World-class Inspiration up for grabs

An incredible line-up of world-class business talent will ignite audiences hungry for inspiration when they present their stories in Auckland in May.

Entrepreneurs of all stripes are invited along to Q Theatre on Queen Street on May 22nd for Inspire Auckland, a half-day event delivered by World Class New Zealand and AUT University for the benefit of the local business and creative communities.

Telecom New Zealand is the national sponsor for all three Inspire events, which will happen in Christchurch and Wellington as well as Auckland.

Those seeking inspiration will find plenty, with presentations by foodie empire-builder Annabel Langbein, high-profile ex Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe, and Sean Simpson, who has attracted the attention of the world’s largest waste disposal and aviation concerns with technology that converts waste gases into fuels and valuable chemicals.

World Class New Zealand director Stephen Dee says Inspire Auckland has a unique line-up of Kiwi talent that will definitively prove location is no barrier to enormous success on the global stage.

“Auckland has its share of hugely successful businesses, and is where most of the seed and growth capital is located – but we need a better marriage of the two,” he says. “We hope our speakers will spur discussion and debate on business and entrepreneurship – providing the spark that will propel our best and brightest to make their mark in the world.”

Inspire Auckland will feature the stories of:

• Annabel Langbein – cook, food writer and publisher,  Annabel is on the verge of “world domination by spatula”.

• Rob Fyfe – at the cockpit of Air New Zealand for seven years, Rob reinvigorated the company culture and ensured the company’s return to profitability and reputational excellence.

• Geraldine McBride – globally-recognised expert in corporate evolution and consultant to the world’s largest IT companies. 

• Dr Sean Simpson – chief scientific officer and co-founder of LanzaTech, which uses microbes to convert waste gases into fuels and valuable chemicals.  The technology has attracted interest from around the world.

• Wayne Norrie – Co-founder and director of Revera, a major player in enterprise computing infrastructure, and chairman of NZTE’s Beachlands Advisory Board.

• Doug Cleverly  – the man behind Argenta, the world’s first contract research andmanufacturing company dedicated to animal health. 

• Katherine Corich – Founder and chair of Sysdoc Group, a company focused on business and productivity improvement that works with top international companies. 

• Catherine Robinson –  director of the Kiwi Landing Pad in San Francisco and a leading communications advisor for New Zealand IT companies doing business in the US. 

• Olly Johnston, CEO and founder of Dropscotch, a social app aiming to change the way people share photos and other rich media to the social world. 

• Paul Cameron, CEO and founder of Booktracks, a company that is revolutionizing reading through a paradigm-shifting technology that provides synchronized movie-style soundtracks to eBooks.

 

The sessions, including plenty of opportunity for feedback and questions, will be moderated by top writer and media commentator David Slack.

The Inspire events showcase the best business thinking the country has to offer, with many of the speakers already named category winners in the 2013 World Class New Zealand Awards. The awards evening on Thursday May 23rd, held at The Langham, Auckland, will see a Supreme Award granted.