Lester Levy

Professor of Leadership, Auckland University Business School; Chief Executive Excelerator programme.

Topic: The shape of authentic leadership in New Zealand.

A graduate of Medicine and an MBA with his formative management background in multi-nationals 3M and Beecham Research Laboratories, Lester is best known for leading a number of organisational performance transformations in both the private and public sectors. He has been Chief Executive of South Auckland Health, The MercyAscot Private Hospital Group (of which he was a founder) and The New Zealand Blood Service and his governance experience includes being the Chairman of Boards of Directors in the fields of healthcare, biotechnology and film and television production.

Lester has previously been seconded to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet as an advisor and has been awarded the King's Fund International Fellowship from the King's Fund in London. Lester is a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Management and is a member of the selection panel for the Blake Medal, New Zealand's premier civilian leadership award.

Lester is the author of the book Leadership and the Whirlpool Effect. He teaches leadership at Auckland University, primarily at the postgraduate and executive level including the MBA and the Masters of Management. His research interests include authentic leadership, perceptions of leadership and the relationship between leadership and management.

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Jared Blumenfeld

Director of the San Francisco Department of the Environment

Topic: Leading your organisation, city and community to sustainable practice.

SF Environment develops innovative, practical and wide-ranging environmental programs, fostering groundbreaking legislation, and educating the public by providing comprehensive and easily accessible information on a wide range of sustainable practices.

At Challenges 08 Jared’s presentation will include some leading sustainability case studies from local Californian organisations such as Cisco Systems and Google.

Some of SF Environment's ambitious - but deliverable - environmental goals include attaining 75 percent recycling by 2010 and curbing San Francisco's greenhouse gas emissions to 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.

Jared is a member of the Board of Directors of the Treasure Island Development Authority. He was the chair of U.N. World Environment Day 2005. The five-day event, which was held in San Francisco on June 1-5,
2005 was celebrated with "Green Cities: Where The Future Lives" as the overarching theme. He received his law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law at UC Berkeley, and the University of London.

Our previously advertised speaker Susan Anderson is unavailable to come to Challenges 08 for unavoidable reasons. We are delighted that Jared is able to take her place.

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Ruth Aitken

Coach of the New Zealand Silver Ferns international netball team.

Topic: Leadership challenges and lessons from international sport.

2003 Halberg Coach of the Year Ruth Aitken took over the reins of the Silver Ferns in December 2001. Since then, she's guided her team from strength to strength, from a win against Australia in the 2003 World Cup Final to winning gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

The Silver Ferns were runners-up to Australia by 42 - 38 in the 2007 Netball World Championships.

Aitken is herself a former Silver Fern who played in the winning team at the 1979 World Tournament in Trinidad and Tobago.

Silver Ferns Coaching record to date: 68 games (Won 56, Lost 12) - 82%

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Bob Field

Chairman, Toyota New Zealand.

Topic: Engagement - every business is a people business.

After 40 years in the motor industry, Bob has just retired after 25 years as CEO of Toyota New Zealand, where he remains Chairman of the company. Under Bob’s leadership Toyota has dominated the New Zealand vehicle market for more than two decades, growing from the 5th in the market to the number one position. He attributes the company success to teamwork and he has some valuable insights into how organisations and the people in those organisations can maximise their potential.

He was President of the Motor Industry Association for a decade during the restructuring and deregulation of the industry in the 1990s. Bob has been a trustee of the World Wide Fund for Nature in New Zealand for 2 decades and recently stepped down as WWF-NZ Chair although he remains on the Board of Directors. He has also served on the WWF International board in Switzerland. He is a member of the Business Roundtable and a founding member of the Business Council for Sustainable Development where he now serves on the executive committee. He has previously serviced long periods on a variety of national organisations associated with total quality management, road safety and youth unemployment.

Bob was awarded a 1990 Medal for services to New Zealand and in 2001 was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the motor industry. He has also been closely involved with local America’s Cup campaigns for the past 15 years.

Bob is a passionate advocate of building success around a strong team culture and Toyota New Zealand is consistently rates as one of the top workplaces in the annual Best Places to Work survey.

Bob is a story teller. Sit back and enjoy his wisdom and practical approach.

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Ann Sherry

CEO Carnival Cruise Lines; past CEO Westpac New Zealand.

Topic: Looking to the horizon: Successfully navigating a leadership vision.

Ann was appointed CEO of Carnival Australia, a division of Carnival Corporation, in July 2007.

Carnival Corporation is the world's largest cruise ship operator and owns, amongst others, Cunard, P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises, Costa and Seabourn. Carnival Australia is the dominant cruise holiday provider in Australia and has doubled in size over the last three years.

Prior to this, Ann was with Westpac for 12 years and was Chief Executive Officer, Westpac New Zealand and Group Executive, Westpac New Zealand and the Pacific and the CEO of the Bank of Melbourne and Group Executive, People & Performance. Ann was the first female CEO of a bank in both Australia and New Zealand.

Prior to Westpac, Ann was First Assistant Secretary of the Office of the Status of Women in Canberra. In this role, Ann advised the Prime Minister on policies and programs to improve the status of women in Australia and was Australia's representative to the United Nations forums on human rights and women's rights.

Ann is a Fellow of the Institute of Banking & Finance and a Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration. She is a Director of Indigenous Enterprise Partnerships, Special Olympics Australia and the Catherine Freeman Foundation.

In 2003, Ann was awarded a Centenary Medal by the Australian Government for her work on providing banking services to disadvantaged communities.

In January 2004 Ann was awarded an Order of Australia for her contribution to the Australian community through the promotion of corporate management policies and practices that embrace gender equity, social justice and work and family partnerships.

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Rob Harley

Journalist and documentary maker, author and communicator.

Topic: Tales of courageous leadership.

Rob spent more than 26 years working in TV news and current affairs before moving out into the world of communications consultancy and documentary production. His work has been recognized around the world with more than a dozen awards for excellence in film-making.

Rob's documentary work has taken him to East Timor, Sudan, Kosovo, Cambodia and India, amongst other exotic locales.

In recent years, Rob has branched into intensive television production, developing Extreme Close Up, featuring stories of people overcoming adversity through personal belief and courage.

In his public speaking career, Rob has specialised in speaking about leadership, and the role of the media in a rapidly changing world. He's written three books, one of which, The Power of the Story, teaches communicators how to weave stories and experiences into their presentations.

His second book, Brave, Mad and Memorable, recounts Rob's personal journey through ten fascinating journalistic assignments - from New York in the aftermath of September 11 to a documentary exploring the minds of people who think they've been abducted by aliens.

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