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Jennifer Pelvin

Don’t let the slight Australian twang fool you – Jennifer Pelvin is a born and bred Kiwi! After 25 years living in Australia, Jennifer returned home a month ago to take up the position of Chief Executive at the New Zealand Registered Architects’ Board.

She had always planned to return to New Zealand and felt that now was right time in her career to make the move back. It was the first job she applied for after making the decision to return home.

Jennifer finds the business environment in New Zealand less bureaucratic than Australia. "In New Zealand, you can easily find out who you need to know, and what you need to know to get things done and I'm finding that very refreshing," she says.

Jennifer, who grew up in Nelson, is also enjoying how easy it is to travel to and from work – which is particularly easy in her case, as she lives near Wellington's inner-city Courtenay Place.

While she misses friends back over the Tasman, she says that economic relations and the ease of travel between the two countries have meant that the barriers have come down between Australia and New Zealand.

She likes being back in her home culture and is very aware of the fact that New Zealanders have an acute social awareness. "New Zealand has embraced the concept of professional development and social responsibility and is ahead of Australia on a number of these issues," she says. Above all, she says that waking up to see Wellington's harbour and green hills every morning is "an absolute delight."

Jennifer Pelvin thought she'd never find a good New Zealand red wine. Now she's eating, or rather drinking her words. Since moving back to New Zealand she has discovered wines from the Martinborough region. She's also enjoying the local arts and music, as well as getting reacquainted with local fare, particularly Bluff oysters.

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