Biographies

New Zealand Institute of International Affairs Whare Tawāhi-a-mahi i Aotearoa is governed by an eight-person national Board, seven of whom are elected by its members and an appointee from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The Board comprises skilled experts in international affairs, academia, finance and governance.

The 2026-2027 Board is as follows:

Chair, Dr Serena Kelly

Dr Serena Kelly is a senior lecturer in the Politics of the European Union at the University of Canterbury. She has been widely published and has featured in the media on EU issues. She also has a strong record of securing external funding and her current research includes European diplomacy, international political communication, and Europe’s relations, presence, impact in, and with, the Asia-Pacific. Serena was Chair of the NZIIA Christchurch Branch from 2017 – 2021. She is also Vice-President of the European Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand.

Vice Chair, Esther Guy-Meakin

Esther Guy-Meakin is Manager of Government Relations at Z Energy New Zealand. She was previously an Associate Partner with strategic communications and public relations firm, SenateSHJ, where she advised c-suite clients and board members on stakeholder engagement, reputation and government relations. As a member of the management team, she supports decisions and discussions around business strategy and planning, financial and business performance, business development, identifying and managing risk and people management.

Rosemary Banks

Rosemary Banks had a distinguished career with the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Most recently she concluded a second term as Ambassador to the United States in early 2026. She has served as Chair of the NZ-US Council and Director of the New Zealand Security Sector Professional Development Programme. Her career included overseas assignments as Ambassador to France and Portugal and Permanent Representative to the OECD (2010-2014) and Permanent Representative at the United Nations in New York (2005-2009).  Earlier Rosemary served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Canberra and in Honiara.

Karim Dickie

Karim Dickie is a Wellington-based public servant and a former Chair of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs’ Wellington Branch. He is the Executive Director of the Caribbean Council (NZ), an organisation with a focus on promoting diplomatic, cultural and economic relations between New Zealand and the Caribbean, and a Board Member of the Royal Commonwealth Society in Wellington. In June 2025 he completed serving two terms as the National President of the United Nations Association of New Zealand. He has worked across a range of Government departments and was the Executive Secretary and Protocol Assistant to the Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to New Zealand from 2016 to 2017. Karim studied at Victoria University of Wellington and Massey University, graduating from the former with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Dr Richard Grant 

Dr Richard Grant is immediate past Chair of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs and previous Chair of the Institute’s Hawkes Bay branch. He was the Executive Director of the Asia New Zealand Foundation from 2008 to 2012. Dr Grant had a distinguished diplomatic career over 40 years working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in the Pacific, Europe, Australia and Asia. He is a former New Zealand Ambassador in Bonn and Paris and a former High Commissioner in London and Singapore. He has also represented New Zealand at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and held other senior positions including Deputy Secretary for External Economic and Trade Policy. He was chair of the Arts Council of New Zealand from 2013 to 2017. Dr Grant was educated at Victoria University of Wellington and received his doctorate at the University of Clermont-Ferrand, France. In 1999 he was a Visiting Scholar at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and in 2004 was a Visiting Fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute, Oxford University.

Dr Julia Macdonald

Dr Julia Macdonald is Director of Research and Engagement at the Asia New Zealand Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation she held senior roles in government and academia. In government, Julia worked for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, leading work on New Zealand’s first National Security Strategy, and before that at the New Zealand Ministry of Defence. Julia was an Assistant Professor at University of Denver’s Korbel School of International Studies and held fellowships at Harvard University, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Andrew Wierzbicki

Andrew Wierzbicki had a 40 year career in the public service working on policy advice covering trade and economic issues including while on a posting to Washington DC, and defence and security issues as a senior manager in the Ministry of Defence. He is experienced in governance, financial oversight and strategic planning. He is an Honorary Vice President of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs and is a previous Chair of the New Zealand International Review Committee. As a longstanding member of the NZIIA Wellington Branch, Andrew served for a number of years on its Committee including as Treasurer. Andrew is a graduate in Law and Politics of Victoria University of Wellington.

Ben Eckman, appointee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Ben Eckman is Acting Divisional Manager - Strategy & Performance Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Manatū Aorere. He represents the Ministry on the NZIIA Board ex-officio. 

Officers appointed by the Board:

Catherine Grant Makokera, Executive Director

Catherine is an experienced international relations and economic diplomacy expert having worked in the public, private and academic sectors. She is currently the Executive Director of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. She has extensive experience as an international development consultant, heading teams of experts supporting a wide range of projects in the areas of trade and economics in Southern and Eastern Africa, the Pacific and New Zealand. Catherine was a diplomat for New Zealand for 10 years, posted in New York, Geneva and South Africa.  She participated in United Nations, International Labour Organisation and World Trade Organisation negotiations. She is a Research Associate of the Public Policy Institute at Auckland University. 

Rt Hon Sir Anand Satyanand, Patron

Rt Hon Sir Anand Satyanand has worked as a lawyer, Judge and Ombudsman and was New Zealand’s 19th Governor-General from 2006 until 2011. He is a past-President of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. His activities include patronage of community organisations, undertaking a programme of speaking to audiences in New Zealand and elsewhere; and holding a small number of offices. He was Chairman of the Commonwealth Foundation in London from 2013 to 2016, he is a Visiting Fellow at the Law School of the University of Auckland, and a Member of the International Advisory Committee of Transparency International.