Management Team
Neil McKellar is Chief Executive and heads a group of six other managers:
Paul King
Anne Scragg
Derek Pullen
Stuart Ayres
Katrina Leather
Roshan Abeyesundere
Neil McKellar
Chief Executive
Neil has been Chief Executive since October 2000. His objective is to transform Dispute Resolution Services into the most client-focused dispute resolution company in New Zealand, with superior service that is in demand from a wide range of clients. His personal values are the company's values: customer focus, fairness, continuous improvement and business excellence.
Neil's background reflects his client focus and the company's purpose of 'helping people move forward'. Before he joined Dispute Resolution Services he consulted for many years to a wide range of private sector and government organisations in New Zealand and Australia, particularly in the oil and gas, steel, forestry, electricity, defence, health and insurance sectors.
Based in Christchurch, Neil spends personal time with family doing as much fishing, scuba diving and skiing as possible.
Paul King
Manager, Client and Business Development
Paul grew up and was educated in England. He has lived in New Zealand off and on since the early 1970s and is presently Dispute Resolution Services' Manager Client & Business Development
Paul has a background in manufacturing, consulting, advertising and university lecturing. He has been with the company since November 1999.
Paul lives with his wife on the Kapiti coast and enjoys playing Masters-grade soccer during winter weekends.
Anne Scragg
Manager, ACC
Anne graduated in law from Canterbury University and was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor in the 1970s. After working in private practice for some years, Anne returned to university to undertake further study in the arts. In 1986, she started work for ACC as a Review Officer and has conducted over 2000 reviews. Anne is interested in all aspects of medical law and ethics and, during the 1990s, chaired the Ethics Committee of the Southern Regional Health Authority.
Between 1999 and 2001, Anne completed a Graduate Diploma in Business Studies (Dispute Resolution), specialising in mediation, through Massey University. She is an Associate of the Arbitrators' and Mediators' Institute of New Zealand and on the AMINZ panel of mediators. She is also an AMINZ Council member.
Anne is currently our ACC Manager. She has previously been our Mediation Manager, and is one of the company's front-line mediators. In her spare time, she enjoys drama, music and reading.
Derek Pullen
Manager, Telecommunications Dispute Resolution Services
Derek is our TDR Manager, overseeing all of the company's Telecommunication Dispute Resolution (TDR) service and delivery. The TDR service was established late in 2007, and is managed by DRSL. Derek has been with the company since 1999. For more information about TDR, please go to: www.tdr.org.nz.
Derek holds BA and LLB degrees. He is a Barrister and Solicitor and an associate member of the Arbitrators' and Mediators' Institute of New Zealand. He has many years' experience in legal practice and has also spent some time teaching at a university.
Derek hails from South Africa and has been in New Zealand since 1994. He lives with his wife and two children. He swims to keep fit but is otherwise an enthusiastic armchair sportsman.
Stuart Ayres
Manager, Financial Dispute Resolution Services
Stuart manages the Financial Dispute Resolution Scheme (http://www.fdr.org.nz/). Stuart has an extensive career within the finance sector as well as business and consulting experience in other fields. His finance sector experience includes management roles in UDC and ANZ. He established a successful mortgage broking business and was involved in the establishment and development of the New Zealand Mortgage Brokers Association over several years.
Stuart is a very active member of Rotary in Kapiti.
Katrina Leather
Manager, HR
PGDip (Psychology), BBus (Employment Relations), BApSc (Psychology), DipOrgPsych, DipMgt, MHRINZ, MNZIM
Katrina is our Manager Human Resources, following a career in senior executive, advisory, administration and recruitment roles in the private and public sector. She has also held the role of Corporate Services Manager within our company during a transition period of one year, where she managed the finance, information technology, and facilities operations in addition to Human Resources.
Katrina has hands-on experience across the full range of HR activity including strategy, policy and procedure and systems development.
Katrina is presently on the Wellington Branch Committee of the Human Resources Institute of NZ, where she holds the position of Branch Planner, and is on the NZIM Young Professionals Network Committee. She won the 2008/09 HRINZ Young Practitioner of the Year Award for the Wellington Region and was a regional finalist for the NZIM Young Executive of the Year Award in 2010.
Katrina divides her time between Wellington and the Wairarapa, where she is renovating an old villa on weekends. When time allows she enjoys reading, gardening, art and astronomy.
Roshan Abeyesundere
Chief Financial Officer
Roshan joined DRSL in 2009 from a background of financial planning and reporting, commercial projects identification and implementation, relationship and risk management activity. As Chief Financial Officer he is responsible for DRSL Finance and Support Services. Roshan has strong background in financial planning, reporting, programme and stakeholder management, contract implementation and risk management. He worked for New Zealand Post for ten years.
Roshan is from Sri Lanka and has lived in New Zealand since 1996. He has held many senior financial and commercial roles and is passionate about best practice organisations.
Roshan has an MBA from Victoria University and is a Member of Chartered Management Accountants and Chartered Marketing Institute, UK.