Starship Foundation has appointed Joanna Simon as Chief Executive Officer after an executive search conducted by SEQEL Partners. Starship’s media release follows.

 “The Starship Foundation Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Joanna Simon has been appointed to the role of Starship Foundation Chief Executive and will take the helm in late November 2022.

Joanna (Jo), who lives in Auckland, is delighted to be joining the Starship Foundation excited by the opportunity to bring her skills to an organisation with a purpose-led focus on bringing better health and brighter futures to all children of Aotearoa.

Jo is a senior executive with more than 20 years’ experience working in service organisations both in Aotearoa New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

With a marketing, communications and business pedigree Jo has developed through her career into leadership roles, most recently as CEO of the New Zealand Law Society | Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa – the professional body governing barristers and solicitors in New Zealand. She was also previously COO of global law firm DLA Piper NZ.

Jo brings healthcare and charitable trust experience as a Director of Mercy Healthcare Ltd, Auckland where she gained insight into the challenges facing the healthcare sector, and is also a former member of the Board of Trustees of Auckland Art Gallery Foundation where she worked with the Board to develop a strategy for raising funds. 

Current Chief Executive Aisha Daji Punga will leave the role after a five-year tenure, during which she has made a significant contribution as a strategic change agent, leading growth in the organisation’s annual revenue from just under $10m per annum in 2017 to $23m in 2021.”