Priyani de Silva-Currie is an experienced international board leader, strategic asset management executive and recipient of a New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Netball, Civil Engineering and Multicultural Communities.
In this snapshot video, Priyani talks about starting a board career in the community before moving to more complex boards. She also shares her experiences as a woman of colour.
With nearly 30 years of governance experience spanning sport, multicultural, engineering, infrastructure and international organisations, she currently serves as Vice President of the International Federation of Municipal Engineers.
Take a deeper dive into Priyani’s governance journey. In this short video, Priyani discusses starting off local and how that propelled her onto national and international boards. She gives advice, from starting your governance career to pushing through setbacks. Priyani talks about the important voices of women of colour.
Alongside her governance career, she is a senior leader at Beca. Her governance journey is grounded in visibility, credibility, and purpose. It’s also shaped by persistence, cultural fluency and a deep commitment to opening doors for others.
Starting local: building confidence and capability
Priyani’s governance journey began not in a boardroom but on the sidelines of the netball courts and at club AGMs at the Nelson Netball Centre. A regular coach, volunteer, and attendee, she was eventually shoulder tapped: “You’re always here – have you thought about joining the board?”
What began as a willingness to give back, quickly became formal governance experience. Starting on local boards gave her confidence, helped her understand governance responsibilities and duties, and allowed her to learn how decision-making groups function – without the pressure of large, complex organisations.
She describes local governance as the safest and most accessible entry point – a place to learn the rhythm and flow of boards before stepping into higher stakes environments.
From visibility to credibility and beyond
Consistent presence led to further opportunities. Through netball, Priyani was selected to represent her organisation at national meetings, gradually expanding her exposure and influence. That visibility evolved into credibility and then from credibility into leadership.
While her early roles were largely invitation based, later governance opportunities required formal applications. This transition was uncomfortable for Priyani. Election processes felt like popularity contests and self-promotion did not come naturally – particularly as a woman with a non-English name, which she felt could be a barrier.
Yet she recognised that opting out of the process meant limiting her impact. Growth required stepping into discomfort.
Applying for board roles: demystifying the process
Moving from being shoulder tapped to formally applying for board roles introduced new fears – long application forms, interview panels and uncertainty about how to “behave” in board environments.
Priyani invested in a governance-specific CV (“the best $400 I ever spent”) so boards could clearly see her governance capability without wading through operational detail. She also sought guidance from experienced board members and governance specialists, including tailored CV and interview support through Women on Boards.
Just as importantly, she became selective. Rather than applying widely, she scrutinised opportunities for values alignment and passion fit. If the kaupapa didn’t energise her, she didn’t apply.
She also went into interviews prepared with her own questions (about financial stability, governance processes, organisational purpose and long-term viability) signalling both care and maturity as a board candidate.
The step up: from local to global boards
Priyani describes the leap from local to global governance as applying the same core skills on a much larger playing field. The fundamentals (strategy, relationships, judgement, authenticity and integrity) remain constant. It is the scale and complexity that change.
Her entry onto a global board came through representation. While serving on a New Zealand board, she was invited to represent New Zealand internationally. From there, she progressed into leadership, moving from national advocate to steward of an entire international federation.
She currently serves as Vice President of the International Federation of Municipal Engineers, with a clearly defined long-term leadership pathway (vice president, president and immediate past president) requiring decade-long scale thinking and strategic clarity.
When she becomes president in 2027, it will be a milestone she sees as significant not only personally but symbolically as a New Zealand woman of colour leading a global organisation.
Governance in practice: culture, chairs and consensus
Across her governance career, Priyani has served on approximately a dozen boards and has frequently been asked to step into the chair role. She sees this as a reflection of her ability to listen, collaborate and build consensus – skills she believes are essential for effective chairs.
She emphasises the importance of board culture. Strong boards establish clear ground rules – respect at the table, intolerance for people talking over others and zero tolerance for discrimination. Disagreement is expected, disrespect is not.
Board dynamics, she notes, are shaped by personality, power and agenda. Good governance requires reading not only what people say but what they are really saying and helping the board stay aligned to its purpose rather than individual interests.
Navigating international complexity
International boards introduce additional challenges. Meetings often involve interpreters, repeated statements and slower decision making. Even when English is the primary language, interpretation varies widely.
For Priyani, success in this environment depends on deliberately creating shared understanding – ensuring that everyone around the table leaves with the same meaning, not just the same words.
Time zones add another layer. Many meetings run on European time, meaning late night or early morning calls from New Zealand. It’s a sacrifice she accepts as part of global leadership.
Equity, representation, and lived experiences
Priyani speaks candidly about systemic inequities in governance, particularly in male dominated engineering and municipal environments. At the board table she has experienced being talked over, having ideas discounted and has faced racism.
As a woman of colour, she identifies a “double barrier” – gender and ethnicity. Progress, she argues, is not just about having women on boards but ensuring women of colour are genuinely heard and respected.
Her motivation is deeply personal. Raised in a migrant family, she grew up with the message that she needed to be better than others just to be accepted. That drive to honour her parents, open doors for those who follow and create space for her children’s generation continues to fuel her governance work.
Resilience, support and looking after yourself
Governance leadership can take a personal toll. Priyani recounts chairing a particularly difficult organisational separation that became contentious and emotionally charged. It tested her values and resilience.
The experience taught her the importance of staying agile, adaptive and “above the line” under pressure – and of not carrying governance burdens alone.
Strong support systems matter. Early in Priyani’s career, her first husband carried much of the load at home while she travelled extensively. Today, her current husband provides a trusted sounding board, challenging her thinking and helping her process complex decisions.
She is clear that having strong support systems is essential for anyone considering significant governance responsibility. Central to Priyani’s governance approach is the belief that impact comes from being yourself at the board table – leading from your natural strengths and holding yourself to your own standards, not those imposed by others.