Brett O'Riley
Melissa Clark Reynolds
Ngahi Bidois
Shaun Coffey
Harry Verhaar

In his presentation Brett will set out how New Zealand local bodies can become 21st century intelligent communities, with social and economic benefits for their citizens.

Citing international and New Zealand best practice Brett will cover: 

• The importance of broadband infrastructure
• Creating employment opportunities for our youth
• Developing a knowledge workforce
• Partnership opportunities for local government
• Building a vibrant hi-tech sector
• Fostering innovation

This YouTube clip summarises the Hi-Tech and ICT sectors and our work programme for 2011

Brett has decided to waive a speaker fee and instead make a donation to the Computer Clubhouse programme.

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Melissa has been an entrepreneur for 20 years and finally feels she is emerging from her apprenticeship!  She thinks about and speaks widely on how to grow technology businesses. 

She founded GMV Associates which grew into Fusion – the largest private ACC insurance company last time the government privatised the industry. Melissa has been CEO of two IT companies, and now leads the largest On-line Games company in NZ.  MiniMonos.com  has over 120,000 registered users and is a virtual world for good green kids.  She is a keen gardener, and a passionate greenie. 

Since 2007 she has been presenting Al Gore’s slideshow from the film “An Inconvenient Truth”.  This year, she was appointed to the Government's Advisory Group on “Green Growth”.

Monday 11 July 11.30am
Growing a green future

• economic growth in the era of climate change
• prosperity or growth - are they the same?
• climate change and how it will affect New Zealand
• preparing for business in a peak oil world (what does it mean? Is peak oil even an issue?)
• sustainability - a fad, or here to stay?
• building economically viable businesses from the bottom of the world.
  
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Ngahihi o te ra Bidois is the face of New Zealand. He has many years of speaking and leadership experience in the education, business and Maori sectors and has presented to organisations such as Google in New York.

Ngahihi holds a business marketing degree, a teaching diploma, and a masters in education with honours and is the 2008 National Speakers Association (Auckland) Speaker of the Year and Inspirational Speaker of the Year.

He is one of only 16 New Zealanders to hold the accredited professional speakers qualification and his leadership positions include chair of Tauhara North No.2 Trust - a multimillion dollar Maori lands trust with geothermal electricity generation interests.

Ngahi's presentation has developed many leaders worldwide as he shares from his experiences and wisdom from his indigenous Maori culture.

Shaun Coffey is chief executive of Industrial Research, a technology company that serves a range of industries with an emphasis on the manufacturing, processing, biopharmaceuticals, medical and energy sectors. He is a recent recipient of the Royal Society of New Zealand's prestigious Thomson Medal for his inspirational leadership in the management of science and his outstanding contribution to the development and application of science and technology to wealth generation in New Zealand and Australia.

Tuesday 12 July 2.30pm
Leadership

Leadership is complex, yet we need to make sense of it so we can make good leadership attainable.  In a field where theory abounds there is no shortage of advice, checklists and “simple” tips.  These, however, are often too simple to be useful. Reflecting on a long career in leadership positions, Shaun will discuss how practice and theory together are needed to make sense of leadership and of leading.  He will provide insights about how to move beyond the “enthusiasms” of the day and into the realm of a deeper mastery.  Leadership is best expressed in the action of leading, and is a journey requiring a level of competence that is perhaps best developed through reflective practice.

Harry Verhaar 

Harry Verhaar has over 20 years of experience in the lighting industry, with his current roles being senior director Energy & Climate Change, and head of Strategic Sustainability Initiatives at Philips Lighting. He leads Philips’ work in these areas, with a focus on global trends, technology, innovation and behaviour change. 

He has in the past seven years been the architect of the lighting strategy on energy and climate change, which has resulted in a global momentum on phasing out of old lighting technologies for street-lighting, non-residential buildings and homes. He is Philips’ representative to the United Nations including the Copenhagen summit and the recent Cancun international climate change conference, and representative to the European Union’s Lisbon Council which focuses on ‘making Europe fit for the future’.  

Harry also represents Philips on The Climate Group (a non-profit coalition of companies, states, regions and cities, promoting faster uptake of clean technologies to cut global emissions), the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the World Green Building Council, and the Prince of Wales Corporate Leadership Group on Climate Change.  

He is an international speaker at a range of high profile forums with a ‘future focus’.  In addition to the forums above, in 2007 this included an invitation to address the Australian Federal Government on sustainability issues.

As the world urbanises, the growing concentration of people in cities is creating a fundamental challenge for governments and city planners to balance the need to provide economic opportunities, develop adequate infrastructure and proper housing while maintaining safe, healthy and sustainable environments.  A new generation of energy efficient lighting technologies are transforming cities around the world.  These are providing opportunities to execute programs in urban planning and city development that promote the switch to sustainable lighting solutions, thereby enhancing the health and well-being of local communities.