Ziena is an award-winning business and public sector leader, with nearly 20 years working in New Zealand and Asia. A former diplomat, now based in Auckland, her work focuses on communication strategy, complex stakeholder engagement, organisational culture, crisis communications and leadership communications and training.
A diversity, inclusion and equity advocate, Ziena regularly presents and advises on these themes, including publishing internationally in the book Workforce Diversity: Global Perspectives.
Ziena has received several international awards for her work promoting New Zealand trade and education in Asia, and was most recently recognised by Campaign Asia Pacific as part of its 2020 Women to Watch, a group of 40 outstanding women in the Asia Pacific region.
She has been a finalist in the New Zealand Women of Influence Awards in the Global, and Board and Management categories. Earlier in her career, she received the Sally Logan Milne New Zealand Young Public Relations Practitioner of the Year Award.
Ziena is a board member of Unitec, Manukau Institute of Technology, and the Cancer Society Auckland Northland.
Previous roles include Regional Director (South & South East Asia) for Education New Zealand, New Zealand Trade Commissioner to Singapore, and Head of North Asia Marketing and Communications for New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.