Aleshia Perry brings over 20 years of global infrastructure experience, with a strong focus on major projects, renewals, and maintenance. Her work on high-profile transport initiatives has given her deep insight into the complexities of delivering public infrastructure in constrained environments—and how to navigate these challenges effectively.

She excels at fostering productive collaboration across multidisciplinary teams and time zones, consistently promoting a positive culture that drives innovation and supports efficient, well-informed decision-making.

Aleshia has held leadership, engineering, and design roles across a wide range of disciplines—from Train Control to Architecture. She is results-oriented and outcome-driven, with a proven ability to define and implement project vision while engaging constructively with stakeholders, regulators, and government officials.

Her background in railway operations and maintenance includes renewal and multiyear planning, inspections, station upgrades, maintenance facilities, and work equipment strategy. She is a strong leader with a demonstrated ability to build vision, manage stakeholder engagement, and communicate effectively at all levels.

Andrea is Managing Director NZ at Beca, one of the largest employee-owned professional services firms in the Asia-Pacific region. Beca is headquartered in Auckland and has nearly 3000 employees in New Zealand. Andrea has a professional background in strategic advisory and assurance, planning and delivery of major infrastructure projects in transport, water and waste utilities and community infrastructure – working alongside government and private sector clients, Māori and in communities.

She has held leadership positions in major procurement processes for a diverse range of contract types including PPP, Alliance, D&C and traditional. She sits on several industry and project governance boards including Alliance Boards for major transport projects and programmes. She is the current President of ACENZ, the Association of Consulting and Engineering NZ. Andrea has been instrumental in supporting Beca’s journey in establishing Māori business unit Te Ahi Tūtata, and is one of the signatories Beca’s Te Tiriti Position Statement.

Mr Andrew Tan was formerly Managing Director with Temasek International, a global investment firm headquartered in Singapore. He joined as an Operating Partner in the Enterprise Development Group, and later as Managing Director of the new Strategy Office from 2019-2022.

Prior to joining Temasek, Mr Tan spent nearly three decades with the Singapore Administrative Service in senior positions across key agencies from the Ministry of Information & the Arts, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prime Minister’s Office as the Principal Private Secretary to Senior Minister/Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources and the Ministry of Transport. He later became the Chief Executive Officer of the National Environment Agency (NEA) from 2009-2013 and Founding Director of the Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC) from 2008-2010. He was also Chief Executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) from 2014-2018.

Mr Tan graduated with First Class Honours in History from King’s College, University of London, in 1989. He attended the Edward S Mason Programme at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government where he obtained his Masters in Public Administration in 2002. He also attended the Advanced Management Programme at INSEAD Business School at Fontainebleau.

He is an independent non-executive director on several listed and private companies such as Keppel Data Centre REIT Management (SGX:AJBU), Kim Heng Ltd (SGX:5GS) and GoTyme Digital Bank in the Philippines. He also sits on the Singapore Management University (SMU)’s Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship Enterprise Board.

Andy is Managing Director and Co-Head of APAC for John Laing, leading on bidding and delivering PPPs and other privately financed infrastructure. Andy has overall responsibility for the continued success of the APAC business and is a member of the global executive management team at John Laing. He also sits on the global investment committee as a regional investment lead where he advises on global PPP investments across every core infrastructure sector.

With over 20 years’ experience in greenfield and brownfield PPP investment and delivery, Andy has led the origination, execution, and management of some of the largest critical infrastructure PPPs in the region. These include John Laing’s investments into large scale infrastructure and energy projects worth over A$30 billion including PPPs for North East Link, Melbourne Metro, Sydney Light Rail and Optus Stadium.

Andy’s career to date has included over 10 years at John Laing. He has also held roles in the UK at Balfour Beatty Investments and Linklaters after starting his career at Blake Dawson (now Ashurst) in Australia.

Ben is the Chief Executive of Fulton Hogan New Zealand, bringing over 20 years of experience across the infrastructure sector. His expertise spans design, materials supply, major project construction, and general management of multi-disciplinary civil contracting and asset management businesses in both New Zealand and Australia.

Ben is passionate about shaping infrastructure policy that fosters a healthy and sustainable industry capable of meeting New Zealand’s future needs. He advocates for a clear infrastructure strategy, ensuring project pipeline certainty, the development of skills and human capital to complete complex projects, and effective procurement practices.

Ben is a Fellow of Engineering New Zealand and a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He has served on numerous company boards in New Zealand and Australia. Additionally, he is a member of the Industry Advisory Board for the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering at the University of Canterbury and sits on several New Zealand infrastructure project boards.

Boyd Scirkovich is the Chief Economic Development & Investment Officer for Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira, leading the strategic growth and management of Ngāti Toa’s economy and investment portfolio. Raised in the Ngāti Toa Pā of Takapūwāhia, his Pā-informed worldview shapes a purpose-driven approach to economic development that delivers enduring value. A Chartered Member of the NZ Institute of Directors, Boyd holds a range of governance roles including Director of Switched On Group, Director of the ITM Building Supplies Group (Kāpiti / Wellington), and Chair of Toa Developments. His international and domestic expertise and experience bridges executive leadership, commercial growth advisory (merger and acquisitions), and business ownership. An award-winning business leader, Boyd is committed to enabling intergenerational prosperity for iwi and communities through infrastructure and investment that achieves environmental, social, and commercial outcomes.

Catherine is a Senior Associate in Simpson Grierson’s Corporate & Commercial national practice group, specialising in the projects, infrastructure and energy sectors. She has acted on some of the most significant domestic and international greenfields and brownfields infrastructure and energy transactions. Catherine acted on five of the existing NZ PPPs to date and is currently acting for bidders on the Northland Corridor PPP and the Christchurch Mens Prison PPP. She also recently advised Watercare on NZ’s largest debt capital raise.

Chris Abbott is Contact Energy’s Chief Corporate Affairs Officer. Chris has held senior roles in regulation, economics and public policy in the telecommunications and finance sectors both in New Zealand and the UK. But more than anything he is passionate about renewable energy and Contact’s role in leading the electrification of New Zealand.

Responsible for leading ANZ’s engagement with iwi and Māori businesses.

Attended school at Rotorua Boys High School before studying at Otago University.

Has worked at ANZ for 20 years and before that worked for Merrill Lynch Investment Managers in London.

David has over fifteen years of Oceania experience in senior leadership roles, including CEO, General Manager and Country Head. David is currently the CEO of IPWEA Australasia, a role he has held for five years.

He is recognised as a thought leader in infrastructure asset management, speaking at the Sydney Morning Herald Infrastructure Summit and major events hosted by the Institute of Asset Management (UK), The Institute of Municipal Engineering of South Africa, and the Government Finance Officers Association based in the United States. He has published articles in the New Zealand Herald, (New Zealand’s largest newspaper) and regularly contributes to the online publication – Government News.

David has studied at Stanford University, completed an EMBA from the University of Auckland, a postgraduate degree from the University of Oxford, and a degree from the University of London. He is on the Board of IFME (International Federation of Municipal Engineering) and Chairs the Technical Committee. David hosts IPWEA’s Infrastructure Matters podcast and has interviewed international thought leaders on water, roading infrastructure, and asset management.

Alex is an ex-McKinsey consultant and advisor on policy with 23+ years of experience in the infrastructure and operations space. Based in Hong Kong, he is the Managing Principle for Advisory Asia at Aurecon. Alex’s service offering focuses on public sector policy, digital transformation, operational improvement, capital planning, smart city and data strategy, sustainability and procurement excellence. He has worked across most infrastructure sub-sectors, both for government and private clients in East Asia, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. Alex holds a PhD from the University of Surrey and is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). He is a regular speaker and panellist in industry conferences, a thought leader and contributor to various media publications and broadcasts.

Based in Auckland, New Zealand, Theuns Henning holds many roles within the civil engineering industry, drawing on his academic background and industry experience. He completed his PhD at the University of Auckland in 2009, where he received the Foundation for Research and Technology Bright Future Scholarship. He is a Fellow of Engineering New Zealand and a Life Member of Āpōpō (Infrastructure asset management professionals).

As Associate Dean – International for the Faculty of Engineering and Design at the University of Auckland, he is also an international researcher and consultant specialising in Asset Management, Climate Adaptation, Performance Monitoring and Forecasting, and Benchmarking. He has completed national level asset management reforms on behalf of the World Bank for Vietnam, Maldives, Philippines, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and South Africa.

Francois Dudouit is Project Director for Vinci Construction Grand Projects. He has over 38 years project delivery experience, gained mainly on major railway underground infrastructure projects in France (Villejust tunnels), Denmark (Storebaelt project), Hong Kong, Nederland (Betuweroute), Sweden and New Zealand. Between 2003 and 2018, he was responsible for the construction on the critical Hallandsås Tunnel Project in Sweden, which requires significant innovations to overcome the challenging ground conditions and then for the SCL 1103 & SCL 1122 projects (part of Shatin to Central Line, a new MTR line in Hong Kong). Between 2018 and 2024, he was Link Alliance Project Director for the City Rail Link in Auckland, the largest infrastructure project and the first underground metro project in New Zealand.

Fraser Wyllie is McConnell Dowell’s Managing Director for New Zealand and Pacific and is the Chair of Infrastructure New Zealand. He is a Chartered Professional Engineer and a member of the Institute of Directors NZ, with over 30 years of construction industry experience in project governance and delivery. Fraser has been involved in a broad range of infrastructure projects delivered through various commercial models in New Zealand and the Pacific.

Geoff is the Chief Economist in the office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment. He has worked as an economist for the Productivity Commission, UK Home Office and New Zealand Treasury, and served as General Manager at Toi Wai Workforce Development Council and the Morgan Foundation. Geoff has co-authored four books, two of which were on environmental economics issues.

Graham Mitchell is CEO of National Infrastructure Funding and Financing, a New Zealand Government owned company, responsible for partnering with the private sector, iwi and local and central Government to finance and fund the delivery of infrastructure for the benefit of New Zealanders.

Key focuses include partnering with NZ Government agencies in the use of private capital and public private partnerships, Investor Shopfront for the NZ Government to attract private capital for public infrastructure, management of Infrastructure Funds and raising private capital for public infrastructure investment.

Prior to National Infrastructure, Graham held CEO roles at Private Equity and Venture capital funded technology businesses, was a senior executive of Telecom NZ in New Zealand and Australia and held several senior Corporate Finance roles with NZ Corporates.

Harsharan Singh is an experienced senior leader and Operations Manager at Ventia, with a strong track record of delivering complex infrastructure projects across New Zealand and Australia. His expertise spans the Distribution, Transmission, Generation, and Industrial sectors, offering a strategic perspective on the future of energy.

Harsharan leads a team of 35 professionals delivering large-scale Transmission and Distribution projects. He played a key role in Ventia’s emergency response following Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023, helping restore power to Hawke’s Bay communities.

A passionate advocate for emerging talent, Harsharan serves as Chair of the Judging Panel for the New Zealand Energy Excellence Awards and previously co-chaired the Young Energy Professionals Network (YEPN). In 2024, he was named Young Engineer of the Year by the Electricity Engineers’ Association (EEA).

Harsharan began his career at Beca after graduating from Auckland University of Technology, spending a decade in engineering roles before joining Ventia in 2021. His leadership and commitment to excellence continue to shape the energy infrastructure landscape in Aotearoa.

Helmut is an experienced director, executive, and consultant with specialist skills in implementation and change management, business, and economic development, strategic analysis and planning, public policy, and finance. Helmut has extensive consulting experience in a wide range of private and public sectors (particularly health).

Helmut’s work over the last 16 years has focused on executive leadership of mergers, turnarounds, and business improvement initiatives, including inaugural CEO of the education sector’s largest systems integrator (TTS Limited), a post-merger industry training organisation (Connexis), the CEO of health sector IT companies (Patients First & Conporto Health), and now CEO of Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira.

Kieran has been a Labour List MP based in Wairarapa which also includes the Tararua and Central Hawke’s Bay districts since 2017 and served as the electorate MP from 2020 to 2023.

Kieran has been a Labour List MP based in Wairarapa which also includes the Tararua and Central Hawke’s Bay districts since 2017 and served as the electorate MP from 2020 to 2023.

Under Prime Ministers Arden and Hipkins, Kieran held the portfolios of Minister for Rural Communities, Regional Development, Racing, Local Government and Emergency Management as well as being Deputy Leader of the House.

Kieran is currently the Labour Party’s spokesperson on housing, infrastructure and public investment, as well as being shadow Leader of the House and chair of Labour’s 2026 election campaign.

Kieran did his schooling in Carterton and Masterton and, after studies at Otago University and playing some rugby in Ireland, returned home to Wairarapa to live and work in 2008. He’s worked in social development, economic development, and the racing industry. been a local Work and Income case manager, a bookie at the TAB and economic development manager for the Masterton district. He lives in Masterton and is a life-long mad keen Wairarapa-Bush supporter.

Hon Nicola Willis is the Minister of Finance, Minister for Economic Growth and the Minister for Social Investment as well as the Deputy Leader of the National Party.

Prior to becoming a Member of Parliament in April 2018, Nicola held a number of senior management roles at New Zealand’s largest dairy co-operative Fonterra and served on the boards of Export NZ and policy think-tank the New Zealand Initiative.

Nicola was a senior advisor to Prime Minister Rt Hon John Key during his first term in Government, and prior to this a researcher for Rt Hon Bill English.

She lives in Wellington with her husband Duncan and their four children.

Simon Watts was elected as the Member of Parliament for North Shore in the 2020 election. He is the Minister of Climate Change, Minister for Energy, Minister of Local Government and Minister of Revenue.

Simon grew up in the Waikato, where his family were farmers and orchardists. He is married, has two sons, and lives on the North Shore with his family.

He studied Accounting and Finance at Waikato University and worked in investment banking in Asia, Europe and the United Kingdom. He has worked for one of the world’s largest investment banks, the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), where he held several management roles during and in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis.

Simon has also completed a Health Sciences degree at Auckland University of Technology. He continues to volunteer with St John as an ambulance officer and is a registered Paramedic alongside his duties as a Member of Parliament.

James is the Chief Executive and founded Community Finance in 2019. James was previously Chief Executive of a Non-Bank Deposit Taker and started his career as a commercial lawyer.

Community Finance launched the Community Housing Funding Agency (CHFA) in 2024 and together they have raised over $250m for charities across the country, helping New Zealand tackle its affordable housing crisis.

CHFA secured Government support in 2025 and plans to work with debt capital markets to deliver billions of dollars of efficient finance to support community housing.

James was the 2021 INFINZ University of Auckland Business School Emerging Leader.

Jason Paris is a proud New Zealander and Southlander, currently leading One New Zealand (formerly Vodafone NZ) as CEO.

He has held executive roles in Europe and New Zealand with Vodafone, McDonald’s, Nokia, TVNZ and Spark. Since taking the reins at One New Zealand in 2018, Paris has guided the company through 6 consecutive years of commercial success, which includes completing the 2nd largest M&A transaction in New Zealand history and delivering one of NZ’s largest ever capital returns to shareholders. These results have been achieved through a series of big moves including rebranding the company, investing in cutting-edge technology like Space technology and AI, while also attracting and retaining the best and brightest people. 

Beyond the business, Paris is a proud family man and is sports mad, especially for the One NZ Warriors. He is a passionate advocate for community and culture and is serving on the board of Ngāi Tahu Holdings and previously with Make-A-Wish NZ.

Finally – Jason believes that New Zealand is the greatest country on the planet, and wants to do everything that he can to keep it that way. 

Jess is the current Chair of The Infrastructure Collective Wellington committee and has previous leadership experience as the WSP Graduate Committee Chair for 2023. Jess is a civil structures and bridge engineer with 5 years of experience. She has had involvement in the assessment, inspection, design and analysis of a range of projects in New Zealand. She has used her skills to work on projects in water retaining, three waters, civil, communication and transport sectors.

Jo Hendy is Chief Executive of New Zealand’s Climate Change Commission, where she leads independent advice to help the country move toward a low-emissions, climate-resilient future that works for everyone. With over two decades of experience at the intersection of science, policy, and economics, Jo is known for her calm, clear thinking and ability to bring people together around complex issues. She’s committed to building trust across government, business, iwi, and communities – helping decision-makers navigate uncertainty and act with confidence as the climate changes.

John has an extensive career at Transpower having previously held the roles of General Manager Grid Development and General Manager Operations. Prior to these roles, John spent ten years in senior roles within Operations. His earlier career in the NZ electricity sector has included roles in electricity distribution and electrical engineering consulting. In John’s current role he is leading Transpower’s initiative to develop our first grid blueprint. This will confirm the long term role the transmission grid will play in enabling New Zealands energy transition and a growing economy.

As a Director within the Origination team at Capella Capital, Joshua brings over 20 years of expertise in infrastructure investment and development. Blending engineering acumen with sophisticated project finance, he’s been instrumental in structuring and securing funding for major projects, including the region’s largest project financing deals including Central West Orana Renewable Energy Zone and Australia’s record-setting $11.1 billion North East Link PPP. His experience across transport, energy, and social infrastructure positions him well to discuss how to attract foreign direct investment, foster domestic capital, and unlock the potential of pension funds for New Zealand’s growth and resilience.

Joshua has a Master of Business Administration from the Macquarie Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Engineering, Civil from the University of Sydney.

Kate West is the Chief Officer for Business and Markets, APAC at Arup, where she leads the implementation of business strategy across Asia Pacific. She works with Arup’s APAC Leadership team to deepen client relationships and mobilize the expertise of over 6,400 technical professionals across 30 offices in Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, and East Asia. Her focus is on unlocking transformative solutions that contribute to a healthier, more resilient built environment and support the region’s economic potential and sustainable development goals.

With over 20 years at Arup, Kate has held roles as a management consultant and project director in Australia, the UK, and Ireland. She has led the delivery of globally significant infrastructure projects, including the €2 billion Dublin Airport Expansion, the Metronet Morley-Ellenbrook Rail Line, and the $400 million Joondalup Hospital redevelopment.

Kate is a Chartered Engineer and a respected advisor to governments and industry leaders. She is frequently invited to represent the engineering sector on critical national and global platforms, including the Australian Government’s 2022 Jobs and Skills Summit, Singapore’s bi-annual World Cities Summit, and the United Nations Women in Leadership Summit. Her advocacy spans sustainable development, innovation, productivity, and gender equality, and she is a vocal champion for addressing skills shortages and enhancing the role of engineers in solving economic, social, and environmental challenges.

In her role as an advisor to industry leaders and governments, she is uniquely positioned to link engineering and infrastructure to policy and market drivers, combining understanding of economic strategy and technical skills around engineering and infrastructure solutions to tackle the pressing real-world challenges of governments and communities in order to drive positive change.

Katie Bradford has joined us as our Strategy and Engagement Manager, after more than two decades as a political and business journalist across media outlets in New Zealand and Australia.

Katie has a genuine passion for infrastructure, creating a bespoke round for TVNZ platforms, covering all issues to do with the sector, from funding and financing to controversial projects. A career highlight was her interview with former CRL boss Sean Sweeny before he departed for Dublin last year. The video now has over 130,000 views on YouTube – the most-watched interview for Q&A in 2024, showing New Zealanders share the passion for infrastructure and care about the future direction.

Katie believes that advocating a bipartisan approach to infrastructure will help in the aim of securing a long term pipeline of projects and contribute to Aotearoa’s economic growth, Outside of work, Katie spends most of her time with her energetic toddler, squeezing in a spin or yoga class where possible.

Kelvin is a Director in Plenary’s origination team, with extensive experience in leading the structuring and execution of PPP projects across the social infrastructure and transport sectors.

Over the past seven years at Plenary, Kelvin has been involved in the preparation and submission of seven committed and fully financed PPP proposals across New South Wales, Queensland and the Middle East. He has worked successfully with a range of partners (including John Holland, Besix and Webuild) to achieve Preferred Bidder and Financial Close on six of these projects.

Prior to Plenary, Kelvin was a Senior Associate at Allens in Sydney and also spent time at Linklaters in London. His experience in this role included advising procuring authorities, such as NSW Treasury, the Sydney Motorway Corporation and contractors on major infrastructure projects. These included Snowy Hydro 2.0, Cross River Rail PPP, the Australian Future Submarine Program, the implementation of the Container Refund Scheme in NSW and Queensland, the NSW Electricity Network lease transactions, Western Sydney Airport and WestConnex.

Laura is a Partner at Mafic Partners, an infrastructure advisory firm that provides financial and commercial advice to clients across government, infrastructure and energy sectors. Mafic and ACC have recently established Zealandia, a long-term investment vehicle providing New Zealand wholesale investors, including iwi, the opportunity to invest in PPPs.

Prior to joining Mafic, Laura worked in banking for over 15 years providing finance to the infrastructure and energy sectors in New Zealand and Australia. Laura has been involved in all PPP transactions in NZ, and other transaction highlights include financing Crown Infrastructure Partners Tauranga Transport System Programme, Ngāti Toa Rangatira’s schools purchase and leaseback, various electricity generation projects, and acquisitions of gas, fibre and electricity distribution networks.

Leo Varadkar served as the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland from 2017 to 2020 and from 2022 to 2024. Over his 13-year cabinet career, he held various positions in the Ministries of Transport, Tourism & Sport, Enterprise, Trade & Employment, Social Protection, and Health.

He stepped down from political life in late 2024. Since then, he has been appointed as a Hauser Leader at the Center for Public Leadership in the Kennedy School of Government in Harvard, he is a Board Member of Brussels based Care4Everybody which advocates for equal access to healthcare for women and writes a column for the Sunday Times Ireland. He is a life member of Ireland’s Council of State.

During his political career, Varadkar guided Ireland effectively through significant challenges. His leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in one of the most internationally acclaimed public health and economic responses. Additionally, he navigated the complexities of Brexit, ensuring there was no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, while preserving Ireland’s vital role within the European Union and upholding the Good Friday Agreement.

Varadkar’s governments achieved substantial social progress, notably lifting the ban on abortion and advancing LGBT rights, including marriage equality. Through the Project Ireland 2040 plan, investment in public infrastructure budget more than doubled during his time as Prime Minister from under €6bn a year to more than €12bn a year with major investments in transport, rural broadband, energy, climate action, healthcare and education. He championed gender equality by introducing measures such as gender pay gap reporting, increasing diversity on state and corporate boards, and linking political party funding to gender quotas among election candidates. He also spearheaded significant health reforms, including Ireland’s first public health law on alcohol misuse, the Maternity/Infant Healthcare Strategy, and the Sexual Health Strategy. As Health Minister, he introduced free GP visits for children and seniors and improved chronic disease management within communities.

An advocate for Irish unification, Varadkar allocated over €1 billion to North-South projects through the Shared Island Fund and played a crucial role in reactivating the power-sharing institutions established by the Good Friday Agreement.

Varadkar represented Ireland on the global stage, serving on the Board of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and participating in meetings of the World Trade Organization (WTO), World Health Organization (WHO), the European Council, and the United Nations. His premiership saw a dramatic increase in Ireland’s international development budget, the establishment of new embassies and consulates, and Ireland’s election to the UN Security Council.

By the end of his term, Ireland boasted record employment levels and a budget surplus, which facilitated substantial investments in public infrastructure, including housing, transport, climate action, education, and healthcare. Varadkar also doubled spending on the arts, culture, and sports, and significantly enhanced workers’ rights by introducing paternity benefits, paid parental leave, statutory sick pay, protections for the self-employed, and making strides towards a living wage and universal occupational pensions.

As Taoiseach, he launched the Child Poverty and Well-being Programme, which delivered early successes such as free school books, hot school meals, reduced childcare fees for working parents, better access to higher education for single parents, and increased welfare payments for children in need. The first openly gay head of government of Ireland, Varadkar is only the fifth openly gay head of government in the world.

The son of an Indian father and an Irish mother, he is also Ireland’s first multiracial head of government. Leo is a medical doctor and a qualified GP, having graduated from Trinity College Dublin. While a member of parliament, he represented the Dublin West constituency.

Liam is the Chief Planning Officer at Wellington City Council and leads the Hanga Tāone | Planning and Environment Group. He has over 25 years’ experience in local government and over 15 years in leadership positions.

Liam’s group looks after the regulatory functions of Council covering planning, building, animal control and environmental health. He leads the strategic planning, growth, and development of the city.

Manea is a Director at Tonkin + Taylor Group and a strategic leader of major infrastructure projects, natural hazard planning and response, and working for indigenous peoples. As a recognised expert in town planning and stakeholder engagement, her experience spans investment cases, design + delivery of interdisciplinary transport, and energy + water projects. 

With more than 20 years of experience in the infrastructure sector, Manea is committed to ongoing innovation and leveraging cross-sector relationships. She is a dedicated governor, and serves as a Board member on a number of major projects, as well as Experience Wellington, which oversees arts and cultural institutions for the city. She is of Te Atiawa and Ngapuhi descent and is a competent Te Reo Māori speaker, skilled in Maori cultural values. 

Martin Glynn is Policy Director at the Automobile Association (AA). He leads the AA’s policy and advocacy work on transport infrastructure, charging and Auckland issues. Before joining the AA, Martin worked as an infrastructure consultant.

Martin led the government’s initial work on congestion charging in Auckland while working for the Ministry of Transport in 2006. He held various roles with the Ministry, including Manager of Revenue and Charging and Director Auckland. His responsibilities included transport revenue policy, toll roads and urban funding priorities – with a strong focus on Auckland.

Martin’s early career also included stints in the Beehive as a private secretary to Ministers, and in Parliament, as a research adviser. He cut his policy teeth in the emergency services sector with roles at the Fire Service and the Department of Internal Affairs.

Martin holds a first-class BA(Hons) degree in Geography from the University of Otago and a post-graduate diploma in Journalism from the University of Canterbury

Mahé Drysdale MNZM was elected to be the Mayor of Tauranga after the 2024 local body elections. Mahé brings experience in accounting and financial management to the Council governance table having worked in investment, advisory and accounting roles during his career. Mahé is a two-time Olympic Champion and a five-time world champion in the single sculls. He is also a 14-time New Zealand national champion and five-time recipient of New Zealand Sportsman of the Year.

As Mayor of Hastings, I am very proud to lead a council focused on strengthening our core infrastructure, accelerating housing delivery, and building resilience for our future.

The devastating effects of Cyclone Gabrielle, both on our physical landscape and financially, has put a sharp focus on the replacement of core infrastructure and building resilient communities. At the same time, we continue to manage a coordinated approach to growth that has the key goal of facilitating the building of homes to address our housing shortage.

Our Place-Based Housing Strategy is central to this work, bringing together iwi, government and private sector partners to enable housing that meets the needs of all our people. We are also advancing urban revitalisation and industrial expansion while continuing to protect the fertile soils that underpin our economy.

Together, we are shaping a district that is stronger, more sustainable, and ready to meet the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Megan is an experienced project manager with expertise in both New Zealand and Canada. Currently the Acting Programme Manager at KiwiRail, Megan Penno manages programmes of work in the property team. As a member of the Wellington Committee for the Women’s Infrastructure Network, Megan is dedicated to supporting and advancing the role of women in the infrastructure sector, championing diversity and inclusion across the industry.

Michael is the Head of Infrastructure at Russell McVeagh. He has in-depth expertise in the funding and development arrangements for infrastructure projects and platforms, with particular expertise in the renewable energy sector.

Prior to returning to New Zealand in 2022, Michael spent eight years at Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG) in London, where he undertook lead roles in transactions across the renewables sub-sectors, including in offshore wind, onshore renewables (wind and solar), waste-to-energy and energy efficiency. From 2018, Michael was responsible for delivering capital formation and syndication transactions for GIG’s European equity investments. He secured significant co-investments and established new institutional investment products to help fund GIG’s pipeline of projects.

Drawing on this experience, Michael provides strategic advice to clients to help drive forward their projects and investment strategies in renewables and the broader infrastructure sector.

Neil Barr is a Development Director at Crown Infrastructure Delivery (CID), where he serves as the primary point of contact for clients, ensuring their requirements are met. With a strong focus on government ministries and departments, Neil’s role allows clients to concentrate on their core business while confidently entrusting their building projects to CID. His responsibilities include advising on delivery strategy, fostering a high-performing project team culture with an emphasis on health and wellbeing, simplifying communication between clients and the build/design team, and ensuring projects are delivered on time, within budget, and to the highest quality standards.

Neil’s career journey has been shaped by a deep-rooted passion for the construction and engineering sectors, inspired by his father’s work in the steel fabrication industry. His early exposure to large-scale projects, such as the Trident submarine programme, instilled in him a strong sense of teamwork and camaraderie that continues to influence his approach today. After completing a Civil Engineering degree, Neil worked with Edmund Nuttall Ltd and Connell Wagner, which later became Aurecon, before leading the New Zealand business for Aurecon. His diverse experience spans large-scale defence programmes, healthcare facilities, and transport infrastructure, including the iconic City Rail Link and interisland ferry terminal projects in New Zealand.

Neil joined CID with a vision to build on its proven history and make a lasting impact on the country’s infrastructure. He believes that, regardless of the project’s size or complexity, the key to success lies in people coming together for a common purpose. With a deep commitment to improving social infrastructure, Neil is dedicated to delivering projects that make a meaningful difference to the communities CID serves.

Nick Leggett commenced in the role of Chief Executive of Infrastructure New Zealand in April 2023. Previously Chief Executive of the road transport industry peak body, Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand, Nick’s professional career has always centred around the need for quality and sustainable infrastructure. As Mayor of Porirua City between 2010-2016 he understands the need for great infrastructure to power opportunities for people and provide a bedrock for economic growth and social progress.

Nick is strongly of the view that Aotearoa New Zealand must be bolder in its funding, investment and scale of world leading infrastructure projects. We must collectively encourage and welcome a more diverse range of people into the industry to deliver on this.

Dr Penny Kneebone, Chief Executive of Tonkin + Taylor, is a passionate advocate for strengthening Aotearoa’s infrastructure workforce. With a background in environmental engineering and extensive experience across New Zealand and the United States, Penny brings a practical, people-centred approach to leadership. She is deeply committed to shaping a more inclusive and future-ready infrastructure sector – supporting emerging professionals, championing Te Ao Māori, and driving the industry’s evolution to meet changing demands. Penny believes collaboration and diversity are essential to solving complex challenges and is actively involved in initiatives promoting equity and sustainability across the sector. At Building Nations, Penny will share her insights on how we can better prepare the workforce needed to build the infrastructure of tomorrow.

Rami brings over 21 years of experience in the infrastructure sector, with a strong foundation in leading asset management reform, smart infrastructure policy, infrastructure strategy, resilience and capital investment across various government infrastructure sectors.

He has worked extensively with government infrastructure agencies in both Australia and the United States, delivering asset strategies, investment plans and reform initiatives across transport and social infrastructure.

As the former Asset Management and Digital Built lead at Infrastructure NSW, Rami led the NSW Government’s Asset Management Policy and reform program, significantly enhancing public sector capability and infrastructure performance and contributed to the development of the NSW State Infrastructure Strategy.

Rami was the capital investment lead of NSW Transport’s $130 billion capital investment program, successfully partnering with Treasury, Infrastructure NSW and the Federal Department, to secure over $26 billion of additional capital funding for new transport investments including Westconnex, Sydney Metro and the Pacific Highway.

Rami led the establishment of the Transport Asset Holding Entity (TAHE) including business case, commercial framework, operating model and organisational structure resulting in a multi-billion dollar improvement to the NSW Budget result.

Raveen is a dedicated infrastructure leader, with 40 years of experience in the water environment and infrastructure.

Raveen is currently the chair of the boards of the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission Te Waihanga and Water Services Authority Taumata Arowai. He is also a director of Auckland Transport and Corde Limited. He is Chair and director of a number of private and family businesses in New Zealand and Fiji.

Raveen is a past President of Water New Zealand and has held chief executive and directorships in private and public sectors in Australia and in New Zealand.

Richard Yetsenga is Group Chief Economist and Head of Research at ANZ, based in Sydney. He leads the Bank’s global research team, which focuses on Australia, New Zealand and Asia.

Richard joined ANZ in 2011 from HSBC in Hong Kong, where he was Managing Director of Emerging Market Strategy. Prior to his seven years at HSBC, Richard held economics roles with Deutsche Bank and the Australian Government.

Richard is a member of ANZ’s Institutional Leadership Team. He is also on the Board of CEDA, the BCA’s Economic Policy Committee and is Co-Chair of the Advisory Board of the Brotherhood of St Laurence’s NYEB. *

Richard is an editorial contributor to the Financial Times, Australian Financial Review, The Australian, Wall Street Journal, Japan’s Nikkei, the Hong Kong Economic Journal and Singapore’s The Business Times. Richard appears regularly on CNBC, China Central TV, Bloomberg TV and other regional media.

Rogier Roelvink is the Asia-Pacific Industry & Customer Engagement Director at Oracle Construction and Engineering. In this role he supports clients throughout the region in digital transformation in planning, building, and operating the built environment. Rogier has extensive management advisory experience and a passion for informed decision-making. He has experience delivering benefits to many clients from a diversified background working across a broad range of projects, clients, and sectors. He continuous to advise and support organisations in project operations through digitalisation.

Dame Patsy served as the Governor-General of New Zealand for five years from 2016 – 2021. Trained as a lawyer, she has had extensive experience in non-executive governance and business consulting roles in both the public and private sector, and with creative and charitable organisations.

She is currently Chair of the Climate Change Commission and the NZSO Foundation, and is a Trustee of the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research and the Aspen Institute of NZ.

Dame Patsy has previously served as Chair of New Zealand Rugby, the NZ Film Commission and as Deputy Chair of NZ Transport Agency. She has been a non-executive director of a wide range of companies including Air New Zealand, Crown Regional Holdings, NZ Post, Sky City Entertainment and Telecom New Zealand. She has been a Chief Crown Negotiator for Treaty Settlements and also led, with Sir Michael Cullen, an Independent Review of Intelligence and Security in 2015.

She is Patron of the NZ Centre for Brain Research, Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua Whanganui, the Wellington Sculpture Trust, NZ Opera, Hospice Wairarapa and He Ringa Āwhina – the Wellington Regional Charity Hospital Trust.

Sam Stubbs is the co-founder of Simplicity, one of NZ’s fastest growing KiwiSaver plans. Simplicity is a nonprofit KiwiSaver and Fund Manager that gives 15% of all fees to charity and invests with a conscience.

Sam was previously CEO of Tower Investments. He was MD of Hanover Group and worked for Goldman Sachs in London and Hong Kong. He has also worked for NatWest Markets, Fay, Richwhite and IBM.

Sam has an MA (Hons) in Politics from the University of Auckland.

Sam is a father of 4 children, and has no time for any hobbies! He dreams of Simplicity and sailing around the world.

Sarah is a partner in Bell Gully’s banking team, specialising in project and infrastructure financing transactions, renewables projects, lending on all classes of real estate assets, both investment and development facilities and leveraged finance transactions.

Sarah Gillies is the Chief Executive of the Electricity Authority.

She was appointed to the role in December 2022 and was previously the Authority’s General Manager Legal, Monitoring and Compliance. Sarah is a lawyer by background. She has spent most of her career in-house in corporates in both legal and non-legal roles and has also worked in large law firms.

She has an interest in technology businesses and has held governance roles, including on the board of a technology start up.

Sir Brian became New Zealand’s Public Service Commissioner in November 2024, bringing to the role extensive experience in governance and leadership roles in the public and private sectors across a broad range of sectors.

He started his career as an accountant and was a senior partner at PriceWaterhouseCoopers before becoming the CEO of the New Zealand Post Group.

Sir Brian currently serves on several boards including Timberland Limited and the Hugh Green Group Limited.

He was awarded a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2016 for services to the State and business.

Sophie is a Partner in the Strategy and Transactions practice with over 20 years’ experience providing advice on significant infrastructure projects in New Zealand and Australia. Sophie specialises in providing commercial and financial advice, stakeholder engagement, funding, financing and risk analysis for Government and public sector as well as private sector.

Prior to joining EY, she spent four years in project finance and transactions advisory at international investment banks in Sydney and seven years in engineering and research roles, including a PhD in engineering, in the UK. She brings strong skills in leading diverse teams and delivering business cases under the Treasury Better Business Case framework. Sophie was a founding member of both the Diversity and the Women in Infrastructure Advisory Boards for Infrastructure New Zealand.

Susan leads BNZ’s Infrastructure, Energy, Utilities and Government sector strategies and relationship banking teams, and also leads BNZ’s Project Finance team that specialises in infrastructure, renewable energy and social & urban housing development. She has 15+ years of banking experience across various sectors, including Project Finance, Corporate Finance and Property Finance.

With a background in project financing of PPP’s and other infrastructure and renewable energy projects, Susan is passionate about Infrastructure and what it can deliver for NZ; enabling economic growth, increased productivity and wellbeing, and climate change mitigation. Susan also has a strong appreciation for the significant challenges that need to be overcome to enable the growth and address infrastructure resilience for future generations.

Susan is also a member of the Infrastructure New Zealand Industry Advisory Council.

Suzanne Lucas is the General Manager of Capital Delivery at Watercare, where she oversees a significant portion of the planned $13 billion worth of critical infrastructure projects over the next decade. Her role is pivotal in ensuring the successful delivery of these projects through the cultivation of strong relationships with Watercare’s delivery partners, thereby securing optimal outcomes for Auckland.

Suzanne brings a wealth of experience from her previous tenure in the oil and gas sector, which has instilled in her a robust focus on health and safety. Her diverse background and commitment to excellence, position her as a key leader in the infrastructure development of Auckland.

Modern project and people leader with over 20 years of hands-on experience delivering total rail systems—including traction power, train control, signalling, communications, and enabling operations. He has led and supported projects from mega to minor in greenfield and brownfield heavy rail, metro, light rail, and major road tunnels, ensuring seamless commissioning, integration, and innovation into live service.

Zoe is an Associate Director at AECOM, and Civil Infrastructure Client, Commercial and Stakeholder Team Lead within the Wellington office. She holds a Sustainable Energy and Environment Master’s degree from Cardiff University School of Engineering, and has worked for AECOM for over a decade, having relocated from AECOM UK to AECOM New Zealand in 2016. Zoe has led numerous multi-disciplinary projects locally, nationally and internationally, and particularly enjoys the variety, challenges and opportunities that geotechnical, highways, ports and marine, climate change, asset management and aviation projects offer.

Zoe thrives on engaging and collaborating with diverse project teams, clients and stakeholders, in order to achieve the best outcome for a project and ultimately improve people’s quality of life. Her passion is for people – he tangata, he tangata, he tangata, and she’s known for her inclusive leadership, practical approach to problems and supporting emerging professionals grow their careers in the infrastructure sector.

She is currently working with NZTA on their new Integrated Delivery Model (new delivery model for State Highway M,O&R), Engagement Lead for Te Wai Takamori o Te Awa Kairangi Alliance – SH2 Melling Improvements project, and also chairs the Women’s Infrastructure Network in Wellington.