Carl McLennan

Carl McLennan is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA). As CEO of ANZPAA, Carl leads the effective delivery of the ANZPAA Strategy and Annual Plans and oversees the teams delivering cross-jurisdictional policy development, advice, products, and insights to help achieve excellence in Australia and New Zealand Policing. With extensive leadership experience across the New Zealand Police and the Pacific region, Carl has held senior roles including Acting Assistant Commissioner: Iwi and Community, and Senior Liaison Officer to Australia. He has also served as Executive Director of the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police Secretariat, where he reconnected with his Pacific heritage and supported the unique policing needs of twenty Pacific nations.

Carl brings deep expertise in counterterrorism, transnational crime, and strategic leadership. Notably, he led the establishment of New Zealand Police’s National Security (Counter Terrorism) Group and strategic direction.  Also as the National Manager: Intelligence, he led the development of New Zealand’s Child Sex Offender Registry, and the creation of a Gang Intelligence Centre. Internationally, he has contributed to the Five Eyes Law Enforcement Group as Chair of the Criminal Intelligence Advisory Group.

A former police officer with operational experience across general duties, investigations, intelligence, and road policing—primarily in Auckland—Carl has also worked with the Organised and Financial Crime Agency New Zealand (OFCANZ) and supported policing development in Tonga.

Carl holds a Master’s degree in Public Management (with merit) from Victoria University of Wellington and is an alumnus of the George C. Marshall Centre in Germany.