New Zealand’s cybersecurity landscape reflects the country’s unique mix of critical national infrastructure, strong public sector governance, advanced financial services, and a fast-growing technology ecosystem. From central government agencies and councils to banks, broadcasters, and AI-driven health platforms, security leaders in Aotearoa are navigating privacy expectations, regulatory maturity, cloud adoption, and resilience across geographically distributed environments.
The following CISOs and cybersecurity leaders are shaping how New Zealand protects its digital economy, balancing pragmatism with strong governance, and technical depth with human-centred leadership.
Adwin Singh — Cybersecurity Domain Lead (CISO Office), Inland Revenue New Zealand
Adwin Singh brings more than 20 years of cybersecurity experience to his role supporting one of New Zealand’s most data-sensitive government agencies. His work spans security architecture, maturity assessments, health checks, and the development of security standards, policies, procedures, and guidelines across complex environments.
He has extensive experience with compliance and assurance programs including PCI DSS, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27002, privacy frameworks such as ISO/IEC 27701, and secure-by-design and privacy-by-design implementations. His expertise also covers AI security, privacy, governance, and AI maturity assessments and roadmaps.
Adwin’s knowledge extends across NZISM, Protective Security Requirements, NIST, HITRUST, COBIT, risk management standards, secure SDLC, business continuity, and disaster recovery. In his current role, he helps set strategic direction for information security, ensures systems meet NZISM standards, and oversees cloud security, threat mitigation initiatives, and enterprise-wide risk prioritisation.
Andrew Meyer — Head of Cyber Security, TVNZ
With over two decades of experience across cybersecurity, enterprise risk, and technology leadership, Andrew Meyer leads cyber security for one of New Zealand’s most recognisable media organisations. Holding CISSP and CISM credentials, he brings deep expertise in data privacy and frameworks such as PCI DSS.
Andrew is focused on embedding resilience and privacy compliance while enabling secure innovation in fast-moving digital environments. He is known for aligning security strategies with organisational goals and for bringing diverse perspectives together to protect digital ecosystems.
A strong people leader, Andrew is energised by building high-performing teams that deliver consistently at a high level while remaining deeply committed to collaboration, trust, and shared purpose.
Grant Anthony — CIO & CISO, HEALWELL AI
Grant Anthony leads technology and security across the HEALWELL AI group, providing robust services in a highly regulated, AI-driven environment. He works closely with customers, partners, and external assurance entities to ensure systems are designed and operating effectively while meeting complex regulatory obligations.
With 17 years of experience delivering IT and cybersecurity programmes across North America, Europe, the UK, and New Zealand, Grant advises executive teams on transforming and modernising cyber and IT functions. His pragmatic, risk-based approach allows him to distil complex challenges into clear, visually compelling narratives that drive understanding and action.
His leadership sits at the intersection of AI innovation, operational excellence, and regulatory accountability.
Tony Arnold — Chief Information Security Officer, TSB New Zealand
Tony Arnold is a confident and dynamic security leader with deep experience across financial services, consulting, and enterprise environments. His background includes roles at Ford Motor Company, Deloitte, EY, ANZ, and KPMG—providing him with a comprehensive understanding of business processes and stakeholder expectations.
Tony combines strong security domain knowledge with leadership capability to drive meaningful improvements in organisational security posture. He is particularly passionate about helping stakeholders understand cybersecurity concepts so they can deliver business outcomes while managing evolving risk.
Over the past five years, his balanced perspective—bridging technology and risk management—has shaped practical, sustainable approaches to cyber risk governance.
Ashish Dutta — Chief Information Security Officer, Tait Communications
Ashish Dutta leads cybersecurity and data privacy for a global organisation serving high-security clients across public protection, government security agencies, critical transportation, and utilities worldwide. His role spans ITIL-based global ICT services design, security architecture, and compliance across multiple regions.
As Chief Incident Controller during major and emergency situations, Ashish manages complex cyber incidents while maintaining regulatory compliance and responding to investigations and audits. He brings over 25 years of experience in ICT transformation, service delivery, and cybersecurity leadership.
An ISO/IEC 27001 expert, Ashish has led multiple organisations through certification and large-scale transformations ranging from $2M to $40M, often requiring executive and board-level alignment across multinational environments.
Julie Watson — Chief Information Security Officer, WorkSafe New Zealand
Julie Watson is a senior technology and security leader with more than 20 years of experience across telecommunications, government, and financial services. Currently leading technology and security at WorkSafe New Zealand, she is known for delivering secure, scalable, and human-centred solutions.
Her career includes shaping payment systems and core banking platforms at ANZ, supported by academic grounding in both IT and Commercial Law. This dual expertise allows Julie to bridge business strategy, compliance, and innovation with clarity and confidence.
Julie is passionate about simplifying complexity, enabling high-performing teams, and ensuring digital investment delivers real public impact.
Nyuk Loong Kiw — Group Chief Information Security Officer, Spark Group
Nyuk Loong Kiw is a seasoned information security professional with over 16 years of experience in a technologically diverse, telco-centric environment. His expertise spans network security, incident response, and security architecture across large-scale infrastructure.
With more than a decade of leadership experience, Nyuk Loong is known for being pragmatic, hands-on, and highly approachable. His leadership style balances technical depth with practical execution, helping teams deliver resilient security outcomes in complex operational environments.
Ronnie Rahman — Head of Cyber and Risk (CISO), Hamilton City Council
Ronnie Rahman leads cyber, IT operations, and IT finance for Hamilton City Council, reporting directly to council leadership. He is responsible for shaping the council’s cybersecurity strategy and driving improvements in cybersecurity maturity across local government services.
With experience spanning both public and private sectors, Ronnie brings strong leadership, stakeholder engagement, and coordination skills. His multidisciplinary background enables him to translate cyber risk into business-relevant terms while guiding teams through operational and governance challenges.
Cameron McGregor — Chief Information Security Officer, Westpac New Zealand
Cameron McGregor has more than 10 years of experience across a wide range of cybersecurity domains, from small businesses to some of New Zealand’s largest enterprises. His career includes work across multiple regions and threat environments.
As CISO at Westpac New Zealand, Cameron focuses on building effective security programmes that balance organisational objectives with the realities of operating safely in today’s threat landscape. His approach emphasises proportional controls, risk-based decision-making, and sustainable security maturity.
Why New Zealand’s Cybersecurity Leadership Matters
New Zealand’s CISOs operate at the intersection of trust, privacy, and resilience, often within environments that demand both strong regulatory alignment and practical execution. The leaders featured here are shaping how security supports public confidence, financial stability, media integrity, and national services. Their influence extends beyond their organisations, helping define what effective cybersecurity leadership looks like across Aotearoa.