Meet the Summit Speakers
We are thrilled to share this year's Summit speakers, a group of industry and visitor experience experts ready to share their invaluable insights and knowledge with you.
Amanda Stevens
Amanda Stevens is a renowned Australian thought-leader on customer/visitor experience, and a sought after international keynote speaker on the topic.
Amanda’s deep understanding of consumer psychology, combined with her hands-on marketing expertise, has made her a go-to consultant for some of the world’s most recognisable brands.
As the author of five books on customer experience and marketing, Amanda has a unique ability to turn complex concepts into actionable strategies. Her keynote, ‘Turning Visitors into Raving Brand Fans,’ will delve into the new rules of destination marketing, reveal how to engineer an epic visitor experience, and show you how to turn satisfied customers into passionate advocates.
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from one of the best in the business. Amanda’s captivating storytelling, practical strategies, and infectious energy will leave you buzzing with ideas and ready to take action.
And don’t just take our word for it—Amanda’s insights are making an impact with Australian tourism operators too! Visit Sunshine Coast said “Amanda's presentation was mind-blowing. She gave our tourism operators actionable insights and solid takeaways to build better guest experiences.”
Annie Dundas
Director Destination, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited
Annie Dundas is Director Destination at Tātaki Auckland Unlimited (TAU), the region’s economic and cultural agency. In her role, she leads the major events, business events and tourism teams responsible for the attraction of major and business events, destination marketing of Auckland as part of the Destination Partnership Programme and the management of Auckland as a visitor destination. Prior to joining Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, Annie was the General Manager: Tourism for Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Whai Rawa and before that, General Manager of Hawke’s Bay Tourism for eight years. Annie also had a long tenure at Tourism New Zealand – her last role as Regional Manager North America.
Brad Rowe
Tourism Specialist, Tourism x Design
Brad Rowe is an award-winning tourism and business development specialist. Prior to becoming an independent consultant, he led the development of the world-renowned mountain biking experience at Skyline Queenstown, was head of national business operations at Doppelmayr and has held several public sector tourism advisory roles. Having founded Tourism x Design he now works with a range of progressive tourism operators to build better businesses through a focus on experience design.
Dame Kerry Prendergast
Dame Kerry has a wealth of governance experience spanning a range of sectors, including as former Mayor of Wellington, previous Chair of Tourism New Zealand and former Vice-President of Local Government New Zealand.
Kerry is currently Chair of several organisations including Tourism Industry Aotearoa, the Tourism Industry New Zealand Trust, Wellington Free Ambulance, Wellington Opera, the Royal New Zealand Ballet, and the Victoria Foundation. She is a Director of Oceania Healthcare, Fish Serve and a Trustee of both the Wellington International Arts Foundation and the New Zealand Community Trust.
In January 2019 Kerry became a Dame Companion (DNZM) for services to governance and the community, after being awarded a CNZM in 2011 for her services to local government.
Emily Steel
Programme Lead, Be.Lab
Emily Steel has over 15 years’ of experience working in both Australia and New Zealand in the Health and Disability sector. Trained as an Occupational Therapist Emily continued her work in Public Health roles, which have enabled her to view her work through a person-first lens, gaining knowledge and capability around disability, equity and creating systems which empower people.
Emily joined the Be. Team in 2022 and now leads the Design and Delivery team as Programme lead. She is passionate about advancing and championing health and wellbeing outcomes for disabled people, their families and whanau leading to a more inclusive Aotearoa.
Frances Valintine CNZM
Founder & Board Director, academyEX
Frances Valintine CNZM is a renowned educator and technologist with over 25 years of experience in transforming education and business practices to meet the future of work and societal expectations. Recognised as a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (2018) for her contributions to education and technology, Frances has earned numerous accolades, including induction into the New Zealand Hall of Fame for Women Entrepreneurs (2022) and a lifetime award for Outstanding Contribution to Technology and Business (2020). She is a board member of Watercare, a mentor to female tech leaders, and an advocate for lifelong learning through her book, Future You. She is also the Founder and Board Director of academyEX - a learning platform that develops relevant skills and capabilities to match the requirements of our constantly changing world. Frances holds a Master of Education Management from the University of Melbourne.
Geoff McDonald
Chief Executive, Skyline Enterprises Group
Geoff McDonald is currently CEO of the Skyline Enterprises Group which has a range of business interests across tourism, outdoor attractions, and adventure activities in New Zealand and a range of offshore locations including, Canada, Korea, and Singapore and a member of the NZ Institute of Company Directors and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Directors. He has held board and subcommittee chair roles with both the NZ and Australian Medicines industry sector.
Grant Lilly
Grant Lilly works as a professional Director, mainly in the aviation, transport and tourism sectors. He currently has a varied portfolio of governance appointments on a range of local Government, corporate, for purpose, and membership organisations, as;
- Chair, Invercargill Airport Company
- Chair, Hanmer Springs Pools and Spa
- Chair, Bus and Coach Association of NZ
- Chair, Rainbows End Theme Park Limited
- Director, Search and Rescue Services Limited
- Director, Rotorua Regional Airport Limited
Grant had an extensive management career in top executive roles with large commercial airlines, including both Air New Zealand and Qantas Airways. He is a former Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of NZ, former Director of Queenstown Airport Company, and a former Chair of Tourism Industry Aotearoa.
Grant is a Chartered Member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors.
Hon. Matt Doocey
Minister for Tourism and Hospitality
The Hon. Matt Doocey is the Minister for Tourism and Hospitality, Minister for Mental Health, Minister for ACC, Minister for Youth, Associate Minister of Health, and Associate Minister of Transport.
Mr Doocey has been the MP for Waimakariri since 2014, and previously worked in mental health in New Zealand and the UK, before returning home to work at the Canterbury District Health Board.
He has a BSc (Hons) in Social Policy, an MA in Healthcare Management from Kingston University in London, and an MSc in Global Politics from Birkbeck College, University of London.
Ishita Mendonsa
Global Manager, Insights; Tourism New Zealand
Ishita Mendonsa has over 15 years of insights and research experience across academia, agency, and insights roles. She was previously Global Research Director at Kantar Global, specialising in best practice insights offer development, brand strategy and cultural research across more than 90 markets. In her role as head of Tourism New Zealand’s (TNZ) insights function, Ishita is responsible for developing and delivering strategic and actionable insight, that helps drive TNZ’s organisational and marketing strategies.
Jason Hill
Managing Director, Tourism Talent
Jason Hill has held a variety of senior management and governance roles across the New Zealand tourism industry and is currently Managing Director of Tourism Talent and Meneth Consulting.
Prior roles include Head of Auckland Tourism, Regional Manager Japan & Korea at Tourism New Zealand based in Tokyo, GM Marketing at Christchurch and Canterbury Tourism, and Marketing Manager at BTM Marketing.
Governance roles include Tourism Bay of Plenty, Chair – ICE Group, Tūwharetoa Tongariro Tourism Hub, AUT Tourism School advisory board, NZ Cruise Association, I-Site NZ, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), and Te Haerenga (an arm of Ngai Tai ki Tamaki iwi)
Jason led the development of the Destination AKL 2025 Plan, New Zealand’s first Destination Management Plan launched in May 2018 and was the lead consultant writing the Destination Management Plan for Northland in 2021.
James Shaw
Operating Partner, Morrison
James Shaw served in the New Zealand House of Representatives from 2014-2024 and as Climate Change Minister in the government from 2017-2023.
The architect of New Zealand's net-zero framework, James retired from Parliament in May 2024 and is now an Operating Partner at Morrison, a leading global infrastructure investment management company. He is also on the Board of the WWF New Zealand and is advising and supporting a selection of climate and nature related start-up businesses and not-for-profit organisations.
Jenny-May Clarkson
News Presenter, Breakfast
Jenny-May Clarkson is a New Zealand netball player, sports commentator and television presenter. She is currently Breakfast's News presenter.
Jenny-May previously played for the Silver Ferns, New Zealand's national netball team, for which she was the vice-captain in 2001. She also played for the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic in the National Bank Cup between 1998–2004 and the Auckland Diamonds in 2007; she also played one season in the ANZ Championship in 2008 for the Southern Steel and was signed to play with the Northern Mystics in 2010.
Jenny-May began sports commentary in 2001, she first joined TVNZ as the netball commentator for the National Bank Cup on ONE Sport - the same year she became vice-captain of the Silver Ferns netball team. Jenny-May has since gone on to work in various roles for TVNZ as a reporter, newsreader and presenter including being the weekend sports presenter & sports producer during the weekdays, presenting sport on TV One on Mondays and Tuesdays, and was a news presenter on TVNZ 7.
Her television career has also included presenting Māori Television sports show Code and in 2003 she competed on Celebrity Treasure Island.
Outside of her media work, she has also worked as a police officer, as an assistant coach for netball's Northern Mystics, and has mentored young athletes through the organisation High Performance Sport NZ.
Jeremy O'Brien
General Manager, International Airline, Air New Zealand
Jeremy is a highly experienced senior executive who excels in commercial strategy, sales and marketing with significant business experience across a number of industries ranging from aviation, financial services, telecommunications, food & beverage and media.
Jeremy holds the position of General Manager, International Airline at Air New Zealand, where he is responsible for Commercial, Customer and Airport operations delivery across Air New Zealand’s Interantional network. Prior to this he held the position of General Manager, Brand and Marketing where Jeremy led the group brand and marketing division for Air New Zealand comprising of global brand strategy, marketing strategy, digital marketing, retail marketing, loyalty marketing, social media, tourism, regional affairs, cultural affairs, customer research and in-house media planning and strategy.
In 2020 Jeremy spent 6 months in California where he held the position of Regional General Manager, Americas. Responsibilities included planning, developing and leading the revenue, distribution and product function for the America's region to ensure achievement of net revenue, profit, market share, profile, operating efficiency and growth targets through all channels.
Jeremy joined Air New Zealand in 2016 in the newly created role of RGM, Direct and Market Development. Across his tenure with the business Jeremy has led across a diverse range of portfolio’s including Contact Centre, Corporate Direct (Tandem Travel) Market Development and Retail Sales, Grabaseat and the Loyalty and Airpoints business.
Before Air New Zealand, Jeremy spent 11 years with TVNZ and had a number of senior roles across marketing and sales culminating in the role of Commercial Director on the TVNZ executive team.
During his time at TVNZ, Jeremy oversaw a period of massive transformation as the state broadcaster shifted its strategy to retain relevance in the digital age.
Jeremy completed an Accelerated Development Programme at the London Business School in 2011 and has a BCom (Hons) in Marketing from the University of Otago.
Jeremy joined The Warehouse Group as a Future Director in April 2023.
Kirsten Patterson
CEO, Institute of Directors
Kirsten Patterson (known as KP) is the Chief Executive of the Institute of Directors (IoD) and is a Chartered Member of the IoD. She is a qualified lawyer and a Distinguished Fellow of the Human Resources Institute of New Zealand, Chair of the Global Network of Directors Institutes (GNDI), and a member of the New Zealand External Reporting Advisory Panel (XRAP). She serves on the Boards of the mental health charity, Voices of Hope, is Chair of the Brian Picot Ethical Leadership Advisory Board at Victoria University in Wellington and an Ambassador for the Wellington Women’s Homeless Trust.
A strong advocate of diversity, KP is a member of Global Women New Zealand and was one of the founding members of Global Women’s ‘Champions for Change’, a group of senior executives and directors who commit to diversity in the workplace. KP was the founder and is Executive Sponsor for Chapter Zero New Zealand – the New Zealand Chapter of the World Economic Forum’s Climate Governance Initiative - hosted by the IoD NZ to mobilise, connect, educate and equip directors and boards to make climate-smart governance decisions, thereby creating long term value for both shareholders and stakeholders.
Martin King
Founder and Director, Pride Pledge
Martin King (he/him) is the Founder & Director of Pride Pledge, Aotearoa's leading Rainbow Inclusion organisation, partnering with more than 300 organisations throughout the motu everyday to help them create safer, more inclusive and welcoming workplaces. Martin brings more than two decades of Human Resources and DEI leadership to the table and is considered one our most progressive and innovative Diversity & Inclusion leaders. Martin is passionate about collectively unlocking the potential of our organisations and economy through the strength of our diversity.
Nicola Nation
CEO, Tumu Whakarae, Ākina
Nicola Nation is passionate about combining business models and positive impact to deliver social and environmental change. She holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration from Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington. Nicola has over 15 years of experience in public and private sector consulting, including roles at MBIE, Kiwibank and Deloitte. She has held senior procurement roles in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally; most recently at the World Bank. Having been with Ākina since 2018, Nicola started as Tumu Whakarae Chief Executive in October 2021 and is proud to lead a talented and passionate Ākina team on a journey to create positive change in people’s lives and for our planet.
Nigel Hobbs
Co-founder, Tourism Innovation Group
Nigel Hobbs is co-founder of the Tourism Innovation Group (TIG), a tourism group that invests, develops and operates tourism businesses in New Zealand. TIG is committed to pushing the boundaries of tourism through innovative practices while putting their people, sustainability, and having a good time at the heart of what they do. Brands within the group include Altitude Tours, BLACK NZ, and Fiordland Tours. The group focuses on exceptional experience design, innovation and ways to surprise and delight their customers. In 2022, Altitude Tours won the Innovation and Resilience category at the New Zealand Tourism Awards and, in 2023, were recipients of the Visitor Experience Award.
Rebecca Ingram
TIA Chief Executive
Rebecca Ingram has been Chief Executive at TIA since March 2022 and brings with her over 20 years in tourism, marketing, event management, advocacy and stakeholder relations.
Rebecca describes herself as ‘tourism’s biggest champion’ and is excited to be supporting the industry to build its resilience and impact through economic, social, environmental and cultural contributions to Aotearoa New Zealand.
René de Monchy
Chief Executive, Tourism New Zealand
René de Monchy joined Tourism New Zealand in August 2015, bringing 20 years' global experience in consumer-led businesses, including local and international marketing roles for Fonterra, Heineken and Asia Pacific Breweries in Singapore.
René was appointed Chief Executive of Tourism New Zealand in April 2021. Prior to this, he was Tourism New Zealand's Director Commercial where he led a team across 15 offices in 14 countries responsible for identifying key markets and audiences for travel to New Zealand.
Tim Alpe
Managing Director, LyLo & Co-founder, JUCY
Tim Alpe is the Managing Director of LyLo and co-founder of Australasian tourism company, JUCY. Tim is also the co-founder of Comfi, an online bed business with a social purpose.
Tim launched JUCY in 2002 and built the business into one of Australasia’s most exciting tourism brands. Tim was the chief JUCY-fier at JUCY, responsible for developing JUCY’s strategy, including the development of the exciting JUCY Snooze POD concept, which has recently rebranded to LyLo and now part of the EVT family.
Tim is passionate about building innovative businesses that put the customer at the forefront of every decision.
Tim is married to Amy, a defence lawyer who apparently wins every argument they have. They have three kids, aged 18, 17, and 14. Tim is a graduate of Harvard Business School, has won the EY New Zealand Entrepreneur of the Year award, and has received the Sir Peter Blake Leadership award.
Tristan Adams
Founder, Vistr
Tristan Adams is a strategist, technologist, and data geek who has built a career helping companies make data-driven decisions. Since 2020, he has focused on increasing accessibility to relevant, actionable insights for Aotearoa New Zealand's tourism and hospitality sectors. Through Vistr, he applies innovative approaches to maximize the value of existing data and creates novel datasets to fill gaps, empowering regions and businesses to optimise operations and exceed visitor expectations. Vistr is a trusted partner to over half of New Zealand's Regional Tourism Organisations and proudly collaborates with TNZ, RTNZ, TIA, and Hospitality New Zealand.