BOLD STEPS 2024 SPEAKERS (alphabetical order)
Laura Anderson
Based in sunny South Florida, Laura Anderson is an accomplished Media Buyer and expert in AI. She has built a thriving media buying consulting firm, specialising in helping clients amplify their reach on platforms like Meta and TikTok while managing their email marketing campaigns. As a dynamic host, she runs the popular 7-day weekend podcast and serves as the visionary behind the 10hr $10k work month, where she empowers others to master the digital landscape and harness the power of AI to create businesses that break free from traditional norms. Alongside her impressive professional achievements, Laura takes pride in being a devoted mom to her two-year-old son and indulges in well-deserved relaxation at the spa. With a track record of managing substantial ad budgets in the hundreds of millions, she has catapulted her business to seven-figure success, harnessing the full potential of AI.
Laura Anderson is a true maven when it comes to the art of AI automation and prompt engineering. With a keen understanding of the power of AI as an efficiency tool, she has skyrocketed her own business to generate over six figures every month. Not content with keeping her knowledge to herself, Laura has made it her mission to empower others to harness the potential of this groundbreaking technology. As a sought-after speaker, she has graced prestigious stages, captivating audiences with her insights on AI. Additionally, she takes the lead in hosting exhilarating AI workshops, equipping individuals with the tools and know-how to leverage AI and stay one step ahead in the ever-evolving game.
Ilana Atlas, AO
Ilana has extensive experience in business and has held executive and non-executive roles across many industry sectors.
Ilana is Chairman of Scentre Group Limited, a Non-Executive Director of Origin Energy Limited and a Member of the Council of the National Gallery of Australia. Ilana is also Chair of Jawun, on the Board of the Paul Ramsay Foundation and is a Panel member of Adara Partners. Ilana’s previous directorships include Chair of Coca Cola Amatil Limited and a Non-Executive Director of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group.
Ilana’s last executive role was Group Executive, People, at Westpac, where she was responsible for human resources, corporate affairs and sustainability. Prior to that role, Ilana was Group Secretary and General Counsel.
Before her 10-year career at Westpac, Ilana was a partner at the law firm Mallesons Stephen Jaques (now known as King & Wood Mallesons). In addition to Ilana’s practice in corporate law, she held a number of management roles at the firm including Executive Partner, People and Information, and Managing Partner.
Neal Barclay
Neal became Chief Executive (CE) of Meridian Energy in January 2018. He has held a number of Executive Leadership roles within Meridian since he joined in 2008 as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to taking up the CE role, Neal was General Manager for Meridian’s retail business, responsible for leading the marketing, sales, service and operational support functions tasked with delivering an exceptional experience to our customers. Before taking on the Retail role, Neal was General Manager Markets and Production, responsible for Meridian’s hydro and wind electricity generation assets and wholesale business.
Prior to joining Meridian, Neal held a number of senior finance and leadership roles in a 13-year career with Telecom NZ Ltd.
Kelly Bayer Rosmarin
Kelly Bayer Rosmarin has a unique blend of experience in leadership, banking, risk management, regulated markets and driving innovation at scale, which has led to an impressive track record of delivering results whilst growing and operating large global businesses. Her most recent role was as the CEO of Optus, Australia’s second largest telecommunications company. Prior to joining Optus, Kelly spent 14 years with Commonwealth Bank of Australia where she held several senior positions, most recently, as Group Executive of Institutional Banking and Markets. She also spent time as a management consultant, in enterprise software and at a venture-backed high-growth software start-up.
Kelly currently serves on the Board of the REA Group and has previously served on many boards and advisory committees including Airtel Africa, the Football Federation of Australia, the Australian Financial Markets Association, Australian Federal Government’s Fintech Advisory, NSW Government’s Digital Advisory, and University of NSW Engineering Faculty Advisory.
Kelly holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management and a Master of Science in Management Science and Industrial Engineering from Stanford University. She was appointed as a Fellow to the Australian Academy of Technology, Science and Engineering (ATSE), and has been named amongst the Top 25 Women in Asia Pacific Finance, the Top 10 Businesswomen in Australia, and 50 Most Powerful Women in Australian Business.
Kelly lives in Sydney with her husband and two children.
Dr Rod Carr
Rod is currently the founding Chair of the Climate Change Commission and a Director of ASB Bank. Former roles include Vice Chancellor of University of Canterbury, Chair and for a time Acting Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Trustee of the Christchurch Arts Centre, Christchurch Appeal Trust and Christchurch Arts Festival, Director of the Canterbury Employers' Chamber of Commerce, the Lyttleton Port Company and Taranaki Investment Management Limited.
Rod has completed 23 marathons including in Pyongyang North Korea, the Antarctic and the Polar Circle. He made the 6km swim from Kapiti Island to Paraparaumu Beach on three occasions. He also collected five university degrees in law, economics, financial markets, applied economics, managerial behaviour and risk and insurance. The fact Rod has been legally blind since birth does not seem to have held him back.When it comes to climate action, Rod asserts that the time to be bold is now.
Laurissa Cooney
Laurissa is a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants, and a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors in New Zealand. She has previously held senior manager, auditing and consulting roles with Deloitte in New Zealand and Deloitte Touche in London and was the Chief Financial Officer for Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi.
Laurissa currently serves as a Chair of Aotearoa Circle and is an Independent Non-Executive Director for Air New Zealand Ltd and Goodman Property Ltd, and is the Chair of the Audit & Risk for Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki (NTKT). Laurissa is also a Committee Member of the Chapter Zero NZ Steering Group and was a 2017 recipient of the Institute of Directors Emerging Director Award. Laurissa is of Te Āti Hau Nui a Pāpā Rangi (Whanganui) descent.
Jolie Hodson, MNZM
Jolie Hodson is CEO and an Executive Director of Spark New Zealand. Her appointment to CEO in July 2019 followed a substantial career within Spark, leading different areas of the operating business over a six-year period. As CEO Jolie is responsible for ensuring the Company has a sound strategy and builds a team around her that is able to deliver the digital infrastructure, products and services, and innovation that supports Spark’s customers and Aotearoa to win big in a digital world.
Jolie is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion, digital equity, and the role of technology in enabling Aotearoa’s transition to a low-carbon economy. She is a member of Global Women, Champions for Change and a founder of OnBeingBold, and is passionate about mentoring women in business. In 2022 Jolie became the Convenor of the Climate Leaders Coalition, uniting New Zealand businesses that account for 32% of the country’s GDP to raise the bar on business leadership on climate action.
In 2016 she was awarded ‘CFO of the Year’ and in 2022 awarded ‘CEO of the Year’ at the Deloitte Top 200 Business Awards.
In June 2024 Jolie was awarded a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business, governance and women.
Miles Hurrell
Miles Hurrell is Chief Executive of Fonterra, a New Zealand dairy co-operative providing dairy nutrition to customers around the world through innovative applications and solutions.
Miles first joined the Co-operative in 2000 and was appointed CEO in 2018. As CEO, Miles has led the business through a strategic reset, asset portfolio review and capital structure change.
Prior to being appointed CEO, Miles held a number of senior leadership roles across four continents.
This included Chief Operating Officer Farm Source, with responsibility for farmer engagement and milk sourcing, General Manager Middle East, Africa, Russia and Eastern Europe, and General Manager of Global Sourcing, where he oversaw the streamlining of Fonterra’s European operations.
Miles has completed management programmes at INSEAD (International Executive Development), London Business School (Finance), Kellogg’s NorthWestern University (Global Sales) and IMD Switzerland (Global Marketing).
Rt Hon Christopher Luxon
Christopher Luxon is the 42nd Prime Minister of New Zealand. He is also the Minister for National Security and Intelligence and the Minister Responsible for Ministerial Services. He entered Parliament at the 2020 election as the MP for Botany and was elected Leader of the National Party in November 2021. Prior to entering Parliament, Christopher was Chief Executive Officer of Air New Zealand from 2013 to 2019. Prior to joining Air New Zealand, Christopher spent 18 years working at multinational consumer products company Unilever, in New Zealand, Australia, the UK, the USA and Canada.
Christopher has a Master of Commerce in Business Administration from the University of Canterbury.
He is married to Amanda and they have two adult children.
Judith McKenna
Judith McKenna is a global business leader with over 25 years of experience in the largest and most complex retail environments in the world. She has been recognized by Fortune as one of the Most Powerful Women in Business for more than a decade and featured on Forbes’ list of the World’s Most Powerful Women. Judith currently serves on the board of Unilever PLC.
As the former CEO of Walmart International, a $100bn+ business, operating across 23 countries, Judith led a major restructure of the international portfolio which allowed for significant digital transformation investments and the opportunity for Walmart to re-enter the Indian market with the $20bn acquisition of Flipkart. Her deep understanding of global markets and cultures, coupled with a clear strategy of “Strong local businesses, powered by Walmart’ delivered consistently strong business performance.
Prior to leading the International business, Judith was the Chief Operating Officer for Walmart US, providing leadership to 4,500 stores and 1.1m associates. She was responsible for the US launch of online grocery shopping, the establishment of a network of 200 Walmart Associate Training Academies and introduction of new tools designed to digitize the customer and associate experience. Previously Judith was the Chief Financial Officer and later Chief Operating Officer at ASDA, a British supermarket chain.
While Judith is known for her strategic vision and large-scale transformations her true passion is people and inspiring others to succeed to their greatest ability. Her unique leadership formula combines IQ (Intellectual Quotient), EQ (Emotional Quotient), RQ (Resilience Quotient), and the often surprising HQ (Hope Quotient). Her leadership philosophy is grounded in fostering a strong culture, deep purpose and creating a North Star that people can believe in.
Judith describes herself as a lifelong student of business and is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion globally.
Susan Peterson
As an experienced business leader, Susan has particular interest in helping companies drive growth through technology, innovative customer solutions and organisational culture. Susan currently chairs Vista Group and is an independent director of Xero, Mercury and Arvida. Susan is also an independent director of Craigs Investment Partners. Susan was previously a member of the New Zealand Markets Disciplinary Tribunal and a past director of Trustpower, ASB Bank and Property for Industry. Susan also served on the Board of Global Women for 6 years, stepping down in July 2024 and has been a past Ministerial appointee to the National Advisory Council for the Employment of Women.
Rukumoana Schaafhausen, MNZM, Ngāti Haua, Waikato
Rukumoana Shaafhausen is the Chairperson of the Office of the Māori Queen and a Trustee of The King’s Trust Aotearoa New Zealand. She is named after her marae in Morrinsville, is a dynamic leader who has carried her passion through roles as a lawyer, mother, director - whether in marae or boardrooms. Having served as the Chairperson for Waikato-Tainui for numerous years and being the longest-standing trustee of Waikato Tainui, Rukumoana carries a message of kotahitanga, manaakitanga, and prosperity for the people of Waikato and Aotearoa, a responsibility she approaches with humility and gratitude.
Rukumoana is also a trustee of the Tindall Foundation and holds multiple public and private directorships in Contact Energy, Alvarium NZ Investments, Kiwi Group Capital, Agresearch, and Miro Berries Limited. Additionally, she has been honored with the NZ Order of Merit for her services to Maori and the community, as well as the Sir Peter Blake award for leadership.
Antonia Watson
Antonia is Group Executive & CEO of ANZ New Zealand. Prior to this she held roles as Managing Director of our Retail and Business Banking business and as Chief Financial Officer.
In her most recent role as MD Retail and Business Banking, Antonia was responsible for our network of retail branches, contact centres and banking specialists who take care of over two million consumer and small business customers.
Antonia joined ANZ from Morgan Stanley, where she was General Manager of their business services and technology centre in Budapest and had various Finance roles in Sydney and London. She started her career at KPMG.
Hon Nicola Willis
Minister of Finance, Minister for the Public Service, Minister for Social Investment and Associate Minister of Climate Change.
Prior to becoming an MP, Nicola held several senior management roles at New Zealand dairy co-operative Fonterra. She also served on the boards of Export NZ and policy think-tank the New Zealand Initiative. Nicola was a senior advisor to Prime Minister John Key during his first term in Government, having previously worked for the National Party in Opposition.
She is a graduate of Victoria University of Wellington with a first-class Honours degree in English literature. She grew up in Wellington, and today she lives there with her husband Duncan and their four children.