Trustees
Graham R Kennedy MNZM JP | Chairman
Graham moved to Ashburton from Dunedin in 1973 and joined the accounting firm of Brophy Knight Ltd and is an independent Director/Chairman or Trustee of a number of Private and Public entities including having been a Director of CBS Canterbury for 24 years and was Chairman from 2002 – 2008 a period that included mergers with both SMC Building Society and Loan and Building Society.
Graham has also been actively involved as a Trustee and Director for the Ashburton Aquatic Park Charitable Trust and the development of Lake Hood on the outskirts of Ashburton, one of the most significant developments to have taken place in Mid Canterbury. Graham was a founding Director of Heartland New Zealand Limited an NZX 50 listed entity and Heartland Bank Limited. He is also a trustee of the Heartland Charitable Trust, Tomorrow’s Skies Charitable Trust, and is a member of the Investment Advisory Committee of Advance Ashburton Community Foundation.
Graham is a Distinguished Fellow of the Institute of Directors, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, and has a BCom from Otago University. He has served as Council member of the Ashburton JP Association and as a member of the Canterbury Branch Committee of the Institute of Directors of New Zealand.
Married to Katie, they live at Lake Hood and have two married children, and four Grandchildren. Graham enjoys classic motor vehicles and motorsport, fly fishing, boating, golf, tramping and biking together with some international travel during his spare time.
Mitchell Bellew | Chartered Accountant
Mitch is a Chartered Accountant and was a Director of Ashburton based Chartered accounting business, Brophy Knight Ltd until 31 Dec 2021. He now acts as a Consultant to Brophy Knight. Prior to that Mitch attended Canterbury University obtaining a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Finance, Accounting and IT.
He still has a number of private company advisory board appointments, trusteeships and involvement in his own property investment businesses. Mitch was involved as financial controller to the Lake Hood development in Ashburton from 2008 until his retirement in 2021 and has a particular interest in the property sector.
Married to Angela, they have two young children – Josh and Olly and live at Lake Hood. Mitch enjoys all forms of outdoor recreation in his spare time.
Mary Ross | Registered Nurse & Farming Partner
Recently retired Director of Nursing and Clinical Services within the Ashburton & Rural Health Services and Chairman of the Board of Governors, Christ College, Christchurch. Mary is now fully immersed in farming at Westerfield.
Don McFarlane | MNZM JP
Don lives in Geraldine where he is actively involved in the local community. Don has had a number of directorships including Farmlands (Rural supplies cooperative); NZ Honey Coop; Duncan Ag machinery manufacturers; PSSC (Rest home operators) Hunter Downs Irrigation Co and Moeraki Investments Ltd. He is a past Federated Farmers SC President; a District Councillor and Chairman of Aoraki Regional Development.
Don, his wife Di, and son Hamish farm a 600 ha irrigated arable farm in the South Canterbury. Crops grown include Blackcurrants; Potatoes; Carrots; Vegetable seeds; Barley and grass seeds. Livestock carried are Dairy cows for replacements and wintering and also lamb finishing. Underground water is applied through pivots and travelling irrigators. Other family include son Jonathan, an engineer and daughter Kate, a social worker.
Don enjoys various sports; fishing, boating, reading and travel.