M2 magazine presents
HOW THE BEST ARE SUCCEEDING
30 April 2025
Auckland
The M2 Summit is on a mission to accelerate your businesses growth by connecting you with industry leaders in AI & technology to show you where to start & what works.
Throughout a day of keynotes, case studies, panel discussions & interactive exhibits we aim to give you the toolkit to understand and apply the best technology to grow and succeed.
48% of the 500+ attendees who attend M2 Summit are key decision makers across a range of industries, making the event a hotbed of networking opportunities that last long after the event finishes. The perfect opportunity to learn and strategise with your team and clients.
Would you like to make a meeting with our Founder Tim Lawrence to discuss the M2 AI Summit?
Simply book a meeting here.
What to expect
Meeting Areas:
Space for meetings or just catch up on some work or a zoom call.
Exhibit Area:
The Exhibit hall features both Tech & Lifestyle Exhibits for you to engage with from AI & Automation to Cars, Travel, Whisky & Wine.
Hospitality:
All Guests receive: Espresso Coffee, Morning Tea, Lunch, Non-Alcoholic Drinks, Fruit and Scotch, Cocktails & Wine with Nibbles at the Networking function – all inclusive.
Our Goals For You
- Strategies for competitive advantage to harness the unique & dynamic change AI is driving globally.
- Understand how to use AI to build better products, increase efficiency
- Create better connections with customers
- Activate the passion of your team
- Create the opportunity for you to relationship-build & network with 550+ smart people.
Agenda
30 APRIL 2025, AUCKLAND
8:00am – NETWORKING OVER COFFEE
9:00am – Welcome – Andre Rowell, Editor M2 Magazine
9:10am – “What Are The Latest Developments?”
9:35am – “Using AI To Make Your Team Great”
10:00am – “AI & Automation Tools Your Team Should Be Using Now For Growth”
10:25am – NETWORKING OVER MORNING TEA
11:00am – “Innovation, Regulation and the Exponential Rise of Gen AI”
11:25am – “The Talent Needed Fill The AI Skill Gap”
11:50am – BREAK
12:00pm – “3 Years of AI Madness and What It Means for Business”
12:25pm – “Improving Health & Safety with AI to compliment Existing Programmes, People and Teams”
12:50pm – NETWORKING OVER LUNCH
2:10pm – “AI & Cybersecurity – What You Need to Know”
2:35pm – “What We Did To Grow Productivity With AI”
3:00pm – BREAK
3:10pm – “Customer Retention & Growth At Scale, Powered By AI Commerce”
3:35pm – “Key Areas Businesses Can Start Today That Are Simple & Effective”
4:00pm – NETWORKING OVER DRINKS & NIBBLES
5:00pm – CLOSE
Past Speakers
Danushka Abeysuriya
Founded RUSH Digital in 2010 and has led its technology teams in developing world-first solutions for global companies such as Microsoft, Disney, Google, Samsung and Nokia. Local clients include: Metservice, Watercare, Foodstuffs, Te Whatu Ora, Z Energy & Public Trust. He’s overseen and been hands-on involved in the design, development and deployment of numerous software and hardware projects across a wide range of platforms, disciplines & high-level strategy of where companies are going to sit in the future.
Greg Cross
Co-Founder of Soul Machines, a ground-breaking high tech company of AI researchers, neuroscientists, psychologists, artists and innovative thinkers; re-imagining 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.
Lee Hickin
Lee has over 30 years’ experience in the technology sector across the UK, Asia and Australia, and is driven by the potential for positive and responsible technology. As National Chief Technology Officer for Microsoft ANZ, he advises government and commercial organisations on digital strategy and the economic, innovation and social impact of cloud scale technology.
He is primarily focused on artificial intelligence, language models and machine learning. Lee heads Microsoft’s Office of Responsible AI for ANZ.
In addition, his work encompasses supporting Microsoft’s work in quantum computing.
Ramesh Haridas
Ramesh Haridas is an entrepreneur and an investor. He has started and sold three internet companies and has invested in over 100 early stage startups. His last startup was an AI powered email assistant (InboxVudu) that was acquired by Google. He loves taking ideas from research and applying them to build prototypes and products.
Asa Cox
Founder of SquareOne which started as an app to help children learn about savings which is fast becoming a new generation of lean, low fee bank models with global ambition by leveraging AI for insights, operations and customer interactions. SquareOne is an example of high growth opportunity in legacy industry for disruptive players.
Nikhil Ramrakhiani
Dr Alia Bojilova
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
WHO Should attend?
1.
Businesses looking to outcompete their market leveraging technology.
2.
Business Leaders wanting to best leverage their time with our M2 Connector where they can “speed date” for 10 minutes with up to 6 solution providers to help them leverage technology to grow their business.
3.
Businesses wanting to strengthen their senior team, enabling personal & therefore business growth by spending valuable face to face time in an expansive environment.
4.
Leaders wanting to invest a day with their rising stars in the business to share ideas, goals & visions for them personally & the future of the business.
5.
Leaders wanting to create new opportunities by networking with other business leaders about productivity, growth & business development.
6.
Businesses wanting to deepen client connections to grow their partnership.
Or make a meeting with our Founder Tim Lawrence to discuss the M2 AI Summit options by simply booking a meeting here.
WhAT AttendeES SAY
“This event is extremely valuable to us.” (October 2024)
-Vaughan Borcovsky, Operations Manager, Barfoot & Thompson
“AI might not take your job, but the individual and companies who adopt it effectively, just might.” (May 2024)
–Brynn Uriara, Client Lead at Spark
“Was a super inspiring day and left very energised! Keen to bring more IAG leaders next time.” (June 2024)
-Nick Roberts, Executive Manager Direct Brands, IAG
“Loved the enthusiasm and examples of how AI can easily streamline businesses.” (May 2024)
– Mark Smart, National Sales Manager, Unicom Security
“The speakers delivered invaluable insights into AI’s transformative impact across industries.” (May 2024)
– Frist Travel Group
“We all found it be a great showcase of how a wide range of businesses are embracing AI to drive meaningful change.” (March 2024)
-Dione Forbes-Ryrie, Director, Les Mills
Companies That Have Attended
500 business attendees, 48% are C-suite / Directors / Heads of / Owners / Chairs & Management, from a range of industries: Telco, Insurance, Education, Consulting, Construction, Legal, Utilities, Health, Tech & Finance – People responsible for the success of their businesses, solving problems & driving growth.
2degrees
3 Plus
AA Insurance
ACG Schools
Auckland City BMW
Auckland Mini Garage
Adaptiv
Afirmo
Align
Anderson Lloyd
ANU Health Partners
AoFrio
Aquaswim
Arcanum
Arcserve
Aspire Property
AUT
Avid Legal
Barfoot & Thompson
Bedpost
Being AI
Berry Street
Best Start
Bluechip IT
BNZ
Booster Innovation
Box
Bremworth
Canon
CDC
Centrix
Chemistry
Clearpoint
Code Blue
Cook Costello
Crane Association
Datamine
Diagram
Digital Island
Dynamo6
East Auckland BMW
East Auckland Mini Garage
Elucidate Consulting
Energy Collective
Foster Moore
G.J. Gardner Homes
Global Endeavours
Grand Millennium Hotel
Habit Health
HEB
Heliosps
Hudson Gavin Martin
Icebreaker
Info By Design
Intranet Consulting
ITM
iTraffic
Kina Construct
Kitchen Studio
Kiwi Property
KPMG
Learning Circle
Les Mills
Link Business
Liquorland
Lucknow Initiatives
Luma Analytics
Lumo
Macro Active
Mantel Group
Mark Collins Hospitality
Maserati
Matrix Consulting
Melanie Disse Consulting
Mint Design
Miriam Chancellor
Momentum
Montana Group
MTF Finance
Oceania Cruises
OCS
Officemax
OSS
Paymark
People Project
Pie Funds
Pita Pit
ProCare
Promptech
Puttiapps
Quanton
Recur
RD
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Auckland
Rush
SBA Accounting
Securiti
Share NZ
Silky Insights
Skin Institute
Smartpay
Smartspace
SME Growth
Spark
Splash Digital
Sprout
Stainless Design
Steel & Tube
STH Group
Streamliner
Symbioniq
Target State
Team Cloud
Tickled Pink
Trade Me
Trust Management
Ullrich Group
University of Auckland
Unicom Security
Valid Consulting
Vision Systems
Voluntas Group
Voyager
Webfox
WineSearcher.com
YOU Travel
Our co-Sponsors
2degrees
2degrees is a leading software-defined telecommunications provider, dedicated to delivering digital outcomes for New Zealand Inc and enhancing the productivity of our business customers.
Visit 2degrees.nz/business
Arcanum
Specialising in AI solutions for 8 years, Arcanum AI boosts SMB productivity by seamlessly integrating AI assistants into daily operations, driving growth and efficiency.
Visit arcanum.ai
Blindspot
Our team of executive experts help you to see your blindspots and work with you to see the black swan events on the horizon.
Visit blindspots.co.nz
CDC
CDC is the pre-eminent developer, owner and operator of sovereign, highly secure and connected large-scale data centres across Australia and New Zealand. CDC provides the critical data and digital infrastructure that underpins security, social and economic wellbeing.
Visit cdc.com
R/Vision
A Computer Vision based platform developed by RUSH which uses AI to deliver actionable insights for business at near real-time.
Visit rvision.ai
Silky Insights
Silky Insights are experts at implementing AI solutions. They craft custom, intuitive tools to enhance decision-making and optimise business performance across various industries.
Visit silkyinsights.com
Voluntas Group
Voluntas Group partners with tech founders, providing a powerful ecosystem of people, technology, and capital to elevate both individuals and communities.
Visit voluntas.ventures
THE M2 CONNECTOR
Take the day to the next level by doing a one on one consultation with experts in the industry during the event.
