Birchwood Team

Full Team shot

Birchwood Grower Nominees

Birchwood Grower Nominees (BGN) Commmittee, are a Limited Liability Company that growers contract with to supply their fruit to Zespri. BGN then negotiates with Birchwood Packhouse for the provision of packing, cooling, inventory management, financial management and other services. The main role of BGN is to ensure the fair distribution of pool funds to growers in a transparent manner.

BGN Committee: Grant Luscombe – Chairman, Mary Coles, Jim Cooper Judy Rapson, Hugh Topp, Steve Shirley, Robert Knyvett, Sonu Singh, Roanne Crone, Mark Nicholson, Hugh Morison, Jane Wordley & Geraldine Jaques.


Board of Directors

Birchwood has a board of 7 directors who provide an impressive combined knowledge of the kiwifruit industry. The board is required to be made up of one independent director, two directors from our investor shareholder DMS and four directors elected from grower shareholders.  Mark Tingey is the independent Chairman. Working alongside him are growers, Mark Nicholson, Grant Luscombe and Graeme Pickford, and from DMS Craig Greenlees and Derek Masters


Below are the members that make up our wonderful team
 

Phillippa Wright

Phillippa Wright

General Manager
We’re excited to welcome Phillippa into the Birchwood family as our new GM. Her experience many areas of the kiwifruit industry such as quality and compliance, HR and Health and Safety makes her a valuable asset to the team. When she’s not at work, Phillippa adores spending time with her two beautiful granddaughters.

Karen Roche

Karen Roche

Chief Financial Officer
Karen has an amazing eye for detail, and she needs it to deal with the work load that passes across her desk. She has a huge amount of industry knowledge and is super organized. Her greatest loves are her, and husband Andy’s grandchildren and a good round of golf.

Pete Staples

Pete Staples

Operations Manager
Pete is our newest addition to the Birchwood Team. He is always on the go, ready to share his wisdom and lend a hand were ever he is needed. With his Land Search & Rescue experience we know if ever we get lost Pete is the guy to call.

Ian Reedy

Ian Reedy

Grower Services Rep

Ian is a real people person. He always has a smile on his face and a cherry greeting. Ian is kept busy making sure our wonderful growers are all as happy as he is. If you see him on the road be sure to give him a wave.
 

Aaron Bowyer

Aaron Bowyer

Orchard Techincal Advisor
Aaron sets a high standard with everything he does. He is extremely organised and manages to make doing ten things at once look easy. Aaron is always looking to learn more, and takes every opportunity to expand his kiwifruit knowledge and skills. With a young family Aaron doesn't get much spare time but he always manges to to get in some gardening, fishing, underwater hockey .....

 

Natalie Russell

Natalie Russell

Quality Manager
We love Natalie because she is always so happy. She is super organised and keeps us on track with all our food safety compliances and red tape. Nat always has a very practical way of looking at any problem and floats calmly through her day at work.

Linda Beachen

Linda Beachen

Office Manager
Linda is the glue that keeps the Packhouse together, without her things would not run as smooth as they do. She is our go to person when we need to “down load”, our helpdesk for all things health and safety along with anything else we can think of.  We’re all nice to Linda – she pays the wages.

Michael Jacobs

Michael Jacobs

Coolstore Manager
Michael rules the coolstore and takes care of our inventory. He has dedicated a great chunk of his life to Birchwood and is our longest serving staff member. He knows every nook and cranny, and is always there when anyone needs a helping hand. Just listen for the beep of his forklift and you’ll find him.

Palei Tuuholoaki

Palei Tuuholoaki

Coolstore Operator

Palei has been a welcomed team member to Birchwood and the "Coolstore Crew".  He's Michaels right hand man. Don't let his quiet ways fool you. Palei is a man of action, give him a job and it's done before you know it. Being a gym junkie gives Palei more than enough energy to speed through the day.