Speakers

Stefano Baronci

Director General, Airports Council International Asia-Pacific & MID

The Director General will provide his reflections on global and regional trends in aviation and opportunities and challenges for airport owners and operators.

Mr. Stefano Baronci is the Director General of Airports Council International (ACI) Asia-Pacific and Middle East, an association representing the interests of airports in Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Appointed in December 2019, Mr. Baronci is responsible for driving and executing the strategic plan of the association and overseeing a team of professionals at the Regional Office based in Hong Kong.

Mr. Baronci has 22 years of analytic and representational experience at national and international levels in the aviation sector, representing both airport and airline industries. He is very familiar with the ACI community, having previously served as the Director of Economics at ACI World in Montreal and Senior Policy Manager at ACI Europe in Brussels. He has also served as Secretary General of Assaeroporti, the Italian airport operators association, and Assistant Director and ATM Infrastructure Expert at the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Rachel Gardner-Poole

Chair, UK Zero Emission Flight Delivery Group

Rachel is a member of the UK Jet Zero Council and Chairs the Zero Emission Flight Delivery Group which has been established by the UK government to focus on the technology, infrastructure and regulation needed to make zero emission flight a reality. She has a wealth of experience in leading complex programmes and improving the operational effectiveness of organisations through people, process and technology. Rachel has a strong background in the aviation, science and technology sectors and has worked in senior leadership roles in IBM, the UK Space Agency, the UK Civil Aviation Authority and Connected Places Catapult.

As a Chartered Mathematician, Rachel is a keen advocate for the promotion of STEM and was awarded the AeroTime Aviation Achievement Award in recognition for her education and commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion. Rachel has always had a keen interest in aviation, obtaining her Commercial Pilot Licence and has flown privately in 4 continents. She has been actively involved in charity work for over 20 years, including fundraising for a flying charity which works in developing countries and she was also a founding member of a charity to deliver projects in South Sudan.

Rachel will offer her latest thoughts on the UK’s Jet Zero Council process and the challenge of driving system and infrastructure change to get ready for zero emissions aircraft. She’ll share her views on what airports should do now to prepare for the future, and the scenarios ahead for a decarbonised airport network in the UK.

Matt Clarke

Chair, NZ Airports

Matt has over 20 years’ experience in the airport industry having first joined Infratil’s airport team in Europe after serving as the Chief Executive of Rotorua Airport.

He has been at Wellington Airport since 2010 as Chief Commercial Officer, playing a key role in the strategic development of the business before taking over as Chief Executive in 2022.

He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Canterbury and has completed post-graduate studies at Melbourne Business School and the New Zealand Institute of Directors.

Justin Watson

Chief Executive, Christchurch International Airport

Justin is the Chief Executive of Christchurch Airport. Prior to that he was the airport’s Chief Aeronautical and Commercial Officer, responsible for getting more planes and passengers to the airport as well as terminal operations and retail.

He grew up in Christchurch and came to the airport with a wide commercial experience, including working for Tourism New Zealand to market New Zealand on the global stage, with a particular focus on trade and aviation. On behalf of the host airport, Christchurch Airport and Ōtautahi, Justin extends a warm welcome to delegates, exhibitors and sponsors of the NZ Airports Hui 2023.

Carly Wieland

Co-Founder, Lime Intelligence

Carly Wieland is an entrepreneur, mum, disruptor of status quo and crazy passionate about all things Business Intelligence. She is also co-Founder of Lime Intelligence, a full-service business intelligence and service specialist.
Determined about challenging the ‘same old’, Carly was one of Australia’s first airport marketing executives and employed a customer focused strategy delivering growth, including attracting the first long haul international flights to the Gold Coast Airport.

Since then, Carly has demonstrated a proven track record in always looking at things differently and sharing her life lessons along way, encouraging women around her in business, as a mother and business owner.

Over the past 25 years Carly has been fearless in trying new strategies wherever she worked and used her strong ability to analyse data, think creatively and intuitively and build genuine relationships for success. Carly is now leading Lime Intelligence with her co-founder, disrupting the way airports and SME’s, from over 16 different industries, look at data and empowering them to know their numbers. She has a vision to make cutting edge BI an integral part of everyday business operations and make it easy, accessible, and fun for all business sizes by building data cultures.

Keith Manch

Director, Civil Aviation Authority

Keith Manch’s career has been characterized by his focus on safety, regulation, and policy development within the transportation sector. His experience and expertise have contributed significantly to shaping aviation and maritime safety practices in New Zealand. As the Director of Civil Aviation, Keith is responsible for overseeing the regulation and safety of civil aviation operations. Additionally he is responsible for ensuring compliance with aviation regulations, promoting aviation safety, and maintaining effective oversight of aviation activities.

Ross Copeland

Chief Executive, Infrastructure Commission

Ross Copland has a background in the design, procurement, financing, and delivery of infrastructure as an engineer, an asset manager and a Chief Executive. He has worked in commercial construction and property on both sides of the Tasman, finishing up as National Operations Manager for Westfield in 2013. He returned to New Zealand to pursue a career developing tourism infrastructure. Ross holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering with First Class Honours, a Bachelor of Commerce and an MBA.

Scott Tasker

Chief Customer Officer, BSc (Technology)

Scott leads Auckland Airport’s customer and aeronautical commercial teams, focusing on customer experience and sustainably growing our airline capacity and network connectivity. He has more than 20 years’ experience in the travel industry, both in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, and has held a number of roles in airline sales, marketing and management with Emirates and Lufthansa.

Matthew Findlay

Director – Global Markets

Matthew has extensive experience in the airports & aviation industry having worked in a variety of roles and countries since joining the sector in 1996. Most recently he has worked with NT Airports (Darwin & Alice Springs) having previously worked at airports including Newcastle (NTL), Christchurch, Auckland, Stansted, Southampton (SOU), London Luton, Cardiff, Belfast (BFS), Stockholm Skavsta (NYO) and Orlando Sanford (SFB).

While Matthew’s most prominent successes have been in the area of air service attraction, he has had significant success in the areas of airport property development, retail, corporate affairs, aeronautical pricing and airport capital investment delivery whilst a management consultant in the UK between 2003-2006.

With a Masters in Business Studies and Bachelors in Management & Communications, Matt has successfully attracted carriers, from all geographies and airline operating models, into new and emerging destination markets.

Mark Wheeler

General Manager, Aviation Security

Responsible for the executive leadership and management of the Aviation Security Service (AvSec), and for leading the delivery of robust and efficient security services at New Zealand’s six security designated airports.

Megan Crawford

General Manager Business Development, Dunedin Airport

GM Business Development, Megan Crawford, joined Dunedin Airport in 2013. Megan returned to Dunedin in 2007 after living in London where she had been Marketing Manager for GE Consumer Finance UK.

Prior to joining Dunedin Airport she was Manager of Executive Education at the University of Otago. Megan is a graduate of the University of Otago, completing a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Arts.

Megan has been a Director on Tourism Waitaki Board (since 2018)

Dr Therese Arseneau

Chair, ChristchurchNZ Holdings Ltd
Senior Research Fellow in Political Science, University of Canterbury

Dr Therese Arseneau is a political scientist and expert in New Zealand politics and elections. She has lectured in Canadian and New Zealand universities and is currently a Senior Adjunct Fellow in Political Science at the University of Canterbury. In 2011 she received a UC Teaching Award for excellence in teaching.

Therese was a member of the Electoral Commission’s Expert Advisory Panel for the 2011 referendum on the electoral system and the Commission’s 2012 review of MMP. She has provided political and election night analysis for TVNZ and TV3 in New Zealand and for CBC TV and Radio in Canada. 

Therese has extensive governance experience and is currently Chair of ChristchurchNZ and Lane Neave, a Director of J Ballantynes & Co Ltd, and on the board of Education NZ. Previously she chaired Ara Institute of Canterbury, Regenerate Christchurch and the CSO, and was a director of the Open Polytechnic of NZ.

She holds a DPhil and MPhil in Politics from Oxford University which she attended as a Commonwealth Scholar.

Wayne Eagleson

Director, Thompson Lewis

Wayne is a Director of Thompson Lewis, a specialist corporate affairs consultancy business. He is also a Director of Wellington International Airport Limited. Prior to joining Thompson Lewis, Wayne was Chief of Staff to Prime Ministers John Key and Bill English from 2008 to 2017, and prior to that was in that role in the Leader of the Opposition’s office prior to the 2008 election.

He also worked as a senior advisor to Prime Minister Jim Bolger in the 1990s. Outside of Parliament and the Beehive, he has been a member of the senior executive team for Transpower, and in senior roles for Westpac and DB Breweries.

Judi Godbold

Business Development Manager, Hawke’s Bay Airport

Business Development Manager for Hawke’s Bay Airport, Judi Godbold joined the team in 2021. After 18 years living in three different countries, Judi returned to New Zealand in 2020 with her family.

With an extensive background in marketing and live experience agencies, Judi’s career has always been focused on client growth and commercial goals. She has been fortunate to work with and lead client relationships for international brands including Changi Airport Group, Qatar Airways, Netflix, Swiss Airlines, and InterContinental Hotels Group.

As a newcomer to the NZ aviation industry, Judi is loving the challenge and diversity the industry offers.

Angela Blair

General Manager International, Tourism New Zealand

Angela joined Tourism New Zealand in August 2022. Angela is a strategic marketing leader with over 20 years’ global experience across business-to-business and business-to-consumer marketing.

Working for organisations such as Restaurant Brands, Vodafone and APN, where she developed creative marketing programmes with a commercial focus.

Prior to joining Tourism New Zealand, Angela was a member of Restaurants Brands New Zealand Executive team.

In her current role she is responsible for the delivery of marketing activity in offshore markets and aviation partnerships.

Siȃn John

Resilience-, Adaptation- & Social and Environmental Safeguards- Specialist
Royal HaskoningDHV

Sian is based in New Zealand and has been working as a Resilience-, Adaptation- & Social and Environmental Safeguards- Specialist for RHDHV nearly 30 years. Sian is RHDHV’s Resilience & Adaptation Lead for the Pacific and is currently working in New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific on adaptation projects.

She is helping to deliver the airport resilience services of the groups niche aviation consultancy NACO (Netherlands Airport Consultants) locally, after NACO successfully delivered resilience projects for Changi, Schiphol, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi and Kansai Airports and identified the need to support New Zealand’s airports build (flood) resilience.

Sian’s current New Zealand projects include the Thames Coromandel Shoreline Management Plan project which developed 138 coastal adaptation pathways; Auckland Council’s Too Much Water project, where she developed a package of tools to depict and assess flooding adaptations to facilitate informed community discussions and decision making; Auckland Transport’s Climate Change Adaptation Strategy & Apia Ports Green Port project. She is looking forward to share NACO’s international best practice with the audience, coupled with her local knowledge of delivering resilience and adaptation projects across New Zealand and the wider region.

Mitch Hooper

Principal Consultant, Airbiz

Mitch leads Airbiz’s planning practice in the U.S. He has 15 years’ experience as an aviation consultant, working with airports, governments, and the private sector. He has degrees in planning and business, which he uses to develop plans that are inclusive, realistic, and implementable. He specializes in master planning, economic forecasting and analysis, strategic planning, and airport electrification. Mitch routinely speaks at conferences and holds training sessions to help prepare the next generation of aviation professionals.

Mitch has provided aviation services to operators and companies of all sizes, including the states of California, Washington, and Florida; the Port of Portland; Ontario International Airport Authority; Christchurch International Airport Limited, EDP Renewables; and BETA Technologies.

Nick Flack

Sustainability Manager, Christchurch Airport

Nick is Christchurch Airport’s Future Planning and Sustainability team, which includes asset management of all the Airport’s infrastructure. He is passionate about infrastructure and supply chain organisations that positively contribute to their community, city and country. His role is expansive and includes the Airport’s long-term planning, compliance, world leading sustainability programme as well as asset management across airfield, terminal, campus operations and water and roading networks.
Nick has also led Christchurch Airport’s Kowhai Park development – a 400-hectare renewable energy development to deliver the on-site energy needs of future decarbonised aviation and prove the concept for others around the world. This development has established strategic relationships with world leading technology innovators across aviation and energy.

Glen Sowry

Chief Executive Officer, Queenstown Airport

Glen joined the QAC team as Chief Executive Officer in September 2021. Since joining QAC, Glen has been instrumental in leading the development of a new 10-year Strategic Plan for the airport and is now leading the development of a new Master Plan to shape the airport for the coming decades. He has also been instrumental in building strong alignment with local communities and Regional Tourism Organisations to ensure Queenstown Airport enables appropriate levels of growth into the future.

Glen has extensive leadership and aviation experience having spent over a decade in a range of senior executive roles at Air New Zealand as well as being former Chair of the Board of Airline Representatives New Zealand (BARNZ). Prior to joining QAC, Glen held CEO roles at Metlifecare and Housing New Zealand (now Kainga Ora). Earlier in his career he was a professional yachtsman, competing for New Zealand in the America’s Cup, the Whitbread Race and the Olympics. Continuing this involvement, Glen is now a Board member of the New Zealand Olympic Committee.

Jacob Snelgrove

Sustainability Manager at Air New Zealand

Jacob is a former airline pilot with 15 years’ experience in the airline industry working at Jetstar and Air New Zealand, operating the Airbus, 787, and 777. Throughout his career, he held diverse roles in flight operations and training. Currently, Jacob is a member of Air New Zealand’s sustainability team, leading the next generation aircraft project. This initiative aims to fly a commercial demonstrator by 2026 and seek to replace the airline’s Q300 fleet with battery hybrid or hydrogen-powered aircraft from 2030.

Dr Barry Prince

Vice President, Fabrum

Barry is responsible for Fabrum’s global hydrogen business development initiatives. He has 20 years’ experience working in Christchurch’s high-tech sector, specialising in product and business development. Prior to his time in Christchurch, he received post-doctoral fellowships from the University of Wisconsin and the Australian National University following the completion of his Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Canterbury.

Mike Inglis

Commissioner North, MPI

Mike joined MPI in October 2019 in the role of Northern Regional Commissioner, now Commissioner North. The Commissioner North role leads the Border Clearance Directorate which is responsible for providing frontline clearance services at the border for imported goods, arriving international vessels and aircraft, international mail, international passengers and crew, and detection technology including X-Ray and detector dogs. There are three Regional Commissioners in BCS nationally who work in close partnership and provide a senior leadership presence regionally including relationship management with external stakeholders.

Mike has delivered an important leadership role during the COVID-19 pandemic, and more recently the response following cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland flooding event, not only within Border Clearance but across MPI and all of government. The Commissioner North leads a large team delivering operational excellence across multiple pathways and sites (Auckland International Airport, Ports of Auckland and the International Mail Centre in Auckland), including taking the lead on what was a substantial change process in addition to collective negotiations and other union matters.

Craig Downey

Technical Director, Beca

Craig Downey is a Technical Director in Beca’s Airports team based in Melbourne. Craig is a Chartered Civil Engineer with almost 20 years experience, the majority of which has been in the aviation industry. Craig has delivered many complex aviation projects including Melbourne Airport’s Southern Apron Expansion and is currently the Design Director of the Terminal Apron at Western Sydney Airport.

Craig has been the Design Manager for Melbourne Airport’s Third Runway Project since 2015, during which time he has worked closely with Melbourne Airport to develop a design that aligns with the evolving needs of airlines and stakeholders while ensuring efficiency, safety and sustainability.

With a genuine passion for sustainability, Craig is keen to embrace the challenge of making aviation more sustainable through adoption of innovative solutions and minimising environmental impacts.

Richard Holyoake

Senior Principal / Market Lead Aviation, Beca

Richard is a Senior Principal at Beca and is Beca’s Market Lead Aviation across NZ and Australia. He has been working actively in the aviation sector for the last 30 years. He has worked on airport development projects throughout New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, with a particular focus on a wide range of South Island airport projects over the last 25 years.

He has also led a wide range of projects in the civil infrastructure area including irrigation supply, roading project design and construction, wastewater project investigation and design, subdivisions, in addition to his passion for airport infrastructure.

He has led the upgrade of the Chatham Islands Airport project for Beca from its inception, from early planning and funding approvals through design and to the completion of construction.

Richard is also an experienced director and trustee, serving on several Beca boards and not for profit organisations with interests ranging from Health and safety to public art and community advocacy. He has been a director of the Executive of the NZ Airports Association for the last several years and is strongly supportive of the advocacy of the association for the interests of airports and related industries.

Arnold de Bruyn

Technical Director – Pavement, GHD

Arnold is Technical Director – Pavement at GHD and practices as a chartered professional pavement engineer in Aotearoa New Zealand. He is experienced in pavement and surfacing design, not only in airports, but also in highways, maritime and other heavy-duty pavements. Arnold is familiar with local Aotearoa pavement material specifications, local design standards and international engineering standards for airport pavements.

He has been involved in numerous airport projects across the Pacific, New Zealand, Australia and Africa, and has worked on low volume regional/domestic airports, as well as large and challenging international airports.

John Lahiff

Technical Director – Airfield Ground Lighting, GHD

John Lahiff is the Technical Director – Airfield Ground Lighting (AGL) at GHD. John is an experienced AGL and airport visual aids consultant with 15 years of specialised international AGL experience.

John has proven track record in AGL projects on a range of military, regional and international civilian airport projects including in New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Ireland.

Experience and familiarly with the relevant regulations and standards, enables John to produce compliant designs and identify areas of non-compliance for remediation. He understands airfield scenarios and guides clients through design options that best align to their needs with compliance and performance requirements.

Recently, John has been working on the Auckland International Airport (AIAL) and Wellington International Airport (WIAL) pavement rehabilitation and upgrade projects.

Karen O’Sullivan

Senior Civil Engineer – Asphalt Technology, GHD

Karen O’Sullivan is a Senior Civil Engineer in GHD’s Aviation team with a focus on Asphalt Technology. Karen is an experienced Pavement Engineer and Asphalt Technologist with over 10 years of specialised international pavements experience. Karen is proficient in asphalt material testing, design and evaluation on a range of military, regional and international civilian airport and roading projects in Aotearoa New Zealand, USA, Fiji, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.

Her experience and familiarly with asphalt material specifications and testing enables Karen to provide informed material design reviews and sound construction supervision advice. She understands material engineering properties and is able to guide clients through material selections that will best perform under their climatic and loading circumstances.

Michael Fulton

National Development Manager Airports, Fulton Hogan

Michael has over 25 years in delivering Airfield Infrastructure projects across New Zealand. Michael leads the Fulton Hogan Airport teams delivering airfield contracts across New Zealand. This involves working collaboratively at the governance level with key clients and stakeholders to ensure project outcomes are met. His passion is around Airfield Infrastructure Maintenance and Capital delivery. The smell of bitumen and Asphalt is in his blood.

Greg Thompson

National Surfacing Engineering Manager, Fulton Hogan

Greg is Fulton Hogan’s National Surfacing Engineering Manager specialising in airport pavements across New Zealand. Greg has extensive experience at a number of different airports all throughout New Zealand across a 18 year career both as a consultant and a contractor. Greg has been part of condition assessments, technical design reviews, design and construct projects, and maintenance scheduling for large international airports through to smaller regional airports.

Greg is a qualified and Chartered Professional Civil Engineer and is highly knowledgeable in both airport chipsealing and asphalting, heavy duty pavement construction and draws on his engineering background to provide technical advice throughout the investigation and treatment selection process and construction. He is analytical when considering cost, safety, environmental and user preferences and understands the risks of the whole construction process.

Mary-Liz Tuck

Chief Sustainability and Master Planning Officer, Auckland Airport

Mary-Liz Tuck is Auckland Airport’s Chief Sustainability and Master Planning Officer. She has leadership responsibility for master planning, strategic capital planning, sustainability and transformation at Auckland Airport.

Mary-Liz joined Auckland Airport in February 2019 from Fisher and Paykel Appliances, where she held numerous leadership roles across business excellence, product quality, customer experience, operations and legal.

Prior to this Mary-Liz was a practicing commercial lawyer specialising in mergers and acquisitions, holding various senior roles in New Zealand law firms and at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in the United Kingdom.

Mary-Liz holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Auckland.

Mohit Vyas

Digital Engineering Lead, Downer

Downer’s Digital Engineering Lead, uses his 11+ years of experience in design, construction, BIM, and systems/process development to lead a team in realising improvement opportunities and implementing significant innovations in construction.

James Young

Chief Executive, Airways

James joined Airways in July 2014 as the Chief Financial Officer, responsible for Airways’ financial management, procurement and property activities. In February 2023, he was appointed Chief Executive.

Prior to joining Airways, James held leadership positions in the investment management industry while living and working in Tokyo, San Francisco and Hong Kong. Over this time, James gained experience in corporate planning, financial management, startup companies, strategic outsourcing and stakeholder management.

James’ vision for Airways is to generate value for shareholders and customers by delivering quality services at a competitive price. He enjoys his involvement in driving varied and interesting projects across the Airways group, working with many talented Airways people. 

James holds degrees in Accounting and Economics from Victoria University and is a qualified chartered accountant.

Cath O’Brien

Executive Director, BARNZ

Cath leads the BARNZ team as they advocate on behalf of their members on policy, regulatory and operational matters affecting the airline industry. A passionate advocate, Cath is driven to achieve best settings for aviation recovery in New Zealand.

As an aviation professional, Cath is able to understand the needs of BARNZ members, and to leverage strong relationships across airports and government agencies to broker successful outcomes. Her regulatory background in both aviation and energy means she is well placed to advocate for members affected by prices set by regulated airports.

Before joining BARNZ in August 2022, Cath spent five years at Air New Zealand, most recently as Head of Regulatory Affairs. In this role, Cath advocated for legislative change to ensure sustainable aviation settings, and represented the airline in reviews of airport pricing. During the response to Covid-19, Cath worked closely with government agencies to ensure Air New Zealand’s leadership was well advised as they navigated the pandemic response.

Cath is well connected to industry groups beyond New Zealand, enjoying good relationships with international industry bodies such as IATA. She has previously been a board member for Airlines for Australia and New Zealand (A4ANZ).

Cath has a Masters degree in Art History from the University of Auckland, and has undertaken executive education at the London School of Economics and Politics, and at Harvard University in Boston Massachusetts.

Chloe Surridge

Chief Operations Officer, Auckland Airport

Chloe is Auckland Airport’s Chief Operations Officer and is responsible for the operational performance of the airport system for millions of travellers that use the international and domestic terminals every year, including safety and security measures, efficient processes, and enhanced customer experience in close partnership with airport agencies and airlines.

Previously, Chloe was Air New Zealand’s Group General Manager Airports, a role overseeing 50 airports globally with a workforce of 2000. Other roles also include General Manager Supply Chain for Air New Zealand, CEO of Invercargill Airport and Hotel Director for Carnival Cruise Lines in the United States.

Joeri Aulman

Director BD & Airport Planner