Celebrating the gold standard of workplace culture

Brett O'Riley

Brett is ambitious for Aotearoa New Zealand and has spent the last 15 years working with businesses across the country in how they can be more innovative, productive and successful, and working with governments on how to grow the economy and create higher paid jobs.

Bridget Coates

Bridget is an experienced global leader who has built and led businesses in both the United States and New Zealand in recent years. She has held Chairperson, Director and CEO roles across a range of public and private sector entities.

Carolyn Banks

Carolyn is on the board of the EMA and is CEO of Venus Businesswomen and NZ Businesswomen. In her roles she leverages her skills and business acumen to represent and support a network of over 30,000 companies. Carolyn’s roles are all focused on supporting the growth and development of businesses in NZ, helping business owners navigate business challenges and opportunities.

Craig Hudson

Craig is a values-driven authentic leader who strives to win by the collective force of an amazing team. Outside of work he is a family guy with an incredible wife and four pretty special kids who enjoys the simple things in life.

Dave Letele

David (Brown Buttabean) Letele, and his journey started with his own weight loss story. Having lost over 100kg through good nutrition and exercise, David now dedicate's his time to helping others do the same by teaching them how to live the BBM lifestyle - Brain, Body, Movement.

David Downs

David Downs BSc, CMInstD is a consultant and board director, with a portfolio of interests keeping him busy, across some key theme areas of technology for public good, healthcare and education. David is currently CEO of the New Zealand Story, an ambitious organisation marketing New Zealand to the world.

Izzy Fenwick

An environmentalist, public speaker and entrepreneur, Izzy is driven by a deep purpose to mainstream corporate responsibility for people and planet. Leveraging her background in human-centred design, and her passion for corporate sustainability, Izzy founded Futureful, New Zealand's first EVP and ESG-based recruitment platform. Having studied our emerging generations, and being a millennial herself, Izzy is well aware of the changing landscape that holds up our global workforce and is excited about the changes these demographics will make to work and leadership here in New Zealand.

Kalyn Ponti

Kalyn approaches every day with a singular purpose; to show the world that thriving humans at work and commercial success, go hand-in-hand. Kalyn's career has exposed her to all kinds of high-performance workplaces, most notably when I was a Director at North American retail leader, Aritzia LP, and on the SLT leading up to its listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Mike Bennetts

Mike is an internationally experienced chief executive and director with skills and capabilities primarily developed within the global energy sector. Mike has worked in business contexts covering both turnaround and growth in the corporate sector, and since 2016 has been involved as a director in NZ’s venture capital ecosystem.

Paul Johnston

Paul a passionate and highly motivated leader with a track record of delivering sustainable business growth across a range of markets and has led and developed sales, marketing, technical and operational teams in New Zealand and the UK. Paul spent 6 years as CEO of a New Zealand publicly listed company and 4 years as a member of the Commercial Leadership Team for Apple UK & Ireland.

Tami Harris

Tami is an internationally experienced non-profit leader in the sector supporting mental health and neurodivergence in young people- the workforce of tomorrow. Tami is currently the CEO of Acorn Neurodiversity, a charitable Trust in Auckland, providing specialist services to neurodivergent children, young people and their families. They provide targeted programmes for young neurodivergent people who are entering the workforce. She is a passionate advocate for optimising the diversity of human potential.

Traci Houpapa MNZM JP

Named amongst the BBCs 100 most influential women in the world, Traci Houpapa is an award-winning company director and a recognised industry leader. She is known as a trusted advisor to Maori, Government and industry on strategic and economic development. Traci’s skills and experience are openly endorsed by other notable public and private sector leaders, and she is recognised nationally and internationally as a credible Indigenous and business leader. Known for her strong and inclusive leadership and her clear focus on building the wealth and prosperity of Aotearoa New Zealand, Traci has been described as a leader who listens, learns and helps others lead and grow, and as someone with the courage to lead by example. Her dedication to empowering others and driving positive change in industry and government has made her an inspiration for others and a valuable leader for Aotearoa and the world. Traci is a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business and Maori, and a Justice of the Peace.