Keynote
Gus Balbontin
As the former Executive Director and former Chief Technology Officer of Lonely Planet, Gus steered one of the most-loved brands in the world through a period of significant disruption. Gus led the company globally, working with companies such as Google X, Nokia, and Amazon on the latest technology, creative cultures, and high performing teams. Seeking a change from corporate life, he hung up his Lonely Planet boots and decided to move back to his entrepreneurial roots, becoming an investor, founder, and mentor across the start-up ecosystem in Melbourne.
Panellists
Alison Mackie
Alison is an executive director at NZTech, leading the industry organisations of BlockchainNZ, EdTechNZ, and NZ IoT Alliance. She is currently an advisor for Qippay and StakeDigital and sits on the board of the i4 Institute. She is a member of the Young Directors Committee with the Institute of Directors, was a finalist for the 2023 Emerging Director Award, and is a Tech Ambassador for TechStep. With her background in anthropology, her interests lie in emerging technology and its social impact on current and future generations.
Joe Rastrick
As BNZ’s Head of PayTech and Emerging Payments, Joe is focused on tech businesses that either have payments at the centre of their offering or offer services that have a strong payment component, including payments as a service, digital wallets, open banking/API-enabled business, Meta/Web3 payments, SoftPOS, blockchain payment evolution, the future of eCommerce payments and embedded finance. Joe has two decades of banking experience across financial markets, retail, and business banking.
Ruth Riviere
Ruth, Country Manager New Zealand and Pacific Islands, Mastercard, brings her global experience to deliver some of the best solutions for both businesses and consumers. She has had various roles across Mastercard’s UK business, including driving digital sales and managing strategy and operations as the Chief of Staff for Ann Cairns, President of International Markets. Ruth has also been Director of Social Impact at the Mastercard Centre for Inclusive Growth, where she designed and directed the centre’s global philanthropic programme work to support sustainable economic growth and financial inclusion.
Adrian Smith
Adrian is a fintech co-founder with a passion for helping Kiwis be better off through better tech. With extensive financial services experience gained from doing big bank transformation in the UK for over 14 years, he has garnered a deep understanding of global financial trends and emerging technologies. As the Chief Product Officer of the Māori fintech BlinkPay, Adrian leverages his international experience to design and develop innovative payment solutions that bridge the gap between technological advancements and consumer needs.
Andre van Duiven
Andre has worked in the IT industry for over 30 years with a strong focus on retail. He has worked extensively with New Zealand and Australian retailers deploying large-scale new technology initiatives. Andre’s first full engagement with payments was in a general management role with Provenco, heading up their Technology and Payments divisions. Andre went on to lead Sektor Payments and Verifone New Zealand. Andre is a shareholder and director of Sektor. Sektor has 250+ staff across the group and is an IT distributor focusing on retail solutions. It has the largest POS market share in New Zealand and Australia.
Moderator
Nicole Buisson
Nicole leads the Small Business team at Amazon Web Services, and also sits on a number of small business-related boards including The Icehouse, New Zealand Growth Capital Partners, Callaghan Innovation and Mosaic. She formerly sat on MBIE’s Small Business Council. Her corporate background combines a mix of high-growth tech leadership (Xero, Open Insurance), venture capital and private equity (3i and Ernst & Young’s Venture Capital Advisory Group), and corporate innovation (Vodafone, HK CSL). Nicole holds an MBA from Columbia University and London Business School and is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors.