The main function of our board is to ensure the independence of the Banking Ombudsman and to make sure that we are well-run and effective.
Miriam Dean CNZM KC
Independent Chair - appointed June 2013
Miriam was the first female partner of law firm Russell McVeagh and the first female President of the New Zealand Bar Association. She has been involved in a number of government inquiries including chairing the Ministerial Inquiry into the Fonterra botulinum incident and leading the review of ACC’s dispute resolution processes. She was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 2004 and a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2011 for services to law and business.
Miriam has extensive governance experience. Current governance roles include director of Crown Infrastructure Partners, Otakaro Ltd and the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ).
Jon Duffy
Consumer representative - appointed September 2020
Jon is the Chief Executive of Consumer NZ. Jon has had a long career in the consumer protection field including roles as a Senior Investigator at the Commerce Commission, Head of Trust & Safety at Trade Me and Assistant Privacy Commissioner.
Jon is currently Deputy Chair of Netsafe and was previously Chair of the Consumer NZ Board.
Jon is a big fan of people getting a fair deal, whether it’s making sure marketing is straight up, how our data is being collected and used or looking at the impact what we buy has on our environment.
Jon speaks regularly on consumer issues and is increasingly interested in the convergence between privacy and consumer protection as well as how the high concentration of certain markets such as supermarkets and air travel in New Zealand affect consumers.
Kenina Court
Consumer representative - appointed February 2016
Kenina is a Chartered Accountant. Having worked in a number of industries including retail, import and wholesale, property, manufacturing and service, she has experience in a wide variety of different industries.
Antonia Watson
Banking representative - appointed April 2021
Antonia Watson is CEO of ANZ New Zealand. She has over 25 years’ experience in the professional services and financial services sector in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Australia and Hungary.
Prior to this she held roles as Managing Director of our Retail and Business Banking business and as Chief Financial Officer.
In her most recent role as MD Retail and Business Banking, Antonia was responsible for our network of retail branches, contact centres and banking specialists who take care of over two million consumer and small business customers.
Antonia joined ANZ from Morgan Stanley, where she was General Manager of their business services and technology centre in Budapest and held various Finance roles in Sydney and London. She qualified as a chartered accountant at KPMG.
She has a Bachelor of Commerce with Honours from the University of Otago, and is on the Board of ANZ NZ.
Steve Jurkovich
Banking representative - appointed April 2024
Steve joined Kiwibank in July 2018 as Chief Executive.
Steve graduated from Otago University with a Bachelor of Law and completed his MBA at the University of Sydney. With over 20 years of banking experience in Australia and New Zealand, Steve’s career to date has included senior and executive leadership positions with accountabilities across Retail, Corporate, Commercial and Rural Banking and Legal with New Zealand’s largest banks.
Steve is passionate about business and business leaders delivering performance through a purpose led approach and having some fun doing it.
Steve is also a founding trustee of the "Tania Dalton Foundation" whose purpose is to help young women achieve their epic potential.