Victoria Mary Carter is a former

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

politician. She is now a professional

company director A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

and

businesswoman A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for the ...

Early life

Carter, born in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, came to New Zealand with her mother, journalist Valerie Davies. Her stepfather was journalist,

Pat Booth Pat Booth, Lady Lowe (24 April 1943 – 11 May 2009) was an English model, photographer, and author of romantic fiction. Biography Raised in the East End of London by a boxer father and an ambitious mother, Booth posed for such photographers ...

Education and early career

Carter holds a law degree from 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 ...

and has a varied background in public relations, marketing, and governance. Carter has served on the boards of Kidicorp, Turner’s Auctions, New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing,

Auckland Racing Club Ellerslie Racecourse is the main racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand, for thoroughbred racehorses. It is an undulating, grass circuit in the suburb of Ellerslie, with a circumference of just under 1,900 metres. Racing is conducted in a clockwi ...

, and JUCY group. She was extensively involved with the Auckland Kindergarten Association from 1995 to 2005, as Chair (4 years), Deputy-Chair (3 years), and Councillor (3 years), ending up as the President of the Association.

Political career

Carter was elected as an

Auckland City Auckland City was a territorial authority with city status covering the central isthmus of the urban area of Auckland, New Zealand. It was governed by the Auckland City Council from 1989 to 2010, and as a territory within the wider Auckland R ...

Councillor in 1998 for the Hobson ward. Carter was the first independent trustee to be elected to the

Auckland Energy Consumer Trust Entrust, formerly named Auckland Energy Consumer Trust (AECT) prior to June 2016, is a trust for electricity consumers in Auckland, New Zealand. Formed in 1993 as sole owner of the original Mercury Energy Limited, it is now majority owner of elect ...

in 1997, but had to resign from this position when elected to

Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1871 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elected b ...

. She served as Chair of City Attractions at Auckland City Council and led the public private partnership that saw the indoor arena at Quay Street built. Carter also restarted the Auckland Arts Festival which she chaired until June 2015.

Later career

Carter left politics in 2003 to pursue business opportunities, co-founding Cityhop, New Zealand’s first car sharing company with JUCY Group led by brothers Tim and Dan Alpe. JUCY later exited Cityhop. In May 2018 Victoria was elected as the first female President of the Northern Club. In November 2018 she sold the carshare business to Toyota Financial Services. She still speaks about the value of car share to cities battling congestion In September 2019 Minister of Transport Phil Twyford appointed Victoria to the Board of Waka Kotahi, NZ Transport Agency. Carter is also an Independent director of Ngati Awa Group Holdings, the commercial arm of the Ngati Awa runanga in the Bay of Plenty.

Honours and awards

In 2013 Carter was named in the inaugural Forty Over 40 list acknowledging women who are disrupting and reinventing, and was the only Australasian selected. She was a finalist in the arts category of the Women of Influence awards in 2013 and 2014. In the

2016 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2016 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

, Carter was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

for service to arts, business, and the community.New Years honour for multi-tasking Victoria Carter
Stuff NZ.

References

University of Auckland alumni Auckland City Councillors New Zealand businesspeople New Zealand women in business Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit English emigrants to New Zealand {{Authority control