Gayle Holmes Appointed Deputy Chief Executive, Starts April 7

CAA appoints new Deputy Chief Executive – Gayle Holmes

Published date: 12 February 2026

After a thorough recruitment process, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Gayle Holmes as our new Deputy Chief Executive, Regulatory Enablement and Response, to the Executive Leadership Team.

Gayle is currently a member of the executive team as General Manager, Compliance, Monitoring and Enforcement at the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), where she’s been since 2020.

During her time at the EPA, Gayle led several significant regulatory and organisational initiatives. These included leading the Hazardous Substances Modernisation Programme, which aligned New Zealand’s hazardous substances classification regime with the UN Globally Harmonised System (GHS) and replacing legacy data systems with a new chemical management database.

She also led the establishment and maturation of the EPA’s Compliance, Monitoring and Enforcement function, bringing together previously separate compliance teams across a range of legislation into a single, integrated group. She led the establishment of the EPAs intelligence function, introduction of a new compliance case management system, and the first prosecutions under both HSNO and the Climate Change Response Act.

Gayle is recognised for her strong, values based leadership, particularly through periods of organisational change and heightened regulatory complexity. She has a strong track record in building capable, multidisciplinary teams, fostering a culture of professionalism, collaboration and continuous improvement. Gayle has also made significant contributions to enterprise wide strategy, programme governance, and health and safety leadership.

We’re looking forward to her joining the team and getting to know the people and the business. Gayle starts in the role on 7 April 2026.

Media contact

CAA Media Team

0508 763 222 | media@caa.govt.nz