FEATURE
IN-HOUSE 20
24
KATHERINE ANDERSON
PHILIPPA MCKEGG
Auckland Council
Waste Management NZ Limited
Heading up the 50-person legal team at Auckland Council, Katherine Anderson is responsible for one of New Zealand’s largest in-house legal teams. The council itself is the largest territorial authority in the Southern Hemisphere, with more than 8,000 full-time employees, $46bn in assets across the group, and an investment program of $18.2bn over the next 10 years. Anderson is heading up the Auckland Unitary Plan, the biggest and most complex planning exercise to ever be undertaken in New Zealand, as well as a raft of major projects, including the Harbour Bridge SkyPath, the City Rail Link and the Auckland Plan, which sets out the Maori Responsiveness Framework outlining the relationship between the Auckland Council, mana whenua and Mataawaka. The challenges of rapid growth facing the city also create complex legal issues. For example, the council is currently working on an alternative sources of financing program (rather than relying on rates and debt financing) to fund a major infrastructure investment shortfall. Anderson was previously general manager, policy, performance and legal, of the New Zealand Police in Wellington. She received a Police Commissioner’s Commendation for her leadership of the Police’s participation in the Pike River Royal Commission. In 2013, she was appointed as a member of the Human Rights Review Tribunal. Her strong leadership was reflected in her team winning the In-House Team of the Year Award at the 2015 New Zealand Law Awards.
Philippa McKegg heads up the legal team at Waste Management NZ Limited, New Zealand’s largest waste management services provider. The company owns and manages a network of world-class modern, sustainable landfills, material recovery facilities and refuse transfer stations throughout the country, utilising one of the largest truck fleets in New Zealand. McKegg played a crucial role in the $950m sale and complex transition in ownership of Waste Management from its previous Australian owner over to Beijing Capital Group. Prior to that she saw the company through a lengthy consolidation process involving the restructuring and divestment of a number of businesses, including the industrial services division, which was sold as three separate businesses. She also advised the business on the urgent establishment of the landfill at Burwood after the Christchurch earthquake in 2011. Since the sale to Beijing Capital Group, McKegg continues to work on further acquisitions and the development of new infrastructure assets throughout NZ. She also advises the risk committee of the board on the top risks facing the business and runs programs across the business for competition law and health and safety law compliance. McKegg, who hails from Russell McVeagh, worked at Clifford Chance in London before taking up a vice presidency role at Bankers Trust/Deutsche Bank in London. She spent five years as corporate counsel at Tranz Rail/Toll Holdings before taking up her current role at Waste Management. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the University of Auckland.
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