Philip Turner

Former NZ ambassador

In a working life divided equally between business and government, Philip has maintained a special focus on North Asia, living and working in the region for more than 20 years.

Philip began as a diplomat for New Zealand, serving in Tokyo, Brussels and Wellington.  In 1999 he moved to the private sector and spent 18 years in various senior leadership roles with New Zealand’s largest company, Fonterra Cooperative Group, in Shanghai, Tokyo, Brussels and Auckland, including as President of Fonterra China.

In 2018 he returned to government to take up the role of New Zealand Ambassador to the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and to the Democratic People`s Republic of Korea (North Korea).

After completing the role in Seoul in early 2023, he moved to Tokyo, where he is engaged in university teaching, writing media commentary, consulting for business and studying for a PhD at Waseda University.

He has a Master of Arts, first class, in history from the University of Auckland, and speaks fluent Japanese and French, and some Korean, Mandarin and Spanish.