Bruce Robertson
Nominated by Service Skills Institute Incorporated
Bruce was an establishment Trustee on HTT, briefly leaving before returning as Chair. He is one of New Zealand’s most experienced advocates who began interacting with Cabinet Ministers while in his early 20's. At that time, he was the Federated Farmers advocate for the arable and transport sectors. In 1995, he joined Hospitality New Zealand, leading a revival of the organisation, resulting in its growth from 700 members covering bars, to 3,200 members representing the breadth of the hospitality industry from cafés to luxury lodges. Bruce left his role as Chief Executive of Hospitality New Zealand after 20 successful years and now undertakes several governance and advisory roles across hospitality, gaming, tourism and industry training including being Chair of Service IQ and the Christchurch Casino.
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Chris Roberts
Nominated by the Tourism Industry Aotearoa (Hotel and Lodge Sector)
Chief Executive, Tourism Industry Aotearoa
Chris joined TIA as Chief Executive in July 2014. As the only membership association representing all sectors of our $24 billion tourism industry, TIA works to influence, inform and align the industry, including driving forward implementation of the Tourism 2025 growth strategy.
Previously Chris was a General Manager at Tourism New Zealand, with responsibility for government and stakeholder relations. He began his working life as a radio journalist. From senior editor roles at Radio New Zealand he moved to Parliament, which included working for the Minister of Tourism. His time in the Beehive was followed by a decade of senior corporate affairs roles in the energy sector before returning to tourism.
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