Philip Lewin holds a BA Hons (First Class) in English Studies from Victoria University of Wellington, an M Phil from Balliol College Oxford (Rhodes Scholarship), and a Diploma in Social Sciences from Massey University where he studied Economics.

Mr Lewin took up the position of Chief Executive, Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce in January 2001.

Prior to this, he was Deputy Director of the Trade Negotiations Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), Wellington.  Mr Lewin worked overseas in MFAT posts in Melbourne, Moscow, Geneva, and in Washington where he dealt with WTO, APEC and dairy access issues.  He was New Zealand’s lead negotiator for the WTO GATS (Services trade) Agreement, represented MFAT in policy areas such as industry facilitation and export financing, and played a major role in negotiating New Zealand’s Free Trade Agreement with Singapore.
 
During his time at the Wellington Regional Chamber, Mr Lewin has led a strong expansion of business activity and membership growth. Throughout 2003 he drove the New Zealand Chambers of Commerce six-part economic policy series “Achieving Faster Growth for New Zealand”, acting as public spokesperson and presenter for the Chambers nationwide. 

Mr Lewin is currently a Director of New Zealand Chambers of Commerce and Industry; Board member and Treasurer of the New Zealand Trade Liberalisation Network; Board member of the New Zealand – USA and New Zealand-Australia Business Councils, Council Member of the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand (Ministerial appointee); Member of the Ministerial Small Business Steering Committee, and of the Wellington Regional Land Transport Committee.   He has also served recently as a Primary School Trustee. 

Recent awards and fellowships have included a visit in 2002 as official guest of the Hong Kong Government, and a tour of US business schools as the 2003 American Chambers of Commerce Business Education Fellow.

Born in 1960 and raised in Wellington, Mr Lewin is married with two children, and enjoys cricket (coaching, playing and watching), rugby, hiking, theatre and films, and travel. 



 

Birds of a Feather? – How New Zealand and Malaysian SMEs can work together more

ABSTRACT

In many ways New Zealand and Malaysia complement each other in the global marketplace. Together our small and medium sized enterprises have much to gain though deeper mutual understanding of what we best produce, and what we have to offer in terms of resources, both physical and human.

The key to this better understanding and therefore even stronger cooperation among businesses is education in its widest definition and in all its spheres. It is no accident that the education ties we are celebrating at this conference are now forming the basis for commercial links between our two economies. Strengthened and empowered by these shared educational exchanges, our two SME business communities should take every opportunity for dialogue, leading in turn to mutual profit.

Both our Governments are well aware of the dynamic natures of business partnerships between SMEs, and doing a great deal to educate, facilitate and assist these contacts. Increasingly the formal structures and mechanisms are in place – and so the responsibility falls on our businesses themselves to realise the gains. By doing so they will benefit us all, in enhancing material and societal well-being in the years ahead.

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