Meet The BioGro Team

BioGro Board of Directors

Jon Merrick (Seeka)

Jon has his feet firmly on the ground, understanding that the answer always lies in the soil, whether you’re a plant, animal or company. With a background in all, raised on a dairy farm and then into life as an organic Kiwifruit orchard manager and owning and running a successful corporate team building company. Jon’s passion is cultivating and not of the green kind but creating an environment where seeds can grow and flourish and reach its/their full potential, and yes, the answer is in the soil. Jon is chair of FAB families achieving balance non-profit organisation working with families in need. Jon is also the exec of COKA (Certified Organic Kiwifruit Association) and the chair of the BioGro Impartiality Committee.

Horticulture Sector Representative

Joseph Stuart (Chair, Independent Director)

Joseph is a thinker, strategist and change-maker with a comprehensive and varied background in economic development. Working across public, private and not-for-profit sectors, he has built a wealth of experience in almost all business environments over the last 17 years. From grassroots and start-up ventures to strategic planning and advisory for some of New Zealand’s most successful companies, Joseph’s approach is holistic. With a deep connection to the environment and a strong belief in achieving a sustainable and ethical future, he is dedicated to applying his experience in business and innovation in a tactical way to strengthen organic integrity and certification in New Zealand.

Cleo Te Kiri (Landcorp)

Cleo is a Business Manager for Pāmu Farms of New Zealand overseeing five large organic farms in the Central Plateau that span approximately 2500 hectares. Cleo was raised in the Coromandel where sustainable living remains a key part of her whanau’s principles and who she is.

She has led her farms’ compliance programs and developed standardised processes across the group to support the teams’ transition from conventional to organic farming. She is an Organic Farmers Advisory Group (OFAG) member who represents and supports Fonterra organic milk suppliers. Cleo is passionate about organics and showcasing to the industry practical and innovative concepts that champion a sustainable future in farming.

Fabian Yukich

Fabian Yukich operates a wine industry consultancy, Planina Advisory Ltd. He has served on the board of New Zealand Winegrowers since 2012 and is currently Deputy Chair and Chair of the Environment Committee. He is the wine sector representative of the Organic Exporters Association.

In a career that began on his family’s vineyard, Fabian has spent most of his working life in a range of wine industry roles including 12 years as a director of Villa Maria Estate Ltd. In 2010 he won the Sustainability Champion Award at the Sustainable Business Network Awards. In 2012, initiatives that he led at Villa Maria contributed to the company winning the Supreme Green Ribbon Award at Parliament and the Supreme Award at the Sustainable Business Network Awards.

Wine Sector Representative

Paul Evans (Independent Director)

Paul is an experienced independent director and chair with a proven record across various industries. His background has emphasised strategy development, stakeholder engagement, government relations, and market transformation.

Paul sits on several boards in the environmental, sustainability and emissions reduction spaces. Organisations that “do good” are where his passion lies, and he believes BioGro can play an influential role in ensuring access to overseas markets and protecting our whenua.

Jenny Lux (Lux Organics)

Jenny Lux is the Director and Head Gardener of Lux Organics, her own certified organic market garden in Rotorua. As the Chair of the Soil and Health Association, she is an enthusiastic promoter of all things organic, and in particular, the positive role that organic agriculture can play in tackling climate change. She is part of the OANZ Standards Working Group and has been representing consumers and small organic producers in government consultation on the Organic Products Bill.  Jenny has a Master of Science in Environmental Science specialising in plant ecology.  Prior to starting her own organic growing operation, she had a career in ecological consultancy.

Soil & Health Representative

Charles Hyland

Charles is a soil scientist and biogeochemist who moved to NZ in 2013 after working at Cornell University in the US for over a decade.  Organic agriculture has always been central to his work and worldview. 

Soil & Health Representative