren’s favourite NZHL value is Passionately Kiwi – witnessing NZHL adviser’s enthusiasm in helping their clients gain financial freedom left Darren feeling truly impressed with what NZHL has to offer.
Email: [email protected]
GM Franchise, Distribution & Marketing
Craig Wagstaff
Craig is a passionate senior leader with 20 years of experience in the financial services sector across partnerships, operations, sales, marketing, and strategy.
Previously Craig has held leadership roles with AIA and Sovereign and senior roles at Southern Cross Health Insurance, ANZ Wealth, OnePath, and Sentinel.
Craig has a Bachelor of Social Science, Psychology, and Management from the University of Waikato and is passionate about delivering excellent outcomes for customers and partners.
Craig’s favourite NZHL value is Financial Freedom, Faster – providing tools, support and personalised service is important to all Kiwis, knowing that someone cares and is there to support you on your home loan and Insurance journey is incredibly powerful!
Email: [email protected]
GM Product, Operations & Quality Assurance
Paul Barnes
Paul is no stranger to NZHL or financial services, having previously been an NZHL business owner and separately the managing director of a successful financial services business.
Paul believes NZHL’s value proposition of financial freedom, faster is what makes it so compelling, to clients but also to the fantastic and passionate people who work in the business to help clients achieve this.
It’s Paul’s job to help steer NZHL’s course towards operational excellence for our clients and our Business Owners – resulting in better client and network outcomes.
Paul is originally from New Plymouth, Taranaki; he and his partner Nicole have a son Maverick. He loves to travel, spend time with family and friends, and play the occasional round of golf (weather permitting in Wellington).
Paul’s favourite NZHL value is Freedom Champions – Helping Kiwis gain financial freedom enables financial wellness and opportunity for the greater societal good.
Email: [email protected]
Group GM People
Doris Murphy
Doris balances the HR goods on paper with personality and depth of understanding of what makes people and organisations tick.
Doris is no stranger to financial services having recently been Head of People & Culture Retail Banking at ASB, and prior to that held roles at Kiwibank, NZ Post and Westpac.
Doris brings with her knowledge and understanding of retail and franchise banking which she’s excited to use to help the NZHL network grow and prosper.
When’s she not leading the charge in the HR space, you’ll find her spending time with her family (special mention to Coco the Staffie), cooking and partaking in some of the fruits of her kitchen labours (plus red wine). When that’s done to excess you may find her walking the neighbourhood or paddling (SUP) on the harbour.
Doris believes NZHL is a pathway to success for both the businesses that make up the organisation and the clients who are part of NZHL.
Doris’s favourite NZHL value is Excellence Together – Doris believes in the power of a passionate diverse team all working together to deliver our purpose.
Email: [email protected]
GM Strategy
Michael Beattie
Michael is the GM of Strategy for NZHL with over 20 years experience in financial services across leadership roles in strategy, transformation delivery, and process and productivity improvement. Michaels’s role at NZHL involves driving the overall growth of the business and putting a strategic plan in place to achieve this.
Michael has 3 daughters, Sophie (14), Alexis (12) and Charlotte (10). He enjoys going on adventures, exploring new places, staying active, and playing games that make you think.
Michael’s favourite NZHL value is Freedom Champions – it resonates with Michael that NZHL finds new ways to make a difference in everyday Kiwi’s lives, not just accepting the status quo and always looking for better solutions to help clients become debt-free faster.
Email: [email protected]
Transformation Programme Lead
Tracey White
Tracey is a visionary people-centric leader, passionate about empowering people to embrace and commit to positive change.
She brings creativity, calm and solution-driven leadership to find clarity in the chaos typical of tricky business problems. Powered by a thirst for continuous growth and learning, Tracey proudly champions women in the transformation and technology space.
Tracey lives on a lifestyle block near Hamilton with her partner and their school-age son. Tracey enjoys gardening, cooking, Latin dancing, and adventures with her family.
Tracey’s favourite NZHL value is Excellence Together – let’s bring the best of ourselves to build a stronger team and create powerful results!
Email: [email protected]
In our own words.
Our local Mortgage Mentors share why they choose to work with NZHL, what it means to them, and what drives them each and every day.