Telecommunications and technology company One New Zealand has announced the appointment of Greg Patchell as incoming CEO of its cybersecurity specialist company DEFEND.
Ken Tunnicliffe, Chair of DEFEND, says: “I’m pleased to share Greg’s appointment as part of the next stage in DEFEND’s journey as an independent but core part of the One NZ’s Security Practice”
“This appointment will accelerate our mission to provide industry leading cybersecurity services and excellence in cyber resilience to our collective customers”
“Wenzel Huettner, founder of DEFEND, remains passionately committed to our shared dream and will focus on leading our collective security product strategy and roadmap as CTO for DEFEND.
“As a former customer and Deputy Chief Executive of Digital, Data and Insights at MBIE, Greg will be an asset to our team. Greg will start his new role on 3 March, based in Wellington, with regular visits to Auckland.”
One NZ acquired a majority stake in DEFEND in early 2022, which it extended in 2024. DEFEND is an industry leading specialist in building cyber resilience for a wide range of local and international businesses.
Commenting on his appointment, Greg says: “I am really looking forward to working with all the team at DEFEND and in particular Wenzel who, as one of the founders of the company, has set about building what I believe is the best cyber security organisation in New Zealand.
“The work and services that DEFEND provides to its customers are crucial to sustaining their businesses, the protection of their information and assets, and that of their customers in turn. I could not think of a more motivating purpose to join the team at DEFEND when New Zealand businesses and New Zealanders need to build cyber resilience like never before.”
“I have been a customer of DEFEND over the years and have worked closely with many people in the broader One NZ family, and I am excited to help take DEFEND to the next level.”
Greg has spent many years as a senior executive working in and about the technology and telco industries in NZ and is well known in both public and private sectors.
He has held several roles in central government including Head of Immigration New Zealand, and prior to that, he led core regulatory functions including the NZ Companies Office, intellectual property, insolvency, plus the establishment of CERT New Zealand – the Cyber Emergency Response Team.
Most recently at MBIE, he led the digital and insights functions and was the Chief Security Officer. Greg spent several years in executive roles at Telecom New Zealand (now Spark), including Group Technology Officer and led the capital investment programme for the company for several years.
In his earlier career, Greg spent a decade working in various roles at Westpac Bank in New Zealand and Australia in technology areas, including leading Westpac New Zealand’s technology strategy and architecture function, and as the head of Westpac Groups’ application architecture portfolio.
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