Healthy Food Guide is owned by Healthy Life Media Limited, a private company led by publisher Phil Ryan. The company is completely independent and is not affiliated with any food company or political organisation.
Phil Ryan, Managing Director
Phil is an experienced magazine publisher who founded the award-winning NetGuide magazine in NZ and Australia. He was named NZ Publisher of the Year at the 2002 Magazine Publishing Association Awards.
Pip Mehrtens, Commercial Director
Pip has held a variety of management roles including customer services, operations, business development and general management.
Niki Bezzant, Editor
Niki Bezzant is a food writer and the founding editor of Healthy Food Guide magazine. She contributes frequently to local radio and TV, including TV3’s Campbell Live, bFM and Radio NZ National. In 2009 she was awarded the Supreme Editor of the Year Award at the MPA Magazine Awards for her work on Healthy Food Guide. Niki is the author of Eating In: fabulous food for friends and family, published in November 2009, and co-author of Beach House Cook Book.
Gertrud Wagner, Deputy Editor
With a long-held interest in the media, Gertrud swapped her career in education for publishing in 2005. After three years working on magazine titles covering celebrities, teens, and weddings, she is happy to now be indulging her passion for health, food, and writing as a member of the Healthy Food Guide team.
Rose Carr MSc (Hons), Senior Nutritionist
Rose is a registered nutritionist with a BSc and an MSc (Hons) in Human Nutrition. Prior to retraining she had a successful career in marketing ‘fast-moving consumer goods’ – that’s ‘grocery products’ to the rest of us – before making the change to nutrition. Rose has since worked in a private nutrition clinic, lectured at Massey University, and undertaken project work for the New Zealand Nutrition Foundation.
Claire Turnbull BSc (Hons), Nutritionist
Claire Turnbull is the Healthy Food Guide nutritionist and has a private practice as Mission Nutrition. She also runs nutrition workshops and speaks throughout New Zealand about health and wellbeing. Claire features regularly on TVNZ Breakfast, TV3 Target, What's in our Food, and Newstalk ZB.
Jennie Parker, Art Director
World traveller Jennie spent three years working overseas as a magazine designer on everything from community magazines to top-flight business titles. Returning to NZ, she spent a year-and-a-half freelancing before she secured her dream job at Healthy Food Guide. It was inevitable she ended up on a food title, she says, as she has two chefs in the family and she’s addicted to chocolate brownies.
Kirsty Donovan, Designer
Like most of the team at Healthy Food Guide, Kirsty has a passion for food, and she is thrilled to be part of the HFG design team. With 18 years in the print industry under her belt, she has done everything from designing stationery and brochures to teaching computer graphic design – and even squeezed in swimming teaching in her down-time. The part-time design role suits Kirsty to a tee, enabling her to keep a foot in the industry while being a mother of two.
Kerry Sutcliffe, Marketing Manager
Kerry comes from a strong background in the magazine distribution industry, having held managerial and directorship roles in sales, marketing and promotions which involved working with publishers and retailers to increase sales and awareness of NZ published magazines. Along with her time working directly for a number of NZ magazine titles, and managing event projects across Europe and the Far East, this experience arms Kerry well for her marketing role at Healthy Food Guide.
Aaron Campbell, Advertising Manager (Agency)
Aaron has come back to NZ after living in the US and England, totalling seven years away. He holds both Business Management and Exercise Science Bachelor degrees and is excited to be able to combine aspects from both into his current role. Competitive by nature, Aaron enjoys working for his clients with a real desire to provide opportunities that will drive sales and help reach business targets.
Aimee Fraser, Advertising Manager (Direct)
Aimee comes from a strong background in account management. She loves cooking, especially for family and friends, and is a lover of magazines. Aimee is excited about seeing her customers grow with the help of Healthy Food Guide.
Melissa Massey, Sales Executive (Events)
Melissa first joined the team three years ago selling Healthy Food Guide magazine. After a three-month overseas stint, she returned to take up the challenge of the Gluten Free Food & Allergy Shows and the newcomer to the Healthy Life Media stable, Allergy Today magazine. Melissa finds it satisfying to help businesses in this industry grow, no matter which platform they may be looking to do that through.
Jason Fishwick, Web Administrator
Jason has worked in the IT industry for over 15 years and has been specialising in web for 10. Jason loves web tech, digital strategy, mobile development and strong coffee!
Tracy Hanify, Online Coordinator
With fanatical attention to detail and a personal mantra that ‘nearly’ just isn’t good enough, Tracy has responsibility for ensuring the website content is up-to-date and answers the needs of users and clients – from advertising to editorial content, and everything in between. She also runs her own proofreading business, Final Word and is a trustee of the Y for YOUTH Foundation.
Debbie Armour, Office Manager
Debbie has a wealth of experience in customer service, office administration and accounts. She is passionate about making your experience with Healthy Food Guide a positive one.
Christine Fairgray, Customer Service Coordinator
With 27 years' experience in customer service (covering everything from hotels and television to airlines, and many more between!), Christine is armed extremely well for her interface role at Healthy Food Guide. She truly believes it’s the little things that mean a lot when it comes to customer service, and is committed to ensuring your experience with us is as seamless and enjoyable as possible.
Dave Smith, Accountant
A fully qualified chartered accountant, Dave has over 13 years' accountancy experience dealing with NZ businesses. He is a keen golfer, with an interest in health and well-being.