Penny is the General Manager of Customer and Corporate Relations at MainPower New Zealand, and has been an Aviva board member since December 2021. An experienced senior executive, Penny is passionate about using her skillset to support and enable communities to achieve positive inter-generational change.

Specialising in customer and client experience, Penny is driven to seek opportunities for improvement whilst also drawing from her expertise in communications and marketing. Penny is a member of the Institute of Directors and the New Zealand Technology Marketers Executive Council.

Ekant is a Professor of Marketing and the Associate Dean of Postgraduate Research at Te Whare Wananga o Waitaha | The University of Canterbury. His work looks at understanding how people, cultures, markets, and relationships can all play a role in driving pro-social change and community wellbeing.

Through his work he has partnered with various organisations both in Aotearoa New Zealand and globally, such as the World Health Organisation, UN, Ministry of Education, CCC, Aviva, Te Whatu Ora, and the Māia Health Foundation. His work has been published in numerous international journals and enabled him to use his platform to strive for wellbeing and equity in all spaces.

Ekant is a multi-award-winning teacher and researcher; a loving husband and father; an average photographer, and a poor, but passionate, singer.

Alana works across for-purpose and health organisations, supporting strategy, operations, and delivery, and joined the Aviva Board in 2024. She is known as a practical, down-to-earth advisor who brings a strong focus on aligning purpose, people, and performance.

Her work centres on helping organisations deliver strategy in a way that is clear, achievable, and grounded in day-to-day operations. She brings particular strength in connecting governance, stakeholder engagement, and execution, alongside experience supporting sustainable funding, partnerships, and revenue growth.

Alana is committed to supporting Aviva’s ongoing mission of an Aotearoa free from violence.

Hayley brings a passion for workplace culture and leadership to the Aviva board. As the founder of Culture Collab, an HR Consultancy in North Canterbury and Christchurch, Hayley partners with businesses to cultivate inclusive, high-performing workplaces through tailored workshops and consultancy.

With expertise in organisational values, recruitment strategies, and team dynamics, Hayley is committed to supporting Aviva’s critical work in creating safe, thriving families and communities.

A New Zealand born Samoan, Matt is an internationally acclaimed barber and hair artist, communicator, husband, and father of three children known for ‘giving great cuts’ and ‘inspiring great men.’ He is a survivor of family violence and childhood sexual abuse and shares his story with the men who frequent his busy Christchurch and Palmerston North barbershops, My Fathers Barbers, as a way to foster vulnerability, healing, and connection. He has facilitated a barbering program inside Christchurch Men’s Prison, Te Puna Wai O Tuhinapo, a Christchurch youth justice facility and continues to work alongside Corrections NZ.

Matt started his business with a simple set up in a garden shed in Aranui, Christchurch; and as his talent and client list steadily grew, he gained an engaged following on social media, which he now uses to share messages of inspiration and overcoming. Matt’s barbering skills and dedication to reviving the craft of barbering have seen him teach and demonstrate all over the world. He’s cut everyone from All Blacks to the Wu Tang Clan; but his true calling, he believes, lies in his work to redefine society’s view of masculinity and to help end the cycle of domestic violence affecting whānau all over New Zealand. In 2018, Matt partnered with the Ministry of Social Development as an ambassador for their ‘It's not OK Campaign’ to increase awareness about the role of barbers in creating safe spaces that allow men to talk. He sees the barbershop as a ‘cornerstone of the community’ and barber chairs a safe place for men to change not only their looks, but their lives. Matt is a proud ambassador and supporter for the work of Aviva. In collaboration with us, Matt hosts a men’s anti-violence support group from his barbershop.

Matt co-founded She Is Not Your Rehab with his wife Sarah and launched the concept in his 2019 TEDx talk. He says the movement is simply an invitation for men to acknowledge their own childhood trauma and to take responsibility for their healing so that they can transform their pain instead of transmitting it on those around them.

A New Zealand Māori (Ngāpuhi) wāhine, Sarah is a celebrant, writer and the communications manager of My Fathers Barbers and She Is Not Your Rehab. She is passionate about their mandate of ‘creating violence free communities’ and has worked alongside Matt since his brand began. Her focus has been to build the engagement with their following and clientele and bring their community along on the journey of the social projects they are committed to as a family business.

Previously, Sarah was a newspaper and magazine columnist, the National Events Manager for TEAR Fund, a NZ aid and development organisation and co-founded A Reason To S.M.I.L.E; a non-for-profit organisation that supported single mothers with free community events and provided a mentoring support programme for teen parents.

The couple are happiest together when with their children and whānau, being creatively inspired and travelling. They look forward to launching their first book and continuing to encourage men collectively to heal.

Jane Cartwright was appointed CEO Aviva March 2026. Holding a Bachelor of Science, a Post Graduate Diploma in Science (Human Nutrition), an MBA from the University of Otago, and an NZ Dietetic Registration, Jane brings a plethora of experience working with communities and people from all walks of life. She takes a systems and integrated approach to working with, leading and supporting health and disability services.
Jane holds directorships, trustee, and committee member responsibilities across a variety of health organisations and also Chairs the Nurse Maude Association & Brackenridge Services Ltd. She has substantial governance and operational experience and is a Chartered Fellow of the NZ Institute of Directors, Jane was awarded the MNZM for health governance in 2024.

Gwenda joined Aviva in July 2017 as Operations Manager, leading a large team of practitioners supporting people affected by family and sexual violence across Christchurch, North Canterbury, Selwyn and Mid Canterbury. Following the resignation of the CEO, Aviva’s Board adopted a new co-leadership model, and in 2020 Gwenda stepped into the role of General Manager - Operations. When her co-leader stepped down in October 2025, Gwenda served as Interim General Manager until a new CEO was appointed in March 2026. She now works as Principal Clinical Advisor for Aviva and the Canterbury Whānau Safety Service [CWSS] Integrated Safety Response (ISR) collaboration lead.

Gwenda is deeply committed to ensuring both staff and clients are well supported. She is passionate about equipping services to deliver high-quality, responsive support while fostering a safe, trusting and empowering environment for her team. With more than 20 years' experience in the social services sector, Gwenda has managed a wide range of programmes and services. Her frontline social work experience spans supporting tamariki, adults, whānau and individuals facing a variety of challenges, including intensive work with people transitioning back into the community following release from prison.

Gwenda, her husband and their tamariki spent a year serving as missionaries in the Kingdom of Tonga. She holds a Bachelor of Social Work in Bicultural Practice from Te Wānanga o Aotearoa and, over the past 15 years, has had the privilege of reconnecting with her Māori whakapapa through her biological father. Her iwi is Te Aupōuri and Ngāpuhi. These experiences have strengthened her commitment to equity, inclusion and ensuring that people of all cultures and backgrounds have opportunities to achieve wellbeing and live free from injustice and discrimination. Gwenda completed the University of Canterbury's MBA Leading Collaborative Partnerships programme, gaining valuable insights into both the challenges and opportunities of collaborative approaches to creating positive change.