One of the founders of paediatric ORL in New Zealand and Australia, Colin Barber trained at the University of Otago, New Zealand. After gaining his FRACS, he pursued a fellowship in paediatric ORL in Washington DC, USA. With more than 30 years of clinical practice, Colin Barber has become well known in the international ORL community as a leader in his field of paediatric airway assessment and reconstruction. He has contributed to numerous international journal publications and regularly presents at global ORL meetings. He serves both New Zealand and the wider south Pacific regions as a respected paediatric airway surgeon. He was pivotal in establishing Starship Children’s Hospital as a specialist entity focusing on children’s health, and served as the ORL Clinical Director for 13 years.

He was awarded the Gabriel Tucker award by the American Laryngological Association (for services to paediatric ORL) and in 2024, he received the surgical excellence award by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons; the highest award for clinical expertise in all surgical disciplines.