Auckland lawyer wins Emerging Director Award

Auckland lawyer Anchali Anandanayagam has won an Emerging Director Award from the Institute of Directors (IoD) Auckland Branch.  

Ms Anandanayagam is a partner at Hudson Gavin Martin, a leading corporate and commercial law firm specialising in technology, media and intellectual property.  An expert in all legal aspects of tech, media and telecommunications, in the last 19 years Ms Anandanayagam has advised public and private clients and their suppliers on the adoption and commercialisation of technology, media and telecommunications products and services.

The IoD presents its Emerging Director Awards annually. Each recipient receives a financial contribution towards IoD governance development courses, a year’s complimentary membership of the Institute and mentoring from an experienced director. 

In selecting Ms Anandanayagam for the 2021 award, the judges said: “Her professional experience, in both commercial and for-purpose organisations, and her knowledge across media and technology, are skills that will add value to any board.  Anchali’s approach to preparing for a governance career, and the governance experience she has already accumulated, has set her on a path that will make a valuable contribution to, in Anchali’s words, ‘help purpose-driven organisations in New Zealand to thrive’.”

Ms Anandanayagam brings a unique cultural and professional perspective to her governance roles and is a keen advocate of “not just for profit” business models. She has actively contributed her time and skills as a member of the Asylum Seekers Support Trust board, a charitable organisation supporting asylum seekers and refugees. As vice chair, she has had first-hand experience of how critical it is to have a board that is dedicated to, and passionate about, the organisation’s purpose.

“I began my governance journey in 2015 when I joined the Asylum Seekers Support Trust as a volunteer board member,” Ms Anandanayagam says. “I wanted to repay the generosity that my family was shown when we arrived in New Zealand and thought that contributing my time and skills to the trust would be a good start.

“It was in this role that I learnt how critical it is to have a board that was dedicated and passionate about the organisation’s purpose. I also learnt how important it is to have a clear separation between those who steer the organisation and those who manage it.”

Ms Anandanayagam holds a joint degree in law and psychology from the University of Otago, and is a member of the Institute of Directors, the New Zealand Law Society, Auckland Women’s Law Association and Women in Film and Television New Zealand.

She has received global recognition for her work and expertise from internationally renowned legal directories, Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 and Media Law International. Her open and measured approach means clients often seek her out to work on complex transactions and to represent them in difficult negotiations.

Chambers & Partners quotes: “Anchali is an experienced lawyer with amazing technical skills," but also "a relationship builder who can deal with people at all levels both within and between organisations”.

The Auckland Branch Emerging Director Award is proudly brought to you by Diligent.

ENDS.

More information

For more information, and to request interviews or images, please contact:

Branch contact

Becky Hare
IoD Auckland Branch Manager
027 642 1099
becky.hare@iod.org.nz

Media contact

Vanessa Glennie
IoD Corporate Communications Manager
027 957 0315
vanessa.glennie@iod.org.nz