Helen Joan Anderson (born 11 September 1955) is a New Zealand professional director, scientist and, previously, public servant. She currently serves as a director on a number of boards and is
Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Directors (CFInstD)

Early life and family

Anderson was born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

on 11 September 1955, the daughter of Patricia and Atherton Anderson. Anderson was educated at

Columba College Columba College (Irish language, Irish: Coláiste Choilm) is an integrated Presbyterian school in Roslyn, Otago, Roslyn, Dunedin, New Zealand. The roll is made up of pupils of all ages. The majority of pupils are in the girls' secondary, day ...

, and then studied at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, graduating with a BSc(Hons). She later undertook doctoral studies at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, gaining a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

in 1985.

Professional career

Anderson is currently, or has previously been, Chair of the Board of

BRANZ Branz is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * María Sol Branz (born 1990), Argentine sailor * Hermann Branz Hermann Branz (26 January 1920 – 28 November 2004)Background notes on The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists September ...

, Studio Pacific Architecture,

Scion Scion may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities *Scion, a playable class in the game ''Path of Exile'' (2013) *Atlantean Scion, a device in the ''Tomb Raider'' video game series *Scions, an alien race in the video game ''Ba ...

and Fulbright NZ, a director at

Antarctica New Zealand Antarctica New Zealand is an Institute set up by the Government of New Zealand in 1996 to manage its interests in Antarctica and the Ross Sea. As well as providing logistics support to a large scientific programme, it also runs bases such as Sco ...

NIWA The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research or NIWA ( mi, Taihoro Nukurangi), is a Crown Research Institute of New Zealand. Established in 1992, NIWA conducts research across a broad range of disciplines in the environmental scienc ...

, Dairy NZ and ClearPoint Ltd. Other roles held have been on the councils of

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...

(as Pro-Chancellor), the Institute of Directors New Zealand and Nature Conservancy Aotearoa NZ. Anderson is a seismologist with expertise in the mechanics of large earthquakes and chaired th
expert panel convened to investigate the performance of Statistics House
in the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake. From 1997 to 2003 she was the Chief Science Advisor at the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology. She was then the Chief Executive of the Ministry from 2003 to April 2010.

Honours

In 1993, Anderson was awarded the

New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal The New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 was established by Royal Warrant on 1 July 1993. It was created to commemorate Women's suffrage in New Zealand and to recognize those New Zealand and Commonwealth citizens who had made a significant ...

. She was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...

in the

2010 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2010 Birthday Honours for the Commonwealth realms were announced to celebrate the Queen's Birthday on 7 June 2010 in New Zealand, on 12 June 2010 in the United Kingdom, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Sain ...

, for services to the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology. Anderson is a Companion of the

Royal Society of New Zealand Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

(CRSNZ), and Patron of Wing 297 NZ Police Recruits and the NZ International Science Festival.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Helen 20th-century New Zealand women scientists New Zealand public servants New Zealand women public servants Living people New Zealand seismologists Alumni of the University of Cambridge Companions of the Queen's Service Order 20th-century New Zealand geologists Recipients of the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 Companions of the Royal Society of New Zealand Scientists from Dunedin People educated at Columba College 1955 births University of Auckland alumni 21st-century New Zealand geologists