Current AUOA Board of Directors
Jonathon Wong
President, (BCom (Hons) 2005, MBA, 2010)
Jono is based in the San Francisco Bay Area and is a Managing Director at Google where he oversees global strategy & operations for Platforms & Devices Partnerships. Jono began his professional career at Deloitte Consulting’s Strategy & Operations practice in Wellington before joining the firm’s US practice where he advised multi-national organizations in the areas of corporate strategy and mergers & acquisitions. In 2011 Jono was appointed to Deloitte’s Center for the Edge - the firm’s global technology think tank based in California as a research fellow. In 2012, Jono co-founded a seed-funded startup in San Francisco where he managed technical development of mobile and web products, before joining Google’s business strategy & operations group in late 2013.
Jono holds a Bachelor of Commerce with Honors (1st class) from the University of Otago and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
jono@otagoalumni.us
John Crowe
Treasurer, (BCom (Hons), 1992, LLB 1993)
After graduating, John joined The Treasury before moving to London and the start of several different financial services roles which included a transfer to New York with JPMorgan. Today, John leads an Americas financial reporting team at Morgan Stanley. He is a Chartered Accountant.
john@otagoalumni.us
Jacinta Calverley
Secretary, (BA, 1980, PgDipArts, 1981)
With a career in business and corporate HR and organisation development, Jacinta has been a trustee of the Fletcher Challenge Trust; chair of the NZ Employment Equity Trust; director of Enterprise New Zealand; chief judge of the NZ Young Enterprise Awards; and director of Netball New Zealand. She moved to the US in 2000 and was the International Netball Federation’s mediator for the US national representation issue 2008 to 2010.
jacinta@otagoalumni.us
Dr Andrew Hamer
(MB ChB, 1985)
Based in New York City, Andrew is Chief Medical Officer and Head of R&D at Cardiol Therapeutics, a Toronto-based biotech company focused on anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic therapies for the treatment of heart disease. Prior to joining the biotech/pharma industry in 2013, Andrew had a 20-year career as a cardiologist and clinical researcher. He is a past chair of the Cardiac Society, the National Cardiac Surgery Network, and New Zealand Cardiac Network.
Phil Graham
(BSc (Hons), 1983, PhD, 1989)
Dr. Graham has over 30 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience, having led development-stage programs across a range of therapeutic areas. He is currently SVP and Chief Development Officer at Avilar Therapeutics, working to develop a new class of extracellular protein degraders. Prior to Avilar, Dr. Graham held leadership positions at Sojournix, Concert Pharmaceuticals, and EPIX Pharmaceuticals. He holds a B.S. (honors) from the University of Otago, a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has authored more than 20 peer-reviewed publications.
Catherine Shyer
(BSc, 1976)
After graduating, Catherine held management positions at AC Nielsen, including a two-year international assignment in Toronto, Canada. She returned to New Zealand in 1990 and was appointed Managing Director of AC Nielsen New Zealand. She relocated to the US in 1993 and is now a commissioner on the Salisbury, Connecticut Planning and Zoning Commission.
Juliet Preston
(BA, 2011)
Based in San Diego, Juliet has spent 10+ years in the United States helping to communicate the value of scientific advances, ranging from foundational research tools to drug development and commercialization. She is currently Group Director of Content at CG Life, a life science and healthcare communications firm. Prior to this, Juliet served as the national biotech/pharma reporter for MedCity News, an industry trade publication. A former Selwynite, she graduated from Otago in 2011.
Craig Marris
Craig Marris is a co-founder of Coretex, a telematics company acquired by EROAD in 2021. Originally from New Zealand, he has been based in the United States since 2006, when he launched the company's North American Operations. Craig was also instrumental in launching Coretex's in-cab compliance and transport refrigeration solution in 2009. As Chief Sustainability Officer, Craig leads EROAD's external and internal sustainability initiatives, working with stakeholders across legal, regulatory and product development. Craig has a double degree in marketing and economics from Otago University and is a graduate from the Harvard Business School of Analytics, graduating with distinction.
Honorary Advisory Board Members
Sir Murray F. Brennan
GNZM, (BSc, 1962, MB ChB, 1964)
During a distinguished career in medicine Sir Murray has held prestigious positions worldwide, including Chairman of Surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He was AUOA president from 2008 until 2013
Jennifer (Jenny) Schreiber
(Diploma of Home Science, 1963)
Jenny has lived in the United States for more than 50 years and has been the principal in her interior design firm since 1978. Jenny was involved in establishing the AUOA and was its secretary 2008-2012.
William (Bill) Lindqvist
(Bachelor of Engineering, 1964)
Bill’s 45-year mining career involved exploration for gold and base metals for companies in “about 49 countries”. He was a founding member of the board that established the AUOA as a legal charitable entity in 2008 and served as vice-president until 2012
Andrew King
(MB ChB, 1971)
Andrew is on the faculty of the Louisiana State University Medical Centre and heads the spine unit at New Orleans Children's Hospital. He was a founding 2008 AUOA member and served on its board until November 2016
Geoff Nicole
(BMedSc MB ChB)
Geoff Nichol graduated BMedSc MB ChB from the University of Otago Medical School, and is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. He holds an MBA from Warwick University in the UK. Currently Geoff serves as Group VP, Global Clinical Development, BioMarin.
Annmarie Oien
(Doctorate, Atomic and Laser Physics, 1996)
Dr. Oien is a recognized expert and strategist in the area of Lean Six Sigma, particularly in Root Cause Analysis. She spent two decades as a project engineering leader at Lockheed Martin, and is currently a Senior Systems Engineer at Harris Corp. Dr. Oien served on the Board of AUOA until 2018 and helped establish the Oien Prize to the Department of Physics at the University of Otago
Neil Matheson
(DipPE, 1979)
With a background in the pharmaceutical industry, Neil relocated to the US in 1989. He founded AXIS Healthcare Communications in 1999 – which he sold in 2007 – and was global CEO of Huntsworth Health until July 2017. He has worked with NZ Trade and Industry assisting New Zealand health-care technology companies in the US market. Neil was a founding member of the Board that established AUOA in 2008.
