Victoria Mary Carter is a former

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

politician. She is now a professional

company director A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulations ...

and businesswoman.

Early life

Carter, born in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, came to New Zealand with her mother, journalist Valerie Davies. Her stepfather was journalist, Pat Booth.

Education and early career

Carter holds a law degree from the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

and has a varied background in public relations, marketing, and governance. Carter has served on the boards of Kidicorp, Turner’s Auctions, New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing, Auckland Racing Club, and JUCY group. She was extensively involved with the Auckland Kindergarten Association from 1995 to 2005, as Chair (4 years), Deputy-Chair (3 years), and Councillor (3 years), ending up as the President of the Association.

Political career

Carter was elected as an Auckland City Councillor in 1998 for the Hobson ward. Carter was the first independent trustee to be elected to the Auckland Energy Consumer Trust in 1997, but had to resign from this position when elected to

Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1989 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elec ...

. She served as Chair of City Attractions at Auckland City Council and led the public private partnership that saw the indoor arena at Quay Street built. Carter also restarted the Auckland Arts Festival which she chaired until June 2015.

Later career

Carter left politics in 2003 to pursue business opportunities, co-founding Cityhop, New Zealand’s first car sharing company with JUCY Group led by brothers Tim and Dan Alpe. JUCY later exited Cityhop. In May 2018 Victoria was elected as the first female President of the Northern Club. In November 2018 she sold the carshare business to Toyota Financial Services. She still speaks about the value of car share to cities battling congestion In September 2019 Minister of Transport Phil Twyford appointed Victoria to the Board of Waka Kotahi, NZ Transport Agency. Carter is also an Independent director of Ngati Awa Group Holdings, the commercial arm of the Ngati Awa runanga in the Bay of Plenty.

Honours and awards

In 2013 Carter was named in the inaugural Forty Over 40 list acknowledging women who are disrupting and reinventing, and was the only Australasian selected. She was a finalist in the arts category of the Women of Influence awards in 2013 and 2014. In the 2016 New Year Honours, Carter was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for service to arts, business, and the community.New Years honour for multi-tasking Victoria Carter
Stuff NZ.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Victoria University of Auckland alumni Auckland City Councillors New Zealand businesspeople New Zealand women in business Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit English emigrants to New Zealand