Career Experience

Ross graduated with a First Class Honours degree in English Literature from the University of Canterbury in 1971, and shortly after accepted a position in The Treasury in Wellington. His varied experiences during his Public Service career include time in Ministerial offices as Private Secretary/ Research Assistant/ Chief of Staff; coordinating Budgets for the Minister of Finance; diplomatic experience overseas (in Washington and London); senior management roles in Government departments and the leadership of several major change projects in the State sector.

This experience culminated in his appointment as the Deputy State Services Commissioner in 1993—in effect, the Deputy Head of the Public Service.

Since the conclusion of his term of office in September 2001, Ross has begun a new career as a company director, and as a consultant specialising in public sector management and governance. He is often asked by Chief Executives to undertake independent reviews of, or to provide ‘second opinion’ advice on, complex management problems.

Expertise

Ross is an experienced board member and organisational strategist. He is Chairman of the Crown Health Financing Agency, a Crown entity that finances the capital development projects of the District Health Boards in New Zealand. He provides independent advice to Boards on improvements to governance arrangements, and mentoring advice to chief executives in the State sector. He is currently engaged by private sector companies as adviser on building closer relationships with the Government in order to advance their business objectives.

Ross has until recently been a director of, and remains as an adviser to MedTech Global Ltd, a New Zealand company that specializes in software for the primary health sector.

Ross has designed and facilitated strategic planning processes in a range of organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors. He recently completed the development of a new national strategy for the museums and art galleries of New Zealand and is now advising the sector on its implementation.

Ross has developed particular expertise in audit and risk management advice.

In 2006 he completed a four year term as the Chair of the Audit Committee for the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and remains as a member of the Audit and Risk Management Committee for the Auditor General.

He also chairs the Audit Committee for the Education Review Office and is a member of the Risk Management Committee for the Legal Services Agency.

In 2004 he was appointed as an Honorary Fellow at the School of Government at Victoria University of Wellington.

Ross also contributes his time and skills in a number of voluntary roles. He is President of the Institute of Public Administration New Zealand (IPANZ), Chairman of the St Peters (Wellington) Endowment Fund Trust Board and a member of the Trust Board of the Footnote Dance Company.