Meet your Āpōpō Branch Chairs
Each of these leaders brings deep expertise, passion for infrastructure asset management, and a commitment to strengthening connections within their regions.
Āpōpō Branch Chairs play an important role in bringing members together, sharing knowledge, and creating opportunities to collaborate locally. We invite you to get to know your regional representative below, and keep an eye out for upcoming events and initiatives in your area.
Northern Branch – Parvati Patel
Asset Management Principal, Hamilton City Council
Parvati Patel is the Asset Management Principal at Hamilton City Council, where she oversees asset management for the Three Waters. With over 20 years of experience primarily in local government, Parvati has developed expertise across operations, compliance, project management, and asset management.
Recently, she has worked with the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) on developing asset management plans for the Waikato area. Parvati is passionate about the opportunities that sector changes bring and is committed to ensuring asset management remains central to the success of future developments within the water industry.
Parvati also serves on the Āpōpō Board as the representative of the Branch Chairs.
Bay of Plenty / East Coast Branch – Alun James
Technical Director – Water Infrastructure, Pattle Delamore Partners
A mechanical engineer by background, Alun is now a Technical Director – Water Infrastructure based in the Napier Office of Pattle Delamore Partners.
With 40 years of industry experience, including 18 years in asset and maintenance management, Alun brings deep insight into asset knowledge, integrity, criticality, and system reliability. Alun followed his air force training in aircraft systems and maintenance management (1989) with post-grad study in Information Systems Management (1999). More recently, Alun has continued his professional development and is a certified practitioner in ISO 19650 (2023) Digital Information Management.
Over the last 10 years, Alun’s focus has been on 3 Waters projects, where he has helped deliver all aspects, from valuations through engineering to construction of Wastewater, Potable Water, and Storm Water assets. Alun is experienced in all phases of project delivery, from issue identification to engineering design and construction implementation. He is also passionate about harnessing digital tools and modelling to deliver projects efficiently and maintain asset data.
Wellington / Taranaki Branch – Linda Cook
Associate Director, Morrison Low Advisory
Linda Cook has more than 25 years of experience across contracting, consulting, and in local government roles. She brings a strategic perspective grounded in practical delivery, helping clients enhance infrastructure resilience and achieve long-term value for money.
Linda is passionate about Āpōpō’s role in building capability across the asset management sector and is committed to contributing to the organisation’s ongoing success. She looks forward to supporting members and fostering collaboration across the Wellington and Taranaki regions.
Upper South Island Branch – Paul McKeefry
Team Leader, Asset Management, Christchurch City Council
Based in Christchurch, Paul has been actively involved in asset management at a strategic level for the last 3 years with Christchurch City Council. Paul is deeply committed to strengthening the regional asset management community. He has been an active member of Āpōpō since February 2023, attending Congress in both 2024 and 2025.
Paul believes the Upper South Island branch has huge potential to connect professionals across Canterbury, Nelson, Marlborough, and beyond – sharing insights, sparking innovation, and building a strong network of support. Paul is excited to help shape that future by organising inclusive, engaging events and encouraging collaboration across councils and sectors.
With a background in property, facilities and asset management over the last 20 years, and a genuine enthusiasm for infrastructure and people, Paul is keen to contribute meaningfully to Āpōpō’s mission.
Otago / Southland Branch – Mark Baker
Principal Engineer, Morphum Environmental
Mark Baker is a highly experienced chartered professional engineer specialising in three waters asset management and strategic planning. With over 17 years of experience, he has worked extensively in the local government infrastructure sector, both as a client and a consultant. During his time at Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC), Mark led a multi-disciplinary team, managing long-life infrastructure assets and overseeing long-term infrastructure planning for one of New Zealand’s fastest-growing districts.
Based in the Queenstown area, Mark works with Morphum Environmental. He is deeply passionate about the outdoors and dedicated to preserving the unique environment and lifestyle of Aotearoa/New Zealand.
