Our senior leadership team
Our senior leadership team works collaboratively to set and guide our strategic direction.
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Nic Blakeley, Chief Executive
Nic Blakeley was appointed to his role as Chief Executive of MBIE and Secretary for Economic Growth in January 2026.
Nic joined MBIE in July 2023 from the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) where he held Deputy Chief Executive roles since 2013 in Social Policy, Strategy and Insights and most recently Transformation.
Nic has also worked at Treasury in a range of policy areas, including a period as economic advisor to the Minister of Finance.
He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering and a Bachelor of Commerce in Economics from the University of Canterbury.
Anna Clark, Deputy Secretary, Labour, Science and Enterprise
Anna Clark is the Deputy Secretary for Labour, Science and Enterprise. The Labour, Science and Enterprise group works with people, businesses, regions, and the science, innovation and education systems to help the country and New Zealanders to be successful.
Anna worked at MBIE previously as the General Manager of the Workplace Relations and Safety policy branch. She has also worked in the Policy Advice Group at Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet working in Health and several other portfolios.
Anna has held leadership roles at the Ministry of Health, including as Deputy Director-General, Health Workforce and acting Deputy Director-General Regulatory Services. Prior to the public service, Anna worked as a lawyer in private practice and in-house for a large New Zealand business.
Paul Stocks, Deputy Secretary, Corporate and Digital Shared Services
Paul Stocks is the Deputy Secretary for Corporate and Digital Shared Services. Corporate and Digital Shared Services works in partnership with business groups to enable them to deliver their objectives and portfolio obligations.
Previously, Paul was Deputy Secretary for our Building, Resources and Markets group; Deputy Secretary for our Labour, Science and Enterprise group; and Deputy Director General at the Ministry for Primary Industries, responsible for Policy and Deputy Director General Strategy and Performance.
Paul has also held a number of management roles at Treasury, with responsibility for education, market interventions and tax policy. He also worked at the Ministry of Health and the New Zealand Planning Council.
Robert Pigou, Deputy Secretary, Regional Development & Commercial Services
Robert Pigou is Deputy Secretary, Regional Development & Commercial Services which manages a number of Government funding initiatives.
Previously, Robert was Head of Investment Management at Provincial Development Unit (PDU), the team responsible for detailed assessments, analysis, and critiquing of all funding applications, and making recommendations to decision-makers.
Robert has extensive experience in the corporate finance and banking sectors both in New Zealand and Asia. He has held senior leadership roles at EY, AsiaPower Developments Limited and Lloyds Bank, The National Bank of New Zealand and Southpac.
He has more recently served in senior roles in the public sector, including as Deputy Secretary, Higher Courts at the Ministry of Justice and as General Manager, NZ Petroleum and Minerals at Ministry of Economic Development.
Robert has been a member of the Institute of Directors since 2016.
Melanie Porter, Deputy Secretary, Strategy and Assurance
Melanie Porter is the Deputy Secretary, Strategy and Assurance. Strategy and Assurance manages MBIE’s organisational strategy and strategic risks and provides assurance to the Chief Executive, holding a medium to long-term focus on organisational performance.
Melanie’s previous role was as Deputy Secretary, Strategic Policy and Programmes leading MBIE teams responsible for economic strategy, climate change advice, improving outcomes for Māori and Pasifika, and regulatory stewardship. She has had previous experience in corporate roles and previously led policy teams in competition, consumer, economic regulation and corporate governance at the Ministry of Economic Development.
Mel and her husband Tusi live in Wellington with their 3 children.
Cath Atkins, Deputy Secretary, Building, Resources and Markets
Cath Atkins joined MBIE as Deputy Secretary Building, Resources and Markets in July 2026. The overarching role of the group is to support a fair, competitive business environment and well-functioning telecommunications, building and construction and resources sectors and operations.
Cath brings more than 25 years’ experience in the public sector including in policy and operational delivery leadership positions. Most recently she was Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Secretary, Enabling Services at the Treasury. Her career has spanned a wide range of policy areas, including economic growth, competition policy and regulation, labour markets, welfare, Tax and State sector performance.
As an executive leadership team member, she led the Treasury’s work on settings to promote economic growth and a stable macroeconomic environment. She also spent five years on Inland Revenue’s leadership team including leading the Business facing customer services as Deputy Commissioner, where she played a critical role in delivering the organisation’s Business Transformation Programme.
With a background in economics and international trade, Cath holds a Master's and Bachelor's degree in Economics.
Ingrid Bayliss, Acting Deputy Secretary, Immigration
Ingrid Bayliss leads Immigration New Zealand, which provides stewardship of the immigration system to facilitate and protect New Zealand's interests. It aims to deliver outstanding immigration services, bringing the best people to New Zealand to make it prosper.
Ingrid has held several senior roles leading large-scale and complex regulatory and service delivery functions, including those involving compliance and enforcement, high volume service delivery, dispute resolution, quasi-judicial and statutory decision making and emergency management.
Ingrid has also previously acted as Deputy Secretary Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery, and her substantive role is General Manager Building and Tenancy, Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery.
Ingrid will return to the role of Deputy Secretary Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery on 20 July 2026
Sanjai Raj, Acting Deputy Secretary, Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery
Sanjai Raj leads our Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery group, which supports economic growth by enabling people to do the right thing with confidence, supporting productive and competitive businesses, and providing regulatory and service delivery systems that are trusted, efficient and future focused.
Sanjai has more than 35 years public sector experience and has led some of New Zealand’s most complex regulatory and service delivery systems. His leadership roles bear on market confidence and protecting consumers: Official Assignee, Registrar of Companies, New Zealand Standards Executive, Group Manager-Radio Spectrum Management and General Manager Consumer Protection and Standards.
Across these roles Sanjai has overseen regulatory frameworks that collectively support millions of interactions each year. These systems affect how people form businesses, protect assets, access essential services, and participate confidently in the economy. Sanjai holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master in Public Administration.
Lesley McConnell, Chief Advisor to the Secretary
Lesley McConnell is the Chief Advisor to the Secretary. She has had a long career at MBIE, previously as the Head of the Office of the Deputy Secretary in the Building, Resource and Markets and in the Labour, Science and Enterprise group.
Lesley also served as Counsellor for Science and Innovation at the New Zealand Embassy in Washington DC, accredited to Canada, from 2008 to 2013. Since joining MBIE (and its predecessor agencies MSI and MoRST) in 2004, Lesley has worked across science funding and international teams, leading bilateral relationships, funding initiatives and serving as a Private Secretary.
Lesley has a Masters in Environmental Policy from Lincoln University, a Postgraduate Diploma in International Relations from Victoria University of Wellington, and a Bachelor of Science and Technology in Earth Sciences from the University of Waikato.