GOVETT QUILLIAM | THE LAWYERS

IF ANDRÉ NOBBS WAS A COMIC BOOK SUPERHERO, HIS NAME WOULD BE “ACTIONMAN”.

From biosecurity to legal leadership, André has spent his career tackling crises, transforming organisations, and building bridges between sectors.

Now, as the CEO of Govett Quilliam (GQ), a prestigious Taranaki law firm, he’s bringing that strategic level, action-packed ethos to the legal world, driving change with energy and dedication.

Sitting in a comfortable meeting room in the firm’s New Plymouth office, André reflects on the first couple of months since beginning at GQ on June 10.

“For me, my first order of business was to really connect with the partners around what they saw as their priorities across the firm and then to engage with all of the teams and individuals who make up GQ here, and in Inglewood and Stratford.” These constructive meetings enabled André to map workflow, accountabilities and the firm’s positioning in the competitive landscape of legal services.

In his leadership role, André stands by a straightforward philosophy – transparency and engagement.

André says that his engaged and consultative approach is to ensure everyone in the law firm is on board with systems and each person understands their contribution towards GQ’s success.

One of his early projects is the introduction of ActionStep, a new legal tech system designed to streamline client management processes.

André’s methodical approach comes from past roles, where deep understanding and clear communication were a must.

He spent 10 years in the military in Australia, and driven by a personal tragedy, he relocated to peaceful Norfolk Island to recover.

By 2007 he found himself entering politics and was elected to the Norfolk Island legislative Assembly, becoming the Chief Minister. That’s the head of state, equivalent to a prime minister or president.

He was re-elected in 2010, this time becoming Minister for Tourism, Industry and Development.

While on the assembly, André led the way for governance reforms on the island.

Back in his homeland of Aotearoa, André found himself working on back-to-back national health and biosecurity emergencies.

From 2017 to 2020, André was a key figure in New Zealand’s largest national biosecurity response programme, working to wipe out Mycoplasma bovis. This bacterial disease that can cause serious health conditions in cattle, including mastitis (udder infection), pneumonia, arthritis, and slow growth in calves.

“We designed systems to be part of that eradication programme,” he says of his time working for the Ministry for Primary Industries. “The multi-tiered action plan involved everything from software platforms to genome mapping processes.”

When Covid-19 arrived in 2020, he was poached. André moved from bovine biosecurity to helping humans as the national planning and programme manager within the Ministry of Health’s pandemic response team.

“The team from MPI had assisted (the Ministry of) Health by providing initial experience and insight into the contact tracing systems and the whole genome mapping, developed as part of the Mycoplasma bovis programme,” says André.

Both Government roles required extensive commuting from New Plymouth, where he and his wife, Kim, and family moved eight years ago. André would typically leave Taranaki at 4am on a Monday to drive to Wellington, where he would stay until Thursday evening, when he’d head for home.

Now, at GQ, André’s commute is just minutes, allowing him more time and energy to focus innovation and efficiency – and heart.

GQ is deeply invested in the Taranaki community, so André is mapping out the firm’s ecosystem of support for local initiatives.

“The footprint of that I haven’t finished drawing up yet because it is actually so big and complex,” he says.

Beyond the boardroom and the office, André is a man of many talents and community involvement.

One of his passions is music, which led him to perform alongside some big names in the industry.

“I wrote a lot of music and then that grew, and I ended up playing at most of the large festivals,” he says. “I played on tour with Jimmy Barnes years ago.”

These days, his involvement is as a member of the Taranaki Singer-Songwriters Development Trust, but the stage still beckons.

“That’s reinvigorated me around that whole writing music and performing music.”

André has also enjoyed coaching others and competing in athletics and martial arts, regularly competing in the Masters Games, where he’s won numerous medals and for nearly two decades André has practised martial arts, including Judo, Kenpo Karate, Arnis, and Shaolin Kung Fu – his favoured form.

Humble and happy in his own skin, André’s journey from the military to politics, biosecurity to national health, and now to the legal sector as CEO of GQ is another decisive step by a man of action.

Contact: (06) 768 3700 oremail@gqlaw.nz