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Rupert Hodson Appointed Executive Director of the Committee for Auckland

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Rupert Hodson Appointed Executive Director of the Committee for Auckland

The Committee for Auckland is thrilled to announce the appointment of Rupert Hodson as Executive Director.

Rupert brings strong leadership expertise and a proven ability to tackle complex challenges, build successful partnerships to drive meaningful change. His appointment underscores the Committee’s dedication to innovative solutions and its vision for Auckland as a vibrant, inclusive, and globally competitive city.

As Executive Director, Rupert will advance strategic priorities identified in the annual State of City benchmarking report, the innovation and technology work the Committee is leading, and the recent Auckland at 15 event. He will foster collaboration with partners and stakeholders across sectors to address Auckland’s key challenges. His focus will be on advancing initiatives that drive sustainable growth, enhance liveability, and create equitable opportunities for Aucklanders, and which contribute to an aspirational vision for what Auckland can be.

We are excited to welcome Rupert to the Committee for Auckland,” said Director Mark Thomas. “His vision and leadership will be crucial in guiding us through this important period as we pursue a coordinated work programme to strengthen Auckland’s future and realise its full potential.”

Rupert expressed his enthusiasm for the role: “It’s an honour to join the Committee for Auckland as Executive Director. This is an incredible opportunity to help shape the future of one of the regions most diverse and dynamic cities—and my home. I’m looking forward to working closely with our members, partners, and communities to achieve our shared goals.”

Rupert will step away from his current role as Beca’s Regional Director for Auckland and Northland at Beca to take up this exciting fixed-term position.

Andrea Rickard, Beca’s Managing Director said: “Rupert’s appointment as Executive Director of the Committee for Auckland reflects Beca’s long-standing commitment to the success and future of our city. Auckland’s growth and prosperity depend on strong leadership, collaboration across the public and private sector, and a shared vision, and we are proud to support Rupert in this pivotal role. This is not just an investment in leadership but also in the opportunities that lie ahead for Auckland to thrive. Beca has proudly been part of Tamaki Makaurau for 104 years, and we are committed to being here for the next 100 years and beyond.”

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Auckland in 2025 – enhancing the city experience

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Auckland in 2025 – enhancing the city experience

The Committee for Auckland’s event: Auckland in 2025 – enhancing the city experience took place on December 5th, 2024. The event was held at the beautiful offices of Warren & Mahoney in the Wynyward Quarter, and focused on enhancing Auckland’s appeal to younger generations, growing its cultural offerings, and building a more vibrant urban experience.

The event brought together a diverse group of speakers who shared their innovative ideas and exciting plans for the future of Auckland.
The presentations were not only informative but also captivating, as each speaker highlighted unique aspects of their work and vision for enhancing Auckland’s appeal. From Scott Tasker discussing the latest developments at Auckland Airport to David Reeves sharing fascinating updates from Auckland Museum, every moment was filled with valuable insights and forward-thinking strategies.

Our speakers were:

  • Scott Tasker, Chief Customer Officer, Auckland Airport
  • David Reeves, Chief Executive, Auckland Museum
  • Tom Irvine, Chief Executive, Whai Maia, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei
  • Prue Daly, General Manager, New Zealand International Convention Centre
  • Annie Dundas, Director Destinations, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited
  • Ryan Wilmshurst, Board Member, Young Tourism Export Council

The event was expertly facilitated by Nick Hill, CEO of Tātaki Auckland Unlimited and Committee for Auckland board member, who ensured a smooth flow of discussions and kept the audience engaged throughout. The enthusiasm and passion of the speakers were palpable, making the event a memorable experience for all attendees.

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Upcoming Breakfast Event: Auckland in 2025 – Enhancing Auckland’s Urban Experience

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Upcoming Breakfast Event: Auckland in 2025 – Enhancing Auckland’s Urban Experience

The Committee for Auckland is excited to announce an upcoming breakfast event that promises to be both insightful and inspiring. Scheduled for Thursday, 5 December 2024, from 7:30 AM to 8:45 AM, the event will be held at the Warren and Mahoney offices, located at The GRID/Mason Building, 139 Pakenham Street West, Auckland CBD

This event will focus on enhancing the Auckland experience and exploring how the city can improve its appeal to younger generations, grow its cultural offerings, and build a more vibrant, visible urban environment. The discussion will center around the theme “Auckland in 2025 – Enhancing the City Experience,” with a lineup of distinguished speakers who will share their insights and plans for the future.

Speakers Include:

  • Scott Tasker, Chief Customer Officer, Auckland Airport
  • David Reeves, Chief Executive, Auckland Museum
  • Tom Irvine, Chief Executive, Whai Maia, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei
  • Prue Daly, General Manager, New Zealand International Convention Centre (via video)
  • Annie Dundas, Director Destinations, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited

Each speaker will present a “short-sharp” presentation, discussing what’s on the horizon for 2025 and sharing specific activities their organisations have underway or are involved with to enhance the Auckland experience. The presentations will be graphically-led, focusing on visual content to engage the audience effectively.

This breakfast event is an excellent opportunity for attendees to gain valuable insights into the future of Auckland and network with key stakeholders committed to making the city a better place for everyone. We look forward to seeing you there and working together to create a more vibrant and appealing Auckland.

You should have received an email invitation to this exciting event, please ensure you RSVP for catering purposes.

Qunitin Blackburn

FAL alumni profile – Qunitin Blackburn

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Quintin Blackburn

FAL Alumni profile – Quintin Blackburn

Quintin was a member of the 2010-2011 cohort of the Committee for Auckland Future Auckland Leaders Programme and returned a few years later as part of a panel of industry experts helping guide future cohorts with their second year legacy project.

Now with 30 year’s experience, Quintin is a Senior Principal and Technical Fellow in Major Project Delivery. He leads the development of Beca’s Job Director training internationally, with a cohort of over 90 new Job Director’s graduating earlier this year.

Quintin has been involved in the leadership of some of New Zealand’s largest infrastructure projects including; Auckland’s Central Interceptor, Puhoi to Warkworth Motorway and Transmission Gully PPPs, Auckland Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative (AMETI) and Auckland Airport’s main runway replacement and A380 readiness programme.

Highly active in the industry, Quintin has recently published two articles on PPP’s in New Zealand. In May Quintin joined the infrastructure NZ delegation to Europe with 26 other industry leaders looking at how Ireland, the UK and Denmark deliver and manage infrastructure; and since late last year he was a member of its Funding & Finance working group advising government on how to develop New Zealand’s PPP model.

Quintin lives on AKL’s North Shore with his wife and two teenage kids, and is an amateur musician, playing bass guitar in covers bands around the Auckland music scene.

Newmarket Innovation

UoA Members Tour of the Newmarket Innovation Precinct

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The committee for Auckland group at the Newmarket Innovation Precinct

UoA Members Tour of the Newmarket Innovation Precinct

The recent visit to the Newmarket Innovation Precinct by Committee for Auckland Members was both exciting and informative. The tour provided a behind-the-scenes look at this dynamic hub, showcasing its potential as a driver for Auckland’s economic and technological growth. Members explored standout features such as co-working spaces designed to encourage creativity and partnerships, and a vibrant start-up community, as well as laboratories working on groundbreaking projects in biotech, sustainability, and software development.

The visit highlighted the precinct’s role in fostering collaboration between academia and industry.

Lisa Davis

Lisa Davis joins the Board, succeeding Tom Irvine

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Lisa Davis of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei

Lisa Davis joins the Board, succeeding Tom Irvine

We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Tom Irvine, of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, for his invaluable contributions and unwavering commitment to the Committee for Auckland. Over the years, Tom has played a pivotal role in driving our initiatives forward and ensuring the success of our projects. His dedication and leadership have been truly inspiring, and we are deeply appreciative of the time and effort he has invested in our committee.

As we bid farewell to Tom, we are excited to welcome Lisa Davis, also of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei to the Committee for Auckland. Lisa brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective that we believe will be instrumental in continuing our mission. We look forward to working closely with Lisa and are confident that her expertise will be a great asset to our team.

This will not be the last we see of Tom, as he will step in as a delegate whenever Lisa cannot attend any Committee for Auckland meetings and events.

Thank you once again, Tom, for your exceptional service. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors. And to Lisa, welcome aboard! We are thrilled to have you with us and look forward to achieving great things together.

Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

UoA Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship 21st birthday

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UoA Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship 21st birthday

On 16 October, the University of Auckland’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) celebrated 21 years and announced the winners of the Velocity $100k challenge. In addition to speeches by senior leaders of the University, guests were treated to inspiring talks by a selection of alumni and successful entrepreneurs. Amongst such luminaries, one talk that stood out was that given by serial entrepreneur Naomi Ballantyne, founder of Life Insurance company, Partners Life. Naomi gave a very frank account of what it takes to found and grow a successful company. Suffice it to say, it is not a journey for the faint-hearted!

First place in the Velocity challenge and a cheque for $25,000 went to QuickMas, an agritech solution designed to detect whether a cow has mastitis, help identify the pathogen causing it and determine whether the cow has responded to antibiotics. Second place and a $15,000 prize went to the team behind ROSS, an AI-powered platform designed to support engineers in the resolution of equipment breakdowns in the food and beverage manufacturing industry by accessing a global knowledge base.

Judith Collins

Boosting Science, Innovation and Technology in Auckland – Hon. Judith Collins, MP

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Frances Valintine and Hon. Judith Collins speak at the Innovation and Technology event

Boosting Science, Innovation and Technology in Auckland - Hon. Judith Collins, MP

Fittingly hosted in GridAKL’s Futures Lab on 19 July, the talk by Minister Collins traversed a wide range of topics, from the prevailing economic conditions (characterised as being tougher than the 2008 GFC) to the need for direct flights to Denver, Colorado and altering laws to facilitate gene technologies.

Minister Collins aspires to New Zealand being an exporter of science, innovation and technology and talked about the importance of promoting our capabilities to the world, such as our leadership in geothermal energy projects), and travelling to large markets to do so.  The Minister also talked about capturing digital nomads via more favourable immigration settings, reflecting a focus on addressing regulatory barriers, as opposed to dispensing grants – a recurrent theme.

The ensuing Q & A session was facilitated by AcademyEx founder and CfA board member Frances Valintine.  Selected soundbites:

  • Singapore has a commitment to be brilliant. Do we collectively aspire to NZ being a really wealthy country?
  • We ned to move beyond 97% of our companies being SME’s (ie: less than 50 employees).
  • The importance of boosting graduate confidence and sparking entrepreneurship.
  • Dunedin has positioned itself as a digital hub (eg: Sir Ian Taylor’s Animation Research). Arguably Auckland is unique in the NZ context as the only city of critical size to get certain things done but doesn’t present aggregated sector capability to the international market.
  • The last innovation strategy was developed in 2012. We’re overdue for an updated strategy we can all get behind.
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State of the City Update

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State of the City Update
It’s three months since Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown and Auckland and Transport Minister Hon Simeon Brown unveiled the 2024 State of the City international benchmarking report, which found Auckland retains its distinct natural environment advantages, has improving resilience to respond to crises and maintains an overall liveability appeal. However, the report highlighted Auckland’s persistent transport infrastructure deficits, housing affordability problems and the impact of a slower than average economic recovery.
The Committee has prioritised two of the lowest ten pillars for action. In the innovation area, Auckland struggles with underinvestment in research, fragmented support for startups, and limited collaboration across sectors. In the knowledge/skills area, the city faces challenges in attracting and retaining skilled talent, aligning education with industry needs, and fostering effective knowledge transfer.
The Committee convened a panel of business, economic development and university leaders during TechWeek, to prioritise the actions required to strengthen Auckland’s innovation ecosystem. Some of these were: much better storytelling of the innovation Auckland has underway; greater support for early entrepreneurship and improving the start-up pathways; initiating new Auckland and New Zealand innovation strategies to update those done in 2012; strengthen global connections as both Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Mayor Wayne Brown are doing with the trade missions they are leading and build greater bipartisan support to boosting R&D investment.
Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins spoke at a Committee event on enhancing Auckland’s role as an innovation bub, strengthening the science and technology ecosystems and a commitment to working on innovation barriers such as skills shortages and regulatory hurdles.
We also took Committee members on a tour of the University of Auckland’s impressive Newmarket Innovation Precinct (refer attached story).
You will see State of the City references increasing as the report becomes an essential reference to promotion on the important assets Auckland has and action on the significant challenges it has that are currently holding it back.

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