Standards Approval Board

The Standards Approval Board (SAB) is an independent statutory board, appointed by the Minister for Commerce and Consumer Affairs, set up under the Standards and Accreditation Act 2015.

Standards and Accreditation Act 2015 Section 11 (external link)

They are senior professionals who meet monthly and commit to a multi-year term. Rather than a traditional governance role, board members support Standards New Zealand’s robust development process with independent decision-making and checks and balances. Their functions include the appointment of standards development committee chairs and members, ensuring skills, knowledge, experience and sector representation. They also ensure due process has been followed in the development or revision of standards and ultimately approve the publication of new or revised standards.

The board members’ function provides one of the fundamental benefits of standards produced by Standards New Zealand, in ensuring standards are consensus built, avoid bias, undue commercial or vested interests or monopolies, have balanced representation on development committees, have undergone adequate consultation, and work for all those who use them.

Board members also bring their industry knowledge, expertise, networks and relationships to their role, to champion the value of standards and their contribution within New Zealand’s standards and conformance quality infrastructure.

Victoria MacLennan - Chairperson

Victoria MacLennan is a technology entrepreneur and champion of New Zealand digital innovation and growth and has been a ministerial advisor. An experienced CEO, managing director and chair, she has been actively involved in community engagement, supporting start-ups and chairing the charity Digital Future Aotearoa which provide free digital education with a focus on rural, Māori and Pacifica.

Victoria is passionate about growing great companies, raising digital literacy, growing New Zealand's economy, and brings an equity and inclusion lens championing equality for women. She has won numerous awards including a lifetime achievement award for her contribution to business and technology. Victoria's professional vision is to help change the face of the digital industry to collectively embrace manaakitanga, focus on diversity, create new pathways into the workforce, support reskilling and upskilling and help the digital technology industry solve large complex challenges like equity, sustainability and climate change.

Brian Watson - Member

Brian is an experienced business leader having held CEO and other senior leadership roles in New Zealand, Australia and Asia over the last 30 years. His science and management qualifications together with more than 40 years of experience in the science sector (including the global testing, inspection and certification (TIC) sector) give him an excellent understanding of the benefits and needs of standardisation.

He is an experienced company director and board chair and graduate director of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Member of the Institute of Directors in New Zealand who has had extensive Board interactions and held more than 12 directorships in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

Brian has a pragmatic and consultative approach which together with his knowledge and experience with science and technology has enabled him to find win-win solutions to complex business challenges and value diversity of thought. He is now a professional consultant, mentor and company director.

Susan Iversen - Member

Susan Iversen is the ex-director of Karo Data Management and has over 30 years of experience in digital health and data analytics. This included participation in the development of several health information standards.

Earlier in her career Susan trained as a civil engineer and worked in roles related to workplace health and safety.

Her board experience includes Age Concern Wellington Region (member and past president) and Hutt Union and Community Health Service and a representative of Healthcare Aotearoa on PHO Services Agreement Amendment Protocol.

Fa'asalele Simona Malo - Member

Fa'asalele Malo is of Samoan heritage and grew up in the community of Cannons Creek in Porirua, Wellington, which fostered his passion for providing culturally appropriate quality architecture.

He is a registered architect with 20 years' experience practising in Wellington, nationally and in the Pacific including Samoa, Fiji and Vanuatu. He is a co-director and co-owner of Malo Architecture Ltd, an architecture, design, project management, construction, and cultural consultancy based in Wellington, where he lives with his family.

Fa'asalele has public sector, construction and building compliance and quality assurance experience. He sits on a number of boards and leadership teams based locally and abroad, that have an ethnical approach for business, educational and leadership development, including Victoria University of Wellington’s Komiti Pasifika board.

Fiona van Petegem - Member

Fiona has spent over 20 years working in manufacturing and product development in New Zealand, China, the Netherlands and Germany both as a design and industrialisation engineer and in areas including lean management, effective process improvement, global product compliance, efficient product development, improved product safety & quality and risk assessment procedures.

Fiona is a mechanical engineer with a B.E (Hons) from Canterbury University and a M.B.A in International Industrial Management from Germany.

She has been part of AS/NZS and DIN (Deutsches Institut für Normung, the German Institute for Standardisation) standards committees and works with New Zealand manufacturers and other organisations looking to improve their practices to secure future resilience.

Richard Merrifield - Member

Richard is a building consultant based in Mahana, rural Nelson, undertaking project management and consulting work on housing projects. Richard is a Trade Qualified Builder and a Licensed Building Practitioner.

He is a former Deputy Chairman of the Building Practitioners Board and a former member of the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board.

Richard’s previous roles include, Director of the Building Research Association New Zealand and Chairman of the Building Research Advisory Council.

He is a Life Member and former Chairman of the New Zealand Certified Builders Association, he was a member of the Construction Strategy Group which has now been disestablished.

He was a member of the Minister of Building and Housing Task Force on productivity and the Building Act Review Advisory Group.