Having the right people on the team is essential to Forest Enterprises’ ability to deliver returns to our investors.

We are a small team of professionals, specialising in forestry, client services and financial administration. Our forestry team includes New Zealand Institute of Forestry Registered Forestry Consultants, plus, we have three qualified accountants on staff. Forest Enterprises is one of very few forest investment companies that has legal expertise in-house.

Forest Enterprises is jointly owned and managed full-time by six shareholders who lead the company. Each with a depth of expertise and experience; each equally dedicated to their work and our clients.

Owners

Bert Hughes
Bert HughesCEO & Forestry Director
CMInstD, NZIF Registered Forestry Consultant, BBS, NZCF
DDI 06 370 6361
Mob. 027 441 0535

Bert joined Forest Enterprises in 2010 to lead the expansion of the company’s forest management capability. Bert brought with him a depth and breadth of expertise from a 30-year forestry career, having held senior management and executive roles across the industry.

Bert is at the helm of Forest Enterprises as Chief Executive Officer, taking over former Managing Director Steve Wilton’s leadership responsibilities from 1 February 2018. As CEO, Bert is responsible for overseeing all Forest Enterprises activities across the two companies – Forest Enterprises Limited the licensed forest investment management company, and its parent Forest Enterprises Growth Limited, the land and tree crop management company. Bert is a Chartered Director. He is a shareholder of Forest Enterprises Growth Limited and a director of both companies.

Bert is also Forestry Director and, as such, heads our team of professional foresters. The team is collectively responsible for the entire tree crop cycle from establishment to harvest, including all aspects of harvest operations including log sales and marketing, and all-important contractor management.

Bert’s focus is on understanding the market and getting our investors’ product as close to the buyer as possible.

“Although wood is a commodity product, we add value by understanding what the product is used for and how it is promoted to the end user. Therefore, our relationships with customers and marketing partners are critical to understanding cost and price, and managing risk. Investors must have faith in ultimate transparency of information, and our technical competency to make decisions and put good plans into action.

“My major responsibility as Director is to strike the balance between making our investors better off, the company better off and our land better off. Forestry as an investment has a perpetual value and our role as Manager is to therefore protect the two assets – the cashflow and the residual value of the land.”

Bert is Past President of Marlborough Forest Industry Association and a founding trustee and Treasurer of the Southern North Island Wood Council. He manages his own forest estates on tranches of family land. Bert and his family live in Masterton and he enjoys fishing, hunting, surfing, skiing and the great outdoors.

Gordon Wong
Gordon WongLegal Services Director
LLM (Hons), Barrister and Solicitor, MInstD
DDI 06 370 6915
Mob. 021 198 1558

Gordon became Forest Enterprises’ in-house lawyer in 2014, providing the expertise we required to respond to the new financial markets regime under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013. Gordon is one of New Zealand’s most experienced lawyers in the forestry industry. He is also a specialist in financial markets law, legal risk management and the Emissions Trading Scheme. Gordon is a shareholder and director of parent company Forest Enterprises Growth Limited and is also a director of Forest Enterprises Limited, the licensed manager of our forestry managed investment schemes.

Gordon had been a partner in private practice acting as Forest Enterprises’ lawyer for 22 years, and was part of every major legal milestone of our company. He notes it was a natural transition to join Forest Enterprises.

“I’m closer to the business, and to the investments themselves, than ever before. I have been a Forest Enterprises investor for 20 years so I can see things from the investor’s perspective. Building up strong knowledge of the forestry operation from within the company means that my legal advice is even more relevant, and it results in better quality documentation and advice for our investments.”

Gordon has a dual role. He is our in-house legal counsel, advising Forest Enterprises on the regulatory environment and the many statutes that we must comply with; and he provides legal advice to the investments, as he used to do in private practice.

“To the extent that we can liaise directly with the regulators, we do – as a licensed Manager it’s important to ensure we have full legal representation for ourselves and also for our MIS Schemes. This area of the law is very complex and our investors expect robust compliance.”

Gordon lives in Greytown during the week to be closer to our Masterton Office, rejoining his family in Wellington city on weekends. In his spare time he enjoys the gym, travel and the arts. Gordon is a licensed marriage celebrant.

Malte Coulmann
Malte CoulmannSouthern North Island Regional Manager
NZIF Registered Forestry Consultant, BForSc (Hons), MInstD
DDI 06 370 6362
Mob. 027 510 6601

Malte has been in the business since 2011 and became a shareholder in April 2016. Malte is a shareholder and director of parent company Forest Enterprises Growth Limited.

Malte’s responsibility is to maximise the value of the tree crop. This is achieved by ensuring that forest operations, such as pruning and thinning, happen at the right time and to the highest standard. Malte and his team also manage the technical side of forestry which includes mapping, database management, inventory and modelling. The collection and management of quality data is essential to making the right decisions.

Malte grew up in the Wellington region but an early passion for forestry took him to the School of Forestry at the University of Canterbury. Operational roles in Canterbury and Southland followed, before returning to the North Island and taking up his position at Forest Enterprises.

In 2015, Malte joined the Board of the Wairarapa Rural Fire District and recently oversaw its transition under the new regime of Fire & Emergency New Zealand. Malte hunts, dives and fishes as often as he can, and lives in Masterton with his wife Nikki.

Dan Fraser
Dan FraserGisborne Regional Manager
NZCF, MInstD
Mob. 021 867 900

Dan joined us in August 2017 in the new role of Gisborne Regional Manager. The major harvest programme of our 10,000ha Gisborne estate started early 2016, and as our harvest volumes continue to grow, having a senior executive available on site in Gisborne enhances the support and management of our estate locally. Dan joined our shareholder group from 1 April 2018, becoming a director of parent company Forest Enterprises Growth Limited.

Dan is responsible for ensuring our investors’ forests in Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay are harvest-ready, for managing their harvest, and that our forestry and harvesting operations are coordinated and optimised. Dan is particularly proficient in implementing practices which improve health and safety and environmental outcomes from harvest and forest reestablishment on steep slope land.

Dan has a 32-year professional forestry career and has extensive knowledge of the harvesting industry, including managing FSC certified forestry estates at a senior level.

Dan and his wife have a lifestyle block on the fertile Gisborne flats where, in their spare time, they enjoy developing the property and growing avocados. They are frequently hunting, tramping, camping and generally enjoying the great outdoors.

Dan is based at Forest Enterprises’ Gisborne office with Georgia and Allan, at 241 Stanley Road, Awapuni, Gisborne 4010.

Liz Brown
Liz BrownGroup Finance Manager
BCA, MBA, MInstD
DDI 06 370 6910

Liz joined Forest Enterprises in April 2016, and recently became a shareholder and director of parent company Forest Enterprises Growth Limited. Liz is a member of the executive, and leads the accounting and administration team.

Liz manages the day-to-day accounting functions and tax obligations for our two companies, Forest Enterprises Growth Limited (FEG) and Forest Enterprises Limited (FEL). In addition, Liz prepares the cash flows, budgets and treecrop valuations for the forestry investments which contribute to their annual Financial Statements, and is responsible for their day-to-day accounting and tax obligations.

Liz started her accounting career with the IRD. She later moved to a Big 4 firm and then to a Christchurch boutique accounting firm, before assisting her husband to establish his own business from home. Liz and her family relocated to Carterton in 2011.

Tom Otterson
Tom OttersonHarvest Operations Manager
BE (Hons)
Mob. 027 282 1697

Directors

Graeme Tindall
Graeme TindallManaged Investments Director
CA, BCA (Hons), MInstD
DDI +64 6 370 6363
Mob. +64 27 320 2731

In 2022 we celebrated Graeme’s 25-year milestone with Forest Enterprises. Graeme assumed most of the Managing Director duties previously undertaken by former Managing Director, Steve Wilton upon his retirement in 2018. Graeme was a shareholder of parent company Forest Enterprises Growth Limited 2012-2023, and remains an executive director. He is also Chair of Forest Enterprises Limited, the licensed manager of our forestry managed investment schemes.

As Managed Investments Director, Graeme’s principal responsibility is the management and accountability of our status as a licensed manager of forestry Managed Investments Schemes, and our registered forestry investments. Graeme also provides high-end oversight of the financial management, reporting and compliance for all 71 forest investments we manage and administer, and for our two companies – Forest Enterprises Limited, the licensed forest investment management company, and its parent Forest Enterprises Growth Limited, the land and tree crop management company. He is a professional member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, and an Associate Member of the New Zealand Institute of Forestry.

Graeme is a very keen athlete and sports-person. He has been a Wairarapa representative lawn bowler, and in May 2021, Graeme joined an elite group of very few New Zealanders to have competed in 300 marathons!

Yogesh Mody
Yogesh ModyIndependent Director, Forest Enterprises Limited
BCA (Hons), CA, MInstD

Yogesh Mody joined the board of Forest Enterprises Limited (FEL) as the licensed manager’s Independent Director in September 2022.

The FEL board is the strategic and oversight body governing FEL’s compliance with its obligations as a market services licensee and manager of the forestry Managed Investment Schemes.

As Independent Director, Yogesh supports the standards of good conduct and the governance and management responsibilities which are at the core of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013. He also assists the Chair to ensure the Executive Directors maintain their high performance standards in the best interests of the forestry investors.

Yogesh brings an outside perspective to the board and a wealth of knowledge and experience. He has spent over 35 years in the banking and financial services industry, including over 20 years as a corporate trustee at Trustees Executors Limited. Yogesh played an integral supervisory role in the establishment of Forest Enterprises’ forestry syndicates, beginning with the Pinedale Forest Investment in 1992.

Being independent means that Yogesh has no shareholding in either FEL or its parent company Forest Enterprises Growth Limited, nor is he a company executive.

Yogesh currently works in risk and compliance for a fund manager, with specific expertise in regulatory compliance.

Client Services & Investment Administration

Sean Roberts
Sean RobertsCustomer Services Manager
NZDipBus
DDI +64 6 370 6368
Mob. +64 21 822 802
Julie-Anne Simmonds
Julie-Anne SimmondsExecutive Administrator
DDI 06 370 6912
Mark Allan
Mark AllanCompliance & Systems Manager
CA, BCom
DDI 06 370 6917
Trudy O'Dowd
Trudy O'DowdAccountant
BBus, AT
Fiona Smith
Fiona SmithAccounts Administrator
DDI 06 370 6862
Jenni Sutherland
Jenni SutherlandAccounts Clerk
DDI 06 370 6919
Shelley Davidson
Shelley DavidsonAccounts Assistant
Nicola Black
Nicola BlackHead of Managed Investments
LLB, BCA
DDI +64 6 370 6916
Mob. +64 274 899 320

Forest Management

Gavin Wright
Gavin WrightHawke's Bay Operations Manager
Mob. 021 900 162
Chris Hawthorn
Chris HawthornForest Operations Manager
Mob. 027 444 2298
Tracey Apiata
Tracey ApiataManagement Accountant
DDI 06 370 6365
Steve Croskery
Steve CroskeryTechnical Services Manager
NZIF Registered Forestry Consultant, BForSc, DipAcc
DDI 06 370 6860
Mob. 021 193 8893
Hannah van Lent
Hannah van LentEnvironmental & Risk Manager
MSc (Earth Science)
DDI 06 370 6848
Allan Howard
Allan HowardHarvest Planner - Gisborne
Mob. 027 444 2089
Dr. Boglarka Nemeth
Dr. Boglarka NemethForestry Analyst
PhD (Earth Science), MSc

DDI 06 370 6860

Jess Littlejohn
Jess LittlejohnForester
BAgSc

Mob. 027 786 0431

Max Saathof
Max SaathofHarvesting Forester
BForSc
Mob. 027 444 1653
Jo Wildman
Jo WildmanHarvest Administrator
DDI 06 370 6364
Peter Kapene
Peter KapeneTree Crop Forester - Gisborne
NZDipForMan
Jeramiah Te Kira
Jeramiah Te KiraHarvesting Forester - Gisborne
NZDipForMan
Cameron Sclanders
Cameron SclandersForester
BForSc
Mob. 027 444 3723
Sean Shan
Sean ShanGIS Analyst
BForEng (Hons)
Tim Vollebregt
Tim VollebregtForest Technician
Mob. 027 444 2562
Liam Walker
Liam WalkerGraduate Forester
Mob. 020 4068 0971

Learn more