A snapshot of New Zealand's directorship landscape
The December 2025 results of our boardroom performance measurement service
There have been significant shifts this month on The Boardroom Table, as some directors leave the list due to board restructuring and the end of their cooling off period, and another contender emerges for the top spot. This highlights the dynamic nature of the boardroom landscape in New Zealand and how company changes, performance, and governance are reflected in the directors’ positions on the list.
Notably, Tony Batterton (Briscoes and Scales) has climbed to second place, overtaking John Strowger. Strong company performance and rising share prices for Briscoes and Scales has influenced this shift, as well as positive analyst sentiment for Scales1.
Meanwhile, after a turbulent half-year2, Rakon has undergone a major board restructure. This has resulted in the departure of their chairperson Lorraine Witten, who has subsequently been removed from the list. Keith Oliver left Rakon in November 2024, which brings him to the end of his cooling off period; The Boardroom Table continues to track company performance for year after a director’s departure to accurately measure their relative impact.
Supporting gut-feelings with data-driven evidence
To accompany the latest update, we’ve released a network graph of the December 2025 landscape. It illustrates the diverse and interconnected nature of board membership in New Zealand, representing the relationship between companies and their directors, while offering valuable insight into the intricate web of board memberships that connect the nation’s top publicly listed companies.
How The Boardroom Table NZX50 network graph works
This network graph shows the relationships between NZX50 companies qualifying for The Boardroom Table as of December 2025. Each line represents shared directors, with thicker lines showing more shared directors.
Pip Greenwood, as seen in BusinessDesk, is the current leader on The Boardroom Table and can be found at the top of the diagram between Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and The A2 Milk company. Whereas her contender, Tony Batteron, is closer to the heart of the network between Briscoes and Scales.
The graph also highlights “interlocking” where many boards share directors - Freightways and Auckland airport share Mark Cairns (positioned at 9) & Grant Devonport (positioned at 16), and Skellerup and Sanford share David Mair (positioned at 10) and John Strowger (positioned at 3).
The graph currently includes 41 NZX50 companies, which qualify for The Boardroom Table. To be included on The Boardroom Table, companies must be:
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Listed on the New Zealand Exchange (NZX)
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Publicly listed in New Zealand (dual listings are permitted)
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An equity instrument
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Actively engaged in business activities
Directors must hold two or more current public New Zealand company directorships, or, one current and one recent past directorship within the last 12 months to be included.
We allow for adequate "warm up" and "cool off" periods for a year either side of a director's tenure. If a director joined a company a day before it announced a drop in profits, this would only have a very small attribution to the director's impact. Similarly, if someone left a company the day before it announced great financial results, this would be linked to their performance.
About The Boardroom Table
The Boardroom Table is the first-of-its-kind service in New Zealand, powered by Datamine. It measures the relative impact a director has made to their company during their tenure. Sign up to receive the monthly results directly to your inbox, and let’s keep raising the bar for good governance.
About DATAMINE
Datamine has partnered with Australian and New Zealand companies for over 30 years to deliver data, analytics, and AI solutions that drive business growth.
We help business leaders get the most out of their data, diagnose their business challenges and opportunities, create efficiencies, and implement AI that delivers measurable ROI. We’re with our clients all the way from strategic mapping to technical implementation.
sources
2 Rakon narrows loss as more production moves to India, revenue jumps by a third - NZ Herald
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