Careers Without Borders 2026

Selection of confirmed panelists

• More details about David Evans (MFAT)

  David Evans (MFAT)

  With a career spanning over two and half decades at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), David currently leads the Pacific Polynesia and French Pacific Division (PACPF). The Division has responsibility for New Zealand’s relationships with the Realm (Cooks Islands, Niue and Tokelau) as well as Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and the French Pacific. Prior to that, David headed up the Strategy and Performance Division responsible for strategic foreign policy assessments, and promoting strategic coherence and capability within the foreign ministry. David has had a range of leadership roles in New Zealand’s foreign service including Deputy Ambassador in Beijing, Deputy High Commissioner in London, and leading the China team in Wellington. His diplomatic experience also includes assignments in Shanghai, Taipei, and Geneva. David is an experienced international trade lawyer, and has played leading roles arguing trade disputes for New Zealand, as well as adjudicating four WTO disputes.

• More details about Wilson Chau (MFAT)

  Wilson Chau (MFAT)

  Wilson has had a 13-year career with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and is currently a Senior Policy Officer in MFAT’s Pacific Regional Division. Prior to that, Wilson completed two offshore postings to Greater China, including most recently as Deputy Consul-General in Shanghai, and his experience includes roles covering North Asia, APEC, trade and sustainability. He has also worked within the British High Commission in Wellington and ANZ Bank. Wilson is a Hong Kong-born New Zealander and speaks Cantonese and Mandarin. He graduated from the University of Auckland with honours in law, political studies and history. He is also a member of the Asia New Zealand Foundation’s Leadership Network and was previously involved with UN Youth.

• More details about Karishma Patel (MFAT)

  Karishma Patel (MFAT)

  Karishma Patel is a Senior Policy Officer with responsibility for services trade policy and negotiations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. She has recently returned from a diplomatic posting to Washington, DC. Karishma joined the Ministry in 2018 and has worked on issues relating to the US, China, and Brexit. She has been seconded to the US State Department and as a private secretary to the office of the Trade Minister. Karishma graduated from Victoria University of Wellington with a Master of International Relations, preceded by a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Linguistics.

• More details about Hayley Horan (Trade and Commerce)

  Hayley Horan (Trade and Commerce)

  As CEO of Business Central and Wellington Chamber of Commerce, Hayley Horan leads the organisations’s strategic direction, member engagement, and policy influence. Hayley is a seasoned executive with a demonstrated history of bringing together business, government, and education to build more connected and resilient regional economies. Hayley has extensive networks across the Business Central region and has a proven ability to build trusted relationships and push business forward. Prior to her appointment, Hayley held senior leadership roles at Microsoft and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), including as New Zealand Trade Commissioner to Singapore, where she supported Kiwi businesses to expand into international markets.

• More details about Dr Tracey Epps (Trade and Commerce)

  Dr Tracey Epps (Trade and Commerce)

  Tracey Epps is an international lawyer and policy consultant based in Wellington, specialising in international trade and investment law and policy. She has extensive experience across government, private practice and academia, including serving as New Zealand’s lead Legal Counsel for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations from 2010 to 2016 and heading the International Trade Law Practice at Chapman Tripp. Tracey advises governments and businesses on trade agreements, cross-border issues, fisheries, export controls and sanctions, and has also worked in the aerospace sector. She holds an LLM and SJD from the University of Toronto and a BA/LLB(Hons) from the University of Auckland, and regularly teaches International Trade Regulation at the University of Otago.

• More details about Fiona Acheson (Trade and Commerce)

  Fiona Acheson (Trade and Commerce)

  Fiona is the Director of the People and Partnerships team at Invest New Zealand, an autonomous crown entity established on 1 July 2025. She has responsibility for communications and media, legal, government relations, people, ministerial and government relations. She also provides support for the Invest New Zealand Board. Fiona has held a range of senior leadership positions in New Zealand and internationally, including as New Zealand Trade and Enterprise’s Regional Director Greater China leading a team of 70 working with New Zealand exporters into China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. She has also been the Trade Commissioner to Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei, and the Trade Commissioner to Guangzhou. She holds an Honours degree from Otago University in Anthropology and Psychology and a Diploma in Business from Massey University.

• More details about Todd Cleaver (International Development)

  Todd Cleaver (International Development)

  Todd Cleaver is an experienced manager, leader and strategist with a career spanning diplomacy, international humanitarian law and development assistance across the Balkans, the Pacific and Southeast Asia. His experience includes: • Executive Director, Council for International Development (current role) • Head of Organisational Strategy and Performance, MBIE • Head of Organisational Strategy and Planning, Te Puni Kōkiri • Acting High Commissioner (Fiji) and Deputy Head of Mission (Thailand/Myanmar), MFAT • Senior Advisor, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

• More details about Kirsty Burnett (International Development)

  Kirsty Burnett (International Development)

  Kirsty Burnett completed her university studies in the mid 1980s and started her career in the select committee office in Parliament, before heading to Cambodia in 1992 to work on their elections. The UN then offered her a role in Yemen where she lived for 3 years. While juggling a family, she worked for the UN in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan before returning to New Zealand in 2004. She joined NZAID, now MFAT and had a posting in the Solomon Islands. Kirsty has spent over a decade consulting and in 2022 established Future Partners ( https://futurepartners.co.nz/, an international development consultancy firm based in Wellington and working throughout the Pacific and parts of SE Asia. Her clients are MFAT, UN and regional agencies, partner governments, the private sector and NGOs.

• More details about Heather Hayden (International Development)

  Heather Hayden (International Development)

  Heather Hayden is currently on the boards of UNICEF New Zealand, the Council for International Development and Hearing NZ. She has recently stepped down as Chair of the Amnesty International Nominations Committee, following eight years on the board of Amnesty International Aotearoa NZ, four as chair. She has worked in India and Geneva, in international aid and in commercial roles. She has a Masters from Jamie Millia Islamia, India - the national Muslim university.

• More details about Chris Nixon (Defence and Security)

  Chris Nixon (Defence and Security)

  Chris Nixon graduated from Victoria University in 2018 with a Masters in Strategic Studies. After graduating, he worked at Oranga Tamariki for a short time before doing an internship in New York for MFAT. Following the internship, Chris began work at the Ministry of Defence in January 2020. He currently works in the Development Branch where he is responsible for developing policy advice for Ministers around which capabilities the New Zealand Defence Force should procure and operate, e.g., ships, vehicles, aircraft, weapons and information systems.

• More details about Tony Lynch (Defence and Security)

  Tony Lynch (Defence and Security)

  Tony Lynch has had a 40 year public service career, including as Deputy Secretary of Defence at the Ministry of Defence (2014-2019), DCE National Security at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (2019-2023); with the remainder of his career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, including postings to Canberra, Jakarta, Geneva and Bangkok, as well as a secondment to DPMC as Foreign Policy Advisor to then Prime Minister John Key. Tony has a Master of Arts degree in history from the University of Otago.

• More details about Dr Andi Zhou (Defence and Security)

  Dr Andi Zhou (Defence and Security)

  Andi Zhou is currently Lecturer of International Relations at Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington. His research examines the politics of interstate territorial conflict. Across the world, territorial disputes elicit intense public passions, even when the territory in question appears to hold little material value. Combining political science with insights from psychology and other disciplines, Andi seeks to understand why people care about territorial disputes and what it takes to resolve such conflicts. Previously, Andi was the Lightning Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania's Perry World House and an assistant professor of political science at the United States Naval Academy. Andi holds a PhD. from the Department of Government at Harvard University, succeeding a B.A. in Global Affairs from Yale University and an MPA from Princeton University.

• More details about National Assessments Bureau (Defence and Security)

  National Assessments Bureau (Defence and Security)

  The National Assessments Bureau (NAB) is New Zealand’s central, all-source assessments agency and part of the New Zealand Intelligence Community. The National Assessments Bureau provides independent and impartial assessments on events and developments relevant to New Zealand's national security and international relations. These assessments inform government decision making.