top of page

Agenda

Day One | Monday, 17th March 2025

8:10

Registration & Morning Refreshments   

8:30

Opening Karakia  

8:50

Chairperson’s Opening Address 

Paul Natac, Chief Information Officer, Provident Insurance

DIGITAL LEADERSHIP & STRATEGY

9:00

Opening Keynote: AI that means business.

As a global AI thought-leader, hear about the trends and key drivers underpinning AI-powered innovation that delivers true business ROI and how they can be leveraged to help you operate, compete and innovate in 2025.


Adarsh Paglou, Head of Telco and Media, Google Cloud

9:30

Presentation: Aligning Digital & Business Strategy to Improve Performance

  • The CIO’s role in actively driving digital and organisational change

  • Bringing the organisation along the digital journey and influencing at board level whilst balancing innovation with risk

  • Defining value proposition to justify technology investments to drive innovation


Nancy Taneja, Chief Information Officer, Toyota New Zealand

10:00

Panel: Navigating Digital Resistance with Inclusive Change Management Strategies  

  • How to change ingrained ways of working, drive new ways of thinking and overcome the ‘we’ve always done it this way’ approach

  • The importance of augmenting the workforce, blending technology capability with human capability

  • Addressing organisational and employee concerns with clear communication and education to foster a culture of collaboration


Ange Nash, Chief Information Officer, AA Insurance NZ

Ben Dakers, Transformation lead - Data & AI, Fonterra

Lena Jenkins, Chief Digital Officer, WM NZ

Tighe Wall, Chief Transformation Officer, Contact Energy

10:45

Morning Tea & Interactive Networking

DRIVING BUSINESS VALUE WITH AI

11:15

Presentation: Lessons Learnt: What CIO’s Should Know Before Advancing AI Innovation 

  • What’s the end goal? Understanding where AI can drive business value and finding the right use cases

  • The undeniable relationship between AI & Data and why you need a robust data governance framework in place

  • Don’t forget about operational excellence – why finding the balance between innovation and core IT systems is critical

  • The importance of right size AI governance that integrates into existing risk management structure


Paul Jepson, Chief Information Officer, FMG

11:45

Presentation: Presented by IBM

12:05

Panel: Breaking Down the AI Buzz: How to Effectively Communicate AI to the Board

  • Aligning realities to business expectations - risk vs opportunity

  • The importance of truly understanding the AI adoption landscape

  • Addressing the AI talent shortage in New Zealand

  • People and AI not people vs AI - how can AI enhance your teams?


Manvi Madan, Manager Data & Insights, Port of Auckland

Paul Jepson, Chief Information Officer, FMG

Cynthia Patterson, Group Chief Information Officer, Unison Networks Ltd

James Lawrence, Head of AI, Fonterra

12:50

Networking Lunch 

BRIDGING TECHNOLOGY & BUSINESS

1:50

Presentation: Presented by Rimini Street

2:10

Interactive Breakout Sessions

During this session, attendees will have the opportunity to attend 2 x 30-minute interactive breakout sessions of their choice.


Breakout A: Building a Human-Centered, AI-Powered Organisation with AI Agents and Automation


Explore how AI agents, automation, and responsible AI are shaping the future of business. This interactive round table will dive into:

  • AI Agents and Automation: Transforming operations by augmenting AI and human capabilities.

  • Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC): Best practices for implementing AI safely.

  • Responsible AI: Balancing automation with human-centered design to build trust and inclusivity.

  • Maximising ROI from AI: Uncovering strategies to measure and optimise the value of AI investments.


Raji Haththotuwegama, Head of Data & AI, Canon Business Services


Breakout B: Hosted by Pure Storage


Breakout C: Hosted by Datadog

 
Breakout D: Hosted by IBM 


HUMAN CENTRIC IT & INNOVATION 

3:10

Afternoon Tea 

3:30

Presentation: Public Sector Insights - How Auckland Council is Putting People at the Centre of its IT Strategy

  • How Auckland Council is putting citizens at the centre of its digital strategy

  • Best practices to creating a people-centric culture within technology teams


Neil McGowan, GM of Technology Services, Auckland Council

4:00

Panel: Driving Innovation in the Digital Era with Diversity of Thought – Enabling People & Business

  • Enabling Aotearoa New Zealand’s people in the digital era

  • Driving innovation and business success with the ability to see the different sides of company initiatives

  • The positive impact had on both employees and customers when DEI is embedded within your technology


Corrinne Pillay, Head of Digital Portfolio & Strategy, SkyCity Entertainment Group

Peter Fletcher-Dobson, Chief Executive Digital & Information Officer, Te Wānanga

Ben Littlewood, Head of Digital & Data, Fisher Funds

Emily Isle, Chief Digital Officer, MBM

4:45

Chairperson’s Closing Address 

5:00

Networking Drinks & End of Summit Day One

bottom of page