Executive Leadership Team
John Mulka, Chief Executive
Before joining Blind Low Vision NZ in September 2019, John spent his then 28-year professional working career in the not-for-profit and charitable sector with national organisations in his native country of Canada. He has held senior roles providing leadership to organisations in the areas of amateur sport, at risk youth, disease prevention and a sensory disability. Over his 11 year career with the CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind) his responsibilities grew progressively, culminating with him being appointed as the Vice President, Western Canada in 2015 which he held until accepting the Chief Executive role with Blind Low Vision NZ.
During his time with CNIB John was regarded as a senior member of the Executive Leadership Team and amongst his accomplishments provided oversight to the research and feasibility study of the organisation potentially operating a Guide Dog Program as part of its charitable program offerings. The program was subsequently approved and within an 18 month time period established all aspects of operations and graduated its first working guide dogs for Canadians with sight loss. He also provided leadership to the establishment of CNIB’s rehabilitation service delivery standards and the importance of and use of data to analyse the organisation’s key performance measures and outcomes.
John was born and raised in Edmonton and is a proud alumni of the University of Alberta. John relocated to the west coast of Canada in 1998 due to a professional opportunity and resided in Vancouver since that time, until relocating to New Zealand in September 2019 to join Blind Low Vision NZ.
John’s passions include participating in almost any sport, and also being an avid spectator of major sporting events throughout the year. He also has a keen interest in current events and its impact on the world.
Greg Hurn, Chief Financial Officer
Greg has a wealth of experience in finance, customer services, production, service delivery and administration. He’s worked in the manufacturing, banking and telecommunications industries. Before joining us Greg spent 15 years with Yellow Pages holding various executive positions in finance and operations. Greg’s aim is to ensure we are financially sound and sustainable over the long term horizon. He looks after our finances, contracts, strategy and planning, performance, governance and business development initiatives.
Liz Ansell, General Manager Client Services
Liz is a seasoned leader with experience across both public and private sectors including FMCG, banking, media and security. Following extensive experience in HR and managing change, she is thrilled to bring her skills into managing and growing a team of people passionate about providing first-class service in the not-for-profit sector
Mark Dickinson, General Manager Business Services
Joining Blind Low Vision NZ in 2018, Mark has extensive New Zealand and International operational and senior leadership experience in the commercial areas of banking, management consulting and IT management as well as business management roles in the public education sector.
Mark’s focus in leading the Business Services portfolio is to enable the development and implementation of creative business solutions to support our entire organisation as we strive to achieve best in class performance, delivering superior service outcomes for our members and clients.
Gwen Green, GM Engagement and Marketing
Gwen has over 20-years fundraising, marketing, and communications experience both in New Zealand and the UK. She has also worked with organisations across the globe to support their development of best practice fundraising strategies, notably in South Africa and across the Pacific. Gwen has a passion for developing donor focused fundraising, creating new income opportunities, and re-visioning existing fundraising strategies to maximise income generation in ways that are flexible to our ever changing world.
Nico Jansen, General Manager People & Performance
Nico is a collaborative Senior People & Culture Specialist with over 25 years of experience within multi-national organisations across the FMCG, Manufacturing, Services and Engineering sectors. He has a proven ability to set P&C strategy and bring it to fruition, including leading direct reports and formal coaching of business leaders.
Nico’s biggest fulfilment is to work with organisations to improve their bottom line by focusing on leadership effectiveness, organisational culture, employee engagement and workforce capability.
