Dr Alan Bollard CNZM, former Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, and before that Secretary to the Treasury, is to be the new Chairman of the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Trust, in place of Dr Keith Ovenden who is retiring at the end of the year. The Trustees of the New Zealand Portrait Gallery made this announcement following their meeting on 3 December. Dr Bollard will assume the role of Chairman on 1 January 2019. The Trustees are delighted that he has accepted the role.

Dr Bollard previously served as a Trustee of the Portrait Gallery from 26 October 2006 until 10 December 2012, when he resigned to take up the position of Executive Director of the APEC secretariat in Singapore. Dr Bollard has a PhD in Economics from the University of Auckland, and is the author of several books as well as being an accomplished water-colourist.

The Trustees are enormously grateful to Dr Ovenden for his very significant contribution to the Gallery over the past 13 years, the last six as Chairman of our Board. He has guided and overseen the Gallery’s transformation into a professional, highly regarded institution with a national profile and reputation, and will be greatly missed.