HEAD OF COMMERCIAL SPORT, PARTNERSHIPS AND EVENTS
NZME

As NZME’s Head of Commercial Sport, Partnerships and Events, Emily is responsible for the design, negotiation, leverage and management of strategic partnerships for New Zealand’s leading media brands, as well as leading NZME’s events business and commercial sport initiatives. Prior to joining the media industry, Emily held senior roles in a broad range of organisations, from not-for-profits to corporates and sporting organisations, including IAG New Zealand, Queenstown Events Centre, Canterbury Cricket, and Auckland Rugby/Blues. Emily’s extensive knowledge of the sports/events sector ensures she is known for delivering best-of-breed results across the board – from event marketing, sponsorship, and communications, to finance and operations.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE, EDEN PARK

Nick crossed the Tasman and joined the Eden Park team in June 2016. His 20 years’ experience has included roles at Colonial Stadium, Telstra Dome, Etihad Stadium, Domain Stadium and West Australian Football Commission. Throughout his career, Nick has remained committed to enhancing business acumen as well as acquiring further technical skills and knowledge. He has studied in China, Germany and the USA and holds Bachelor degrees in Business and Arts, as well as a Master of Business Administration.

In 2019 Nick was proud to receive the Executive of the Year award at The Stadium Business Summit, and Venue Executive of the Year and Supreme Venue Person of the Year at the EVANZ Awards. He proudly became a Certified Venue Executive in 2020 with IAVM.

Founder & Director, Brand Magic

Jane and the Brand Magic team have been innovators in experiential events for over twenty years - creating and delivering numerous high-profile marketing, sponsorship, communication, and design/build solutions for a significant portfolio of global & New Zealand household brands and events. With extensive experience spanning sports, arts, major events, FMCG, corporate, cross-cultural, and community sectors, Jane is also passionate about contributing her skills to various commercial and not-for-profit organisations in a governance capacity.

Marketing and Sponsorship specialist

Kane Silcock has over 20 years’ experience working for a several Global businesses in Marketing and Sponsorship. In 2008 Kane launched LG to the New Zealand market and within 3 years saw it become one of our top Consumer electronic brands. He also spent 7 years supporting Fonterra as their Global Sponsorship Manager working across the wider Fonterra business, creating global policies and frameworks, to ensure properties are carefully selected, well leveraged, and delivered a commercial return.

Kane currently contracts to a range of SME and sporting organisations to build marketing strategies and commercial revenue plans, while volunteering time to the European Sponsorship Association, NZEA mentorship programme and a few Non for Profits to help improve the sponsorship and events industry.

COMPANY OWNER, BUSINESS WANAKA

Mandy is semi-retired, having left as Event Manager of Warbirds Over Wanaka’s International Airshow in 2022, after 14 years in the role. She has just finished an additional ten month contract with Warbirds to load Airshow photos into the Cloud and she continues to mentor event personnel and judge NZEA’s Event Awards, keeping her involved in the event sector.

Now a Contractor, Director of People for Wildlife (Australia) and a Trustee for Uplift in Kind, both Charities, Mandy continues to work in the not-for-profit sector.

From 2001 as CEO of Business Porirua (the City’s Economic Development Agency and Chamber of Commerce) Mandy spearheaded Porirua’s new and existing business and economic development.

Working in Wellington from 1992 to 2001, with Parents Centres NZ, as National Marketing Manager, Mandy also established fundraising programmes, new events and volunteer programmes.

Eric Ngan has 30 years’ experience across mainstream and multi-ethnic projects, in the events and festival industry, the creative arts sector, and is an active Urban Sketcher.

Currently at Auckland Council, Eric is principally working to rejuvenate the city centre with events, activations, and place enhancements - such as the hugely popular Turama lighting installations for Auckland’s Matariki Festival.

As an Event Producer, Eric led on New Zealand’s largest cultural event, the Auckland Lantern Festival, attracting annual audiences upwards of 200,000. Other similar major project management includes: the Auckland Diwali Festival, Te Papa 10th Birthday Celebrations, Cuba Street Carnival Night Parade, Rugby World Cup 2011 Fan Zone, and NZ’s first Mass Vaccination Event.

With a view on ‘the public good’ through all projects, Eric has operationalised policies such as Smokefree, Accessibility, Healthy menus, LP Gas Bottle use, and Environmental sustainability, and embedded and normalised these workstreams into project plans for major events.

Active in the creative arts community as a practitioner and supporter, Eric has coordinated the arts group Urban Sketchers Auckland since 2012 and recently successfully Hosted and Event Directed the 11th International Urban Sketchers Symposium. With 450 participants from around the world, anecdotally, this was the largest gathering of practicing artists in New Zealand.

Via the Oryza Foundation, Eric is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusivity in the events and creative arts sector. With focus on pan-Asian creatives, Eric is supporting the growth and development of the new wave of future talent for New Zealand.in the 21st century.

CEO, GYMNASTICS NZ

Andrea is the new CEO of Gymnastics NZ, having previously been CEO of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, the premier event in women’s cricket hosted in New Zealand in 2022. Andrea brings significant sports and major event experience, having previously been GM New Zealand for the Rugby League World Cup 2017, and Director of Marketing and Communications for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, and having held senior Communications roles with London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

MANAGING DIRECTOR, FRESHINFO

Shane Vuletich is the Managing Director of Fresh Info, New Zealand’s leading provider of event evaluation services.  He has 20 years’ experience building event evaluation frameworks, including Event Economics, and has used them to assess the impacts of more than 500 events over the past decade.

Michelle has been working within the sports industry for over 16 years. A lawyer by trade, she has been involved in both a legal and non-legal capacity across a number of different sporting organisations and events. In addition to inhouse legal roles at New Zealand Rugby, Rugby World Cup 2011 and Australian Rugby, Michelle has been involved in non-legal roles with a wide variety of other sports and events including the Tarawera Ultramarathon, New Zealand Golf Open, FIFA U20 World Cup, ITU World Triathlon Auckland, Queenstown International Marathon, Pioneer Mountain Bike Stage Race, Tri Taranaki Festival, Motatapu, Hawkes Bay Marathon and Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

REGIONAL AFFAIRS MANAGER,
ARARAURANGI AIR NEW ZEALAND

Jason Dawson is of Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Whātua descent and is currently the Regional Affairs Manager for Araraurangi Air New Zealand. Jason was previously the chief executive for Hamilton & Waikato Tourism and was part of the advisory panel for the establishment of the regional events fund to stimulate New Zealand’s tourism and events sector due to the economic impacts of Covid-19. Other achievements during his tenure saw the development of Waikato’s first regional visitor brand, “The Mighty Waikato”, as well as the region’s first major events strategy which supported a variety of successful bids from the World Series of Darts and NZ Sevens Rugby through to the International Breast Cancer Paddler Festival 2023. Under his leadership , the Waikato region also attracted a number of high-profile international and national business events, conventions and meetings.

Previous event experience includes leading the team responsible for the Hamilton 150th birthday festival, leading the communications, marketing and community engagement activities for the Northland 2011 Rugby World Cup and co-convenor for the Association of Local Government Information Management (ALGIM)’s national web and digital conference for over 10 years.

HEAD OF WOMEN’S RUGBY
NZ RUGBY

Claire Beard is Head of Women's rugbu at NZ Rugby. Prior to this, she was the CEO of Triathlon New Zealand. Claire’s involvement in sport spans more than a decade, having worked on Rugby World Cup 2011, holding several roles in regional sports trusts, major events and recreation before taking the helm at TNZ seven years ago.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE
TOURISM INDUSTRY AOTEAROA

As Chief Executive of TIA, New Zealand’s only independent association that represents all sectors of New Zealand’s large and diverse tourism industry, Rebecca leads the team representing 1200 member businesses from small owner/operators to large publicly listed tourism corporates and international hotel chains.

Prior to joining TIA, Rebecca spent seven years at Tourism New Zealand (TNZ), where she held various roles including General Manager of New Zealand and Government Relations. She was previously responsible for TNZ’s PR and Major Events, leading a global team across 10 markets in highlighting the best of what New Zealand has to offer to visitors.

Rebecca has 20 years of leadership, marketing and communications expertise, with proven experience delivering successful business strategies, engagement and advocacy programmes and leading complex transformation in her time at both Spark (then Telecom) and Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand.

LEADING ADVISOR, DESIGNER, MENTOR

Andrew O’Loughlin is a Melbourne based Event Advisor, Author, Trainer and co-host of ‘The Event Show’ podcast. Having started his career in Queenstown 25 years ago, Andrew spent the last decade leading international event agency Limelight Sports. With experiences across major events, community festivals, corporate, brand, sport and government related campaigns, Andrew is now leading and facilitating shared learning experiences. Andrew’s ‘Experience Design Playbook’ process uses ‘Experience Design’ methods, to create more influential events, and influential event people.

Amy McNicol is a sports marketing specialist, passionate about giving women’s sport and female athletes a platform.

She is currently a Director of North Harbour Rugby Union, and delivering an event series at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ fan festivals called EQUALIZE. EQUALIZE will celebrate women across sport, society, culture and business.

Amy headed up commercial partnership delivery for the highly successful Rugby World Cup 2021, and her time as Director of Global Sponsorship at AIG saw her awarded the NZEA Best Event Sponsorship Professional in 2018.

Sport is a central theme of Amy’s career having spent several years working at Manchester United, as well as time at New Zealand Cricket, Leeds Rugby, Leeds United and Toyota and Lexus negotiating rights deals and activating multimillion-dollar global partnerships.

David Inns finished his tenure as CEO of Chief Executive of the Auckland Arts Festival in August 2022 having led the festival through ten iterations since March 2009, including leading the strategic decision to take Auckland Arts Festival from a biennial to an annual event in 2016.

David has 35+ years of experience in senior arts management and production roles internationally and within New Zealand including Chief Executive – New Zealand International Arts Festival Trust 2002-2009, Technical Director – WOMAD NZ 2003 – 2007, Executive Director – Taranaki Arts Festival Trust 1998 - 2002, and Technical Director – Assembly Theatre, Edinburgh Festival 1996 - 2001.

Over these years in the festival’s world, David has built extensive networks with many arts organisations within New Zealand and internationally and, together with the Artistic Directors, was instrumental in securing large scale events for Festivals. He has played a key role in commissioning, developing, and presenting numerous new Aotearoa and international works across multiple genres, both in New Zealand and offshore.

David has an extensive education and production background and led Auckland Festival Trust’s delivery of Auckland’s Queens Wharf entertainment and events programme during Rugby World Cup 2011, World Masters Games 2016, and the British Lions Tour 2017.

David is now based in Wellington working on a freelance consulting basis in the arts and event industry with companies including Tāwhiri Festival and Events.

HEAD OF TICKETING, NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA, EVENTFINDA

Anna Magdalinos has over 24 years of experience in the Ticketing and Events industry.

As the Head of Ticketing for Eventfinda, Anna has a proven track record in building strong relationships and developing new business opportunities. Anna is passionate about driving improved development and design within the ticketing platform and seeing more technology-based, NZ-owned solutions showcased within the ticketing industry.

With a passion and love of the performing arts, her previous roles have included Arts organisations as well sporting organisations including IMG on Rugby World Cup 2011 and NZ Rugby League across the 2012 ANZAC test and the 2010 Four Nations Tournament.

Arthur is recognised as one of New Zealand’s leaders in sports governance, sports management, major events and event tourism. He has a proven track record of delivering major international events and, since 1994, has delivered twelve World Championships, across eight sports, and twenty three World Cups. Arthur was a founding Board member of the NZ Events Association. In 2018 Arthur stepped down as CEO of the Winter Games NZ and is now focused on governance and advisory work in sport and tourism.

Project Manager, Events & Projects

Many will know Anne as the co-owner and co-organiser of the Eventing the Future Conference since its inception in 2001 until 2019, after which time the NZ Events Association took over ownership from Anne and her business partner, Peter Burley.

Anne’s decades-long career in the events sector includes many event-related roles for Christchurch City Council, Touch NZ and developing tertiary papers in event management for Lincoln University which later progressed to the development of the Graduate Diploma in Event Management - the first specialised Event degree in the country. Anne has also worked as a consultant on event strategies, and business development and design for event venues.

Anne served a 4-year term as an NZEA Board member, including 2 years as Chair over the Rugby World Cup period. Anne’s tenure also oversaw the employment of the first paid staff member for NZEA and she was key in establishing relationships with New Zealand Major Events and Sport New Zealand as well as establishing the New Zealand Event Awards Programme.