Paul Veric announced as new CE of WITT

Paul Veric, former Principal of New Plymouth Boys’ High School, has been appointed the new Chief Executive for the Western Institute of Technology of Taranaki (WITT), as the institute continues its path towards becoming a stand-alone crown entity once more.

Veric is well known in the local community through his leadership at NPBHS as well as former CEO of Swimming New Zealand, Interim CEO of Taranaki Rugby Football Union, and a Board Member of the Taranaki District Health Board.

He was selected for his new role from 50 applicants from all over New Zealand and abroad.

Veric told the Taranaki Daily News, in an exclusive interview, that he has; “always admired WITT from afar and especially when I was at New Plymouth Boys’. It was always an institution that appealed to me to one day hopefully get the chance to work at.”

Veric says he has big hopes for WITT, disclosing that he is highly competitive and wants WITT to not only survive, but thrive and become a nationally recognized leader in vocational education.

His immediate priority would be listening to staff, students, schools and industry rather than introducing sweeping changes. “You can’t make immediate changes if you haven’t understood the organisation.”

Taranaki proud – local links important

WITT Board chair Patrick Landrigan said in a statement; “The field of applicants was incredibly strong, which made the selection process very challenging.”

“Paul is a proud Taranaki local and will bring to the role his deep roots in our local community, and his immense pride and passion for our region,” Landrigan added.

“We are really excited about the prospect of Paul leading and guiding the institute into the future. Paul has proven leadership ability in local Taranaki education.”

In 2026 WITT has close to 3000 local learners enrolled across all its various course offerings, with a local staff count of close to 200.

“As a Board we were looking for a CEO who was a local first - someone who knows and understands our region and knows what an important part of our region and community that WITT plays,” Landrigan says.

He added that Veric’s appointment “sends a clear indication of the direction that we want the institute to head, with a focus on our local community, and driving growth in our student numbers here at WITT from our feeder high schools all around Taranaki."

“The government’s recent announcement of the nine new vocational educational disciplines for high school students presents strong opportunities for the local education sector to unite to provide excellent education and development outcomes for our learners and provide industry with the skilled workers they need.”

Current Operations Lead Executive Nicola Conley will assume the role of Acting CEO until Veric starts on 1 February 2027.

Veric was introduced to WITT staff on the campus today (3 November). In a short kōrero, he thanked staff for their perseverance in stabilising the organisation as it faced some challenging periods of change. He acknowledged their commitment to learners by “keeping them at the forefront of your minds.”

WITT has been part of the national entity NZIST (Te Pūkenga) since the beginning of 2022, with leadership based out of Wellington. From 1 January 2027 Witt re-emerges as a stand-alone crown entity, under local governance and leadership.

Caption: Paul Veric pictured at the WITT campus this week, following the announcement of his new role as CE.