Lara is a senior executive with global experience spanning multiple business functions in operations and corporate environments in and outside of Australia in industry sectors including utilities, mining and technology. Her experience is underpinned by a commercial and financial education and background, along with business strategy, governance, change and program management, people leadership, and transition and transformation capabilities.

Lara holds undergraduate and post graduate qualifications including a Bachelor of Business, Certified Practicing Accountant (CPA), Masters of Business Administration (MBA), and Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance and Investment.

Roz is the Chief People Officer for Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC), leading the People & Performance Group which builds and sustains a high performing and engaged workforce. That team look after a range of areas like employee experience, employment relations, OD & Talent, H&S and Environment.

Roz has been in this role since August 2017 and prior to that worked at Fletcher Building in a variety of senior human resource leadership roles. She has held human resource positions at blue chip organisations such as Vodafone, Foxtel, Frucor Beverages, Hudson Global Resources, andLion.

When Roz isn’t a CPO she is busy wrangling two young sons, a husband and a very adventurous Labrador who loves stealing unattended socks!

Divya is a strategy consultant at HCLTech, working with clients in APAC to align their business objectives with tech initiatives, thereby improving organisational efficiencies. She is an IT engineer and has an MBA, and has worked across Financial Services and diversified industries.

Katrina is the Data Chapter Lead at Fonterra, with over 20 years experience at the Co-op initially working as an Accounting, before an increasing involvement in large scale projects, saw a change in career path to the field of Data. Katrina’s role has a heavy emphasis on enabling great outcomes for the business through data, and she leads a team of data professionals transforming the Co-op through the delivery of Data Products. Katrina is dedicated to driving value through sustainable, pragmatic solutions.

Rosie is the General Manager Economic Development at Te Waka, the Waikato region’s economic development agency. In her role she is responsible for the strategy, planning and implementation of initiatives to develop the Waikato economy with a focus on the region's wealth and employment creating sectors, including the technology industry.

Rosie has diverse experience spanning the private and public sector, working in analytical, strategic, commercial and operational leadership roles. Rosie founded her career in the technology industry, primarily working in the telecommunications sector before joining Callaghan Innovation where she was responsible for leading key strategic change initiatives.

Margaret Paiti has a solid understanding of Āotearoa's educational system. With over twenty-five years of experience across a diverse range of roles, she's fully familiar with both the challenges and opportunities within STEM education. Committed to collaboration, Margaret's goal is to strengthen relationships among various groups, driving meaningful change. A passionate advocate for STEM, she urges young people, especially those who are underserved, to delve into these fields. Her active role with the Web Access Waikato Trust demonstrates her commitment to digital inclusion. Additionally, her contributions to the Waikato Tertiary Tech Alliance emphasise her dedication to expanding STEM opportunities.

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Sania is a Business Analyst at Te Whatu Ora. She works closely with clinicians and other technical experts to implement and optimise tech solutions in all the hospitals in the Waikato region, with the ultimate aim to improve the patient experience within the health system. Prior to this, she was a Business Analyst at Datacom. Sania went to Hamilton Girls’ High School. She graduated from the University of Waikato in 2020, with a Bachelor of Science majoring in Computer Science and Psychology and a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Psychology.

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