M2 magazine presents
HOW THE BEST ARE SUCCEEDING
30 April 2025
Auckland
What We Did To Grow Productivity With AI
Bindi Norwell
Bindi is a respected leader with more than 25 years’ experience across a range of sectors and markets, including health, property, professional services, and telecommunications in New Zealand, Australia, and the UK. Holding both CEO and Board roles, she has extensive commercial leadership and governance expertise, specialising in developing organisational diversification and growth strategies, leveraging technology and innovation, and leading transformational change.
As Group Chief Executive of ProCare, she now leads one of New Zealand’s largest primary healthcare organisations, where she’s driven the adoption of AI and machine learning to improve efficiency and help achieve more equitable health outcomes.
In this session, Bindi will share her firsthand experience of introducing AI into a New Zealand organisation, with particular insights for those with resource constraints yet have a huge opportunity to leverage AI. She’ll discuss the challenges, successes and key insights from ProCare’s own journey, focusing on the role for leadership, implementation and practical steps for getting started.
Maintaining competitiveness and spotting new opportunities
Dr. Peter Catt
Dr. Peter Catt is Chair and Director at Virtual Blue, where he leads the integration of advanced AI, machine learning, and quantum computing into real-world business solutions. With a doctorate in applied computing and a background in predictive modelling, Peter helps organisations turn complex data into confident decisions. A global panellist for MIT Tech Review, he combines deep technical expertise with a passion for ethical innovation.
Taming the Risks of AI to Unleash Innovation with Confidence
Raffaella del Prete
Raffaella del Prete is an experienced CIO, CDO, and CTO with over two decades of leadership across global technology and digital transformation roles. She has worked with companies including Accenture, Nokia, BP, Vodafone, Tesco, AIA, and T-Mobile, leading large-scale IT and SaaS operations across New Zealand, the UK, and Europe.
As the Founder of Volo, a UC Berkeley-backed startup, Raffaella focuses on building secure, compliant infrastructure for AI and data platforms. Her background spans high-growth startups and enterprise environments, with a particular focus on governance, operational scale, and delivery of cloud and AI-based technologies.
AI & Cybersecurity – What You Need to Know
Simon Jordan
Simon Jordan is the Managing Director of Resilient IT, a specialist cybersecurity consultancy based in New Zealand. With deep expertise across risk management, penetration testing, and digital infrastructure, Simon helps organisations stay ahead in an ever-evolving threat landscape. Known for his practical approach and clear communication, he’s passionate about exposing the human element in cybersecurity—and turning it from a vulnerability into a strength.
What’s Changed In The Last 12 Months?
Leni Mariam Ayoub
Leni Mariam Ayoub is a leading expert at the intersection of AI and Web3, driving the future of agentic AI – intelligent systems that act, learn, and collaborate with human-like autonomy. Leveraging her STEM background, Leni co-architected pioneering AI protocols at Altered State Machine, newly defining AI ownership and interoperability with web3 technology. At Futureverse, Leni integrates generative and agentic AI into open metaverse ecosystems. Her work empowers brands and developers with scalable tools for composability and cross-platform collaboration, bridging intelligent systems with user-driven digital applications; equipping industries with the tools to harness AI for equitable progress and transformative innovation.
Practical strategies for businesses to harness AI’s transformative innovation
Greg Montgomery
Greg Montgomery, Principal Consultant at ClearPoint, explores the rapid evolution of AI and its implications for your business and teams. With over 25 years of experience delivering digital transformation across organizations like TVNZ, Kiwibank, Soul Machines, MediaWorks, and ABC Australia, Greg is known for bridging cutting-edge innovation with business impact, especially in AI, cloud infrastructure, and product delivery.
10 Things You Need to Know about the Future of Finance
Ryan Johnson-Hunt
A seasoned consultant and thought leader, Ryan brings a unique blend of expertise in cutting-edge technologies and business acumen to the forefront of the digital securities space. As co-founder of Johnson & Hunt Consulting, Ryan has been instrumental in guiding organisations across various industries to navigate the transformative potential of blockchain, Web3, and the emerging Metaverse. He co-founded DSG with a vision to create a platform that catalyses economic growth, facilitates cross-border investments, and democratises access to capital for both established players and budding entrepreneurs.
New Revenue & Growth, Powered By AI
Skipper Lomiwes
Skipper Lomiwes is a senior digital and commercial leader with over a decade of experience at the intersection of data, technology, and revenue strategy. At TVNZ, he heads Digital Revenue Solutions & Operations, leading the organisation’s commercial data strategy, digital product innovation, and operational delivery. His work includes partnering with Adobe DX to enhance TVNZ’s digital experience and monetisation capabilities.
How to future-proof your organisation amid accelerating change
Mark Bregman
Mark Bregman is a global technology leader, venture capitalist, and executive coach with a career spanning IBM, Veritas, and Symantec. At IBM, he played a key role in long-range visioning—helping the company anticipate and adapt to major technological shifts. Now based in New Zealand, he works with CEOs, startups, and investors to apply these lessons to business growth, AI strategy, and leadership development.
Innovation, Regulation and the Exponential Rise of Gen AI
Dermot Butterfield
Dermot Butterfield is a leading innovator in AI-driven financial technology, open banking, and data intelligence. With Wych he is at the forefront of reshaping financial services through AI, automation, and intelligent data solutions.
With a deep background in cloud computing, enterprise application development, and data security, Dermot has built Wych into a global open-data platform, enabling businesses to harness customer data securely—without massive technology budgets or engineering overhead.
Using AI To Make Your Team Great
Annie Johnson
As Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Humaneer, Annie is leading the charge in redefining AI’s role in HR. She understands the paradox of applying artificial intelligence to the most human-centric function in business and sees it not as a zero-sum game, but as an opportunity to elevate HR’s strategic impact.
Humaneer is pioneering Machine Accelerated Knowledge, collectively known as Mak – an AI-powered productivity partner that streamlines admin without stripping away the human elements that make HR essential, ensuring AI is not a replacement for HR professionals, but a catalyst for deeper human connection, strategic influence, and business success.
Planning for scaled AI innovation in NZ
Michael Witbrock
Michael John Witbrock is a computer scientist in the field of artificial intelligence. Witbrock is the former vice president of Research at Cycorp, which is carrying out the Cyc project in an effort to produce a genuine artificial intelligence.
M2 magazine presents
HOW THE BEST ARE USING AI TO SUCCEED
THURSDAY 23 MAY 2024
8:00am – 5:00pm, SHED 10 Auckland
What’s Changed In The Last 12 Months?
Nikhil Ramrakhiani
CTO of Pie Funds, at the forefront of driving AI adoption within the business, Nikhil aligns use cases with strategic goals. He employs a high-impact, low-risk approach to AI adoption, navigating the rapidly evolving landscape through modular solutions. As a passionate advocate for AI’s potential, he dedicates focused time each day to studying and researching Gen AI, ensuring he stays abreast of the latest developments and its practical applications to businesses.
How to Increase Productivity with AI & Machine Learning
Paul Roseman
Paul has more than 30 years’ experience working in the healthcare arena, with more than 20 spent working in Independent Practitioner Associations (IPAs) and Primary Health Organisations (PHOs). During his time with ProCare, Paul has designed and implemented a wide variety of primary care clinical programmes including; digital assistants, the patient pathway for high tech imaging in general practice, chronic disease management, hospital avoidance (planned care), electronic clinical decision support, referred services demand management and performance indicator programmes. Paul is Chair of Clinical Assessments Limited (CAL) a longstanding partnership between ProCare and East Health. Paul is a registered pharmacist and graduated with a Bachelor of Pharmacy from the University of Otago.
AI & Cybersecurity – What You Need to Know
Adam Durbin
Chief Technology Officer of Mantel Group, Adam sits across Sitting across the group’s wide range of specialisations and technical capabilities. His career in IT started over 20 years ago in IT software support moving to system engineering and virtualisation and then into cloud. He was the co-founder of CMD Solutions before it joined Mantel Group, forming one of the top and fastest growing IT professional services organisations in Australia.
AI & CYBERSECURITY – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Natalie Rouse
Principal for Mantel Group NZ, Natalie has global experience delivering analytics, data science, optimisation and simulation projects, building highly skilled analytics and AI delivery teams, and driving responsible technology innovation at an enterprise level. She has overseen Mantel Group’s growth in New Zealand with capabilities across the technology development lifecycle. Natalie is an Executive Council Member of AI Forum NZ and co-hosts the AI Australia podcast.
Innovation, Regulation and the Exponential Rise of Gen AI
Andrew Dentice
Technology Lawyer and Partner at Hudson Gavin Martin. He’s an expert in areas where technology intersects with regulation (including AI) and in helping clients to commercialise or implement tech solutions.
The Talent Needed Fill The AI Skill Gap
Anna Mowbray
Revolutionising industries and fuelling innovation, Anna Mowbray is a powerhouse entrepreneur and one of Aotearoa’s most influential business figures. As one of the leaders who grew ZURU to billions in trade, she led culture, systems and operations as the company grew across the world. Today, she leads her new business ZEIL, a cutting-edge, data-driven job marketplace founded in 2022.
10 Years of AI Madness and What It Means for Business
David McDonald
As Founder of Altered State Machine, and a major shareholder in Futureverse, David has a had a varied tech and venture career with the last decade across generative visual and music AI, blockchain, and gaming partnerships with ReadyPlayerOne, Reebok, Warners Music, Muhammed Ali, and Fifa. In 2023, David founded Being AI. Being has a unique perspective on the AI-enabled world to come as they not only build and patent AI, but also advise and support NZ companies on AI adoption, and also invest in both legacy industries being transformed by AI and AI-focused startups.
How AI is Impacting the Health & Safety Future
Bede Cammock-Elliott
Bede Cammock-Elliott Bede is founder of both seeo.ai and seedigital Limited. Founded in 2003, seedigital is a World Leading interactive remote video monitoring company that protects $5.5Billion worth of assets for many iconic brands & organisations throughout New Zealand. Bede is a published author in the UK & Brazil. He is a qualified assessor for the European Business Quality Model (Known as EFQM) & Chairman of the LSV Patrons Trust. He is a leading thinker on solving security related business problems, and the ethical application of AI to increase H&S outcomes for all stakeholders.
New & Emerging Industries Created by AI
Jovan Pavlicevic
Jovan Pavlicevic is the co-founder of SquareOne and Emerge. Setting out to reshape how kids were taught about finance with SquareOne, he quickly realised the entire finance landscape of NZ needed significant disruption. Emerge is the next step on that quest, rethinking what business banking should be by providing a mobile-first solution for small businesses. Disruption & innovation are at the heart of the success of SquareOne & Emerge with a lot more to come yet.
How to Get Started Now
Asa Cox
Asa Cox is the founder & CEO of Arcanum, a company that specialises in helping finance teams increase their productivity with AI. Arcanum is one of only 20 companies in the world to have been signed up for the Strategic Collaboration agreement (SCA) for Gen-AI with AWS. Asa has nearly a decade of experience working with applied AI and has led Arcanum to work with well known startups and enterprises in NZ and internationally.
Using AI for Sustainability Targets
Bill Haylock
Director PX4 Software, Ardent Group and Torch Energy. His career, initiated in the late 1970s, saw a pivotal moment in 1986 when he founded Queensland’s pioneering exploration and mining tenement management business. By 1988, Bill was instrumental in the development of tenement management software. PX4 is a third-generation software, being utilised all over the globe by major mining companies.
Humans & AI, The Future of an Augmented Workforce
Leighton Roberts
Leighton Roberts is the co-founder and co-CEO of Sharesies. At Sharesies, their vision is to give someone with $5 and $5m the same money opportunities. Sharesies is a wealth app with over 600,000 investors who’ve collectively invested billions of dollars. Sharesies also partners with private, and NZX and ASX listed companies so they can know and communicate to their retail investors, support with capital raises and provide staff share schemes – they have over 500 companies using their services.
The Future of Work
Tim Warren
As a Co-Founder of Ambit, Tim led a team of industry experts in designing and delivering natural, intelligent conversational experiences for some of the world’s leading organisations. With over 25 years of experience in strategy, executive management, and technology, Tim has a track record of automating customer service at scale with generative AI. He is a strong advocate for the immense potential of AI in transforming customer support and driving business growth.
The HUman Factor In The Age of AI
DR ALIA BOJILOVA
Performance Coach for SAS Soldiers and Olympic Athletes. During her time with the UN Dr. Alia and her team were taken hostage in Syria. She negotiated the release of her team without harm. She works with Movac Ventures and assists companies in building cultures of adaptability and innovation.
M2 Magazine presents
Thursday 7 Sep 2023
8:30am – 5:30pm
Auckland
“How To Get Started with AI Now”
Asa Cox
Founder & CEO of Arcanum, which specialises in helping finance teams increase their productivity with AI. Asa has nearly a decade of experience working with applied AI and has led Arcanum to work with well known startups and enterprises in New Zealand and internationally.
“A Glimpse At The Future of Entertainment”
DR. MILES GREGORY
Dr. Miles Gregory is a leading figure in the world of cultural entrepreneurship blending traditional art forms with cutting-edge technology. Born in Wellington, and educated in NZ and the UK, Miles has served as the founding artistic director for several organizations but he’s particularly known for founding the Pop-up Globe, which attracted audiences of over 750,000 people in Australasia. A multiple-award winner, including a Sir Peter Blake Leader Award, for the last three years he’s been the executive director at Emmy-nominated Auckland creative digital agency Gladeye. His latest project in collaboration with Gladeye seeks to redefine storytelling through AI and immersive experiences.
“Cybersecurity in the Digital Age: Protecting Business Assets & Customer Trust”
Sam Pickles
Sam has provided IT and security services for banking, government, and service provider clients for over 25 years across the US, Europe and Asia Pacific. He built some of the world’s largest web application firewall gateways, conducted penetration testing of networks, applications and hardware devices and currently focuses on advanced techniques for web application vulnerability shielding. As CTO, Sam has presented around the world on “web application shielding” and is the brain behind RedShield’s technology stack.
“Harnessing the Power if Data: Leveraging AI & Analytics for Business Growth”
Emily Blumenthal
Emily is Research Director for emerging global leader in AI for insights, Yabble, with over 15 years’ experience applying the latest in best practice to big brands including Foodstuffs, Sky TV and Coca-Cola.
“Enhancing Customer Experience in the Age of AI: Delivering Personalised Experiences at Scale”
Greg Cross
Co-Founder of Soul Machines, a ground-breaking high tech company of AI researchers, neuroscientists, psychologists, artists and innovative thinkers; reimagining how we connect with machines. Greg also co-founded PowerbyProxi a company that was sold to Apple in 2017. Soul Machines works with celebrities like: Jack Nicklaus, K-Pop legend Mark Tuan & NBA All Star Carmelo Anthony.
“What Are The Long Term Implications Of AI For Humanity?”
Professor Albert Bifet
Albert is a Professor of AI, Director of the Te Ipu o te Mahara AI Institute at the University of Waikato and Co-chair of the Artificial Intelligence Researchers Association (AIRA). His research focuses on Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Science, and Machine Learning for Data Streams. He is the co-author of a book on Machine Learning from Data Streams published at MIT Press.
“Positioning New Zealand Organisations for Competitive Advantage”
Matt Ensor
CEO & Founder of FranklyAI, a pioneering Generative AI startup established in 2020 and is a Business Director at Beca which has evolved into one of New Zealand’s premier users of Generative AI, recording over 150,000 interactions in just the last few months.
