Deloitte Presents: The Art of the Possible: Leveraging AI for Supply Chain Resilience
Description
In its 10th year, Techweek26 is Aotearoa New Zealand’s national festival of innovation, promoting and advancing tech for good. The theme for Techweek26 is The Art of the Possible. Each May, communities, educators, entrepreneurs, researchers, iwi, government and industry leaders, join forces in hundreds of grassroots events and headline sessions.
Deloitte is a Principal Sponsor of Techweek.
Our aim for this particular event is to feature emerging tech and innovation that is solving social challenges, by focusing on supply chain traceability. We want to focus on this unique moment in time – facing an energy crisis, human rights issues exacerbated by global conflict, company requirements to understand and report on supply chain impacts, including product provenance and people protections.
This hybrid event will feature a presentation from a leading fashion ‘ecopreneur’, a panel discussion with New Zealand leaders in climate and supply chain risk, and a demonstration of an AI-enabled traceability platform that is changing the game.
Join us on the 19th of May for a dynamic discussion and a chance to network with innovators and change-makers. Breakfast and networking start at 7:00am for in-person attendees, and the virtual room opens at 7:45am.
The virtual room link will be shared 24 hours before the event.
Agenda
Karakia and introduction
Rikki Stancich (Partner, Deloitte New Zealand)
Part 1 – Presentation: The threads of resilience, with Marci Zaroff (Founder, CEO, Chairwoman – ECOfashion Corp)
Weaving technology, textiles and transparency into stronger, more ethical value chains.
Part 2 – Industry panel: People, power & provenance: The future of responsible supply chains
Putting human rights, energy resilience and product origin at the centre of supply chain strategy.
Part 3: A Credibl approach to supply chain resilience, with Jitesh Shetty (Co-founder and CEO, Credibl)
How AI‑enabled transparency can strengthen compliance, credibility and human outcomes.
Facilitators
Rikki Stancich
Partner – Climate and Sustainability, Deloitte NZ Rikki leads Deloitte’s non-financial accounting and reporting advisory and is Deloitte New Zealand’s climate risk and resilience practice lead. She has over 20 years of operational experience in sustainability, climate change risk and resilience, GHG emissions abatement strategy, and non-financial reporting, for private and public sector entities in Europe and Asia-Pacific.
Meredith Dawson Lawry
Director - Sustainability Innovation, Deloitte NZ As Director, Sustainability Innovation, Meredith Dawson Lawry leads Deloitte New Zealand’s Corporate Social Responsibility agenda across climate, social impact, and responsible business. She convenes the Collaborative Advantage forum, bringing together organisations across Aotearoa New Zealand to strengthen capability, share practical insight and foster collaborative approaches to complex issues such as modern slavery due diligence. Her background in textiles and apparel includes extensive experience working with supply chains on sustainability and human rights.
Speakers
Marci Zaroff
Founder, CEO, Chairwoman – ECOfashion Corp Marci Zaroff is an internationally-recognised Eco lifestyle expert, educator, innovator, and serial entrepreneur who coined the term “ecofashion” in 1995. Marci is the Founder of ECOFASHION, a turnkey traceability-enabled manufacturing ecosystem, including FARM TO HOME, and regenerative/organic cotton farm project RESET. A visionary leader for 35+ years, Marci has been instrumental in advancing authenticity, environmental stewardship, and social justice worldwide. She’s also founder of Under the Canopy; Producer of THREAD: Driving Fashion Forward; and co-founder of BEYONDBRANDS, Good Catch Foods, the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and the Textile Exchange, where she’s currently Board Chair.
Jitesh Shetty
Co-Founder/CEO Credibl Jitesh Shetty is the Co-founder and CEO of Credibl, a native AI, full‑stack platform for decarbonisation, ESG data management, supply‑chain traceability and due diligence, used by more than 100 enterprises globally. A serial technology entrepreneur, he previously founded Qwiklabs, a cloud‑computing labs company acquired by Google in 2016. Jitesh is also an active investor in over 17 AI and deep‑tech startups. With deep expertise spanning AI, SaaS platforms and enterprise-scale systems, he brings a strong track record of building and scaling technology businesses that solve complex, real‑world problems.
Prageeth Jayathissa
General Manager – Sustainability, Vector Limited Prageeth is an energy systems and data science specialist, currently serving as General Manager of Sustainability at Vector Limited. In this role, he leads initiatives to support Auckland’s transition to a net zero energy system while securing the resilience of energy infrastructure in the face of the escalating impacts of climate change.
Sam Archer
Director of Market Transformation, New Zealand Green Building Council Sam Archer is a Sustainability Consultant and Mechanical Engineer with over 25 years’ experience in the Construction Industry. As Director of Market Transformation at the New Zealand Green Building Council, he is responsible for the sustainability and energy assessment tools - Green Star, Homestar, HomeFit and NABERS. He has extensive experience of sustainability and energy strategies, including carbon policy work for the UK and New Zealand governments, sustainable urban design and low energy building design.
Sarah Lei
Head of Strategic Projects, Trevelyan’s Pack and Cool Limited Sarah joined Trevelyan’s in February 2020 and is now Head of Strategic Projects, leading the large kiwifruit and avocado postharvest company’s key initiatives across sustainability and infrastructure. She drives Trevelyan’s commitment to economic, environmental, and social responsibility while overseeing major infrastructure projects that support the business’s long-term growth and operational excellence. Sarah holds an Honours Degree in Chemical and Process Engineering and began her career in the UK, working as an engineer in the water and petrochemical industries. She completed the HortNZ Leadership Training Programme in 2022 and the Mayfield Governance Development Programme in 2025, further enhancing her ability to deliver strategic, high-impact projects within the horticulture sector.
Sam Friggens
General Manager, Climate Transition, ASB Bank Limited Sam Friggens has 15 years’ international experience working on the energy transition and climate change across banking, policy and advisory. As General Manager, Climate Transition at ASB Bank, he leads initiatives supporting business and corporate customers to transition to a low-emission, climate-resilient future. He has previously held senior roles with Mott MacDonald, the UK’s Climate Change Committee and Australian government programmes in Southeast Asia.
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
