Former Comvita CEO Brett Hewlett is the new chair of Tauranga economic development agency Priority One.

Brett stepped down from his position at Comvita this year after ten years with the company.

New Priority One chair Brett Hewlett. Photo: Supplied.

'Brett brings strong entrepreneurial and business leadership skills to the organisation that will be important to shaping Priority One and our future direction,” says Priority One chief executive, Andrew Coker.

'He will complement current board members who have expertise across a range of industries that are a focus for us in growing the local economy.

'Brett also has a very strong sense of community, and this is reflected in his wider contribution to the Western Bay of Plenty sub-region.”

He holds significant international business development experience, including roles in emerging and developed markets such as the Middle East, the United Kingdom and Europe.

Director of US-based specialty medical device and pharmaceutical company Derma Sciences Inc, he is a member of the stakeholder advisory group of Callaghan Innovation and was recently appointed as a director of SeaDragon Ltd.

Brett has run his own strategy consulting company and has been an active angel investor, supporting start-up companies in New Zealand.

He replaces retiring chair Murray Denyer of Cooney Lees Morgan, who has not sought re-election after eight years on the board.

Brett says he's passionate about economic development for the region and delighted to have the opportunity to contribute to his local community.

Priority One's recent Annual General Meeting also saw two additional long standing board members retire, alongside Murray.

Glenn Keaney of KPMG has served on the board for 10 years, while Alister Jones of the University of Waikato was elected to the board in 2011.

'Murray has been a tremendous advocate for Priority One and its goals and we, as a team, really valued his contribution,” says Andrew.

'We knew that whatever opportunity or issue we raised with him would benefit from his considered thinking and input.

'As a board member, Glenn contributed his significant financial skills to the management of our monthly accounts and has been the longstanding chair of the audit committee. His well thought out input to our projects will be very much missed.

'We would also like to thank Alister for his contribution to the board over the last four years.

'One of his key achievements was working alongside a wide range of stakeholders to see our vision of establishing a tertiary and research campus in the city centre about to become a reality.”