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Christopher Ellis

a memberLabourFormer NZX Director
Current Agency
WorkSafe NZ

Professional Background

Updated 2 Mar 2026

Independent Director appointed September 2017

Appointed a director on 29 September 2017, Chris' background spans the manufacturing, heavy construction and engineering sectors. He qualified with a civil engineering degree from the University of Canterbury, a Master of Science in civil engineering from Stanford University and more recently a senior executive program at Wharton Business School. He is an experienced, strategy-focussed director with an extensive career in the Australasian building industry. He has held CEO roles with Brightwater Group and at Fletcher Building where he was Chief Executive of the Building Products Division. Chris' directorships include Hiway Group and Horizon Energy Group, he is Independent Chair at Oxcon CLL Ltd and is Advisory Chair of John Fillmore Contracting Limited.

Education

BE (Civil Engineering), MS (Civil Engineering), Senior Executive Program

Qualifications

None listed

Sectors

Materials

Public Sector Roles

Board MemberCurrent
WorkSafe NZ
Appointed by:Labour

2019-07-01 – Present

Note: The appointing party indicates which government made the appointment, not the individual's personal political affiliation or voting preferences.

Cross-Sector Roles

NZX Directorships (2)

View on NZXplorer

Crown Entity Roles (4)

  • a member
    Current
  • a member
    WorkSafe NZ
    Current
  • Board Member
    WorkSafe NZ
  • members of the WorkSafe New Zealand Board for terms of two years commencing on 30 May 2016 and expiring on 29 May 2018; and reappointed Paula Rose

Cross-Sector Roles

NZX Roles(2)

  • Independent Director at Steel & Tube Holdings LimitedCurrent
  • Independent Director at Steel & Tube Holdings LimitedCurrent
View on NZXplorer

Data Sources