Her Seat, Her Voice: Advancing Boardroom Decision-Making

Women On Boards

This event is now sold out



International Women’s Day Event 2024

#InspireInclusion

Her Seat, Her Voice: Advancing Boardroom Decision-Making


Women on Boards NZ, Governance New Zealand and Govn365, along with our sponsor AUT Business School, are delighted to bring you this networking event to celebrate International Women's Day and the theme for 2024: #InspireInclusion.

Please join us for this free-to-attend event and hear from Professor Margarethe Wiersema and our panel of experts discuss the topic of how the inclusion of women improves decision-making on boards.

We are fortunate to have secured Professor Wiersema, internationally recognised as one of the leading experts on corporate governance, and one of the authors of How Women Improve Decision-Making on Boards. Professor Wiersema will join us from California to discuss her study findings on how the presence of women influences board decision-making.

Our facilitated panel of experts will share their own experiences about the value women bring to board discussions and decision-making.

This free-to-attend event is one not to be missed, with plenty of time for Q&A and networking.

Register to attend today and celebrate International Women’s Day – all genders are welcome.


When: Thursday 7 March 2024, 5.30pm – 7.30pm

Where: Room WZ100C, AUT Auckland City Campus Auckland University of Technology City Campus

Attendance: Free

Arrival: 5.30pm

Professor Margarethe Wiersema: 6pm

Panel discussion: 6.30pm

Networking: until 7.30pm

Refreshments and canapes served and a cash bar.


Professor Margarethe Wiersema


Margarethe F. Wiersema holds the prestigious Dean’s Professorship in Strategic Management at The Paul Merage School of Business, University of California, Irvine. Margarethe boasts an impressive MBA and PhD from the renowned Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

Recognised worldwide for her groundbreaking research and teaching prowess, Margarethe has received countless accolades, including an honorary doctorate from the Copenhagen Business School and being named a Fellow of the Strategic Management Society. With over 60 publications and 14,000 citations, her expertise in corporate strategy and governance is unparalleled.

Margarethe doesn't just stop at academia; she actively engages with the business community, advising Fortune 500 companies and startups alike on strategic analysis, corporate governance, and board leadership. From executive education to director training, Margarethe is at the forefront of shaping the future of business strategy.


Panel Facilitator

Dr Coral Ingley FCG FGNZ


Coral has a PhD (Corporate Governance) from RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia and has extensive experience on boards of not-for-profit organisatios.

She held the position of Vice President of Governance New Zealand in 2018 and is a member of Governance NZ's Education and Professional Standards Committee which she chaired over a number years.

Coral is passionate about developing the skill-sets of people concerned with governance in their professional roles as board members and administrators, exemplified by her deep knowledge and experience in governance education and capability which she brings to the GNZ board role. This is of particular value in decisions requiring oversight of GNZ’s standards in the CGI professional qualification, the membership drive for the organisation, and the interface with CGI’s Professional Standards Committee (PSC).

Coral’s professional and career experience ideally places her to contribute to the work of the board following the new requirements of the CGI professional qualification. After several years in corporate management, she has had a long career as a university academic and lecturer, most recently as Associate Professor at AUT, teaching corporate governance in the MBA programme and the Australian Chartered Professional Accounting qualification, as well as various management subjects at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Coral continues to teach corporate governance at postgraduate level at a university in Pisa, Italy, and has international research collaborations in governance. Her research and published scholarly work focuses on the strategic leadership role of the board, board behaviour, the role of governance in stakeholder engagement, board leadership in sustainability and corporate social responsibility, governance in small firms and urban governance.



Panellists

Meleane Burgess

Meleane is a two-time Women in Governance Award winner and speaker at the Women in Governance Summit. Meleane is an accountant and Managing Director of Dynamic Advisory Limited, and founded the Waikato Pacific Business Network. She is a Chartered Associate of Governance New Zealand and The Chartered Governance Institute, and in 2022 she was awarded Rising Governance Star and Pacific Governance Leader at the Women in Governance Awards.

Meleane’s governance experience extends across public, private, and not for profit sectors. She is an Independent Director of Public Trust, Council Member University of Waikato, a member of the Pacific Reference Group for the Ministry of Social Development and Trustee on the Anglican Action Board.


Dr Peter Crow




Dr Peter Crow is an independent director, advisor and educator best known for his expertise in corporate governance, strategy, and board craft and his extensive record of helping boards govern with impact.

He has served on the boards of over twenty private companies, family businesses and social enterprises; advised hundreds of boards, chairs, institutions, and governments; and taught on post-graduate and director development courses. He also speaks and writes on topical issues. A dynamic and outcomes-oriented thinker with broad sector knowledge and real-world experience, his insightful contributions have proved invaluable to the fortunes of enterprises across five continents.

Peter holds a doctorate in corporate governance and strategy, a first in technology and management, and is a chartered member of the Institute of Directors. He lives in New Zealand but works globally.

Peter is the Day 1 Governance Facilitator for our 3-Day Effective Directors Programme.


Professor Candice Harris

Candice is a Professor of Management in the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law at AUT. She is currently also working as Associate Dean Academic (Acting) for the Faculty. Her primary areas of research are employment experiences, careers, and gendered experiences of work. She enjoys supervising PhD and Masters students working in the fields of careers, employment, and management. She teaches courses in human resource management and development.

Beyond AUT, she is co-chair of the Te Manahua New Zealand Universities Women in Leadership (NZUWIL) Steering Group. She also has experience in executive education delivering leadership development programmes in the private sector. Candice was awarded a Vice Chancellor’s Diversity Award (2018) for contributions in the area of gender and diversity within AUT and beyond. From 2024, Candice is also co-chair of the Council for Australasian Tourism and Hospitality Education (CAUTHE) Fellows. Candice is also working towards certification to become an International Coaching Federation (ICF) certified coach, so her coaching practice is informed by ICF frameworks and ethics.


Nuwanthie Samarakone


Nuwanthie is an experienced international business executive and award winning emerging company director.

In 2022 she was awarded the inaugural Ethnic Governance Award, endorsed by the Ministry of Ethnic Communities. In 2021 she was a finalist for the Emerging Governance leader award by Governance New Zealand, recognized as a 40 Under 40 business leader by the University of Auckland and recipient of the Emerging company director to make an impact in the Public sector by the Ministry of Ethnic Communities and the Superdiversity Institute Aotearoa.

She stands for values-based impact that creates better lives. She is the founder and director of ICE, (Inspire, Create & Engage) whose Kaupapa (purpose) is designing and delivering sustainable, aspirational and supportive career pathways for our rangatahi (youth) through developing internships and graduate schemes for organisations looking to build talent pipelines.

Having built a team around her and scaling the business from Aotearoa over a decade ago to 6 countries covering off 24 markets across Asia Pacific, some of the clients ICE partner with are FTSE 500, Forbes top 100 brands and Government Agencies in the Asia Pacific region. In 2020, she exited as Managing Partner at ICE, to focus on her next adventures. The company continues to operate and scale successfully, continuing to make an impact. She remains as the Founding Director.

Around the board table, Nuwanthie brings youth, energy and passion and her capability is in building and scaling businesses, a People and Culture focus, the Customer journey, Business development, Sales, Marketing & Innovation, Cyber security and technology and brings a Sustainability lens.

You will also see Nuwanthie feature regularly as a business commentator on the AM Show Panel TV3, RNZ National, and for Mediaworks on the radio and business Podcasts.



  • 0.00
  • 07/03/2024 - 07/03/2024
  • 17:30 - 19:30
  • Room WZ100C, AUT, Symonds St, Auckland   Auckland   Auckland   NZ
  • Free Members Free Regular
  • Register