Our 2025 speakers

Nicky Cummerfield

Head of Global Marketing, Silver Fern Farms

  • Nicky Cummerfield is a passionate marketing leader committed to market-led growth and sustainability. As Head of Global Marketing at Silver Fern Farms, she plays a key role in advancing the company’s purpose of "creating goodness from the farms the world needs" by driving global brand strategy, consumer engagement, and ethical & sustainability-focused innovation. Proud to be part of an organization striving to become a trusted nature-positive producer, Nicky ensures that marketing initiatives align with evolving consumer and customer needs while strengthening the company’s global presence.

    With over 20 years of experience in FMCG, including leadership roles at Goodman Fielder, Tasti Products, Heinz, and Campbells, she has a track record of delivering brand growth, product innovation, and commercial success. Her expertise lies in balancing profitability with responsible business practices, ensuring brands thrive while supporting a more sustainable future for the food industry.

Kristin Renoux

Beca

  • Senior Associate -  Sustainability - Climate & Nature at Beca

    Kristin has an unrelenting drive to shape a better, more sustainable and climate resilient future for people and planet. She brings over 20 years’ experience as a senior risk and regulatory professional, supporting clients and communities in Aotearoa, UK, France and the Pacific to identify and respond to sustainability-related risk and opportunity. She specializes in climate and nature-related reporting, working with clients across sectors.   Kristin brings her legal, enterprise risk management and corporate reporting background to provide tailored advice and guidance in line with the New Zealand Climate-Related Disclosures framework, and international nature-related frameworks, including the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosure and Science Based Targets for Nature.  She brings the lens that risk reporting needs to deliver strategic value beyond basic compliance.

Mike Dupee

CEO, Sustainable Brands (Global)

  • Michael Dupee is the Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Brands, and a corporate sustainability and innovation expert, educator, and entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience across the consumer products, graduate education, investment banking, and ecotourism fields.

    He served as both the first Vice President of Corporate Sustainability and the first Vice President of Sustainable Innovation at the former Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and Keurig Green Mountain Inc., co-winning Best First Time Sustainability Report in North America by CERES, deploying over $48 MM in strategic philanthropy, and achieving recognition on behalf of the company as the #1 Best Corporate Citizen by CRO Magazine twice during his tenure.  He has taught in the internationally-recognized Sustainable Innovation MBA program at the Grossman School of Business at the University of Vermont,  served as a Vice President at Goldman Sachs & Co., making and managing investments in distressed financial assets, co-founded an innovative and successful railbiking ecotourism venture, and acted as a Senior Advisor to a boutique consulting firm for their Environmental, Social, and Governance ("ESG") practice.

    Michael holds graduate degrees in law, business administration, and biomimicry. He is based in Vermont where he lives with his son, makes music, and both plays and coaches baseball.

Natasha Telles D’Costa

Director of Strategy-Consumer Products, Asia, Veeva Systems

  • Natasha Telles D’Costa is the Director of Strategy, Asia, Consumer Products at Veeva Systems.  

    Natasha has spent the majority of her career advocating for an industry that is insight-driven, predicting challenges as opposed to reacting to them. She is a strong advocate of the belief that people-centered solutions drive true growth, and that we learn more from unintended consequences than we ever will from our successes.  

    Ultimately culture eats strategy for breakfast, everyday of the week. Organizations need to put people at the center of their design- particularly so for digital transformation projects.The Asia region is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this cultural vacuum to help drive innovation, as long as we invest in the right forms of assurance and trust.  

     Prior to Veeva, Natasha headed the APAC Agriculture & Nutrition consulting arm of a management consulting firm, and also held senior roles in the New Zealand government. 

Keynote: Shamubeel Eaqub

Chief Economist, Simplicity

  • Shamubeel Eaqub makes economics easy and fun. Shamubeel is the Chief Economist at Simplicity. He is also an author, media commentator and a thought leading public speaker. He graduated with Honours in Economics from Lincoln University and is also a CFA Charterholder. He has over two decades of experience as an economist in Wellington, Melbourne and Auckland in leading international banks and consultancy (ANZ Bank, Goldman Sachs JBWere, NZIER, Sense Partners and Simplicity). He balances a portfolio of economics, consulting, public speaking, governance and family duties. He lives in Auckland with his wife and two sons.

Daniel Aronson

Author, The Value of Values

  • Daniel Aronson is the founder of Valutus, which specializes in creating value through sustainability and responsibility, the creator of the Value of Values™ Model, and the author of the book The Value of Values (MIT Press).  He has helped leading companies identify and quantify over $2 billion in sustainability-driven business value. 
     
    Daniel coined the term “submerged value” and is the creator of Impact Science™, True Plastic Impact™, and Materiality Science.™ He has guest lectured at Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan’s Sustainability Lab and has written or been featured in over 100 articles and publications.   

     Daniel holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, and a BA with High Honors from UC Berkeley. He lives in the New York City area. 

Dr Ben Redwood

CEO, Mutu

  • Dr Ben Redwood is the CEO and founder of Mutu. Ben has PhD in Mechanical Engineering and has spent the last 10 years of his career working in the tech sector all around the world, helping disrupt and shift traditional industry mindsets.

    As the Dad of 2 young boys, Ben is particularly interested in elevating Aotearoa to become a leader in sustainability and climate tech while also facilitating the growth of the next generation of kiwi entrepreneurs. 

Debbie O’Byrne

Co-Founder, Planet Price

  • Debbie O’Byrne is a Circular Economy expert and futurist thinker who has spent over a decade redesigning business strategies for a sustainable future. She is co-founder of Planet Price, leveraging AI-driven tools to support future-fit decision-making. A regular speaker and advisor on CE, she has contributed to key global initiatives and recently attended the World Circular Economy Forum. Her debut novel, Vanguard: End of Daze, harnesses the power of storytelling to reimagine our path to a regenerative future.

Alec Tang

KPMG

  • Alec is a Partner at KPMG New Zealand, co-leading the firm's Climate Change, Sustainability and ESG practice, as well as its Nature and Biodiversity Initiative. He is as a Chartered Environmentalist and Fellow of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment, who has focused his career on addressing the breadth of sustainability challenges and opportunities that are increasingly shaping our communities, society and economy. This has included a range of leadership positions in academia, business and the public sector, alongside an active involvement in professional institutions, industry associations and networking groups.

Jordi Beneyto-Ferre

Director Materials and Innovation, VF Corp

  • Jordi Beneyto-Ferre is Director Materials and Innovation Smartwool and Icebreaker, at VF Corporation. 

    He is responsible for the portfolio management of the VF’s brands Icebreaker and Smartwool in their activities. 

    Jordi has 16 years of experience in sportswear development and innovation within global leading brands  (Puma, adidas, VF corporation).  

    His vision is for the apparel industry to stop being part of the problem and become an active part of the solution.  

    He envisions a world where petro-chemical synthetics are no longer needed because there are much better natural and renewable alternatives that can deliver the same or better functionality.  

     

Debbie Robertson

General Manager, Wai Ariki

  • Debbie Robertson is the General Manager of Wai Ariki Hot Springs and Spa in Rotorua – New Zealand’s newest and only premium luxury cultural wellness resort. With an extensive background and management experience in tourism, Debbie was appointed in December 2023 to lead the Wai Ariki Spa team. She’s passionate about ensuring this distinctive and iconic development continues providing authentic, world-class experiences and becomes a destination for relaxation and rejuvenation for manuhiri (guests).

     

    Rotorua has long been celebrated for its rejuvenating geothermal healing waters and the legacy of storytelling through the guiding legacy of local Māori culture. It is inspired and owned by local iwi, Ngāti Whakaue, and features two main spa areas, the Wai Whakaora (Restorative Journey) and the exclusive Āhuru Mōwai (The Sanctuary). Both are places of peace and tranquillity, founded on te ao Māori values, traditions and culture and are unique not only in Aotearoa, New Zealand, but also around the world. Debbie will share her insights of cultural sustainability and the importance rangatahi (youth) play in continuing this living legacy.

Erin Swanson

Sustainability Lead, Comvita

  • Erin has worked for Comvita New Zealand Limited since 2008 in many different roles – marketing, supply chain, product development, project management, and process transformation.  She now leads Comvita’s  Sustainability team. 

    Comvita’s purpose is articulated in Comvita’s Harmony Plan.  Erin is charged with helping bring this purpose to life through environmental and social initiatives, thereby delivering positive outcomes for all of Comvita’s stakeholders.  She enjoys, and her strengths are in ‘making things happen’, problem solving, and in leading, connecting and influencing others within the business and more broadly.   Erin led the B Corp certification process for Comvita and sits on the ANZ B Council, a B Corp member representative group.  She is currently focused on Comvita’s climate change adaptation and mitigation strategy, nature and biodiversity actions, as well as building supplier engagement and community partnerships to support the company’s ambitious sustainability targets.

    Erin is passionate about the New Zealand primary sector, and the opportunities in being purpose-led to successfully navigate environmental and social issues.  She loves creating win-win situations from a commercial, environmental and community perspective.

Tania Hyde

Beca

  • Technical Director and Circular Design Lead at Beca

    Tania is a Chartered Engineer, Technical Director and Circular Design Lead for Beca, based in Aotearoa. She has 25 years’ of international experience providing technical and leadership direction to teams across infrastructure projects. Since 2020 her focus has incorporated the implementation of the circular economy within the built environment and challenges how we can work within the planetary boundaries. Tania co-designed Beca's Circular Design Framework that brings together a holistic approach of cultural perspectives, circular economy, climate change and socio-economic impacts to projects.

Laura Gemmell

Chief Executive, ecochoice

  • Laura Gemmell is the CEO of Aotearoa's official ecolabel, Eco Choice Aotearoa. Eco Choice certifies products and services that adhere to strict environmental standards, are safe and fit for purpose.

    Laura’s background is in journalism, communications and international development. She has had significant experience working in emergency contexts throughout Africa and the Middle East; driving award-winning global public engagement campaigns and inspiring meaningful action.

    Having time and time again seen climate issues undermine work to end poverty and exacerbate conflicts, she is committed to driving awareness and action around the intersection of environmental sustainability and social justice.

    Laura is a mum of two rambunctious boys who describes herself as an impatient optimist.

Kat McDonald

Sustainability Consultant, Proxima

  • Kat is a sustainability practitioner with 20 years of experience across the public and private sectors. Her expertise spans product sustainability, environmental impact assessments, sustainability communications, and climate change adaptation and mitigation. With a strong foundation in sustainability strategy, materiality, and reporting, Kat helps businesses navigate complexity and integrate sustainability into decision-making.

    As a consultant at Proxima, Kat partners with leading organisations to align purpose with impact, driving long-term value creation. She recently returned from a secondment as the Purpose and Impact Manager for the APAC region at SailGP, a global sailing championship that combines high-performance racing with a strong commitment to sustainability, innovation, and clean energy solutions. Known for her ability to blend strategic insight with practical action, Kat empowers businesses to go beyond compliance and create meaningful, lasting change.

Keynote: Dr Ellen Joan Ford

Speaker, Author: #Workschoolhours

  • Dr Ellen Joan Ford is terrifyingly ambitious about improving the working world for people and for organisations.

    As a leader, researcher, military veteran, international speaker, TEDx speaker, facilitator, consultant and parent, Ellen draws on her research and practical experiences to drive organisational outcomes such as improved retention, productivity, engagement, well-being and ultimately, profit, by enhancing inclusive leadership capabilities and workplace culture.

    Her keynotes and workshops are full of practical takeaways. Ellen was awarded the Kiwi Bank New Zealander of the Year - Local Hero, Person of the Year - Manawatu Standard and the prestigious Sir Peter Blake Leadership Award.

    She is the author of #WorkSchoolHours (endorsed by CEOs of KiwiBank, FMG, DevryBV and Cliftons, and dubbed a “must-read for any leader building a modern workplace”) and her leadership model is Belonging, Autonomy and Purpose.

    Ellen is passionate, authentic and speaks from the heart with warmth, enthusiasm, bubbliness and fun.

Izzy Fenwick

Board Member, Aotearoa Circle

  • Izzy is an entrepreneur and sustainability advocate. She sits on the board of The Aotearoa Circle, a partnership of public and private sector leaders committed to pursuing sustainable prosperity and reversing the decline of New Zealand's natural resources. She is also founder of Futureful, a purpose led business developing innovative decision-making technology. 

    With a background in human-centred design and a passion for the environment, Izzy’s expertise sit at the intersection of human behaviour and corporate sustainability. Izzy also spends her time speaking on national and global stages, about leadership, sustainability and the power of purpose.

Greig Brebner

Design Director, MadeBlunt Ltd

  • Greig Brebner, a constantly curious character, grew up with his dad’s workshop as his playground, the perfect stage to invent, build and tinker. He dreamed of one day creating a ground-breaking product, the very best of its kind that people around the world would love. Greig firmly believes that makers and creators of products have a deep responsibility for the products they bring into the world that extends far beyond the purchase transaction. With the right design, the right materials and the right after sales care, people can have much healthier, deeper and longer lasting relationships with the products they own. 

    Today, Greig is best known as founder and inventor of BLUNT, a beloved brand stretching to all corners of the globe. When he isn’t ideating new product designs he is playing on the water or working the land at his northern Auckland property. 

Brendan Haigh

kaitiaki, Miraka

  • Brendan Haigh is Kaitiaki at Miraka, one of New Zealand’s largest Māori export businesses. Their manufacturing plant, near Taupō, was the first geothermally powered dairy factory in the world and Miraka has taken a lead in driving sustainable farm practice through its Te Ara Miraka programme. As Kaitiaki, Brendan is responsible for Miraka’s kaitiakitanga strategy and delivery, both on and off-farm. 

Laura Robichaux

Beca

  • Senior Associate - Climate Adaptation at Beca

    Dr. Laura Robichaux is a Chartered Member of Engineering New Zealand will more than a decade of experience in engineering and risk management research and consultancy providing guidance to governments, communities and private owners to manage climate change impacts.    She provides a practical, implementation focused, multi-disciplinary lens to adaptation planning.  She is one of a few of consultants in Aotearoa with dynamic adaptive planning pathways (DAPP) experience across multiple projects, including on the Clifton to Tangoio (Hawke’s Bay) Coastal Hazards Strategy 2120, leading adaptation planning for the Defence Estate, three waters systems and for South Dunedin.

Paul Button

General Manager, Canopy Tours

  • Paul’s passion for tourism began in his teens as a kayaker, later leading him to Otago University and an Adventure Guiding course in Greymouth. He launched his career on the Kaituna River, eventually working as a rafting instructor worldwide, exploring remote places few get to see.

    His leadership skills propelled him to General Manager of The Adventure Group in Whistler, where he helped shape Canada’s top adventure tourism business. In 2017, he returned home to Rotorua Canopy Tours, driving innovation and setting new benchmarks in regenerative tourism.

    Outside work, Paul stays active with CrossFit, mountain biking, and long-distance running, while balancing life as a dedicated father of two.

Catherine Bryant photo

Catherine Bryant

Commercial Knowledge & Development Specialist, Simpson Grierson

  • Catherine is a corporate and commercial lawyer at Simpson Grierson with a focus on ESG, sustainability and compliance. She translates complex legal requirements into practical, purpose-driven strategies that support both commercial performance and sustainable impact. Catherine helps businesses to navigate the legal, financial, physical, and reputational risks tied to sustainability and is passionate about helping New Zealand businesses embed sustainability in a way that drives long-term value and global competitiveness.

ecostore Head of Marketing

Angelina Ashcroft

Head of Marketing, ecostore

  • Angelina Ashcroft is a strategic marketer who believes that purpose and profit go hand in hand. Currently Head of Marketing for iconic New Zealand brand ecostore, she leads a team driving global marketing and brand strategy, working at the intersection of sustainability, consumer insights and commercial impact, translating brand values into real-world connection and growth.

    Angelina has refined a blend of strategy, creativity and data-driven growth over her career, which has moved through the FMCG, engineering and construction industries. She has held roles both locally and internationally, working across Singapore, the Middle East and New Zealand, giving her first-hand experience in how to authentically connect with different audiences.

    With experience spanning brand execution, international expansion, and navigating the evolving media landscape, Angelina understands what it takes to make sustainability resonate across different markets. From adapting messaging for diverse audiences to ensuring authenticity in brand storytelling, she is passionate about crafting narratives that don’t just inform, but inspire action and loyalty.

    At the heart of her approach is the belief that successful brands meet people where they are. In this session, Angelina will explore what authentic storytelling really looks like in today’s fragmented media world—and how brands can leverage it to create meaningful connections that drive both consumer trust and business value. Expect a thought-provoking discussion on balancing purpose with performance, turning brand storytelling into a strategic advantage, and delivering ROI through real, human connection.

Johanna Cederlöf

Market Manager, IKEA

  • Market Manager, IKEA Sylvia Park

    A passionate business and people leader, Johanna joined IKEA 13 years ago and has led store teams in Finland and Austria. This includes opening IKEA Vienna Westbahnhof in 2021, an innovative retail centre format with award-winning sustainability design. A forever dream to one day live in New Zealand, Johanna is assembling her team and operations for IKEA opening in Sylvia Park late 2025 and is motivated to deliver positive impact for people and our shared home, the planet.

Nicola Taylor Tax Traders

Nicola Taylor

Co-Founder, Taxi & Tax Traders

  • Nicola is a people-centred, purpose-driven leader and co-founder of two innovative Kiwi fintech companies: Tax Traders and Taxi, the world’s first provider of tax-powered working capital for businesses. A commercial lawyer by training, Nicola was named SME Business Leader of the Year at the 2024 New Zealand Leadership Awards and has earned international acclaim for fostering an award-winning workplace culture. Taxi and Tax Traders also won New Zealand's Best Place to Work award in 2024. Nicola is married to Josh, and they have three outrageously wonderful teenagers and a beloved kaboodle, Kobe.

Keynote: Brianne West

Founder & CEO, Incrediballs

  • Brianne West is a New Zealand entrepreneur, biochemist, and environmentalist creating innovative solutions for a sustainable future. She founded Ethique, the world’s first zero-waste beauty brand, which became a global success. Now, her focus is on Incrediballs, a revolutionary drinks brand eliminating single-use plastic bottles, launching in 2025. Brianne also hosts Now That’s What I Call Green, a podcast blending science and sustainability, inspiring action to address environmental challenges through education and community engagement.

Rachel Brown, ONZM

CEO, Sustainable Business Network

  • The founder and CEO of the Sustainable Business Network (SBN), Rachel has played a critical role in advancing sustainability for more than 20 years. She is a regular presenter, collaborator and driver of action within NZ business. She provides strategic sustainability advice to countless businesses, ranging from large corporates to small enterprises, as well as government agencies. She currently sits on the Board of the Milford Foundation.  In 2018 she was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit for years of service to sustainable business.

MC: Nicola Turner

Mainstream Green

  • Nicola Turner is a speaker, best-selling author and the driving force behind Mainstream Green. After 15 years in the global consumer goods industry—where she learnt far too much about how we all behave in the supermarket—she shifted gears. Now, she’s on a mission to rethink consumption and make sustainability easy, normal, and feel good.

    Drawing on her deep understanding of human behaviour and real-world sustainability experience, Nic empowers individuals, organisations, and communities to embrace sustainability in a way that works for them. In practical and doable ways, she inspires action that creates meaningful change.

Rachel Depree

Executive Officer for Sustainability, Zespri International

  • Rachel joined Zespri International in 2018 to establish and lead the global sustainability function. Tasked with pan-industry leadership, this includes setting strategy, establishing enduring work programmes and building the capability of the business and industry to achieve ambitious targets in areas of nutrition, packaging, water, climate change and workforce.

    Zespri is the world’s largest marketer of kiwifruit, selling in more than 50 countries around the world. It works with almost 3,000 New Zealand and 1,500 international growers and post-harvest companies to source the best-quality Zespri kiwifruit, supplied through its distribution partners to wholesale and retail customers globally.

    Rachel is passionate about the role of the horticulture sector in enabling people, communities and the environment to thrive. She is focused on creating the conditions for long-term, enduring change, leveraging the industry’s co-operative model. She is a seasoned sustainability professional, with experience in senior business, industry and government roles in New Zealand and Europe.