Ivan Sutherland

Interim Chairman

Ivan is a Trustee for MRC and is filling the role of interim Chairman for the MRC Advisory Committee. Ivan has extensive experience in the grape and wine sector.  He has been involved with Wine Marlborough the unified local grape and wine organisations since its establishment.  He was the founding chairman for the Marlborough Wine Research Centre Board established In 2003 now MRC Board.

Graduated from Lincoln University in 1972 with a VFM, he entered the wine industry in 1979, being one of the earlier private pioneers of the Marlborough viticulture industry.

Over a period of many years he established his own vineyards on selected sites in the Wairau and Southern Valleys. In 1986 Ivan joined Cloudy Bay in its establishment years as their viticulturist, a position he held for 18 years.

In 2002 he established the Dog Point label in partnership with James Healy.

Warwick Lissaman

Agriculture Representative

Warwick is from one of Marlborough’s early farming families; the fourth generation of his family to farm in the Awatere Valley.

After completing a Bachelor of Agriculture and a Bachelor of Commerce with a post graduate diploma in Rural Valuation at Lincoln University, Warwick followed his grandfather and his father onto the family property.

After an active role within New Zealand Young Farmers, Warwick has gone on to take positions of responsibility within the rural sector.  In 2008 Warwick chaired the local organising committee for the New Zealand Grassland Association Annual Conference held in Blenheim.  Warwick went on to serve eight years on the NZGA executive committee including two years as Vice President and two years as President and has served terms with NZ Meat & Wool and NZ Beef & Lamb Marlborough Monitor Farm executive committees.  He also has served as an elected Trustee to the Awatere Community Trust; and is currently Chairman of the Chilean Needle Grass Action Group and a member of the NZ Beef & Lamb Pastures for Profit, Marlborough group.

Warwick’s efforts to help secure funding for dryland pastoral research and a direct involvement in a dryland legumes technology transfer research project precede his appointment in 2011 to the MRC Board.

Amongst his priorities is the wish to see the pastoral sector make greater use of the research capacity of the Research Centre.  He believes that science and research is the key to unlocking future opportunities and that it is in the mutual interest of each of the productive sectors of Marlborough to work closely together to fulfil the potential of the district.

“To go forward to new, levels of productivity and/or production systems, site specific solutions are required and an understanding of the natural capital is needed first and foremost.  This Site Specific Technology Transfer is very problematic for science as a provider due to resource cost.  The direction MRC takes must reflect this need.

A worrying trend is the rise of advertorials in the press, so many choices and so many pseudo-science statements, often farmer testimonials are used instead of peer reviewed scientific evidence.”

Andrew Naylor

Pernod Ricard Representative

Andrew is the Senior Viticulturist for Pernod Ricard Winemakers, responsible for coordinating the productivity and quality of the crop and the technology used on the company and contract grower vineyards.

He liaises with our company operational and planning managers, viticulturists and Grower Liaison Team, to ensure that parcels of fruit are meeting their quality and crop level targets. He spends time in the vineyards looking at the vines and their fruit, as well as time in the office reviewing and planning. There is a lot of information to keep up with and many people who need the information shared with them.

Andrew graduated from Lincoln College with a Diploma in Horticulture and a Diploma in Field Technology. He spent 13 years with MAF / HortResearch before moving to Pernod Ricard (Montana Wines as it was then) in 1995. In the late 90’s he got all keen and began a Masters in Applied Science through Lincoln which he completed in 2002.

Pernod Ricard has supported the Marlborough Research Centre and the Wine Research Centre especially from its beginning. I’m pleased to be continuing the company’s representation following on from the good work of Andy Frost and look forward to valuable interaction with the wider business community of Marlborough.

Alan Johnson

Marlborough District Council Representative

Alan is the Marlborough District Council Environmental Science and Monitoring Manager who is responsible for a team of 30 staff. The team have responsibilities for State of the Environment Monitoring of natural resources (land, water, air) including investigations of environmental issues and the implementation of measures to protect and restore the environment (e.g. biosecurity, catchment care, biodiversity programmes).  

Paul Johnstone

Plant & Food Research Representative

Dr Paul Johnstone joins the Advisory Committee of the MRC as a representative of Plant & Food Research where he is the General Manager of Science – Sustainable Production.

In his role Paul leads a group of 150 researchers from across the motu who are passionate about making a difference to food production through science discovery and application. Key areas of focus include tomorrows high productivity systems that are designed to have a lighter touch, and are adapted and resilient to future changes.

 Paul studied horticultural science at Massey University and gained his PhD in the area of crop nutrition and irrigation management in 2005. He worked for 5 years in research and extension supporting the horticulture industry in California before returning to New Zealand in 2006.

Paul has held a variety of roles at Plant & Food Research since then including as a ‘hands on’ researcher, Programme Leader, and Science Group Leader. He has a strong interest in seeing science applied and making a difference to the opportunities and challenges before New Zealand’s horticultural sectors.

James Morton

Lincoln University Representative

Associate Professor Jim Morton is Dean of Agriculture and Life sciences at Lincoln University. Before that he was Head of the Department of Wine, Food and Molecular Biosciences. He is  a biochemist and his research focus is the modification of proteins and the resulting changes in food quality. He has published more than 100 papers including several on wine proteins and quality.