John Clarke was Mayor of Gisborne for 12 years and, prior to his present appointment as a director of Eastland Infrastructure Limited, Eastland Network Limited and Eastland Port Limited, was chairman of Port Gisborne Limited. He is a former co-chair of the Tairawhiti Task force and a member of the National Wood Processing Strategy Group. John is a viticulturalist, and is currently president of the Gisborne Wine Growers Association.