They are CLM’s chief financial officer and chief operating officer, respectively
Cooney Lees Morgan has announced the following internal appointments to two new senior leadership roles: Kriselle Uerata as chief financial officer (CFO) and Lee-Anne Roycroft as chief operating officer (COO).
Matt Tustin, CLM partner, discussed the firm’s co-leadership structure in an update. Tustin shared that the new CFO and COO have collaborated closely with the management board on the firm’s strategies.
“They bring plenty of energy to their roles, and plenty of drive,” Tustin said. “They demand high standards of their team and the wider firm, and they are already driving productivity gains which is exciting to see.”
Tustin highlighted Uerata’s and Roycroft’s complementary strengths, their extensive institutional knowledge, their willingness to work collaboratively, their focus on the CLM’s strategic priorities, and their contributions to the firm’s progress.
“They are extremely dedicated to their jobs, they both work incredibly hard, and they constantly live by the Cooney Lees Morgan values,” Tustin said. “They are natural and generous leaders, and they are great at empowering and growing other individuals in their team.”
CLM noted that Uerata’s and Roycroft’s appointments follow this year’s promotions of Kate Stubbing and Rachael Zame to the partnership and Aimee Cox as a new senior solicitor.
“They are all ambitious and talented people, who represent our firm in a great light,” Tustin said. “These promotions give us a glimpse into the future of Cooney Lees Morgan which is a future that we are excited about.”
As a chartered accountant and an enrolled barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand, Uerata will handle both finance and operations in her new position.
“This promotion means a lot to me as it reflects the trust the partners have in me and the effort I have put into strengthening the firm’s financial foundations,” she said in CLM’s update. “I’m looking forward to continuing to work closely with everyone to make continuous tweaks and improvements to the business.”
Uerata joined the firm in 2022. She used to work for Deloitte.
“Over the last 18 months Lee-Anne and I have worked closely together on the changeover of our practice management and document management systems, and I really enjoyed working with her on these projects,” Uerata said. “So there is a lot to be excited about for the next chapter.”
With a project management background, Roycroft has broad operational authority and experience dealing with diverse projects and teams.
“I get a lot of energy from working alongside people as they achieve their own goals and successes, and no two days are ever the same,” she said in the firm’s update.
“She really gets stuff done in a friendly but efficient way and brings people along for the ride,” Tustin added.
Roycroft expressed eagerness to take on the co-leadership model with Uerata.
“We share a strong focus on identifying pain points, improving systems and finding practical ways to move the firm forward,” Roycroft said. “We collaborate well by bringing our different experiences together to reach the best solutions.”
