Rachel Maidment has been appointed executive director.
The New Zealand China Council has appointed Rachel Maidment as its executive director.
A fluent Mandarin speaker, Maidment was previously consul general in Guangzhou, New Zealand’s senior government representative for Southern China. Maidment has also served in legal and policy roles for MFAT in Beijing, Taipei and New York.
Chairman Sir Don McKinnon says is a highly capable operator with over 10 years of experience advancing the bilateral relationship. “She is a skilled diplomat, networker and entrepreneur and these qualities will be a real asset to the work of the Council,” McKinnon said.
Maidment also has extensive private sector experience, previously founding a consultancy, which provided services and facilitated business opportunities for New Zealand companies, government agencies and Māori entities in Asia.
Maidment, of Ngati Kahungunu, has an LLB and science degree from the University of Auckland and studied Mandarin at the Australian Defence Force School of Languages and Taiwan National University.
The New Zealand China Council is a New Zealand-led, New Zealand-funded organisation which acts as a cross-sector, peak body for the New Zealand-China relationship. In December, a new governance and membership structure was introduced to improve the council’s operational effectiveness and enhance the diversity of its membership.
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