Denis is a creative and strategic thinker, with broad general management experience, which includes
managing businesses of 100 staff and turnover exceeding NZ$30 million. Denis now works as a specialist advisor in the corporate and not-for-profit sectors, specialising in governance, strategy, risk, and compliance. His specialist expertise is behavioural governance.

The field of behavioural governance is based on his ground-breaking PhD research. This original research has been further developed and refined over more than a decade of specialist advisory practice. This experience has reinforced the understanding that, while externally mandated factors, such as compliance and regulation, provide the rules of the game, they do not necessarily contribute to or improve organisational performance. It is a combination of behavioural characteristics and attributes identified and refined through Denis’ work that allows a board to influence the executive, who in turn impact organisational performance. Importantly, these behavioural characteristics are unique to each of the corporate and not-for-profit sectors.

This expertise of the behavioural and team dynamics that influence governance and board performance combined with Denis’ insightful guidance has proven invaluable to a wide range of large and small enterprises, including governmental, NFP and private organisations.

Denis’ international advisory practice, academic teaching and practical experience as a chair, director, and manager, combined with his creative thinking and strategic skills, gives Denis strong insights into the issues facing government, NFP and private enterprise. His insightful guidance has proven invaluable to the fortunes of organisations in New Zealand and overseas. Denis has been engaged by organisations such as the ChCh City Council, ACC, I-Car, Australian Sports Commission, Sport NZ, Invercargill City Council, Hellmack ITM, Oceania Sports Education Programme, AUT, Thales NZ Ltd and others to provide governance advice, board performance reviews and strategy facilitation, and the development of board education and training programmes.

Denis is published widely and presents at conferences on topical board matters. Denis is a Fellow
and Vice President of the Chartered Governance Institute (CGI Global) and a Fellow of The Chartered
Governance Institute NZ.