Ms Julie Read, QSO, of Auckland, for services to the State
Julie Read was the first woman appointed as Director and Chief Executive of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
She led the SFO to be an influential and effective organisation and drove collaboration across justice sector agencies.
She repositioned the SFO from a narrower focus on large-scale financial crime to a broader focus on corruption at all levels.
Under her tenure, New Zealand maintained its top international anti-corruption rating on Transparency International’s ‘Anti-Corruption Perceptions Index’.
She has taken leadership roles with OECD, facilitated APEC events, and chaired an International Anti-Corruption and Transparency Experts Working Group.
Under Ms Read’s leadership, the SFO partnered with other agencies and NGOs to develop online anti-corruption training, guidance and tools and, during the COVID-19 pandemic, linked with overseas agencies to prevent corruption and scams.