CAANZ APPOINTS NEW CEO

The Communication Agencies Association of New Zealand (CAANZ) has appointed Rick Osborne as its new CEO.
Osborne is currently Government and International Relations Manager at Air New Zealand and replaces Mark Champion who leaves CAANZ at the end of November to take up the position of Executive Director of the Australian sister organisation, the AFA.
“We’re delighted that Rick has accepted the position. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience of dealing with government ministries and political leaders at the very highest level,” says CAANZ president, David Walden, CEO of TBWA\Whybin.
“We believe he is just the person to take the organisation, its membership and our industry to the next level and deal effectively with the many challenges we currently face – not only in the regulatory arena, but in promoting the value of our industry to the broader business world,” he said.
Before Air NZ, Osborne was with Telecom's Corporate Communications unit and was responsible for managing the regional stakeholder programme. He has a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration from Victoria University and is married with 2 young children.
“Rick’s personal style and approach will be a great asset to CAANZ and I believe will help continue the positive engagement we have with our stakeholders,” said Walden.
Osborne said that he was excited about joining the high performing CAANZ team and helping to raise the profile of the industry and meeting the challenges.
He will take up the role on November 21.