Mike Allsop
Pilot, Adventurer, Author

Mike Allsop is an Air New Zealand captain, Everest summiteer, and endurance adventurer who demonstrates how disciplined goal-setting can turn extraordinary ambitions into reality.

From surviving a near-fatal ocean crash hundreds of kilometres off Hawaii to summiting Everest unguided, running the world’s highest marathon, and completing 7 marathons in 7 days on 7 continents, his journey reflects resilience, focus, and belief in action.

Mike’s experiences show that while circumstances may be uncertain, the principles of perseverance, clarity, and breaking big goals into smaller steps remain constant - what we know to be true when striving for extraordinary outcomes.

Toby Manhire
Editor-at-large, The Spinoff

Editor-at-large for The Spinoff, Toby is a journalist and commentator with 25 years’ experience across outlets in Aotearoa and the UK.

A former senior editor at the Guardian and regular contributor to the NZ Herald, the NZ Listener and RNZ, he won columnist of the year at the Voyager Media Awards in 2022.

Toby is host and executive producer for the podcasts Gone By Lunchtime and Juggernaut, and executive producer of the short-form video explainer series Now You Know. 

Dr. Andrew Chen 
Machine Learning, AI Expert, Technology Ethics

Dr. Andrew Chen works at the intersection of digital technology, ethics, and public policy. His PhD was awarded from the University of Auckland in 2019, focusing on AI and machine learning.

He then became a researcher in digital technology ethics, working on facial recognition use by Police, digital contact tracing during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the implementation of the Algorithm Charter across the public sector.

With first-hand experience with recommender systems, Andrew brings a critical lens to the question of building trust in an era of digital echo chambers.

Samantha Gee 
Regional Journalist, Te Tauihu, Radio New Zealand

Samantha has been a journalist for more than a decade, starting out in print with the Nelson Mail before making the switch to broadcasting in 2021 when she joined RNZ.

Based in Nelson, Samantha covers news across the top of the South Island. Reporting on a range of topics, she has a particular interest in the environment, health, justice and social issues.

She believes in the power of journalism to hold power to account and is honoured to be trusted to help tell people’s stories.

Hon. Todd McClay
Minister of Agriculture; Forestry; Trade and Investment & Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs

Todd McClay is the Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Forestry, Minister for Trade and Investment and Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs. He has been the MP for Rotorua since 2008.

Todd held several Ministerial roles in the Fifth National Government with portfolios including Trade, State-Owned Enterprises and Revenue.

Todd has previously been a diplomat and was the Cook Islands and Niue Ambassador to the European Union. He has worked in business in Europe as well as government and public relations internationally.

During this term, he has concluded significant trade agreements with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and India, delivering major market access gains for New Zealand exporters.

Livia Esterhazy 
Board Director, Brand Expert, CEO

Livia Esterhazy is a strategic business leader with a wealth of experience across brand, marketing, finance, and environmental sustainability. Livia has led major retail brands, including the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Kiwibank, and has held key roles in top advertising agencies like Clemenger BBDO and Saatchi & Saatchi. As the former CEO of WWF New Zealand, she successfully revitalised the organisation, its brand and raised its profile to create profitability.

Currently, Livia leads the $27 million A Lighter Touch programme, promoting sustainable food production. She’s also a global business coach for agency founders to grow their businesses 10X and a Board Director.

Jeremy Banks
Tumu Whakarae (Chief Executive Officer), Wakatū Incorporation

Jeremy has extensive governance experience and a deep understanding of Wakatū Incorporation, having served on the Wakatū Board for more than a decade and now as CEO. During this time on the Wakatū Board, he held several key leadership roles including Deputy Chair, Chair of Te Pae Tauhokohoko (Commercial Board), and Chair of Te Pae Pūroro (Business Technology Steering Group).

Jeremy also serves as a director of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, and Network for Learning Limited, and as a trustee of Te Here-ā-Nuku Trust, and has executive experience establishing, growing and running Software Development companies.

Jeremy is a member of Ngā Uri and a descendant of the tūpuna determined by the Native Land Court 1892 as the original customary owners of the Nelson Tenths’ Reserves.

Kerensa Johnston 
Trustee, Te Here-ā-Nuku (Making the Tenths Whole)

Kerensa is a lawyer with a background in commercial and international public law, and a career spanning corporate, environmental and constitutional development. 

From 2013 to 2025, Kerensa served as Chief Executive and General Counsel of Wakatū Incorporation. She has worked as a solicitor in the private sector, as a barrister, and as a legal academic at the Auckland University Faculty of Law, where she specialised in Māori legal development, public law, land law and international law. She is the Chair of Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, the Māori Centre of Research Excellence and the Chair of Ngāti Tama ki te Tau Ihu Charitable Trust.

Based in Nelson, Kerensa is a descendant of the tūpuna determined by the Native Land Court 1892 as the original customary owners of the Nelson Tenths’ Reserves. She is a Trustee for Te Here-ā-Nuku Trust (Making the Tenths Whole). 

Michael Alp
General Manager - New Zealand Government Procurement (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment)

Michael Alp is the General Manager of New Zealand Government Procurement within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. He leads the government’s central procurement function, working with agencies and industry to lift commercial capability, reduce barriers to doing business with government, and improve economic outcomes.

Michael has extensive experience across both the public and private sectors, with a strong focus on system leadership, supplier engagement, and practical reform. His current work includes strengthening local procurement outcomes, improving construction and infrastructure supply chains, and ensuring government procurement supports regional and national economic resilience.

Barney Riley
Manager Trade Policy, Engagement and Implementation Division, Trade & Economic Group (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade)

Barney has a legal background and practised commercial law in New Zealand and the United Kingdom before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2001. Since then, he has worked across trade policy, climate change and international law. He currently manages the Trade Policy, Engagement and Implementation Division and is New Zealand’s Senior Official for the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), having also led negotiations with China, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). With ambassadorial experience across the Middle East and North Africa, he brings a practical perspective on global trade.

Nick Ippolito
Co-founder, SquareKicker

Nick Ippolito is the Co-Founder of SquareKicker, a groundbreaking technology company revolutionizing the Squarespace ecosystem. A visionary web designer and entrepreneur, Nick identified critical challenges faced by creative professionals and led the development of SquareKicker's innovative Extension for Squarespace designers, now enhancing over 25,000 websites globally. Prior to launching SquareKicker in 2020, he ran Frontier Media, a successful web design business.

His latest venture, the SquareKicker Template Store, is transforming how small businesses access premium website designs while creating opportunities for talented designers to generate passive income through template sales. A respected voice in the web design community, Nick is a frequent speaker at Squarespace Circle events in New York and continues to champion innovation in website development.

Olly Powell
Data Scientist, wekaResearch

Olly has more than 20 years experience in applied physics & mathematical modelling for the semiconductor and energy sectors.  He started the consultancy wekaResearch in Nelson in 2021, and has been working working with predator science team at the Department of Conservation - Te Papa Atawhai, developing AI methods for ecological monitoring.

Olly will be presenting his recent work developing open source datasets and computer vision models.  Both the datasets and models have been used in multiple AI projects platforms in New Zealand and  overseas. At DoC the audio and image processing applications are used for predator detection, and also for ongoing monitoring of key species, at a scale that would be impossible to perform manually. The applications are freely available and are also used by community groups for predator detection.                         

Savannah Smart-Pullyn & Coilin Wilson
Director & Consultant, Digital Dilligence

Digital Diligence Ltd (DDL) creates solutions that support better ways of working, thinking, and connecting by designing technology that fits how businesses operate.

Their mahi spans end-to-end business applications, CRM systems, AI-driven tools, and immersive digital experiences, focused on being practical, sustainable, and genuinely useful. As a multi-award-winning team, they thrive on a challenge and deliver thoughtful, future-focused work.

Coilin and Savannah will share how they use AI to turn unstructured data, documents, images, and reports, into clear, actionable insights by automatically extracting, analysing, and mapping information in real time, enabling faster, data-driven decisions.