Introducing Rua Bioscience

He kaupapa Maori e whaia ana i te oranga mō te katoa.

As one of few Maori-born biotech businesses in Aotearoa, Rua Bioscience is the only New Zealand-based medicinal cannabis company with an explicit focus on delivering social impact.

We’re a unique collective of dual forces: science and nature, land and people, commerce and community, modern innovation, and ancestral wisdom. These inextricable connections bring balance and integrity to our business. He tāngata, he whenua.

Te Poari Ringatohu
Board of Directors

Rua Bioscience’s Board of Directors brings together some of New Zealand’s most experienced business people. Heavily invested in the Rua Bioscience kaupapa, they possess a wealth of domestic and international expertise.

Anna Stove

Dip Nursing
Anna has a successful 25+ year track record leading and driving transformational change within the pharmaceutical sector. She has held various senior executive roles within NZ, the Asia Pacific and Europe, most recently as NZ General Manager for GlaxoSmithKline. She has a strong passion for improving the quality of life for all and enhancing the outcome of businesses through driving strategic growth and best practice governance.
Anna is a Director of Pacific Edge Ltd and Deputy Chair of TAB New Zealand. Her previous governance roles include Chair of Global Women NZ, Director of Medicines New Zealand, Vice-Chair of Pukekohe Park, and Vice-Chair of Shooting Star Hospice built in London, UK. Anna has been a director of Rua since May 2019.

Teresa Ciprian

Teresa has an exceptional background in commercialisation, innovation, marketing, and business development in the primary sector, specifically with dairy products, functional beverages, and other foods on the global stage. She has significant international business experience, having held a variety of senior roles for Danone based in both North America and France focusing on their domestic and global markets. Teresa has also advised a number of internationally-focused businesses on their growth strategies and brings strong governance capability having served on the boards of Firstlight Foods Ltd, AgResearch, Prolife Foods, Food Standards Australia and New Zealand, and Zespri. Teresa has a track record of helping develop highly capable leaders, strong brands, accumulation of IP, and seeing organisations flourish through continuous improvement. Teresa joined the Board in August 2022.

Panapa Ehau

Ngāti Uepohatu, Ngāti Porou
BBS Management, PG Dip Marketing
Co-founder of Rua Bioscience, Panapa, established New Zealand’s first tertiary training course for cannabis cultivation via the Eastern Institute of Technology. From Ruatorea, with a degree in management, Panapa is a co-founder of numerous social enterprises and holds governance roles across numerous for-profit and charitable organisations. Panapa lives in Te Tairāwhiti and focuses on developing economic opportunities alongside his people. He has been a Director of Rua since its inception in October 2017.

Tony Barclay

Tony brings over 30 years of experience in business and 22 years of healthcare experience. Tony was CFO at medical device company Fisher & Paykel Healthcare from the time of separation from Fisher & Paykel Appliances in 2001 until retiring from full-time employment in 2018. Prior to Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Tony worked for PriceWaterhouse and Arnott & Biscuits in finance roles. Tony holds a number of directorships in private companies, all in MedTech. Tony holds a BCom from the University of Otago and is a Chartered Accountant and a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors and INFINZ.

Ngā Pou Matua
Senior Management

Our Executive Team strives for operational excellence focused on our company’s crucial deliverables.

Paul Naske

BSc, PG Dip Business
Paul has held a range of leadership positions in business strategy and development, including roles as General Manager of Corson Grain and as a Business Unit Manager at Fletcher Building. Paul has been overseeing Rua’s topline business operations since the beginning of 2019 and has been critical in the design and efficient execution of Rua’s global strategy. His knowledge of the commercial environment ensures Rua’s alignment with the business needs of our global clients. Paul joined Rua in February 2019.

Emma McIldowie

MSc Forensic Chemistry
Emma holds a Masters of Science (MSc) in Forensic Chemistry from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland as well as a Bachelor of Science (BSc) majoring in Medicinal Chemistry University of Auckland. Emma came to Rua from ESR where she was part of the Forensic Drug Chemistry Team.

Ngā Uara
Our Values

As you get to know us, you’ll find we are driven by a simple set of values.

These pou underpin everything we do as a successful, sustainable, and trusted partner that creates value for our people – our shareholders, patients, growers, research and commercial partners, and the communities within which we work.