Our Team
Show
Richard Plowright
Founder and Managing Director
Richard is founder and Managing Director of NZMS and wholly owned Australian subsidiary, AMSL. He was heavily involved with establishing effective haemodialysis units in Christchurch Hospital before moving into pharmaceutical sales and management. As a leading New Zealand independent medical distributor Richard has extensive experience in the New Zealand and Australian medical industry and is responsible for introducing hundreds of new devices and pharmaceuticals to our healthcare market.
Ruth Hughes
Division Manager
Medical Division
Ruth has a Bachelor of Science (Nursing) and completed her hospital base nursing training in the late 1970’s at Greenlane Hospital. The majority of her nursing practice was with the renal dialysis service at Auckland Hospital where she was 2IC for several years. Ruth then moved into sales and management roles in the pharmaceutical and device industry before arriving at NZMS in 2002 to utilise her extensive medical background managing the growing Medical Division.
Angelique de Jong
Division Manager
Regenerative Medicine Division
Angelique has a long history of working in the medical fields of Ophthalmology and Medical Aesthetics in sales and management roles. Angelique provides support to a team of product specialists based in New Zealand and Australia and liaises with the suppliers to ensure the products are well represented and backed by ongoing training.
Judy Rolls
Administration/QA Manager
Judy began work at NZMS many years ago when it was just her, a customer services lady and two joint Managing Directors. Her role includes overseeing the customer services and warehouse operations, financial accounts, payroll and quality assurance. There is not too much going on in the company that she doesn’t know about!
Tracy Shores
National Sales Manager
Diabetes Division
Diagnostic & Point of Care Division
Tracy has a BSc in Chemistry and a Post Graduate Diploma in Business, both from Auckland University. Tracy has held several senior management roles within the pharmaceutical and medical device industries and has worked in the NZ Healthcare industry for over 30 years. Tracy has held several national roles managing teams to deliver key outcomes for their customers and commercial targets.
Hugh Plowright
Marketing Strategy Manager
Hugh has been a part of the NZMS team since 2011, heading marketing operations across New Zealand and Australia. Hugh has a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from the University of Auckland and has previously worked in advertising management, giving him valuable insight into marketing strategy and execution.
Kennedy Little
Marketing Associate
Kennedy graduated with a double major in Marketing and Event Management. Prior to joining the NZMS team, Kennedy has previously worked in the health care industry performing marketing and design responsibilities. Her role at NZMS involves designing marketing material and providing support to the Senior Marketing Associate.
Katie Laing
Senior Marketing Associate
Katie graduated with a Bachelor of Design majoring in Advertising. Prior to joining the NZMS team, Katie previously worked in service-related marketing roles across a variety of industries. Her current role at NZMS includes coordinating and executing advertising, marketing, and communication activities, plus management of our website and nationwide events.
Kevin Holwill
Territory Manager
Diabetes Division
Kevin graduated with a Diploma in Comprehensive Nursing and completed New Zealand Nursing Council Registration in 1997. He completed his Bachelor of Nursing Degree from Eastern Institute of Technology in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand in 2003. Prior to joining NZMS Kevin worked in various sales roles in both the United Kingdom and New Zealand. His role at NZMS involves managing the sales of our Diabetes Portfolio into the Wellington and Lower North Island territories.
Kirstin Brown
Division Manager
Diabetes Division
Diagnostic & Point of Care Division
Kirstin has an MBA and 20 years experience in the Medical Device Sector. Before joining NZMS in 2020 she worked for Cardinal Health in the APAC Mergers and Acquisitions Team, as Head of Programmes and Strategy for Australia and New Zealand. Her expertise is in new launches, strategic growth and organisational transformation. She manages our Diabetes, Diagnostic Point of Care and Allergy Divisions.
Courtney Giddens
Inside Sales Manager
Diabetes Division
Courtney is responsible for managing our Inside Sales team. Courtney has a background in Biomedical Science and has been working with NZMS for several years across our Diagnostic and Point of Care and Diabetes Division. Courtney has used her experience for building relationships and offering technical support in the Diabetes field as a Territory Manager and is excited and passionate about growing the division and improving patient outcomes through education and engagement of our leading-edge technology.
Debbie Tuck
Territory Manager
Diabetes Division
Debbie trained and worked as a Dietitian before completing a Post Graduate Diploma in Management Studies at the University of Waikato. She has worked in various sales roles within the healthcare sector including medical nutrition and diabetes. Prior to joining NZMS Debbie worked as a product specialist for Nutricia Ltd responsible for the Paediatric, Allergy and Metabolic portfolios. Her role at NZMS involves managing the sales of Diabetes products throughout the North Auckland, Hawkes Bay and Nelson/Marlborough regions.
Karyne Coker
Teritory Manager
Diabetes Division
Karyne has spent more than 20 years of her career as a Registered Nurse, both in South Africa and in New Zealand. She has always had a passion for diabetes care, having grown up in a family of diabetics, and becoming a Type 1 herself a few years ago. Karyne is in awe about the range of diabetes technology available today, and is very excited to be part of a team of like-minded, passionate people.
Katie Lee
Territory Manager - Business Development Associate
Diabetes Division
Katie graduated from AUT with a Bachelor of Health Science in Nursing. She has a comprehensive background in both public and commercial healthcare. Her career has predominantly focused on training and supporting patients and healthcare professionals within the chronic healthcare setting. Prior to joining NZMS Katie worked in a sales role managing a national renal/dialysis portfolio. Her role at NZMS involves managing the sales of diabetes products throughout the Auckland region.
Jill Hutchinson
Diabetes Customer Success Manager
Diabetes Division
Jill has a diverse background ranging from PR, event management and sales. Until recently she ran her own company which offered event management, office admin, and virtual assistance work services which she juggled alongside busy Business Development and Sales roles. Her role at NZMS involves managing the NZMS Diabetes Legends Loyalty Programme and customer service for the Tandem t:slim insulin pumps.
Patrick Archibald
Commercial Operations
Diabetes Division
Patrick completed his Bachelor of Management Studies from the University of Waikato. He’s spent the last 10 years working in customer operations roles, with a focus on exceptional service and compassion in a high care environment. Patrick joined NZMS back in 2020. His current role involves facilitating easy access of NZMS Diabetes’s products direct to customers.
Melanie Brixton
Territory Manager
Diabetes Division
Melanie is a comprehensive registered nurse, graduating in 1992. Prior to joining NZMS Melanie worked in the pharmaceutical industry for over 20 years, working in numerous different therapeutic areas. It is important to Melanie to work within the health sector and she really enjoys working with healthcare professionals. Melanie is very excited about the opportunity to work in the Diabetes space and especially with patients managing their Diabetes on a daily basis.
Igor Obradovic
Product Manager
Diabetes Division
Diagnostic & Point of Care Division
Igor graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Auckland in 2008. Prior to joining NZMS in 2015, he spent 6 years working in medical laboratories with a focus on quality and productivity improvement. His role at NZMS involves managing the product portfolios across the Diagnostic and Diabetes divisions as well as developing and maintaining customer relationships and introducing customers to new products that represent the latest technology in medical diagnostics and immunotherapy based therapeutics.
Alice Stewart
Territory Manager
Diagnostic & Point of Care Division
Alice has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and a Master of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Waikato. Prior to joining NZMS, Alice has worked in technical sales and business development in the high-tech industry. She has also held various roles in R&D in NZ and UK. Based in Wellington, Alice’s role at NZMS involves managing the sales of the product range within the Diagnostics and Point of Care division, building customer relationships, offering technical support and developing new business within her territory of lower North Island and South Island.
Karen Clegg
Territory Manager South Island & Lower North Island
Medical Division
Karen is responsible for all product ranges across the Medical Division from her base in Christchurch. Her role at NZMS is backed by a strong understanding of the market, managing implementation strategy and a strong focus on education and inservice. Prior to joining NZMS, Karen was a Senior Dialysis Technician in Christchurch, followed by three years managing a large dialysis unit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Amber Johnston
Product Development Manager
Regenerative Medicine Division
Amber graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Otago University and Postgraduate Marketing Diploma from the University of Auckland. Prior to NZMS, Amber has worked in both sales and marketing roles for a number of leading pharmaceutical companies. Her role at NZMS involves full management of the skincare and vascular portfolios.
AJ Dhani
Territory Manager
Scientific Division
AJ completed his Bachelor of Science from the University of Otago majoring in Microbiology with a minor in Marketing. After graduating, AJ worked in an in-process dairy laboratory performing microbial and chemistry-based testing for products made on-site. Prior to joining NZMS, he spent the last few years pursuing a sales career in the construction and engineering sector.
Susan Conroy
Customer Services Coordinator
Susan has worked for many years in customer services, prior to working at NZMS she was working in the banking sector. Susan has a frontline role with NZMS working as a customer services coordinator, and sales support working closely with the warehouse on stock control.
Estelle Gerrets
Customer Services & Admin Assistant
Estelle has had extensive experience working in customer services & logistics roles in New Zealand, as well as having had a nursing background both in the UK & New Zealand. Her role at NZMS involves sales support, particularly in the Diagnostic & Point of Care division, as well as customer service.
Alice Joe
Customer Services
Alice completed a BA at Waikato University and previously worked for many years at the Department of Internal Affairs and Bookabach in Customer Service roles. Her current role at NZMS involves customer and sales support for the Diabetes division. She enjoys working in the medical field because NZMS’s products make a genuine difference to peoples’ lives.