Leaders’ Forum 2023

Deputy Leader of the National Party and Finance Spokesperson

Nicola Willis is a List MP based in Wellington, having entered Parliament in April 2018, and being re-elected in October 2020. She is currently National’s Deputy Leader, Spokesperson for Finance, and Social Investment. She is a member of Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Select Committee and  the Intelligence and Security Select Committee, and has previously served on the Environment Select Committee, the Education and Workforce Select Committee, and the Regulations Review Select Committee.

Chief Executive, Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce

Leeann is the Chief Executive of the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce (The Chamber), a not-for-profit membership-based service organisation that has been the home and voice of business in the Canterbury region since 1859. Comprised of over 2,700 member organisations that represent over 60,000 employees, The Chamber’s purpose is to connect, inspire, empower and inform to create a thriving business community.

Leeann is a strong voice for Canterbury businesses. Leeann is a Small Business Advisor to Minister Anderson. Leeann engages with the business community at all levels and across all sectors and has many years’ experience in working in partnership with both local and central Government.

Chair, Productivity Commission

Ganesh is a first-generation New Zealander, born, bred, and educated in Te Whanganui a Tara. He was appointed to his role as Chair of the Productivity Commission Te Kōmihana Whai Hua o Aotearoa in December 2020 following 22 years as a Senior Economist at the consultancy Business and Economics Research Limited (BERL).

Ganesh believes economics is fundamentally about people and their communities, and is best reflected in our collective role as kaitiaki o taonga.

Chair, Interflora Pacific Unit

An independent Director and Chair with a focus on co-operative business. Peter is a Chartered Independent Director, Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and recipient of RICS Lifetime achievement award 2021. He is currently leading the transformational Government Office Accommodation Programme at Government Property Group.

CEO, ProCare

Bindi is a visionary leader with more than 25 years’ experience working across a range of sectors including health, property, professional services and telecommunications. 

Bindi holds an MBA with Monash University and is currently a Director for CareHQ and 100% Appliances. She is the Chair of the Fresh Minds Board and Deputy Chair of the Auckland Branch of the Institute of Directors. Previously she has held governance roles with Whakarongorau Aotearoa, the EMA, the Warehouse Group (Future Director) and the Marketing Association. 

Chair, Combined Building Supplies

Carl has been building across Canterbury since 2001. Carl co-founded and is currently Chairman of CBS Co-operative – think Farmlands for tradesman, with over 800 shareholders and growing. The group is close to becoming one of the largest purchasers of building materials in New Zealand. 

Carl is actively involved in several different areas of the construction industry in both New Zealand and Australia, including ATF Vision and Harcourts and is passionate about seeing builders be successful and getting the most out of their businesses.

Chief Supply Chain Officer, PwC Australia

Linda is an international executive with 35 years’ experience building and leading teams across Retail, FMCG, Industrial and 3rd Party Logistics sectors. She is well-versed in business transformation, technology integration and automation deployment, logistics and end-to-end Supply Chain. She is curretnyl the Chief Supply Chain Officer for PwC Australia. 

Partner, Treasury, PwC New Zealand

As an experienced treasury professional, Alex has considerable experience in advising on the management of currency, interest rate and commodity price risks, as well as debt and funding risks for New Zealand businesses.

Partner, Assurance, PwC New Zealand

Nathan is a PwC Board member and an Assurance Partner in our Canterbury office. He has over 20 years experience in external audit and assurance services for PwC in New Zealand and the United States.

With significant experience across all aspects of assurance, Nathan’s areas of expertise cover a wide range of industries including retail, consumer goods and manufacturing. He also has a particular focus on innovation and high growth companies.

CEO, Kotahi Logistics

As Chief Executive of Kotahi, David has extensive international markets experience and a deep understanding of the importance of an efficient end to end supply chain in enabling customer growth. 

Prior to joining Kotahi, David spent almost 20 years working offshore with Fonterra and its subsidiaries in countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and the UK, with the last 12 years of his career spent mostly in company leadership roles. 

CEO, Cooperative Business NZ

Roz Henry was appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in August 2019. As CEO, she is developing and implementing a strategy to take Cooperative Business New Zealand into the future.

Previously Roz was Head of Operations at ATEED. She has also worked as a Management Consultant for a number of firms in New Zealand and internationally as well as spending time at the New Zealand Dairy Board, now Fonterra, in roles including Supply Chain Director.