Our senior leadership team
Our senior leadership team works collaboratively to set and guide our strategic direction.
On this page
Suzanne Stew, Acting Chief Executive
Suzanne Stew is the Acting Chief Executive of MBIE as of September 2025.
Prior to joining MBIE in 2019, Suzanne was the Deputy Secretary – Corporate and Governance at the Ministry of Justice for a period of 4 years.
Suzanne joined the public service in 2011 as General Manager Internal Partners at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, where she led the delivery of corporate support services. Prior to that, she held senior management roles spanning diverse functions at TelstraClear and Wrightson.
Suzanne is originally from the United Kingdom and worked for British Telecom and Sony before moving to New Zealand in 2001. She began her career as a product engineer and holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) Electronic and Microprocessor Engineering from Strathclyde University in Glasgow, and an MBA from Imperial College in London.
Suzanne is married to Simon and mum to Harry and given any opportunity will join in any singing or dancing.
Nic Blakeley, Deputy Secretary, Labour, Science and Enterprise
The Labour, Science and Enterprise group works with people, businesses, regions, and the science, innovation and education systems to help the country and New Zealanders to be successful.
Nic joined MBIE in July 2023 from the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) where he held Deputy Chief Executive roles since 2013 in Social Policy, Strategy and Insights and most recently Transformation.
Nic has also worked at Treasury in a range of policy areas, including a period as economic advisor to the Minister of Finance.
He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering and a Bachelor of Commerce in Economics from the University of Canterbury.
Richard Griffiths, Deputy Secretary, Corporate and Digital Shared Services
Richard was appointed as General Manager People and Culture for MBIE in June 2018 and became Deputy Secretary for Ngā Pou o te Taumaru (later named Corporate Services, Finance and Enablement) in May 2021 after acting for 10 months in the role. He is now Deputy Secretary for Corporate and Digital Shared Services, formed in December 2024.
Richard started his career as an Accountant and Financial Analyst before moving into organisational development, leadership and change roles.
Before joining MBIE, Richard spent 8 years at BNZ in a variety of roles and was a member of the Executive team. He has held senior HR roles at ASB, Fonterra and had over 8 years with Air New Zealand in a number of operations roles including Manager NZ Airports.
Richard has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Auckland.
Alison McDonald, Deputy Secretary, Immigration
Alison leads Immigration New Zealand, which provides stewardship of the immigration system to facilitate and protect New Zealand's interests. It aims to deliver outstanding immigration services, bringing the best people to New Zealand to make it prosper.
Alison brings a wealth of operational leadership experience from public service in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. She arrived in New Zealand in 2013 and spent 3 years at Te Kawa Mataaho (formerly the State Services Commission) where she was the Deputy Commissioner for Performance Improvement. She went on to become Director of the Customs 2020 transformation programme, before taking up the role of Deputy Chief Executive Services for Children and Families (South) at Oranga Tamariki in 2017.
Alison was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2008 for her work with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.
Robert Pigou, Deputy Secretary, Regional Development & Commercial Services
Robert is Deputy Secretary, Regional Development & Commercial Services which manages a number of Government funding initiatives.
Previously, Robert was Head of Investment Management at Provincial Development Unit (PDU), the team responsible for detailed assessments, analysis, and critiquing of all funding applications, and making recommendations to decision-makers.
Robert has extensive experience in the corporate finance and banking sectors both in New Zealand and Asia. He has held senior leadership roles at EY, AsiaPower Developments Limited and Lloyds Bank, The National Bank of New Zealand and Southpac.
He has more recently served in senior roles in the public sector, including as Deputy Secretary, Higher Courts at the Ministry of Justice and as General Manager, NZ Petroleum and Minerals at Ministry of Economic Development.
Robert has been a member of the Institute of Directors since 2016.
Melanie Porter, Deputy Secretary, Strategy and Assurance
Melanie Porter is the Deputy Secretary, Strategy and Assurance. Strategy and Assurance manages MBIE’s organisational strategy and strategic risks and provides assurance to the Chief Executive, holding a medium to long-term focus on organisational performance.
Melanie’s previous role was as Deputy Secretary, Strategic Policy and Programmes leading MBIE teams responsible for economic strategy, climate change advice, improving outcomes for Māori and Pasifika, and regulatory stewardship. She has had previous experience in corporate roles and previously led policy teams in competition, consumer, economic regulation and corporate governance at the Ministry of Economic Development.
Mel and her husband Tusi live in Wellington with their 3 children.
Paul Stocks, Deputy Secretary, Building, Resources and Markets
Paul leads our Building, Resources and Markets Group, which works is responsible for many of the regulatory systems that govern New Zealand’s markets including building, communications, competition, consumer and commercial, energy markets, financial markets, intellectual property, and petroleum and minerals.
The Group’s role supports a fair, competitive business environment and well-functioning telecommunications, building and construction and resources markets.
Before his current role, Paul was Deputy Secretary for our Labour, Science and Enterprise group, and as Deputy Director General at the Ministry for Primary Industries, responsible for Policy and Deputy Director General Strategy and Performance.
Paul has held a number of management roles at Treasury, with responsibility for areas including education, market interventions and tax policy. He also worked at the Ministry of Health and the New Zealand Planning Council.
Ingrid Bayliss, Acting Deputy Secretary, Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery
Ingrid Bayliss is Acting Deputy Secretary for Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery Group, which provides critical functions and services that support businesses, employees and consumers to operate successfully in the marketplace.
Ingrid has held several senior roles leading large-scale and complex regulatory and service delivery functions, including those involving compliance and enforcement, high volume service delivery, dispute resolution, quasi-judicial and statutory decision making and emergency management.
Ingrid’s substantive role is General Manager Building and Tenancy, Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery. Building and Tenancy provide critical functions and services to ensure people live and work in safe, healthy and durable homes and buildings.
Lesley McConnell, Chief Advisor to the Secretary
Lesley McConnell is the Chief Advisor to the Secretary. She has had a long career at MBIE, previously as the Head of the Office of the Deputy Secretary in the Building, Resource and Markets and in the Labour, Science and Enterprise group.
Lesley also served as Counsellor for Science and Innovation at the New Zealand Embassy in Washington DC, accredited to Canada, from 2008 to 2013. Since joining MBIE (and its predecessor agencies MSI and MoRST) in 2004, Lesley has worked across science funding and international teams, leading bilateral relationships, funding initiatives and serving as a Private Secretary.
Lesley has a Masters in Environmental Policy from Lincoln University, a Postgraduate Diploma in International Relations from Victoria University of Wellington, and a Bachelor of Science and Technology in Earth Sciences from the University of Waikato.
In this section I tēnei wāhanga
Chief Executive expenses disclosure
Expenses, gifts and hospitality expended by the Chief Executive.