Kerry Gregory (Ngāti Maru) became Chief Executive of Fire and Emergency New Zealand in April 2022. He previously held the role of National Commander/ Deputy Chief Executive Service Delivery from February 2019.
Kerry has had a distinguished 32-year career in the fire services, and brings tremendous operational and strategic leadership experience, along with excellent relationship and communication skills to this role.
As Chief Executive, Kerry is committed to building on the progress Fire and Emergency has made since its formation in 2017. His focus towards achieving our strategy is on stronger alignment across all parts of the organisation; health, safety and wellbeing and the support to our people; training and development; Kaupapa Māori and Cultural communities and intelligence driven decision making.
Kerry previously led the transformation of our Service Delivery branch to stand up a unified district structure across the country in late 2021. He also managed our operational responses to a wide range of significant emergency events, as well as the ongoing challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kerry is currently a member of the Emergency Services Leadership Board. He represents New Zealand on the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC) and is an AFAC Champion of Change. He also is a member of the Hazard Risk Board and sits on the Next Generation Critical Communications (NGCC) Board.
Kerry is a graduate of the Australasian Institute of Police Management Executive Development Program, Executive Leadership Program and AFAC Strategic Command Program.
Updates from the Fire and Emergency Group
Champions of Change Fire & Emergency
Kerry Gregory is a Member of the Champions of Change Fire & Emergency Group which was established in 2017 in partnership with the Australasian Fire and Emergency Services Authorities Council (AFAC). The group includes Chief Executives and Commissioners leading more than 30 agencies responsible for fire, emergency and land management services across Australia and New Zealand. The group is committed to advancing gender equity, inclusive cultures and achieving significant and sustainable improvements in the representation of women in their workplaces.