Deloitte Presents: From skills to scale: AI capability that actually lifts productivity (Auckland & Online)
Description
As organisations move beyond experimentation with AI and intelligent agents, the challenge shifts from awareness to building capability that delivers sustained productivity at scale.
Join us for a practical, industry-led session bringing together employers, industry leaders, and workforce and training professionals to explore how organisations are building AI, intelligent agent and robotics capability that delivers measurable productivity gains.
What the discussion will cover:
Practical perspectives on building AI and emerging technology capability at organisational and sector scale
Examples of AI training and learning grounded in real work and real roles
Insights into sector-led and employer-led approaches that accelerate AI adoption
How organisations are moving beyond pilots to embed AI into everyday operations
An interactive audience Q&A with subject matter experts
This session aligns with the Techweek pillars of:
Future – Emerging technologies and breakthrough innovation,
Growth – Tech growing New Zealand’s economy, and
Foundations – Tech strengthening our national infrastructure,
focusing on how AI and emerging technologies are being applied in real organisational settings to lift productivity and build the skills, systems and workforce readiness required to sustain impact at scale.
Whether you are responsible for workforce development, training design, operational productivity or technology adoption, you’ll leave with practical insights to help turn AI capability into consistently delivered productivity gains.
Panel Overview:
The panel is deliberately selected to reflect a balanced mix of perspectives, including:
Large employers operating at scale across complex logistics and operating models
A small to medium sized firm embedding AI and technology incrementally to drive productivity
Organisations applying AI and emerging technologies in customer contact centre environments
Sector and system‑level leaders focused on workforce capability, skills pathways and readiness
This mix is intended to surface applied insights across different organisational contexts, while keeping the conversation grounded in operational reality.
Speakers include
Mike Parsons, Air New Zealand, Data and AI Lead and Data and Analytics Chapter Area Lead
Mike Skeens, Tower Insurance, Head of Customer Contact Centre Hubs
Daryl Joyce, RML Machinery, Chief Executive Officer
Sam McNaughton, Transport Industry Skills Board, Chief Executive
Sylvia Yan, Deloitte, Associate Director, Strategy, Risk and Transactions
Grant Frear (Panel MC), Deloitte, Strategy, Risk and Transactions Lead Partner
Event Format
1.5 hours in total: 45 minutes panel discussion, 15 minutes for Q&A, and then 30 minutes for networking
If you're planning on attending online youu will receive an email with link to access to the webinar 24 hours prior to the event.
Speakers
Sam McNaughton
Transport Industry Skills Board, Chief Executive Samantha McNaughton is Chief Executive of the Transport Industry Skills Board, bringing more than a decade of leadership experience across the vocational education and workforce development sector, including roles at Hanga-Aro-Rau Workforce Development Council, Competenz, MITO, and Skills International. She has led strategic industry engagement and learning design and innovation functions spanning standard setting, quality assurance, resource development and programme innovation, with a strong focus on ensuring training systems remain relevant and responsive to industry needs. Samantha brings a systems-level perspective to workforce development challenges and is passionate about enabling clear, accessible education pathways that support sustainable employment and long-term industry capability.
Mike Skeens
Tower Insurance, Acting Head of Operations and Head of Customer Contact Centre Hub Mike is a transformational leader with over 20 years’ experience leading large, high-performing teams across aviation, operations, and people & culture. Starting as an international flight attendant, he progressed into senior roles in organisational development, learning, and operations. At Vodafone New Zealand, he led a 800+ person global customer care team, lifting NPS from negative to +50 in two years while reducing call volumes by over 200,000 annually. Now at Tower Insurance, Mike is driving the transformation of Customer Hubs, including building a thriving 300+ team in Fiji. He is known for delivering results at scale and inspiring teams to achieve the extraordinary.
Mike Parsons
Air New Zealand, Data & AI Lead and Data & Analytics Chapter Area Lead Mike Parsons leads AI at Air New Zealand, where he focuses on embedding AI across the organisation to improve productivity, decision‑making and customer outcomes. His work emphasises enabling non‑technical teams to use AI in everyday roles, supporting practical, responsible adoption at scale. Mike brings experience across analytics, technology and business leadership, with a strong focus on turning emerging technologies into real operational impact.
Daryl Joyce
RML Machinery, Chief Executive Officer Daryl Joyce is the CEO of RML Machinery, a Hamilton based mid sized automation and engineering company designing and delivering specialised robotics for manufacturing clients across New Zealand, Australia and offshore markets. Daryl leads an engineering led organisation focused on building workforce capability and sustainable productivity. At RML, AI is applied in practical ways to support everyday work, from engineering problem solving and analysis to decision making, alongside automation and robotics. Daryl brings a practitioner’s perspective on skills development, data access, digital training, and the cultural foundations required for organisations to adopt new technologies effectively.
Sylvia Yan
Deloitte, Associate Director, Strategy, Risk and Transactions Sylvia Yan is an Associate Director in Deloitte’s Strategy, Risk and Transactions practice, with more than 20 years’ experience working across the public and private sectors on workforce, productivity, service planning and system‑level performance challenges. Sylvia brings a strong background in data‑ and insights‑enabled work, including six years in Deloitte’s AI and Data practice, and was a lead author of the Future Skills and Industry Implications report in Aotearoa New Zealand. She works with organisations to understand workforce supply and demand, resource pressures and the implications of AI for skills, supporting practical choices in complex, resource‑constrained environments.
Grant Frear
Deloitte, Lead Partner, Strategy, Risk & Transactions Grant Frear is the Strategy, Risk and Transactions Lead Partner at Deloitte New Zealand, where he works with executive teams and boards to shape and deliver technology‑enabled business strategy. A senior consulting leader, Grant focuses on how advances in digital, data and emerging technologies, including AI, are changing what is possible for organisations and how productivity gains are realised. He brings a pragmatic, execution‑focused perspective, with a strong emphasis on turning well‑designed strategies into action and helping organisations adapt their mindset to take advantage of technology at scale.
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