Tag: leadership

Creative Welly Episode #41 | Hollie Arnett & Joe Hopkirk

Courageous conversations with bold humans (from the most creative little capital in the world).

Hollie Arnett, Founder of Maker & Moxie

Hollie Arnett is a brand strategist and coach for creatives, and the founder of Maker & Moxie. With a background in graphic design and experience with her own art practice, Hollie knows the power of creativity and how building a brand can enable your creative business to thrive. That’s why she’s on a mission to help creators build their brand, grow their audience, and share their work with the world so that together we can make the world a more creative place, one brand at a time.

More creativity, colour, and joy in the world? Yes please!

Joe Hopkirk, Strategy Development Manager, Greater Wellington Regional Council

I’m Joe, a long time ago, climbing on a cliff face somewhere, I realised that finding the easiest way to do the most difficult thing was a beautiful shortcut to living a satisfying life.

This has led me down a long a windy path via a fair few rocky trails and hill tops to working in systems and strategy design. Looking for connection in concepts and shifting how problems are framed, to find ways of addressing the challenges of the climate, biodiversity crisis.

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Creative Welly Episode #40 | Dr Hazel Bradshaw & Derek Sivers

Courageous conversations with bold humans (from the most creative little capital in the world).

Dr Hazel Bradshaw, Curious technologist – Emerging Tech lead for Datacom

As a lifelong sci-fi enthusiast, I love exploring the intersection of technology, creativity, and psychology. I’m currently leading the development of Datacom’s Emerging Technology Practice. It’s all about helping our customers navigate emerging tech and use it to create better experiences and new ways of working that can help them achieve their goals.

Beyond work, I researched gameplay psychology during my PhD studies and established a studio focused on ‘Serious Games’ addressing environmental issues. Applying research findings to gameplay designs, I aimed to create in-game signals for real-life behaviour change. I believe games have untapped potential for addressing global issues.

Derek Sivers, author

He’s been a musician, producer, circus performer, entrepreneur, TED speaker, and book publisher.

He’s a pluralist introvert, slow thinker, and loves finding a different point of view.

California native, he’s been in Wellington since 2014.

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Creative Welly Episode #39 | Kristen Lunman & Tim Pointer

Courageous conversations with bold humans (from the most creative little capital in the world).

Kristen Lunman, Serial Entrepneur

As a Canadian-Kiwi, I’m comfortable feeling like a newbie and being the most curious at the table. For as long as I remember, I wanted to challenge the status quo, leading me to circles of like-minded entrepreneurs. Those that seek to deliver a vision of a different world.

My superpowers tend to lean in the area of growth and leadership. Until last year, it was at Hatch and more recently a new venture called Powrsuit. When I look at the stats of women in positions of influence in business, it’s dire. 8% of big companies have women at the helm, and we have less than 30% board representation. Powrsuit exists to amplify the impact of women leaders to shape the future of work. When I do have spare time, it’s spent with my teens or on a surfboard in freezing cold Lyall Bay.

Tim Pointer, Founder at RescueMetrics.com & CEO at Reason

Tim has 15+ years in the digital advertising industry and is the Co-founder of one of NZ’s largest digital advertising agencies Reason with over 50 staff across the region. He’s most recently the Founder of RescueMetrics.com, a technology solution that saves a lot of marketing spend by fixing tracking and conversion issues.

His businesses have been some of Asia Pacific’s fastest growing digital companies, having been recognised in the Deloitte Fast50 and Asia Fast500 Growth.

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Creative Welly Episode #37 | Kimberley Gilmour & Joseph Harawira

Courageous conversations with bold humans (from the most creative little capital in the world).

Kimberley Gilmour, Chief People Officer, Groov

Kimberley has spent most of her career leading People & Culture in startups / scaleups, helping build foundational people processes/practices and nurturing strong cultures. She has worked with some of New Zealand’s most iconic and successful high growth companies through periods of global expansion, including Icebreaker (in its Wellington days), Vend, 8i, UneeQ and currently Groov. She is passionate about using her experience to help individuals and organisations thrive.

Outside of People and tech, Kimberley is passionate about supporting wellbeing in all its forms and is partway through her masters in Health Psychology.

Kimberley spent 12 years living in Wellington and always loves returning to see old friends and run familiar trails.

Joe Harawira, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Wai Mānuka

Joe is of Ngāti Awa and Ngāi Te Rangi descent. He is the Co-Founder and Managing Director at Wai Mānuka – a premium non-alcoholic beverage that builds off the off the success of New Zealand’s mānuka honey industry. Joe has served in the military and prior to starting Wai Mānuka he worked for New Zealand Rugby leading the national injury prevention strategy.

He is passionate about entrepreneurship and innovation, Māori culture, wellness and paying it forward. In 2015, Joe also founded a social enterprise to support youth well-being in school. Joe comes from Whakatāne, Bay of Plenty and holds an Executive MBA and Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science.

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Creative Welly Episode #36 | Laurinda Thomas & Guy Marriage

Courageous conversations with bold humans (from the most creative little capital in the world).

Laurinda Thomas, Advocate for libraries, digital equity, and public spaces.

Curious librarian, local government person, optimist. I like kicking the tyres on stuff. I was once called the consummate public servant and I’m still not quite sure how to take that comment.

My career keeps on coming back to libraries. They’re so amazing! Who would dream up a library these days? I love their potential, the people they can help. They are such satisfying places to make things happen.

I like to make things happen. Finding the best opportunities out of a crisis. Getting in the thin end of the wedge. Figuring stuff out. My career has been about turning problems into good stuff: in libraries, IT, archives, information management.

In the weekends I watch the kids swim and the broccoli grow. Sometimes it rains, and we watch Disney movies.

Guy Marriage, Architect

Guy Marriage is an Architect. Teaching construction at Victoria University in Wellington, and practising architecture at First Light Studio, he is an architecturaholic and a bookaholic too. He not only reads lots of books, but writes them as well – Tall, Medium, MAD. And get this: he raves about buildings, and space, and knows a thing or two about libraries as well.

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Creative Welly Episode #35 | Freda Wells & Dan Neely

Courageous conversations with bold humans (from the most creative little capital in the world).

Freda Wells, Curator / Communications Advisor / Yoga teacher / mum

My curiousity about people, behaviour and the invisible forces between things, and my tendency to daydream, doodle, and sympathise with the underdog, have carved a winding life path around many countries, conversations and adventures.

In Europe, seeing our ecological trajectory, I added environmental science to my mishmash of uni papers, including psychology, neuropsyc, french, philosophy, graphic design, and music.

My work ‘portfolio’ includes comms & engagement advisor for the Wellington Regional Leadership Committee, teaching yoga, and curating The Kiwi Diary – a diary designed to share art and ideas that are good for people and planet.

I see many global woes as social in nature, that we need to “bring heart back”. We need to better understand how our inner world constructs our outer world, and the importance of psychological safety, I’m excited about co-curating experiences to cultivate these!

Dan Neely, Manager Community Resilience | Wellington CDEM Group Recovery

Dan Neely is the Manager of Community Resilience and Group Recovery Manager at the Wellington Emergency Management Office (WREMO). Dan is a community development practitioner – who happens to work in the Emergency Management.

He started in this field more than 20 years starting as a Peace Corps Volunteer working in the recovery of Hurricane Mitch in Honduras and later with the International Organisation for Migration in Sri Lanka after the Boxing Day Tsunami.

He leads a team of passionate and innovative people who make a real difference to peoples’ lives. Their work has been adopted by cities across Aotearoa, Australia, USA and Canada.

Originally from Arizona, he also knows a good taco when he sees one.

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Creative Welly Episode #33 | Cynthia Hunefeld & Mark Westerby

Courageous conversations with bold humans (from the most creative little capital in the world).

Cynthia Hunefeld, CEO & Founder Evithé Biotechnology

I have dedicated my life to improving treatment outcomes of chronic inflammation and sepsis with innovations in drug discovery and development, focused on complex botanical drugs.

Plant medicine are my passion and I have over 20 years experience in the field of ethnobotany and integrative medicines and applied these skills both in a clinical setting and by supporting fellow practitioners as a consultant and technical support person for a distributor of integrative medicines.

My mission is to connect tradition and science towards the develop a quality controlled, clinically proven complex botanical drugs that harnesses botanical defence system for a sophisticated
multi-target approach inspired by nature.

Mark Westerby, Producer

Mark Westerby is the Managing Director & Producer of WestMark Productions, a screen production company in Wellington and also a Co-Founder of Taia Studios. Mark has a rich and varied history in the creative sector, working previously as the director of the NZ Fringe Festival, the producer of the PANNZ Arts Market and for several years on international events like London Fashion Week, Australian Fashion Week, Sydney Film Festival and Tropfest. In recent years, he has served as Executive Producer/Associate Producer on films such as PORK PIE, BORN RACER, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT AI, DAWN RAID and the upcoming WHINA. Mark has developed a specialist EPK/BTS and Trailer agency, and has recently directed and produced content for MOTHERS OF THE REVOLUTION, MILLIE LIES LOW, POPPY and was a finalist in the Golden Trailer Awards for his EPK work on THE LUMINARIES. Mark currently has a short film, podcast and three television series in development.

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Creative Welly Episode #32 | Michelle Kitney & Rob Cousins

Courageous conversations with bold humans (from the most creative little capital in the world).

Michelle Kitney, Chief Executive at Volunteering New Zealand

Michelle Kitney lead’s Volunteering New Zealand. Originally from Taranaki, she lives in Te whanganui a tara with her three boys and husband.

Volunteering New Zealand is the national umbrella organisation for volunteers and volunteering. It’s purpose is to empower volunteers to enrich Aotearoa New Zealand.

Michelle has a background in communications, marketing, social enterprise and not for profit experience. She has also worked in the public sector in New Zealand and the UK. She says she volunteered her way into her current job. Gaining relevant experience through a variety of volunteering roles.

She cooks and plays Floorball in her spare time.

Rob Cousins, Innovation Manager

Being honest, I’m a jack of all trades and master of none, who often seems to land on my feet, and somehow finds a way to make a difference with the people I meet. After a mediocre degree in Psychology, I worked in insurance and risk management in the UK, whilst pursuing hobbies that were both uninsurable and risky in many other parts of the world. Instead of a career, I’ve followed opportunities as they’ve arisen, and as I’ve pursued various different interests.

All of this has taught me that they key to most challenges is people, their experience, being curious and caring. Right now I am bringing this to how health and safety is understood, and how we might regulate that, from WorkSafeNZ. Shifting away from paperwork, compliance and rules. Moving towards caring about people, creating improvement, and giving people power over the things that affect them.

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Creative Welly Episode #31 | Victoria Crockford & James McCulloch

Courageous conversations with bold humans (from the most creative little capital in the world).

Victoria Crockford, Chief Executive Officer, Community Housing Aotearoa Ngā Wharerau o Aotearoa

Vic is the Chief Executive at Community Housing Aotearoa-Ngā Wharerau o Aotearoa (CHA), a peak body for Aotearoa’s community housing sector. With 90 members providing homes for over 18,000 households, CHA is working everyday towards a future where all New Zealanders are well-housed. With a builder husband and parents in the trades, Vic lives and breathes housing, and views it as the core around which all our lives revolve. Before joining CHA, Vic worked in the energy sector in communications and government relations, as well as in general community rabble rousing and the television sector in Tāhuna / Queenstown. She loves places where cultures collide and has lived in France, Italy, Ghana and the United Kingdom.

The work part adds colour, but the heart of Vic’s life is her family. She is a Mum to Eloise (7) and Cormac (5) and really digs her awesome husband, Rich.

James McCulloch, Chief Executive,
English Language Partners

I am currently Chief Executive of English Language Partners. ELP is the largest New Zealand education NGO working with former refugees and migrants, and helps over 7,000 people a year to settle and thrive in Aotearoa New Zealand.

I was approached to join ELP in mid-2020, as the world of work and learning rapidly shifted, to guide the team on a journey of rapid transformation and digital growth following my experiences scaling the learning company Inspire Group in NZ and overseas.

Prior to this, I led several NGO organisations in the UK and New Zealand and was formerly the Community Director at the City of London.

So, my roles have been diverse in location, but with one common theme, my why:

Life changing impact for individuals, teams and communities.

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Creative Welly Episode #30 | Pamela Bell & Josh Forde

Courageous conversations with bold humans (from the most creative little capital in the world).

Pamela Bell, Innovation Consultant

Pamela Bell is an Innovation Consultant and Board Director to a range of start-ups, Council controlled entities and commercial organisations. Her work is focused on innovative construction, affordable housing and added-value timber.

She founded PrefabNZ ‘the hub for innovative construction’ in 2010 from her Master of Architecture thesis Kiwi Prefab which was also turned into a book and museum exhibition.

Pamela has been the lucky recipient of several awards including the Victoria University of Wellington Alumni Award (2019). She is an Adjunct Professor at VUW investigating the relationship between design thinking and business. Most recently she has become intrigued about the interface between design thinking and governance for the boardroom with a series of articles for the Institute of Directors.

Josh Forde, Head of BD, Ackama

Josh is the cofounder of Ackama, a software firm focused on delivering tech with great social impact. Founded in Wellington and Melbourne he works with great teams to design and build online software and has worked with an incredible range of organisations around the globe.

Their work has taken them into organisations as diverse as the World Health Organisation to small clients in Vanuatu and the Marshall Islands while having our local roots.

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