Mr Stanley Joyce, CSM
Chairman
Mr Joyce brings more than 31 years of management and board experience to CPL Group. He sits as the Chairman of CPL Group and has his imprint in the food, beverage and manufacturing industries in Papua New Guinea and abroad.
His notable PNG business acumen includes leading the South Pacific Brewery Limited (SP) for 14 years as its Managing Director. He also spearheaded campaigns rallying public support for the SP PNG Hunters, SP Sports Awards and encouraging responsible alcohol consumption.
During his tenure, he also provided expertise support to the 2015 Pacific Games Authority, the PNG Business Council, PNG Manufacturer’s Council, Mainland Holdings Limited and Solomon Breweries Limited. He is the honorary consul of the Netherlands, and has been honoured by the Commonwealth with titles such as the Companion Star of the Order of Melanesia (CSM) and the Logohu Awards.
Sir Mahesh Patel, OBE
Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the CPL Foundation
Sir Mahesh has been serving Papua New Guinea for nearly four decades. He started as a pharmacist and then as a maverick entrepreneur, co-founding what is now PNG’s largest and leading retailer, CPL Group in 1987. His influence is evident in many public, private and community entities such as the PNG Red Cross, Kumul Telikom Holdings Limited, 2015 Pacific Games, Ginigoada Foundation and the Buk Bilong Pikinini (BBP) community libraries, orphanages and countless community organisations. A celebrated business leader, he was recognised for his contribution to commerce and communities with a Knight Bachelor award in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours List. He has since moved on from his post as Managing Director to being a Non-Executive Director of the Group and continues his passion as Chairman for the CPL Foundation championing causes close to CPL Group’s ethos.
Ms. Mary Handen – Independent Director
Ms. Handen divides her time and expertise between her business and helping budding entrepreneurs and professionals develop oratory and financial literacy skills. Her managerial and board experience includes Steamships Group of Companies, Transparency International PNG, Employees Federation of PNG, and the PNG Business Council. Her community work focuses on social enterprises such as the Em Stret Holdings Youth Debates, PNG Fashion and Design Week Limited, and Pehi-Koko Waste Management Limited.
Mr. Aru Chellappan – Independent Director
Mr. Chellappan joined the CPL Group Board in September 2020. He is an accountant with over 35 years of working experience across different financial landscapes in North America, Australia and Asia. Before joining CPL Group, his last role lasted for 17 years with the Siemens Healthcare Sdn Bhd, a health technology company based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He is a Fellow of the Institute of the Chartered Accountants in Australia and a member of the Malaysia-Australia Business Council.
Eddie Ruha
Independent Director (Appointed 25th July 2022)
Eddie Ruha is a Non-Executive Director of BSP Life PNG Limited and is the former Group Chief Financial Officer of Bank South Pacific Limited. He was appointed to Group Chief Financial Officer on 3 April 2017 and remained on the position until his retirement on 31 May 2020. Prior to that Mr Ruha was the Chief Financial Officer — PNG for BSP. Previously he worked for Steamships Trading Company in PNG for 22 years, commencing in 1990, working in the Steamships Merchandising Division for eight years, before transferring to Head Office as Group Systems Accountant and then Group Accountant, General Manager Finance and then from 2008 to 2012 as Finance Director and Company Secretary.
Mr Ruha is a commerce graduate from Auckland University in New Zealand (1984), has a Master of Business Administration from Charles Sturt University (2000), and is a member of CPA Papua New Guinea and a member of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand as well as a member of the PNG Institute of Directors (MPNGID) and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD).
Stephanie Copus Campbell
Independent Director (Appointed 25 July 2022)
Stephanie Copus Campbell is the Australian Ambassador for Gender Equality where her role is to deepen Australia’s international engagement on gender equality and the human rights of women, girls, and persons of diverse gender identities.
She currently chairs the Southern Highlands Provincial Health Authority Board which is responsible for governing all health service delivery in PNG’s third-largest province. Stephanie is also a director on the Femili PNG Board (a local PNG NGO that supports survivors of family and sexual violence) and the Steamships’ Community Grants Advisory Committee. She is a past Director on the Board Director for UNICEF Australia.
From 2009-2011, Stephanie was the head of Australia’s aid program with Papua New Guinea. She was also posted to Suva, Fiji, as head of Australia’s aid program with Fiji and the Pacific region and has had previous postings to PNG. During her early Australian government career, she worked on development cooperation with China and on environment and infrastructure policy. She has worked as the Principal Executive International Programs for CARE Australia and as a lecturer with Deakin University.
Stephanie holds a Master of Philosophy from Cambridge University (UK) and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of California in political science, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. In 2022 she qualified as a nationally accredited mediator and is available to undertake pro bono mediation. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She volunteers in palliative care at Clare Holland House Hospice and is on the Management Committee for ACT Wildlife.
In 2021 Stephanie was made a Member of the Order of Australia.
Ms Eunice Parua
Independent Director
Ms. Parua made history for Papua New Guinea as the youngest lawyer to make partner at a law firm: Leahy Lewin Lowing Sullivan Lawyers. Her fledgling board experience began with the CPL Group as a Trainee Director in 2019.
She is also a board observer for growing banking group, Kina Bank. She is a full member of the PNG Law Society, and the Papua New Guinea Women Lawyers Association.
She is also the co-founder of Lawyers4Literacy, a rural literacy advocacy organisation.
Mr Nazar Shaffee – Company Secretary | General Manager – Finance
Nazar is CPL Group’s Company Secretary. He is a trained accountant and IT Specialist with over a decade of experience in the Banking, Aviation and Retail industries.
He has worked with multinational banking and financial service provider, HSBC Bank, CHM Group, Heli Niugini Limited, PT. Sayap Garuda Indah (Heli SGI) and CPL Group in both fields of computerized data management and finance.
He currently forms the helm of the Senior Management Team as General Manager Finance overseeing all financial functions and dealings for the group.
Leadership Team
Mr Navin Raju – CEO
Navin Raju was appointed as CEO of CPL Group in October 2020 after working as the Chief Operating Officer of the Group and previously as CEO of Hardware Haus Limited. Navin has held senior executive-level roles within various industries such aviation, retail and manufacturing. He has worked in major international companies in various countries such as Stokes Australasia Limited, Airwork NZ Limited, Heli Niugini Limited and International Coatings conglomerate: Akzo Nobel Limited. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) Degrees in Accounting and Finance, attained from Auckland University, New Zealand and Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the Southern Cross University in Lismore, Australia. Navin’s capabilities lie in business transformation and turnaround, building capacity and developing strong business cultures.