Meet the speakers
Introducing the amazing lineup of local and international speakers
who will educate and inspire you at Retail:Tech 2023.
Katherine Boiciuc
Technologist, Imagineer
and Futurist
The Web3 Effect
(Australia)
Katherine Boiciuc is recognised as one of Australia’s 29 Inspirational Women making waves in STEM and Most Inspirational Women of Web3 & The Metaverse in 2022. She is a global leader with extensive experience in the technology and telco industries. Katherine has held senior and influential roles focused on global impact and world technology enablement.
Katherine has spent the past 2.5 years advising Australia’s next generation of executives and CTOs as a Director at Maximus. She spent 19 years at Telstra where her team, across 20 countries, delivered services such as risk and compliance, strategic execution, CX strategy and NPS measurement, and digital enablement including deployment of Tableau, Salesforce and Einstein.
In the lead up to Retail:Tech 2023, we were delighted to chat with Katherine about her passions – Web3, AR technology and so much more! Take a look.
Dan Symons
Senior Manager, Consulting
and Insights, Global
Transaction Solutions
Westpac
(New Zealand)
With over 25 years in financial services, with a strong background in banking and curiosity around how this intersects with technology, Dan is passionate about helping businesses prepare for and navigate future payment and technology pathways that will help them be efficient, reduce risk and deliver value to both them and their customers.
Andre van Duiven
Managing Director
Sektor NZ
(New Zealand)
Andre has worked in the IT industry for over 30 years with a strong focus on retail. His extensive experience includes working with Fujitsu/ICL deploying supermarket scanning systems and the NCR retail team in the UK as a Product Manager for the first self-checkout solutions. Back in New Zealand at The Warehouse Group, Andre was the Project Office Manager looking after their IT business change initiatives. Andre then moved to a General Management role with Provenco, heading up their Technology and Payments divisions, both still focused on Retail.
Andre is a shareholder and director of Sektor, a New Zealand start-up that since 2009, has continued to grow. It has now expanded into Australia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam. He is the Managing Director of the Sektor New Zealand business and closely follows the retail technology trends to keep New Zealand’s retailers at the leading edge of international innovations.
David Gosman
Global Industry Strategist
HP
(USA)
David Gosman is a New York native who has been involved in the point of sale and retail technology industries for 25 years. While he was earning his Master’s Degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics, he was coding the award-winning Cash Register Express and Restaurant Pro Express point of sale software packages for his company, New York-based pcAmerica. After several years of successful growth, pcAmerica was sold to Heartland Payment Systems. David now serves as the Global Industry Strategist for HP’s Retail & Industry Solutions Division. Outside of work, he serves on his local elected school board. In his spare time, you can find David by his grill, on the trail or traveling to a random corner of the globe.
Alison Mackie
Executive Director
NZTech
(New Zealand)
Alison Mackie is the current Executive Director of BlockchainNZ, IoT Alliance, LocationTech, and EdTechNZ at the NZTech Alliance. She oversees the business to turn New Zealand into a tech hub and prosperous digital nation, whilst also educating government and corporations on technology practices and solutions.
Alison has a keen interest in emerging technology and the social impact technology has on current and future generations.
Dan Copsey
Director
OtherBirds
(Australia)
Dan is a noteworthy leader in a number of spaces. He has unyieldingly worked on the conception and realisation of many businesses, including Think10 and OtherBirds. With more than 10 years of experience in the digital marketing and advertising landscape, Dan thrives on working collaboratively with clients to come up with creative and innovative solutions. Dan’s ethos revolves around creating and supporting future-driven businesses that improve the human condition.
Steven Graham
Head of Biometrics (ANZ)
& Innovation
NEC
(New Zealand)
Steven Graham is NEC NZ’s General Manager, Innovation and Biometrics. Steve leads NEC’s innovation design framework and Research and Development investments, as well as focusing on the execution of bringing biometric solutions to new and existing customers.
Steve has worked in Japan, the USA, and New Zealand, focusing on strategic management consulting, foresight, innovation planning (including founding start-ups), sales leadership and board advisory roles, with a focus on technology enablement. His experience spans across start-ups to multinationals, including senior roles with Microsoft, KPMG, Fronde and Alpine Electronics.
Steve has been recognised as an early adopter of technology; He was the only Independent Board Advisor on the New Zealand Government Cloud Programme Board. He is currently a board member of Digital Identity New Zealand.
Brittany Teei
Founder and Managing Director
3Bags Full
(New Zealand)
Of Te Rarawa and Cook Island descent, Brittany Teei founded the digital learning platform ‘Kids Coin’ to address financial literacy in New Zealand. To date, more than 80,000 rangatahi have come through the programme.
She created 3Bags Full to meet the need of bringing more Māori and Pacific people into the tech industry.
Known in the tech industry for her dynamic approach, Brittany works with corporate, NGO, central and local government organisations to help create futures for Māori and Pacific people.
Recognition for her work includes the DigMyIdea Māori Innovation Challenge (2015) and the Tiffany & Co. Innovation Award (2018).
A new mother, Brittany’s whanau is the centre of her life. She can also be spotted on Auckland tennis courts, mentoring the next generation.
Rupert Deans
Chief Executive & Founder
Plattar
(New Zealand)
Immersive Reality pioneer Rupert Deans grew up with dyslexia as a child and often questioned why we have so much 2D content in a 3D world. He recognised the enormous potential of 3D & Augmented Reality to solve practical problems and set out to create a tool that would enable anyone to create their own AR experiences with ease.
Plattar launched in February 2017, and has worked with Fortune 500 and ASX100 companies including The Warehouse Group, Bailey Nelson, Red Bull, PWC, Air New Zealand, Flight Center, Baby Bunting, Fisher and Paykel, Nespresso, Samsung, Singel, Schneider Electrical, SAAB and Unilever.
In the lead up to Retail:Tech 2023, we chatted with Rupert about all things to do with 3D and AR tech, PLATTAR – the 3D & AR Commerce Platform and so much more!
See what he had to say.
Kenneth (J) Norness
Director of Global Marketing
Vortex Leisure and Spa World
(New Zealand)
As the Marketing Director of an international retailer specialising in large, durable goods, J has been at the confluence where business and brand strategy meets product design and innovation, marketing stacks and operations, technology, and retail psychology.
Originally from the US, J has called New Zealand home for over twenty years. He has built various international businesses, from premium seafood distribution to giftware design.
For the last decade, he has been instrumental in the growth of Vortex Leisure which distributes spa pools and swim spas in 19 countries and owns the spa pool retailer, Spa World, Australia and New Zealand’s most-awarded Spa Retailer.
When not geeking out on business and marketing, you will find him out on an adventure in nature.
Chen Peng
Vice President, Loyalty, Asia Pacific at Mastercard
(Singapore)
Chen Peng (CP) is a full-time loyalty professional with a career dedicated to building loyalty programs in Asia. He is responsible for setting up SessionM business in APAC (a Mastercard company) from scratch back in 2017 and grown it into the leading loyalty technology player in the region responsible for some of the largest programs like Central Group, Tesco Lotus, Yuu Rewards and Starbucks.
Prior to SessionM, CP was General Manager for world’s largest loyalty company Aimia in Asia managing programs for brands like Standard Chartered Bank, ExxonMobil, P&G, Samsung, Shangri-la Hotels, China Southern Airlines and PCCW.
Starting the career as a data scientist, CP has hands on experiences across the entire loyalty value chain from analytics, to consulting, to technology to program management.
Jerome Faury
Founder/CEO
Immersve
(New Zealand)
Jerome has been in SaaS payments and Fintech for over 20 years, with the last 6+years specialising in web3 // crypto.
He is a Founder, Investor & Executive with some of NZ’s most successful tech companies; including founding 2 of the 8 companies that formed Futureverse – one of the largest open Metaverse platforms in the world. He is currently the Founder // CEO at Immersve, the world’s first web3 // Metaverse Mastercard; Founder at Centrapay – NZ’s most advanced digital payment acceptance network; and, Limited Partner at www.Netx.fund.
Prior to starting his own companies, he was the founding executive at Windcave, Centrality and EGM at Orion Health where he led it’s NZ business.
Jerome is passionate about supporting future entrepreneurs and giving back to the community, particularly NZ founded FinTech’s looking to scale internationally and children // homeless people.
Riaz Nasrabadi
Head of Data, Risk
and Open Data Solutions
Visa
(Australia, New Zealand, and South Pacific)
Riaz Nasrabadi is Visa’s Head of Data, Risk and Open Data solutions for Australia, New Zealand, and South Pacific. His responsibilities include oversight and expansion of Visa’s risk and data solutions, which include a suite a world-class solutions used by many of the top financial institutions in the region. He is also responsible for expanding Visa’s role in the open data space in Australia and New Zealand, including working with financial industry and fintech partners as well as providing Visa’s view points to regulators and government entities.
Prior to this, he was Visa’s Head of Products and Solutions for New Zealand and South Pacific, focusing on collaborating with Visa’s clients to transform their payments business in the ever-changing digital world. He was responsible for the support of Visa’s core products and the rollout of Visa’s digital capabilities in these markets, including the adoption of digital wallets, tokenisation and the expansion of contactless payments.
Riaz has held a number of positions at Visa in Sydney, Singapore and now in Auckland, over a 15 year period, ranging from client support to project management and senior product management. He has over 20 years’ experience in the cards and payments business including a number of years consulting to leading banks in Australia and New Zealand.
Brian McGrory
Vice President and Head of Merchant Sales & Acquiring
Visa
(Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific)
Brian McGrory is Visa’s Head of Merchant Sales & Acquiring for Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific. He is responsible for driving the strategy and growth of the seller side of Visa’s network, including acquirers, merchants, payment facilitators and payment gateways.
Brian has over 30 years in the payments and financial services industry with deep expertise across strategy, sales, and product development. He has been with Visa since 2003 and in this time has led product businesses and teams across Asia Pacific, Central Europe, Middle East and Africa. Brian has previously held roles including Visa’s Vice President of Sales Excellence and Cross Border for Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific, and Head of Product for Australia, New Zealand, South and Southeast Asia. Prior to joining Visa, Brian managed the debit card and wholesale credit card portfolio at Credit Union Services Corporation.
Brian graduated from Sydney University of Technology with a Bachelor of Business, majoring in Marketing and e-Business.
Greg Mikkelsen
Director and Partner
Securecom
(New Zealand)
Greg has been at the forefront of innovation with technology solutions for businesses for over 25 years. With a background in working with the NZ & Australian Retail sector, Greg applied this knowledge to providing Data Network and Security solutions for businesses across Australia and New Zealand with firstly Gen-i and then Spark Digital as General Manager of the Enterprise and Trans Tasman business unit for over 10 years.
Seven years ago, Greg and his business partners bought Securecom and have transformed this business into a leading provider of innovative, and cost effective IT solutions for business with distributed networks, pioneering new levels of security and redundancy for New Zealand businesses. Securecom provide network and security solutions for some of New Zealand’s largest retail networks with a specific focus on businesses that need to securely manage a mix of cloud and traditional IT environments.
In the lead up to Retail:Tech 2023, we spoke with Greg about some of the key benefits of cloud-based networks, as well as Securecom’s success in helping New Zealand businesses with their security. Watch the short video.
Dr. Te Taka Keegan
Associate Dean
University of Waikato
(New Zealand)
Nō Waikato-Maniapoto, nō Ngāti Porou, nō Ngāti Whakaue hoki. Kei Ngāhinapōuri e noho ana, kei te pūtake o te maunga o Pirongia. Kua roa ia e mahi ana ki te Whare Wānanga o Waikato, me tana aro ki te whai huarahi mō te reo rangatira ki te ao hangarau.
Te Taka received a Diploma in Computer Engineering from CIT (Wellington) in 1987. He spent six years working as a hardware engineer for Datacom and Digital before returning to the Waikato and Waikato University. He received a BA through the Te Tohu Paetahi stream (Māori immersion) and in 1996 was awarded an MA having completed a thesis on traditional navigation.
Te Taka worked with the Māori Department and then in 1997 switched to the Computer Science Department. He completed a PhD in 2007, titled Indigenous Language Usage in a Digital Library: He Hautoa Kia Ora Tonu Ai. Te Taka has worked on a number of projects involving the Māori language and technology.
These include the Māori Niupepa Collection, Te Kete Ipurangi, the Microsoft keyboard, Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office in Māori, Moodle in Māori, Google Web Search in Māori, the Māori macroniser and SwiftKey for Māori. In 2009 Te Taka spent 6 months with Google in Mountain View as a visiting scientist assisting with the Google Translator Toolkit for Māori. Further work with Google led to Translate in Māori. In 2013 Te Taka was awarded the University of Waikato’s Māori/Indigenous Excellence Award for Research. In 2017 Te Taka was awarded the Prime Minister’s Supreme Award for Tertiary Teaching Excellence. Te Taka is also the Co-Director of AI Institute Māori.
Rachel McBeth
Channel Manager
Honeywell
(New Zealand)
Rachel McBeth is Honeywell New Zealand Channel Manager for Honeywell’s Productivity Solutions.
With over 20 years of sales and marketing experience, Rachel is a passionate advocate for the progress of New Zealand Inc, and committed to driving partnerships that help all businesses to thrive. She is able to do this within her role at Honeywell, supporting retail customers in making their operations more efficient, productive and agile.
The evolution of technology is moving at a breakneck pace and it’s only going to accelerate – Rachel is here to support retailers to take on that challenge.
Take a look at the 2023 agenda
Thought leaders and innovators from onshore and offshore will share their knowledge and expertise, as you hear about navigating this exciting part of the retail environment.
Thank you to all our Retail:Tech sponsors
HEADLINER
PLATINUM
GOLD
SILVER
Morning
tea
Afternoon
tea
Lunch and
refreshments
Tour and
networking
We’d also like to thank
Got questions? We have answers!
If you have any questions, big or small, please feel free to contact us at [email protected].
You can also check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
