New CEO for Environmental Protection Authority

Lian Butcher has been appointed as the next chief executive of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). She joins the EPA from Greater Wellington Regional Council, where she was most recently group manager of the environment group. Previously, she was deputy director-general of partnerships and engagement at the Department of Conservation.

EPA chair Barry O’Neil said Butcher was an accomplished and experienced leader who brought a proven ability to lead complex organisations and work collaboratively with agencies and stakeholders to achieve results. "

Lian has led major programmes of change and has a strong track record in building high-performing organisational cultures in the public sector," he said. Originally from the United Kingdom, Butcher holds a Master of Science in Fisheries and Shellfish Biology and a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology from the University of North Wales. She began her career with the Environment Agency in Wales in 2001, working on the European Union’s Habitats Directive, before moving to New Zealand in 2010 to join the Ministry for the Environment.

She will transition into the chief executive role in June, formally beginning on July 1. She succeeds Dr Allan Freeth, who concludes nearly 11 years of service with the EPA in June. O’Neil said the board wanted to acknowledge Freeth’s “significant contribution” to public service and his leadership of the EPA during his tenure.

This included establishing new regulatory functions and implementing legislative changes, while ensuring decisions were grounded in robust, evidence-based processes. This is supplied content and not commissioned or paid for by NBR.