
Linda Flegg
NZAGA CHAIR, NZAGA AT LARGE REPRESENTATIVE & NZ AVOCADO DIRECTOR
Linda has grown up as an avocado orchardist and is a director of the orchard and post-harvest company Morris Moore Farms of Katikati. Linda was elected to the Board in 2016, became Vice Chair in 2017 and was elected as Chair in 2020.
Email linda@kauripak.co.nz | Mobile 021 458 782 |

Alistair Nicholson
NZAGA VICE CHAIR, FAR NORTH REPRESENTATIVE & NZ AVOCADO DIRECTOR
Alistair and his wife Alison own a 22 hectare avocado orchard near Whangarei but currently reside in Queenstown. The couple have also invested in a further two orchards, resulting in them having nearly 120 hectares of avocados under cultivation.
Email anicholson@vulpesinvest.com | Mobile 021 946 391 |

Daniel Birnie
NZAGA BOP/REST OF NEW ZEALAND REPRESENTATIVE & NZ AVOCADO DIRECTOR
Daniel became At Large rep in 2018. Daniel works as the Avocado Manager at Trevelyan’s in Te Puke where he deals with growers, staff, marketers, contractors, and others involved in the avocado industry. Daniel and his family planted their Otamarakau orchard in 2017.
Email daniel@trevelyan.co.nz | Mobile 027 486 6969 |

Dave Flett
NZAGA BOP/REST OF NEW ZEALAND REPRESENTATIVE & NZ AVOCADO DIRECTOR
Dave purchased his avocado orchard in 2010, and is known more for his development of closely planted clonals in the Bay ofPlenty. Dave has a keen interest and a valuable background in sales and marketing.
Email dave.flett@yahoo.co.nz | Mobile 027 555 4420 |

Maria Watchorn
NZAGA BOP/REST OF NEW ZEALAND REPRESENTATIVE & NZ AVOCADO DIRECTOR
Maria Watchorn, together with her husband Andrew and teenage son Caleb, have been owners and operators of their two avocado orchards; one for 13 years in Omokoroa, and another for 2 years in Katikati. Maria has also been actively involved in research trials over the years.
Email andaria@xtra.co.nz | Mobile 027 5482 992 |

John Dawson
NZAGA MID-NORTH REPRESENTATIVE & NZ AVOCADO DIRECTOR
John and his wife Paula reside in Mangawhai on an orchard with 1,000 avocado trees and are in their seventh season of production. Alongside this more recent focus, John has spent the last 30 years advising in areas of marketing and communications.
Email johnd@cooee.co.nz | Mobile 021 724 900 |

Karen Pickford
NZAGA MID-NORTH REPRESENTATIVE & NZ AVOCADO DIRECTOR
Karen and her husband Graeme purchased their orchard in Maungatapere in 2015. It is a mixed avocado and kiwifruit orchard. They were kiwifruit growers in Katikati for 30 years and during that time Karen managed a packhouse and coolstore.
Email pickfordgk@outlook.co.nz | Mobile 021 497 803 |

Jacob Darling
AVEC REPRESENTATIVE AND NZ AVOCADO DIRECTOR
Jacob joined the NZ Avocado Board in 2019 as an AVEC Representative. Jacob works as the GM of Sales and Marketing for Darling Group and heads up Just Avocados’ export marketing programmes. Jacob has been involved with marketing New Zealand avocados since 2016, firstly in the Brisbane wholesale market before taking on his current role. Previously he managed produce imports for Global Fresh NZ and worked in sales for Tom Lange Co., one of the largest produce distributors in the USA.
|Email: jacob@darlinggroup.co.nz | Mobile 027 582 9101 |

Jim Tarawa
AVEC REPRESENTATIVE AND NZ AVOCADO DIRECTOR
Jim joined the NZ Avocado Board in 2018 as an AVEC Representative. Jim works as the Avocado & Subtropical Program Manager at Freshmax NZ Ltd and has a wealth of longstanding knowledge across the horticulture sector. He has specifically been involved with avocados in the post-harvest and export sectors for over 22 years.
Email | jtarawa@freshmax.co.nz | Mobile 027 274 7076 |

Paula Kearns
NZAGA REPRESENTATIVE & NZ AVOCADO DIRECTOR
Paula joined the NZ Avocado Board in 2020. Currently a Member of the Ministry for the Environment Audit and Risk Committee and an Independent Director of the Mount Wellington Trust Hotels (Waipuna and Landmark) and Keri Corporation. Paula’s experience includes 30 years of finance, commercial, community, governance, and leadership.
| Email: pkearns@xtra.co.nz |