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Executive Director Simon Draper departing the Foundation

Published12.7.2023

Dame Fran Wilde, Chair of the Asia New Zealand Foundation Te Whītau Tūhono, has announced the forthcoming departure of current Executive Director Simon Draper.

Simon will be returning to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on 18 August

“On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I want to thank Simon for his stewardship of the Asia New Zealand Foundation during a period of considerable change over the last eight years,” Dame Fran said.

“Simon has led significant changes to the Foundation’s governance, programmes, media profile and external engagement with stakeholders, including a step change in the Foundation’s commitment to te ao Māori.” 
 
“The Foundation is a small but important part of New Zealand’s foreign policy engagement focussed on Asia, and its role has become more important in recent years,” Dame Fran said. 
 
"Simon Draper will return to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 18 August to take up a senior role, and we will start the recruitment of a new Executive Director in the coming days,” Dame Fran concluded. 
 

For more information, contact:   
Katie Howe  
Director Communications and Media     
Telephone: 64 4 470 8701   
Email: khowe@asianz.org.nz 

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