NEC New Zealand appoints new Managing Director

Wellington, 31 March 2022

NEC New Zealand, a leading technology solutions and services provider, today announced the appointment of Mel Barber as its new Managing Director. Effective from 1 April, Mrs Barber will be responsible for leading NEC’s business and operations in New Zealand.

Mrs Barber brings more than 14 years of programme management expertise to the role.  Prior to her appointment as Managing Director, Mrs Barber spent 18 months in her role as General Manager Field Services for NEC New Zealand, where she led a number of successful projects, transforming engagement with key customers and stakeholders.

Before joining NEC New Zealand, Mrs Barber worked at Ventia – one of the largest essential infrastructure service providers in Australia and New Zealand – where she held a number of roles including Project Director – UFB2+. Her proven experience successfully managing large scale projects and complex teams makes Mrs Barber the ideal candidate to lead NEC New Zealand forward.

Mrs Barber takes over from Neille Bonner, who has led NEC New Zealand since November 2018.

Commenting on her appointment, Mrs Barber said, “I am excited to take on this role and will continue to build on the outstanding results already achieved by the team across New Zealand. I look forward driving the growth of NEC New Zealand, building on existing partnerships and securing new opportunities to deliver innovative solutions here in New Zealand. It is an honour to work with such a strong and passionate team as we continue leading the business into the future.”

Mrs Barber joins a growing number of female country leaders within NEC Corporation, which has continued its commitment to encourage and foster inclusion and diversity across its worldwide network.

Commenting on her appointment, Mike Mrdak, Board Chair and CEO – ANZ at NEC Australia said, “Mel brings a wealth of experience and depth of understanding to the MD role of our NZ business. Having led our customer field services business, she has transformed our engagement with key customers, managed a complex environment through the COVID-19 period, been a key part of the NZ executive and is well regarded by her peers. We look forward to her contribution in guiding and growing our business through this exciting period of change.”

About NEC New Zealand

Since originally supplying technology to New Zealand in the 1960s, NEC New Zealand has grown into a leading solutions and service provider of IT and network, telecommunication and identity solutions. With innovation at the heart of the organisation, NEC New Zealand’s commitment to quality, reliability and value has seen it through more than 50 years of innovation in New Zealand. NEC’s state-of-the-art technologies are backed by local technical expertise and are used in various creative applications to enhance the lives of the people in New Zealand every day, from connecting callers to sorting mail items, from providing timely updates via diverse digital signage networks to empowering law enforcement agencies with biometric technologies.