Executive Leadership Team
Our Executive Leadership Team was established in September 2026. The following staff are acting in these roles until permanent appointments are made:
Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor – Academic: Professor Ray Geor
Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor – Research and Enterprise:
- DVC Research: Distinguished Professor Gaven Martin
(Graduate Research School, Research Operations, Riddet Institute, New Zealand Food Safety Science Research Centre) - DVC Enterprise: Professor Margaret Maile
(Enterprise, Massey University Foundation, Alumni, Massey University Press)
Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor – Students and Growth: Amy Heise
Acting Chief of Staff: Jodie Banner
Acting Chief Operating Officer: Vice-Chancellor Professor Pierre Venter
Acting Chief People and Culture Officer: Jodie Banner
The Executive Leadership Team is headed up by the Vice-Chancellor and supported by Deputy Vice-Chancellors and other executive portfolio leaders.
Vice-Chancellor
Appointed by the University Council, the Vice-Chancellor takes on a chief executive role in the academic leadership and management of Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University.
Professor Pierre Venter
Professor Pierre Venter
PhD, BSc (Hons), BSc
Professor Pierre Venter took up the role of Vice-Chancellor in February 2026.
Originally from South Africa, Professor Venter completed a PhD in Microbiology, a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Microbiology and a Bachelor of Science in Biology at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein. He then spent 7 years at the Central University of Technology, Free State, where he became a Professor.
Professor Venter moved to Palmerston North in 2011 to work at Fonterra. Most recently, he has held the role of Director of Research and Development. His team won multiple global product innovation awards. In 2024, he was awarded the Significant Contribution to Food Safety Award at the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology Awards.
He is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors.
Throughout his career, Professor Venter has been motivated by the opportunity to help people and ideas connect in ways that create practical value, whether through science, education or partnerships, and to make a difference to the community.
Email p.venter@massey.ac.nz
Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Māori
Responsible for overseeing Massey’s focus on being Tiriti-led and supporting the university to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This includes ensuring Massey’s systems and programmes actively protect te reo and mātauranga Māori and framing Massey’s policies for our relationships with local mana whenua, iwi and hapū. The group also plays a key role in our whole-of-Massey focus on Māori student success.
Paora Ammunson
Paora Ammunson
BA (Māori Studies – Victoria University), Certificate Adult Teaching (CIT)
Ngāti Kahungunu and Rangitāne o Wairarapa, Te Arawa, Tainui
Paora Ammunson brings significant leadership experience from executive management roles in government and tertiary education to iwi boards, public sector, food and fibre, sporting and commercial bodies.
He is a nationally recognised tertiary education leader – a focus he has held since his very first job in the former Wairarapa Community Polytechnic. Mr Ammunson was a Deputy Chief Executive of Te Pūkenga – a large-scale tertiary organisation – where he primarily led Te Tiriti o Waitangi work, while also managing several other key portfolios including learner success, digital, international, and academic matters.
Before that, Mr Ammunson was a Deputy Chief Executive and key architect of the Tertiary Education Commission’s learner success programme. He also brings insights from Te Tiriti, tertiary education and labour market public policy.
Mr Ammunson served in many national and regional leadership roles, such as the Rugby World Cup 2011 hosting and the APEC 1998 World Leaders Forum. He chaired the Wairarapa Bush Rugby Union, was the establishment chair of the Wairarapa Primary Health Organisation and has been a councillor on the South Wairarapa District Council. He has also served as the chair for his iwi – Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa – Tamakinui ā Rua.
Responsibilities:
- Office of the DVC Māori
- Advisory (Māori and Iwi/Hapū Relationships)
- Tiriti Systems
- Pou Matike Mai
- Te Mata o te Tau
Email p.ammunson@massey.ac.nz
Phone +64 6 951 6393
Chief Information Officer
Responsible for leading Massey’s digital strategy, ensuring that information systems, digital services, cybersecurity and data management support the university’s goals and operational needs.
Martin Catterall
Martin Catterall
BSc (Otago), Postgraduate Diploma (Otago)
Martin Catterall is Chief Information Officer at Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University, where he leads the university’s information technology services and digital strategy. He is responsible for enabling the university’s teaching, learning, research and operational objectives through the delivery of secure, innovative and effective digital solutions.
Martin brings more than 20 years of senior technology leadership experience across higher education, healthcare, government, international organisations and the private sector. Before joining Massey in 2023, he held senior digital and technology leadership positions. These included Chief Digital Officer for 3DHB (Capital and Coast, Hutt Valley and Wairarapa district health boards), Technology Program Manager as part of the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 Vaccination Immunisation Program and Chief Information Officer for H.W. Richardson Group and St John New Zealand.
Earlier in his career, Martin spent almost a decade with the World Health Organisation (WHO), where he served as Director of Information Technology and Telecommunications. In that role, he led global technology services supporting WHO operations across more than 200 countries and managed large-scale international technology programmes and teams.
Responsibilities:
- Membership of the Executive Leadership Team and active support in the university’s strategic planning process
- Support and growth of digital solutions and services to enable the university’s operations and growth
- Development of strategic vendor partnerships to support the university’s adoption of new technologies
- Building partnerships with major stakeholders to streamline student enrolment, retention and wellbeing
Email m.catterall@massey.ac.nz
Pro Vice-Chancellors
Pro Vice-Chancellors lead Massey's academic colleges and sit under the Deputy Vice-Chancellor – Academic.
Pro Vice-Chancellor: College of Creative Arts
Responsible for overseeing the College of Creative Arts.
Professor Margaret Maile
Professor Margaret Maile – BA, MA, PhD
Professor Margaret Maile has held a number of senior roles in tertiary education in Australia and New Zealand and has maintained a focus on creative industries education and research, entrepreneurship and innovation. She worked at the University of Technology in Sydney as the Executive Director, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Prior to this, she was Head of the School of Design at Queensland University of Technology and Victoria University of Wellington.
Her professional leadership experience includes serving on the boards of the World Design Organisation, New Zealand Youth Film Festival, StartupAUS and Cicada Innovations. She is an ambassador for Good Design Australia and was a founding member of New Zealand’s design advocacy body DesignCo.
Professor Maile completed an undergraduate degree at the University of Oregon, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in History. She then attended Bard Graduate Centre in New York, where she completed a Master of Arts in Design History as well as pre-dissertation PhD studies and exams. In 2016, she graduated from Victoria University of Wellington with a PhD in Design History.
Responsibilities:
- Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor, Toi Rauwhārangi College of Creative Arts
- Massey University National Academy of Screen Arts
- School of Art Whiti o Rehua
- School of Design Ngā Pae Māhutonga
- School of Music and Screen Arts Te Rewa o Puanga
- Centre for Screen Excellence
- Toi Āria: Design for Public Good
Email m.maile@massey.ac.nz
Pro Vice-Chancellor: College of Health
Responsible for overseeing the College of Health.
Professor Jill McCutcheon
Professor Jill McCutcheon – WSU, PhD, DVM, BSc
Professor Jill McCutcheon joined the College of Health with over 25 years of experience in academic administration and leading transformation in learning and teaching. Professor McCutcheon has a PhD in Exercise Physiology and Muscle Pathophysiology and a residency in Pathology from Washington State University. Her research focus has been on the role of environmental factors in glucose and insulin regulation during exercise and in metabolic disease.
She also holds a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Guelph, where she also served as Associate Vice-President Academic. From her positions at Michigan State University as Director of International Programs and Resources and Chairperson and Professor in the Department of Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation, Professor McCutcheon was appointed the Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor of the College of Health at Massey University in April 2015 and became Pro Vice-Chancellor in April 2021.
Responsibilities:
- Office for the PVC Health
- School of Health Sciences
- School of Nursing
- School of Social Work
- School of Sport, Exercise and Nutrition
- Centre for Public Health Research
- Research Centre for Māori Health and Development
- SHORE Centre
- Whariki Research Centre
Email j.l.mccutcheon@massey.ac.nz
Phone +64 6 951 9082
Pro Vice-Chancellor: College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Responsible for overseeing the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Professor Cynthia White
Professor Cynthia White – BA, BA (Hons), DipTESL, PhD
Professor Cynthia White is an internationally recognised scholar in applied linguistics.
She completed her honours degree in linguistics and her postgraduate qualifications in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) at Victoria University in Wellington. She was appointed as a Junior Lecturer in 1978, completing projects funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Thailand and China before joining Massey as a lecturer in 1983.
Professor White's PhD, completed at Massey in 1993, was a comparative study of the strategies used by distance and classroom language learners. She has been an invited plenary speaker at international conferences in the UK, Germany, Hawai'i, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Australia and Taiwan.
In 2004, Professor White received the International TESOL Virginia French Allen Award for Scholarship and Service to the TESOL profession. Since 2012, she has been an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of New England, Australia. Since 2018, she has been a member of the Marsden Fund Council and Chair of the Marsden Fund Humanities panel.
She has served as a member of the Massey University Council and as Research Director of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Professor White has served as president of the Applied Linguistics Association of New Zealand and as a member of the international committee for the International Applied Linguistics Association.
Responsibilities:
- Office of the PVC Humanities and Social Sciences
- Institute of Education
- School of Humanities, Media and Creative Communications
- School of People, Environment and Planning
- School of Psychology
- Te Pūtahi-a-Toi School of Māori Knowledge
Email c.j.white@massey.ac.nz
Phone +64 6 951 6565
Pro Vice-Chancellor: College of Sciences
Responsible for overseeing the College of Sciences.
Professor Raymond Geor
Professor Raymond Geor – BVS, MVS, PhD
Professor Raymond Geor is an internationally recognised veterinary science specialist with expertise in equine medicine, nutrition and sport science. He returned from North America to take up the position of Pro Vice-Chancellor, College of Sciences in 2015.
Before moving to Massey, Professor Geor had spent almost 30 years in North America in various academic roles, finishing as the Professor and Chairperson in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at Michigan State University.
Professor Geor graduated from Massey with a Bachelor of Veterinary Sciences in 1983. He went on to complete a large animal internship at Murdoch University Veterinary School in Perth, Australia. After 2 years in veterinary practice in New Zealand, Professor Geor headed to North America to take up a residency in Large Animal Internal Medicine, followed by a Master of Veterinary Sciences from the University of Saskatchewan and a PhD in Physiology from The Ohio State University.
Professor Geor also has advanced training and board certification in 3 disciplines administered by the American Board of Veterinary Specialities: large animal internal medicine, nutrition, and equine sports medicine and rehabilitation.
At Massey, Professor Geor has been focused on supporting the sciences to enable enhanced teaching, research and sustainability. A supporter of a balanced agricultural and food production system, Professor Geor championed pastoral and environmental research at Massey by creating the Schools of Agriculture & Environment and Veterinary Science respectively in 2017. The desire to enhance Massey’s strength in these areas, alongside our key discipline of Food Technology, has ensured the university meets the changing needs of the primary and food industries. This includes the launching of the only Animal Science degree in New Zealand in 2019, the Feast laboratory, founded in 2018, and chairing the Governance Boards of both the Massey National Fieldays and New Zealand Food Awards since 2020. Professor Geor also sits on the board of Food HQ and the MacDiarmid Institute – a Centre of Research Excellence.
Professor Geor also launched the School of Built Environment in 2019 to ensure the construction sector was supplied with its future leaders. He has a focus on strengthening both domestic and international collaborative partnerships across the world, in locations such as Asia (particularly China and Singapore), Europe and the United States. One of these partnerships, with Hebei University of Technology (HEBUT) in China, is a key teaching partnership within Information Sciences.
Responsibilities:
- Office of the PVC Sciences
- New Zealand Institute for Advanced Study
- School of Agriculture and Environment
- School of Built Environment
- School of Food Technology and Natural Sciences
- School of Mathematical and Computational Sciences
- School of Veterinary Science
- Massey Agriculture and Horticulture Enterprises (Massey Farms)
Email r.geor@massey.ac.nz
Phone +64 6 951 7986
Pro Vice-Chancellor: Massey Business School
Responsible for overseeing the Massey Business School.
Professor Jonathan Elms
Professor Jonathan Elms – BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD
Professor Jonathan Elms is the Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Massey Business School. Previously, he was the Director of Research for the Massey Business School and the Sir Stephen Tindall Chair Professor in Retail Management.
Professor Elms is of English and Danish descent. Growing up in northern England, he was the first person in his family to attend university. He graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Marketing, a MSc in Management and a PhD in Marketing from Lancaster University, United Kingdom. During his master's degree, he spent time studying at Copenhagen Business School. He joined the Institute for Retail Studies at the University of Stirling in the mid 2000s and then joined Massey in December 2014. Professor Elms has also taught and researched in Singapore, Canada and Austria. He is an award-winning educator and researcher and is a well-demanded speaker at both national and international forums.
Professor Elms is recognised internationally for his research, focusing on sociological and geographical informed approaches to retail markets and marketplace behaviours. Central to his research is an understanding of consumer experience and shopping practices in relation to technology, such as the internet, AI, VR and self-service operations, and retail design (primarily store brands), as well as the changing nature of retail markets and their implications for the choices of different consumer groups, for example, consumers with disabilities and older shoppers.
Responsibilities:
- Office of the PVC Business
- Massey Executive Development
- School of Accountancy, Economics and Finance
- School of Aviation
- School of Management and Marketing
Email j.r.elms@massey.ac.nz
Phone +64 9 213 6323
Officers of the university
Our Officers are able to authorise decisions for or on behalf of the university.
Chancellor
Alistair Davis
Pro-Chancellor
Caren Rangi
Vice-Chancellor
Professor Pierre Venter
Related content
Strategy & policy
Read key te Tiriti o Waitangi elements in the Massey University Strategy and our Te Tiriti commitments in our Tiriti o Waitangi policy.
Policies, procedures & guidelines
This page lists Massey's policies, procedures and guidelines.
Expertise search
Use our expertise search to find Massey staff.