Dr Ganesh Nana will take up the position from January 31, 2021 for a first term of five years.
Cabinet has agreed to the appointment of Dr Ganesh Nana to chair the Productivity Commission, after the current chair Murray Sherwin ends his term, Grant Robertson announced today.
Nana is the research director of BERL. He joined BERL (business and economic research) as its senior economist in 1998, becoming chief economist in 2010, before moving to his current role in 2019.
“Dr Nana’s appointment will bolster the commission’s efforts to deliver on the full breadth of its mandate,” Robertson said.
“I want to ensure the commission, like the government, looks beyond GDP to find its measures of success, and has the wellbeing of current and future generations of New Zealanders front of mind as it generates new knowledge and advice. I also want them to engage with a wide range of New Zealanders as they undertake their work.” Robertson also thanked Sherwin for his work leading the commission over the past decade.
Nana said: “Contributing to a transformation of the economic model and narrative towards one that values people and prioritises our role as kaitiaki o taonga is my kaupapa. This perspective sees the delivery of wellbeing across several dimensions as critical measures of success of any economic model.
“Stepping into the Productivity Commission after more than 20 years at BERL will be a wrench for me and a move to outside my comfort zone. However, this opportunity was not one I could ignore as the challenges facing 21st-century Aotearoa become ever more intense,” he said.
Nana will take up the position from January 31, 2021 for a first term of five years. He will step down from all formal duties at BERL but will remain a shareholder.
In order to avoid any actual or perceived conflicts of interest, the Productivity Commission would not enter into any contracts with BERL while Nana is a commissioner.
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