Priority One & Datacom: Business Beyond Usual: Uncover, Unlock, Unleash

Priority One Members and non-members are welcome to this event.
Please note - non-members are charged ticketing price.

Date: Thursday, 18th May, 2023
Time: 3.00pm - 6.00pm
Venue: The Cargo Shed, Tauranga City

Join Datacom & Priority One for a cutting-edge tech-week event on Business Beyond Usual, exploring trends affecting the future of work

Never in human history has the present been so temporary.
How can we look beyond today and explore observations and opinions on the potential for positive disruption?

At Priority One & Datacom, we have been reflecting on the real opportunities of machines & AI in optimising people’s lives. It is a massive topic to reflect on. The literature on the topic will tell you it is about removing waste, automating jobs, helping you get data from hard-to-reach places and providing visibility.

That all makes life potentially easier, sure – but for what impact?
When we think about the future, we don’t think you can predict it reliably.
But together, we can certainly help shape it.

We invite you to be part of the conversation.
This interactive event is for the curious, the change-makers and those with their finger on the pulse of business in the Bay of Plenty. Expect to get hands on. Expect local experts. Expect to connect.

This event kicks off an ongoing series of Business Beyond Usual, a partnership event series hosted by Datacom and Priority One. This series will encourage you the freedom to explore, discover and learn what possible within the rapidly changing global business environment.

Together, we can create an exciting future.

This event is free for Priority One members, and ticketed for non-members.
Please arrive prior to 3pm as it will be a swift 3pm kick-off!

Light snacks and refreshments will be provided.

Please RSVP by Friday 12th of May
To connect with our Priority One Workforce Development Project Manager, Meg Davis, contact: meg@priorityone.co.nz

Agenda:
2.30 - 3.00pm: Guest arrival. Please arrive prior to be seated for a 3pm start
3.00 - 5.00pm: Presentation, workshop and panel discussion
5.00 - 6.00pm: Networking refreshments and light catering

Speaker Profiles:

Midu Chandra, General Manager: Future, Insights & Experience, Datacom

Midu Chandra is the General Manager for Future, Insights & Experience at Datacom. With over 20 years of experience in the industry, he describes himself as a technologist, marketer, and data native, who has deliberately avoided traditional operational and management roles. His belief in the future of technology and creativity lies in hyper-personalization through the fusion of data, tech, and art.

Midu has gathered experience in startup, executive leadership roles, and all aspects of business, marketing, and emerging technology, allowing him to push innovation, nurture talented teams, and help organizations transform. His personal guiding values are results, fun, grit, loyalty, integrity, and kindness. He seeks to work with people, entrepreneurs, and organizations who share similar values.

As well as sitting on boards and acting in Advisory roles, Midu currently works at Datacom, helping organizations to start, seed or scale through embracing chaos at play and understanding interconnectedness, and is particularly passionate about creating a larger and more exportable technology sector in Aotearoa NZ.

Tracey Cotter-Martin, Associate Director: Futures & Insights, Datacom

Tracey Cotter-Martin is an accomplished industry expert known for bringing innovation and new ways of thinking to the workplace. As the Associate Director of Futures + Insights, she and her team are responsible for spearheading the adoption of beyond and out-of-the-box thinking to customers throughout Australia, New Zealand, and Asia.

Recently, Tracey led a major research project examining mindsets, macro trends, and industry pressures, which identified the need for new ways of working in a post-pandemic world. With her extensive experience in strategy, consultation, and big-picture thinking, Tracey is uniquely positioned to share her insights on how harnessing digital disruption can ensure tomorrow's workforce is future-fit.

Her passion for understanding the external factors that influence the way we work has earned her accolades, including the 2022 Reseller News Women in ICT Awards (WIICTA) Innovation Award. As a thought leader, Tracey is committed to building empathetic working environments that enable individuals and organizations to thrive in today's ever-changing landscape.

Steve Swallow, Head of Region (BoP, Waikato, Taranaki, Hawkes Bay), Datacom

Steve Swallow has been in the Tech industry since ages ago (about 30 years in fact) in roles ranging from running cables to executive leadership and pretty much everything in between. A problem solver at heart and deeply curious about what makes things tick; people, organisations, ecosystems and the universe

Based in Tauranga, Steve leads Datacoms presence across the middle of Te Ika-a-Maui (North Island) and is focused on exploring the role of tech and digital in building regional capability, supporting tangata whenua, creating career opportunities and driving organisational value. In addition to this, Steve also leads our industry and ecosystem engagement in 3 critical sectors for Aotearoa, Utilities, Infrastructure and the Food and Fibre sectors.

Steve is passionate about making a positive impact for individuals, communities and organisations. This includes working on regional development initiatives, career development and engaging the start-up and innovation ecosystem.

Aidan Lett, Marketing Director, ShiftX

Aidan is a marketer and business leader with a passion for letting the customer voice lead strategy, doing business with purpose and building business foundations for global scale. He’s spent the last 15 years marketing and leading brands like Pushpay, Bayleys, HomeAR and SwipedOn, as well as co-founding the education portal Hatched Antenatal and ESG software GoGenerosity.

Aidan now spends most of his time helping other NZ businesses build out their sales and marketing engines for growth, supporting his investments to flourish and being a dad to his 4 primary school aged children.

Nathan Soich, Chief Commercial Officer, Robotics Plus

Nathan has a background in commercial leadership and product management, having worked for a range of globally-focused B2B companies in the ICT, industrial automation and AgTech sectors. He has extensive experience in corporate innovation/new ventures, along with developing and scaling technology businesses from New Zealand into international markets, with a specific focus on the United States and China. He has held senior positions at Compac Sorting (acquired by Tomra Group), Fisher & Paykel, Facteon – Haier Group and now Robotics Plus.

He is passionate about New Zealand’s opportunities when it comes to aligning our traditional industries with technology ventures and new business models. He is a regular speaker at technology industry events and guest lecturers at Tech Futures Lab. Nathan holds a Bachelor of Commerce with a double major in Marketing and Management from University of Otago, New Zealand.

Karly Boast, Global Vice President of People, LawVu

Karly Boast is the Global Vice President of People for LawVu, and has 20 years of experience in people leadership roles across diverse business sectors. Commercially focused and able to partner with leadership teams to add value through strategic employee experience initiatives, leadership development and effective talent management strategies that drive growth and performance.

Karly is experienced in embedding strong leadership culture, driving strategic well-being initiatives and creating psychologically safe environments so teams can thrive and reach optimal potential and performance. She is extremely passionate about people data and AI and its potential to enable and empower teams to add value and deliver business outcomes.

Karly is a Wellness Practitioner and an advocate for disrupting the status quo to find innovative ways to redesign the way we work.

Nick Pickering, Senior Lecturer - School of Engineering, University of Waikato

Nick Pickering is a passionate technology leader with a history of achievement through a mix of creativity, leadership & outcomes-focused delivery. Nick thrives on solving real world problems applying a holistic systems approach integrating people, process & technology.

Nick has 25 years of international experience (UK, Sweden, Germany, Australia & NZ) across engineering & digital within the Agri-tech, Government, Finance, Aviation, Logistics, Defence & Manufacturing sectors covering product strategy, development, delivery and continuous process improvement.

Nick is a principle investigator of kiwifruit orchard technology projects (spanning automation, navigation, sensing and digital twins), is a member of AgriTechNZ and the VP of the International Council Of Systems Engineering (INCOSE) NZ chapter in addition to lecturing in innovation and product development.