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The Office of the Privacy Commissioner's Leadership Team is made up of:
John was appointed to the independent statutory position of Privacy Commissioner in February 2014 for a term of five years. He provides independent comment on significant personal information policies and issues. Prior to his appointment, John practiced law in Wellington for over 20 years specialising in information law while representing a wide range of public and private sector clients. He has acted in legal roles for the Ministry of Health, State Services Commission, Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet and Inland Revenue Department. For 15 years, he held a warrant as a district inspector for mental health and has also been a district inspector for intellectual disability services.
Joy Liddicoat, Assistant Commissioner - Policy and Operations
Joy joined the Office in January 2015. She is a lawyer and worked in her own law practice offering legal services to the public and private sectors for more than 20 years. Joy specialised in public law, including dispute resolution, privacy and human rights. From 2011 to 2014 Joy worked for the Association for Progressive Communications, a global network of civil society organisations advocating affordable access to a free and open internet and other aspects of technology-related human rights issues. She was a Commissioner with the Human Rights Commission from 2002-2010 and is currently Vice-President of InternetNZ.
Blair Stewart, Assistant Commissioner (Auckland)
Blair has been with the Office since its inception in 1993 after employment in private legal practice. He is responsible for the areas of law reform, codes of practice, international issues and special projects such as Commissioner Initiated Inquiries.
Gary has been with the Office as General Manager since 1997, and is based in Auckland. He manages all the Office's corporate service functions, such as HR, IT, finance, strategic and business planning and reporting and records management. He also oversees the administrative support for the Office's activities.
Annabel Fordham, Public Affairs Manager
Annabel joined the Office in September 1999 with a background in social science and law. She manages the public affairs, communications, publications and media work of the Office. She also oversees the e-learning and education functions.
Jane Foster, General Counsel
Jane joined the Office in December 2015. She was previously a Crown Counsel at the Crown Law Office, and is an experienced public lawyer with particular expertise in human rights. As General Counsel she is responsible for providing legal assurance and compliance advice to the Commissioner and legal representation on behalf of the Commissioner.
