James Laughlin is a high performance leadership strategist and executive coach based in Christchurch. A seven time world champion musician, he coaches elite teams and senior leaders, including work with Canterbury Rugby. He hosts the Lead On Purpose podcast and translates mindset science into practical leadership tools. Ali Harper gives […]
Michelle Batchelor is the CEO of Life Plus NZ, Preston and Blythe, and Little Life, with deep experience across healthcare, staffing, and recruitment. Before the boardroom she competed internationally as Michelle “Pressure” Preston, winning multiple titles across Muay Thai and boxing. She pairs high performance habits with practical people leadership […]
Danu Abeysuriya is the founder and CTO of Rush Digital. Under his technical leadership Rush has delivered large scale platforms and applied AI systems used by millions, including software used daily by one in ten New Zealanders. He is known for turning cutting edge research into practical products and for […]
Peri Drysdale is the founder of Snowy Peak and Untouched World, and the founder of the Untouched World Foundation. She built a global knitwear business from a home start, pioneered possum merino innovation, and grew a brand recognised internationally for quality and sustainability. She is a long standing advocate for […]
Ali is joined by Peri and Michelle for the panel discussion and gets straight into the takeaways. “You’ve both faced very stressful moments where it’s make or break. What’s in your toolkit that gives you the stamina to keep going?” Peri doesn’t hesitate. “For me it’s all about energy.” She […]
Mariele Klering – Movement as the Language of Resilience Mariele Klering stood on the Journey to Excellence stage to share a deeply personal story about resilience. But she quickly made it clear that this was not going to be a theoretical discussion. “What do you do when thinking stops helping? […]
Cynthia Hunefeld – Building Resilience Through Science, Humour and Purpose Cynthia Hunefeld, founder of Evithe Biotechnology and an award-winning scientist, has dedicated her work to creating groundbreaking plant-based treatments for inflammation. At the Journey to Excellence event, she stood before the audience and said, “I just flew back from the […]
Danu Abeysuriya – Accelerating Humans in the Age of AI Danu Abeysuriya, founder and CTO of Rush Digital, walked on stage with a grin and immediately broke the ice. “When Andre asked me what order I wanted to go in, I really, in hindsight, following the Syrian hostage negotiator was […]
Naomi Ballantyne – Defining C-Suite Leadership with Substance Over Status She opened with humour. “I’m retired, so this might be my last chance to speak to an audience like this before Chat GTP takes over from me,” she said. “I am also grateful for the chance to get out of […]
As the final keynote wrapped, MC Mel Homer invited three of the day’s standout speakers – Dr Alia Bojilova, Naomi Ballantyne, and Danu Abeysuriya – back on stage for an open conversation. “If there’s anything you think, gosh, she’s got to ask that and she hasn’t, let me know,” Mel […]
June McAbe’s keynote covered her extensive career journey, highlighting a pivotal moment in 1994 that set her on the path to governance. “It’s about taking risks and seizing opportunities,” she explained, underscoring the importance of being adaptable in an ever-changing world. For those aspiring to governance roles, June recommended reading […]
At the M2woman Journey to Excellence event, Hannah McQueen, the founder of Enable Me, took the stage to share her journey from financial frustration to helping thousands of Kiwis conquer their mortgages and build wealth. Her story is one of resilience, innovation, and a fair bit of Kiwi ingenuity. It […]
In today’s rapidly changing world, finding a moment of calm and clarity is invaluable. The recent M2woman Journey to Excellence event provided just that—an afternoon filled with thoughtful keynotes, engaging insights, and meaningful networking opportunities. Our editorial director opened the event with a reflection on how far we’ve come since […]
