Here it is in a nutshell: I’m a comedian, radio & TV presenter, computer programmer and Leo, born in Westport, grew up in Palmerston North and now live in Auckland with my wife, Megan, our two beautiful daughters Charlie and Billie and a Golden Retriever named Cookie.
Steven Joyce served as a senior economic Minister in the recent John Key-led National government in New Zealand
Over nine years in cabinet he held the portfolios of Finance, Economic Development, Science and Innovation, Transport, and ICT, and spent seven years as Minister of Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment. He led the Key government's economic growth programme, the Ultrafast Broadband rollout, and the country's largest highway building programme in decades. Steven was also the Campaign chief for the National Party for five national elections.
Prior to entering politics, he was a successful radio entrepreneur, starting his first station Energy FM in New Plymouth, and building it up to become the listed company RadioWorks NZ Ltd, New Zealand's second-largest radio company.
Steven provides strategic policy and commercial advice to clients across Australia and New Zealand. He wrote the recent Strengthening Skills report on vocational education reform for the Australian Federal Government and chairs an expert panel to advise on the implementation of those reforms.
Craig Hudson is a champion for wellbeing in business and deeply passionate about the success of scaling New Zealand businesses and what that means for Aotearoa's prosperity.
Growing up in Tauranga on a kiwifruit orchard with his mum and two sisters, Craig found school challenging but held onto a dream of becoming an All Black. He went on to have a successful professional rugby career, playing for the Crusaders during one of their most dominant eras before competing internationally in France, England, and Wales. However, the pressures of high-performance sport and imposter syndrome took their toll, and his contract was eventually terminated due to illness. Returning to New Zealand, Craig struggled with his mental health, but a role in a supportive family-owned business gave him the environment he needed to recover and thrive.
Craig’s business career took off when he and his family moved to the United Kingdom, where he joined Xero, playing a key role in expanding the company’s presence in Europe, the Middle East, and South Africa. In 2017, he returned to New Zealand as Managing Director for Xero New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, leading strategic relationships with government, financial institutions, and the small business sector. His impact extended beyond business, driving national conversations on mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. Under his leadership, Xero introduced wellbeing leave, flexible working practices, and new initiatives to support small business owners and their teams.
Most recently, Craig served as General Manager, Export Customers at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, where he continued his mission of supporting Kiwi businesses to scale and succeed globally. He remains committed to authentic leadership, culture building, and championing mental health in the workplace.
Craig has been widely recognised for his work in business and mental health advocacy, including being awarded the Walk the Talk Award at Diversity Works, being named a semi-finalist for New Zealander of the Year, and being voted The Most Inspiring Individual in Tech at the Hi-Tech Awards. He has played a crucial role in destigmatising mental health struggles in the business community, ensuring that leaders prioritise wellbeing as much as financial success.
Alongside being a role model for workplace culture and resilience, Craig is a devoted husband and father of four, always striving to bring the same level of passion and care to his family life as he does to his professional endeavours.
At the age of five, Holly Ransom's grandmother, Dorothy, told her, "Honey, if you walk past it, you tell the world it's okay," and she has lived by that mantra ever since, devoting her life and career to inspiring audiences around the world to stand up and lead the change they want to see.
Today, Holly is recognised globally for her unique ability to take complex ideas and problems, grind them down, and restructure them in a way everyone can understand. She is the founder and CEO of a consulting firm, Emergent; author of The Leading Edge; co-founder, chief curator, and catalyst at Energy Disruptors, winning ‘Best Conference’ in Canada for its work-up catalysing collaboration across the energy industry.
As a renowned speaker and master interviewer, Holly has led discussions with influential figures such as Barack Obama, Malcolm Gladwell, Billie Jean-King, Condoleezza Rice, Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Nobel Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus, and the world's first humanoid robot, Sophia. She even delivered a Peace Charter to the Dalai Lama. Due to this work, Holly was named one of Australia's 100 Most Influential Women by the Australian Financial Review and was awarded the US Embassy's Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Leadership Excellence in 2019. To top it off, Sir Richard Branson nominated her for Wired Magazine's 'Smart List' of Future Game Changers to watch.
While a Fulbright scholar and part of the Harvard Kennedy School Class of '21 fellow, Holly received the prestigious Anne Wexler Public Policy Scholarship, allowing her to act on social and economic inclusion by connecting people directly with the decisions that affect their lives.
Holly’s book, The Leading Edge, is democratising leadership learning by igniting individuals, ability to accelerate change through asking better questions, thinking beyond biased answers, and establishing a groundswell for advancement.
Holly is an accomplished company director in her own right, Holly has compressed a power-packed career into a decade, spanning corporate, non-profit, and public sectors. Working with big-name clients such as P&G, Microsoft, Virgin, Cisco, and KPMG to effect and inspire actual change. Occasionally, Holly will grace Australian screens commentating for Reuters, CBS, and Australia’s ABC. Holly's fierce dedication to inclusivity and equity drives her work as Chair of Pride Cup Australia, a non-profit organisation and movement devoted to eradicating LGBTQI+ discrimination within sporting clubs while making them secure and welcoming for players and fans.
But even before all this, Holly was identified early as a dynamic thought leader and asked to Chair the G20 Youth Summit in 2014, and the United Nations Coalition of Young Women Entrepreneurs in 2016, and became the youngest director ever to be appointed to an Australian Football Club, Port Adelaide, one of the 18 teams in the professional Australian Football League.
A two-time ironwoman, when Holly does manage to find some downtime, she loves to cook, dance, and sing... despite her complete lack of talent at all three.
Dan Monheit is an entrepreneur, business leader, and expert in behavioural science who built one of Australia’s most successful customer experience agencies from the ground up.
In 2005, he co-founded Hardhat, a CX and creative agency that redefined marketing through the lens of behavioural science. Over nearly two decades, Dan led the agency’s growth, securing over $100 million in revenue and working with some of Australia’s most iconic brands, including AMP, DocuSign, Kogan.com, Australia Post, and Mattel.
In 2024, Hardhat was acquired by Thinkerbell, one of the world’s leading independent creative agencies, marking a new chapter in Dan’s career. Now, as Chief CX Thinker at Thinkerbell, he continues to push the boundaries of customer experience, blending behavioural insights with world-class creativity to drive real business impact.
Beyond the boardroom, Dan is a sought-after keynote speaker, having taken the stage at SXSW in Austin and global industry events. He has collaborated with Google and Meta on thought leadership content, hosts the popular Bad Decisions podcast, and is a best-selling author, exploring the psychology behind how people think, act, and buy.
