We heard from ...

Our speakers provided short insights - to challenge, to inspire and call us to action.

leonie freeman

Leonie is a leader who commands an unusal breadth of insight into the New Zealand property sector, having held top positions in both the private and public sector.  In 1996, she created what is now realestate.co.nz (formerly RealENZ.co.nz).  Leonie has held leadership roles at Auckland Council and Housing New Zealand and is on the board of the listed property entity, Goodman Property Trust.  In October 2016 she launched thehomepage.nz; a philanthropic and independent initiative with the sole purpose of solving Auckland's housing crisis.  Leonie is also a member of Global Women.

professor john tookey

Professor John Tookey is the Head of Department of Built Environment at the School of Engineering, Computer and Mathematics Sciences, Auckland University of Technology.  His research areas include supply chain management, construction procurement systems, corporate social responsibility in the construction industry and performance management and productivity in construction.  In addition to his programme governance and development roles, Professor Tookey is the director of the Centre for Urban Built Environment in NZ (CUBE-NZ). He also regularly consults for industry and acts as a peer reviewer and referee for numerous journals and conferences.

scott figenshow

Scott Figenshow, Chief Executive of Community Housing Aotearoa, brings over 25 years of experience in the community housing sector, across non-profit, government and private sector roles. Holding advanced degrees in planning and housing finance he is passionate about affordable and social housing as part of a holistic approach to mixed income, mixed tenure community development.

jan rivers

Jan’s background is in libraries, information technology and the policies in delivering information. She has led information teams in local and central government and in the not for profit sector. Now Jan is a trustee of the Scoop Foundation for public interest journalism.  One of Scoop’s initiatives is “HiveMind”,  based on the artificial intelligence software Pol.is, a sophisticated software that supports large scale and meaningful consultations about society’s most complex and contested issues.

mary lambie

Mary is an award winning journalist, broadcaster, communications strategist and media consultant and business owner. She is the founder of Socius Ltd - a company focused on media training, protecting corporate media profiles and reputations, communications and writing.  Socius is Latin for trusted advisor.

Mary Lambie, and her husband Jim Mora and their core partnership group provide media profile management, media training and communication expertise.

• They will media train you and oversee communications related to you and your business.

• They will promote you and your business with excellent writing -­ speeches, blogs, columns.

• They will prepare you for conferences. Writing your speech and coaching your delivery.

gary noland

Gary is the National Director of Development Advisory and Capital Markets at Knight Frank and has 30 years’ experience as a property professional principally in property development.  Gary has been responsible for developments with values in excess of $1.7bn, including the Domain Terraces Newmarket, the Domain Office park Carlton Gore Rd, Heritage Christchurch and Heritage Tower Auckland, H47,  The Parc Viaduct Basin,  110ha Waterloo Business Park in Christchurch, Re planning Kensington Park (830 homes), master planning Market Cove (1440 dwellings in Mangere) and the lodge and villas at Kinloch Golf Club.  Gary currently deals primarily with larger investment and development transactions, liaising with corporate developers and working with the listed and unlisted sectors.

ted manson onzm

Ted started the family business with his father Colin in the mid 1970's. Together they grew the business and weathered the economic downturn of the late 1987 share market crash and the recent global financial crisis. That experience helped shape the approach to business that forms Manson’s TCLM business ethos - a "hands on" approach to business dealings and financial independence. For the majority of its projects Manson’s TCLM is both developer and building contractor and funding is mostly from the Manson family's resources. To date the company has built and or renovated well over 2,500 residential dwellings and it dominates the Auckland Commercial property development market having delivered over 600,000m2 of floor space.

paul Gilberd

Paul Gilberd is a buisness development specialist assisting with strategic direction, governance and change.  His role as GM Strategy and Development at the NZ Housing Foundation is all about partnerships and collaboration to bring new people, new money and new land to the table.  This work is enabling the growth of affordable housing programmes supporting the relief of poverty.  The NZ Housing Foundation delivers affordable rental (rent to buy) and affordable equity (shared home ownership) programmes and assists low income households to move out of the rental poverty trap through affordable housing and community building.  Paul is strongly motivated by social justice. 

david rutherford

David Rutherford was appointed Chief Human Rights Commissioner on September 2011. Prior to his appointment, he was the managing director of Special Olympics Asia Pacific and based in Singapore. He has held senior executive roles in building materials and agribusiness businesses operating in New Zealand and Australia, has been chief executive of the New Zealand Rugby Union and has worked as a corporate, securities and commercial lawyer in New Zealand and Canada. Mr Rutherford has a strong history of involvement in sports and has lectured in sports law at Victoria University. He has been a volunteer Board member in rugby union, netball, Paralympics New Zealand, Special Olympics New Zealand, Special Olympics International and for the Attitude Trust. He brings a passion for development and the inclusion of people with disability in sports.

simon wright

Simon is a Partner at Public Engagement Projects. He has been a leading public engagement specialist and innovator for over 10 years with expertise in dialogue, deliberation and digital engagement. His work spans central and local government, NGOs, academia and the media. PEP works with organisations to improve their listening and achieve communication that promotes trust, improved relationships and better decisions.