Greymouth-born Dame Julie Christie has accepted a role as a trustee on Development West Coast, representing the four councils.
She will attend her first meeting next month.
West Coast Regional Council chairman Cr Andrew Robb said Dame Julie already had a good understanding of the role and the aims of DWC.
"She has carried out her own due diligence and has agreed to come down to the Coast, at her own expense, in the near future, to further immerse herself into DWC.
She has also indicated that she now has the time and capacity to contribute significantly to DWC.
With her business acumen and extensive contacts, she will be a great asset to DWC in particular, and the West Coast region in general," he said.
Dame Julie (nee Molloy) is best known for establishing television production company Touchdown, which became New Zealand's largest producer of entertainment tv, with a thriving business in exporting programme formats.
She is also a board member of Media Works NZ and the New Zealand Story Group, was a member of the Organising Board of the Rugby World Cup 2011 and has served on the NZ Rugby Union commercial committee since 2012.
- Greymouth Star
