Petrus Nel

Background

About Petrus Nel

With over 25 years of experience in public safety, emergency management and cyber security across diverse operational environments, I bring strategic leadership to risk mitigation, organisational resilience and team capability development. Currently, I manage national response and field services for the Cyber Security Incident Management Team at Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora, employing the NZ CIMS framework to lead and coordinate cross-sector incident response at scale. Previously, I led all health-related technology operations for the COVID-19 response in Northland, supporting DHBs and Public Health across testing, vaccination, and isolation facilities. My focus is on strategic oversight — aligning operational response with risk profiles, managing stakeholder engagement and driving performance across teams to ensure safe, effective outcomes. My background spans military service, aeromedical operations and emergency coordination across Africa, the Middle East and Aotearoa. I’m passionate about building safer workplaces, stronger teams and more resilient communities. Beyond work, I serve in governance and volunteer roles, driven by a lifelong commitment to community service and crisis leadership.