Heather sits on the Audit and Risk Committee. Port Marlborough delivers financial, social and enviromental value for Marlborough through the operation of the region's port and marinas.Port business, infrastructure and operations facilitate some of Marlborough's most significant industries including recreational boating, forestry, aquaculture, fishing, marine farming and domestice and interanational tourism, including cruise.

The board comprises three practitioner directors and three independent directors.Financial Advice NZ is a professional membership organisation for financial advisersacross all areas of advice such as lending, risk/insurance, KiwiSaver, investment andfinancial planning. Financial Advice New Zealand works to benefit both the financialservices sector and the public, with the aim of promoting the value of financial advice,informing legislators and regulators, encouraging new talent into the sector and liftingstandards for the sector.

The Marlborough Chamber of Commerce is a not-for-profit business membership association which promotes, supports and encourages sustainable, profitable business growthfor businesses in the Marlborough Region by providing training, advice, information andnetworking opportunities.

Heather is Independent Chair of the SRC - a nine member council of technical energy sector experts. The function of the Security and Reliability Council is to provide independent advice to the Electricity Authority Board on the performance of the electricity system and the system operator (Transpower), and reliability of supply issues. The Council is a statutory requirement under the Electricity Act 2010.

Utilities Disputes Ltd (formerly Electricity and Gas Complaints Commissioner’sScheme) - Independent Chair since Jan 2014Utilities Disputes Ltd (UDL) provides free and independent complaint resolution servicesfor Utilities. Currently, UDL runs the Energy Scheme for electricity and gas complaintsunder the Electricity Industry Act 2010. UDL uses a wide range of dispute resolutiontechniques, including mediation and conciliation, in resolving complaints and allelectricity and gas companies have to be members of the Scheme. The role includeschairing all meetings of the 5-member Board, which has independent, industry andconsumer representation. It also involves regular meetings with provider companies,Government Ministers, MPs and officials. In 2016, the Chair was responsible for leadingthe organisation in transitioning to a company structure with the scope to take ondisputes resolution for other utilities.

Torquepoint's business is based on using techniques that have been proven in war to leverage your business to reach its potential. These include a comprehensive analysis of competitors and the environment, developing appropriate plans and, most importantly, testing those plans. The lessons learned from this provide a solid launch platform for achieving your organisational goals.Plan - TEST - PrevailOur most popular tool is the BUSINESS WAR GAME. Imagine a large room with several tables. You are sitting at one with your directors or senior executives. Except for one - your GM Strategy is at another table with a team that represents your toughest competitor. At other tables, the signs say customers, media, regulators and so on. There are 6 of you but between 20 and 40 of ‘them’.Over the next 12 hours, you are going to have your strategy tested to the max. Business War Games enable staff and plans to be developed and tested in challenging, simulated environments ranging from simple negotiations through to free-flowing, multi-player market simulations. We also use our simulation expertise to provide experiential learning programmes (‘ELPs) for teams and individuals on a range of subjects including political lobbying and cultural resilience.To find out more, you could also read our separate company page on the ‘Black Swans’ community.Torquepoint's innovative techniques tackle strategic planning fatigue and workforce disengagement. Our realistic scenarios disrupt conventional thinking and planning. They encourage the exploration of ideas that will gain creative leverage for your organisation. We’re the people to talk to if you’re frustrated in your attempts to implement a plan.

Black Swans is a member-based organisation that provides players exclusively for Torquepoint business war games (see our separate company page).The Black Swans provide the ‘market elements’ of the games in roles ranging from competitors to customers, media and government agencies. In Torquepoint business war games, the Black Swans explore and test our clients’ strategies to see if they have the resilience to withstand ‘Black Swan’ (i.e. rare and unpredictable) events. They also assist from time to time on our Experiential Learning Programmes (‘ELPs), where the learning requires some wild card players. Can you think of someone in your organisation that has done it all in terms of qualifications, courses and experience? What on earth do you do to develop them and where do self-employed specialists go to further their professional skills? Black Swans are these very people. They range from retired or semi-retired directors and senior executives through to self-employed experts in every imaginable field. They all have a few things in common. They have vast general knowledge and they’re great role players. Black Swans apply and are selected (or sometimes we shoulder-tap them) and they undergo a half-day induction ‘ELP to introduce them to swanning around. They sign a confidentiality agreement and are ready to fly.