NZME Launch PwC Herald Talks

NZME Launch PwC Herald Talks

A new business series to engage the country’s top business minds

19 June 2015 – NZME is pleased to announce the launch of PwC Herald Talks, a new business event series aimed to encourage business thought leaders to come together and share knowledge, insight and strategies, to grow and diversify business in New Zealand.

Four breakfast events will be held from July until December 2015 discussing current trends in innovation, growth, global and changing markets. The carefully selected keynote speakers and panelists will offer the opportunity for attendees to hear leading business innovators share strategies, challenges, trends and expertise required to excel in today’s business environment. Through the panel discussion that will follow the keynote attendees will be exposed to a unique mix of strategic insights and practical solutions that can be implemented to improve business performance.

NZME CEO, Jane Hastings says the company is excited these forums will create synergy where key business professionals can connect, share knowledge and discuss growing New Zealand business in an ever-changing landscape.

“Collaboration and fostering great partnerships is at the core of successful business practice in New Zealand.

“New Zealanders are known for our ingenuity and innovation on a global scale and we believe the PwC Herald Talks breakfast series will be the perfect forum to motivate further success. We want everyone to walk away from each session armed with new knowledge and being inspired to do business better.”

PwC Chief Executive Officer Bruce Hassall says, “Innovation is core to New Zealand businesses that are evolving and utilising technologies to remain relevant in these rapidly changing times. PwC Herald Talks provides an excellent platform to discuss innovation and other key areas of focus that are fundamentally changing the way organisations operate in New Zealand and globally.”

The first breakfast event will be held on Wednesday 1 July from 7am until 9am at SKYCITY, with ‘innovation’ as the focus topic, featuring a world-class line up of highly respected professionals. Breakfast attendees will discover how to drive sustainable and continuous innovation in their industry.

The keynote speaker Associate Professor Dr Mark Sagar, Director of the Laboratory for Animate Technologies at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute, knows first-hand that innovation is the key to business success. As a pioneer in innovation with his work in computer-generated faces, Dr Sagar has won two consecutive Academy Awards in the Sci-tech category for his innovative work.

Associate Professor Dr Sagar previously worked as the Special Projects Supervisor at Weta Digital, using technology for the creation of the digital characters in blockbusters such Avatar, King Kong, and Spiderman 2.

Dr Sagar holds a Ph.D. in Bioengineering and is a recipient of the University of Auckland's 2012 Distinguished Alumni Award. His laboratory is leading the way in pioneering neurobehavioral animation that combines biologically based models of faces and neural systems to create live, naturally intelligent, and highly expressive interactive systems.

A panel discussion on innovation will round-off the event featuring CEO of PwC Bruce Hassall, CEO of Callaghan Innovation Dr Mary Quin and the CEO of Spark Ventures Rod Snodgrass, with Business Herald Editor Liam Dann as the adjudicator.

The PwC Herald Talk series is brought to you by the New Zealand Herald, PwC, Newstalk ZB and event partners SKYCITY and Kea.

Tickets for the inaugural breakfast on Wednesday, July 1 are on sale now for $89 per person and available for purchase at iTicket.co.nz

ENDS

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