Over the past 15 years, Catherine has led high-profile local, regional and global accounts in New Zealand, the UK and Australia. She has delivered highly effective, innovative and award-winning work across the Automotive, Spirits, Banking, FMCG, Services, Retail, Transport and Electronics sectors. She has a wholly integrated perspective on marketing with experience beyond advertising, including leading digital business, PR roles and in-house media and customer marketing solutions. In her most recent transformation role, Catherine focussed on how agencies and talent can transform to better capitalize on the role of creativity to improve outcomes influenced by technology.

Catherine has returned to the Disruption Company, where she spent seven years in London to transform the local New Zealand agency.

The power of creativity to drive innovation, the new frontiers opened up by digital and data and the personal development of our people drive her continued passion for her role at TBWA.

Presentation:
How athletes can change the game for Brands

Stuart has been a tennis agent for over 10 years. His clients include Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios – the former whom he led to the highest ever earning female athlete of all time according to Forbes; and the number one Most Marketable Athlete in the World by Sports Pro. He is a recent recipient of the Sports Business Journal’s 40 under 40 award. Prior to becoming a sports agent, Stuart was a corporate lawyer in London. He lives in LA with his wife and baby.

International Keynote: Taking the Australian Open into the Metaverse
+ PANEL:
Digital Disruption in Sport

Ridley Plummer is the AO's Metaverse and NFT Project Manager, leading the AO Metaverse strategy and overseeing the development of the Metaverse and Web3 projects.

Spearheading the AO Metaverse launch and AO Art Ball NFT's, Ridley is passionate about NFT and blockchain technology and its potential to evolve industries beyond physical sporting events into the virtual world.

Ridley has been instrumental in progressing the AO's launch into the Metaverse and has been with Tennis Australia and the AO for four years. Prior to this, Ridley had worked across a range of worldwide sporting events including the NHL and NFL Superbowl, working with Budweiser and Bud Light to activate in-stadium connected tech-product integrations.

Ridley's expertise extends from project management and product design to marketing innovation and event management, however, Ridley's passion lies in creating truly immersive experiences through the Metaverse, NFTs and Web3 to build brand awareness, drive meaningful connections and excite consumers about the future potential of these technologies.

PANEL:
Digital Disruption in Sport

Lisa Edwards has always been passionate about the mobile and digital space, with extensive international experience spanning product management, strategy, customer experience and digital content.

For the past six years she has championed digital fitness at Les Mills International, blending strategy, science and innovation to find new ways to help people fall in love with fitness.

Identifying the opportunity to be a fitness leader within the Metaverse, Lisa drove the development of BODYCOMBAT VR. After launching in February 2022 it has become the highest rating fitness app on Oculus.

Opening Keynote: THE FUTURE OF FANDOM

Presentation:
Using a global partnership to strengthen brand growth: Xero and FIFA Women's Football

James is the Head of Global Brand and Marketing at Xero. Before joining Xero, James was CMO at Founder-led Global Business, Coretex, and before that CMO at one of New Zealand's largest tech companies, Tait Communications. Prior to that, he was with IBM for more than 15 years, where he had global sales and strategic marketing roles including focusing small business markets, along with running Asia Pacific brand and communications.

PANEL: 
This Girl Can: Game-Changing Opportunities for Brands in Women's Sport

Director, Megan Compain has been involved in sport her whole career. After 20 years working with global brands and iconic sports teams, Megan has decided to put her unmatched experience to good use by launching EightyOneX, a sports marketing specialist that aims to maximise sponsor relationships. Whether the need is to grow awareness, loyalty, sentiment or value, EightyOneX will find the best way to amplify your partnership.

“We know it’s getting harder and harder to cut through the noise, stand apart and justify these investments. Companies are tight on resource, sponsorship teams have been cut and added to brand manager portfolios, and time is often in short supply.”

Megan is a former professional athlete, having been the first New Zealander, and still the only New Zealand woman, to play in the WNBA. Read a little more about Megan's basketball career here.

Joshua started Izzybots after seeing an opportunity to recreate the way that organisations communicate with people. Izzybots fixes clear dead ends on social media, helping companies to grow that are leaving hundreds of thousands on the table. His experience has taught him that only complete personalisation & simplicity enables organisations to create experiences that are unique to each person's specific interests. Through enthusiasm for cutting-edge tech and by challenging what has been accepted in the industry, Izzybots has helped some of the largest companies around the world to make the most of their social media.

PANEL: 
This Girl Can: Game-Changing Opportunities for Brands in Women's Sport

Sue has been a passionate Sponsorship brand marketer for close to 20 years. A particular interest and focus on how brands can create behavioral and perception change have driven her career.

Her career started in the UK working for a number of Global Brands including BP where she gained experience working in Motorsport, including Super Bikes, Rally, and F1. Particularly working with the McLaren F1 team, before she joined Telco, Orange where she continued her motorsport connections with Orange Arrows and extending the entertainment portfolio into music where she worked on some of the most iconic music events in the world including the Glastonbury Festival as well as the notorious Manumission in Ibiza.

She used sponsorship strategy to position the brand prior to sale, leading to industry awards from the European Sponsorship Association.

Moving to New Zealand in 2005 Sue Joined Vodafone and developed their Music, sport & entertainment sponsorship content strategy before moving on to the Warriors Rugby League team as their head of commercial before joining ANZ in 2008.

At ANZ, Sue restructured how sponsorship was used at ANZ. Identifying opportunities to use sponsorships to drive commercial outcomes for the business.

Sue was responsible for a structured long-term strategy that allowed the ANZ brand to reposition itself in the NZ market enabling one of the most significant successful brand mergers in NZ between the ANZ and National Bank. Using the Rugby World Cup in 2011, the London Olympics, Commonwealth Games, and Cricket World Cup 2015 over a 5 year period to unify staff and install a sense of confidence and pride, and most importantly demonstrating strong brand consideration growth.

Equality has always been important with her choices and strategy & ANZ has been a leader in celebrating womens sport in NZ for over 10 years, through partnerships such as the ANZ Premiership Netball, Olympic & Paralympic Athletes as well as the White Ferns.

Sue believes sponsorship can be one of the most effective tools in marketing if used well.

PANEL:
Digital Disruption in Sport

Terry Williams-Willcock is the Chief Customer Officer at RUSH helping clients identify the opportunities that technology can create to their needs and deliver something exceptional.

A creative thinker, eternal learner and empathetic leader, Terry's 20+ year career spans digital brand advertising and digital product development which has been consistently aligned with a passion for purposeful work.

His recent projects include a number of health and wellbeing platforms, an addiction management experience and the Starship emergency ward interactive spaces designed to calm children and their whānau times of distress or uncertainty. He was also instrumental in driving the COVID-19 pandemic response programmes for New Zealand, the UK and most recently the Cook Islands.

Terry maintains a strategic focus on client partnerships that align with RUSH’s dedicated problem spaces and at the head of customer experience for RUSH, draws on his years of deep, multi-industry experience to uncover digital product opportunities which will make a proven positive impact on people’s lives.

PANEL: 
This Girl Can: Game-Changing Opportunities for Brands in Women's Sport

Presentation:
Sports Broadcasting Disrupted: Changing the Playing Field for Brands

Jeff Latch is a Senior Executive with an extensive background in Television and Digital Media. He has previously held senior roles at TVNZ including Head of Television, Director of Content and Director of Sales. Prior to his time at TVNZ he was a foundation shareholder and CEO of Sportsinc, a local NZ production company, COO of Touchdown Television and General Manager of Moving Pictures, the standalone subsidiary of TVNZ that was responsible for all TVNZ, Sky TV and Mediaworks Outside Broadcast productions. His current role is Head of Spark Sport where he is responsible for managing the financial and operational performance of Spark’s stand-alone Sports Streaming business.

PANEL:
Digital Disruption in Sport

Sam is a proven thought leader, storyteller and creative technology innovator. She has spent over 20 years finding awe-inspiring ways to bring stories and experiences to life, starting with digital and extending into exhibitions, games and emerging technologies.
She is passionate about authenticity, creating and producing experiences and stories that truly connect with audiences. Sam sees technology as a driver and enabler that allows storytellers to create experiences that are engaging, fun, awe-inspiring and immersive.
A vocal advocate for New Zealand’s digital talent, Sam is on a mission to foster greater collaboration within the tech and creative industries, to showcase local skills and creativity, connect innovators and storytellers of all kinds, and attract more international projects to New Zealand. She also cares deeply about creating pathways for new generations to enter the creative and tech industries.
Sam is co-founder of three studios. Method is an award-winning creative tech studio creating world class awe-inspiring experiences. Mad Carnival is a game studio making beautiful, fun and wholesome games for all ages. And Wanderer is an innovative Virtual Reality games studio, creator of an acclaimed adventure game of the same name that has set the VR world on fire.

Presentation:
SailGP: Racing for Purpose as well as for Sport

Karl Budge oversaw the ASB Classic from 2012, building it into one of the best on the pro circuit and bringing some of the greatest athletes in the world to New Zealand.

During his career he’s held senior roles for some of the world’s highest profile rights holders and brands.

PANEL: 
This Girl Can: Game-Changing Opportunities for Brands in Women's Sport

Sports Agent Kelly Evans has been working with athletes for over 15 years, founding her sports agency, Cultivate Sport, 10 years ago.

The first New Zealand female accredited rugby agent, Kelly is experienced in player advocacy and management, contract negotiations and securing sponsorship both globally and locally, with comprehensive knowledge of the Rugby and Olympic landscape.

With 80% of her clients female, including Portia Woodman, Sarah Hirini and Emma Twigg, Kelly believes in the value of women's sport, advocates for increased visibility and creating more pathways for women to be involved.

Kelly is also on the Board of Women in Sport Aotearoa.