Executive leadership team members
Executive team profiles
Malcolm Nicolson - CEO
Born and raised on a farm in the small rural community of Warmbaths in South Africa, Malcolm immigrated to New Zealand with his family in 1996. They became New Zealand citizens in the Whare Runanga on the Waitangi Treaty Grounds on 1 January, 2000 in a special millennial ceremony.
Malcolm and Theresa have two children, aged 30 and 25 and await the birth of their second grandchild.
Strong family values and the quality of their home life are important to Malcolm and Theresa. They also place great importance on supporting and serving their community and this is reflected in their chosen careers.
Malcolm says, “I feel very fortunate that my role at the regional council allows me to contribute to the development of Northland. My wife, a qualified geneticist, retrained as a teacher for disabled children and now heads the Special Needs Department at Okaihau College.”
Malcolm and Theresa live at Hawkhill, near Kawakawa in the Bay of Islands area. They are preserving and conserving approximately two thirds of the 152 hectare farm with a view to developing an ecotourism venture as a retirement project.
Colin Dall - GM Regulatory Services
Colin has more than 30 years' experience in resource management and working at senior management roles. He has worked at the West Coast, Otago and Northland Regional Councils.
Colin has a BSc in Chemistry, Diploma of Agricultural Science and Master of Applied Science in Environmental Microbiology (essentially specialising in water quality).
He has appeared as an expert witness before both Environment and High Court judges, giving evidence in relation to resource consent applications and planning and enforcement matters, including prosecutions.
Colin also appeared before the Pike River Royal Commission to explain local government's role in the regulation of the mine.
He oversees the Regulatory group which includes coastal and environmental monitoring; consents; compliance; and resource management policy and planning.
Jonathan Gibbard - GM Strategy and Governance
Jonathan's background is in RMA Planning, with a Bachelor of Resource and Environmental Planning. His early roles at NRC saw him work on all council RMA planning documents including the development of the Regional Policy Statement.
His current role and previous role as Stakeholder Engagement Manager for New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals (MBIE) are more aligned with communications, engagement and governance.
Jonathan currently oversees the Strategy and Governance group which includes the following teams: governance; communications; online; strategy; Maori and cultural kaiarahi; and economic development (including liaison with Northland Inc).
Dave Tams - GM Corporate Excellence
Originally from the United Kingdom, Dave has lived and worked in New Zealand since 2010.
He started his working career as an infantry soldier and then moved in to human resources working in the UK for FTSE 100/250 companies as a Divisional HR Director.
Dave's key objectives are around change management, leadership, organisation development and continuous improvement.
He has an MSc in Human Resources Management and a Graduate Certificate in Organisational Coaching and Leadership, and he is a Fellow of the Institute of Personnel and Development in the UK.
Dave's team includes finance; information services and technology, including GIS and records management; health and safety; continuous improvement and human resources.
Bruce Howse - GM Environmental Services
Bruce has worked in a range of management positions and roles at the regional council and enjoys working for and with the people of Northland to achieve positive environmental outcomes for the region.
His expertise is in the management of natural resources and natural hazards. His qualifications include a BSc and MSc.
The Environmental Services team provides work programmes for the Northland Region specifically for biosecurity, biodiversity, land management, natural hazard management, river flood control management and hydrology.
