Ashleigh Altman

Ashleigh serves as the Capability and Engagement Manager at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners NZ, where she leads the business on their IDE and Culture initiatives. Her commitment to fostering a thriving, inclusive environment shines through in every aspect of her work. She has held prior roles as Talent Acquisition and Employment Brand Manager.

Prior to shaping company culture at Coca-Cola NZ, Ashleigh spent a decade as a recruiter, sharpening her skills in spotting talent and advocating for diverse perspectives. Her background in psychology adds the extra layer of understanding how people tick.

She is of Ngāti Kahu and Pākehā decent, and lives in West Auckland with her husband and young child.

Sarah Archer

Sarah’s lead a varied career in operation management, vocational training, people leadership and employee experience in the sectors of travel, tourism and aviation, health services and more recently in telecommunications in her role as Head of Talent and Inclusion at Chorus.

Her career journey has always been centred around people and she’s passionate about enabling individuals and teams to be their true, best self and ensuring organisations support this through equitable opportunities, infrastructure and an inclusive culture.

Sarah has successfully developed and implemented a range of strategies throughout her career, including initiatives in wellbeing, talent, te ao Māori, and the Chorus Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) strategy. The positive impact of her work has been recognised externally, with Chorus named a finalist in the Deloitte Top 200 Awards and a winner in both the Newmarket Business Association Awards and the HRNZ Awards. In addition, Sarah was personally honoured as the recipient of the Robert Walters NZ Leadership Award in DEI in 2024.

Outside of work, Sarah is kept busy being a mum and stepmum of four teenagers, but when she can she enjoys reading, walking and spending time with whanau and friends, often with a glass or two of wine involved.

Mark Bosomworth

Mark Bosomworth is the General Manager of George Weston Foods (NZ) Baking Division, a role he has held since July 2019. GWF is a leading baked goods daily fresh business with fantastic brands such as as, Tip Top bread, Ploughmans, Golden, Big Ben and Dad's Pies. Mark has spent more than 35 years working in the fast-moving consumer goods industry having previously held senior executive roles with leading food companies including GrainCorp, Woolworths, Fonterra, United Biscuits and Mars across many global markets.

With a real passion and energy for inclusion and diversity, Mark currently leads the Tip Top ANZ I&D Taskforce. Driven by strong values and a clear purpose, GWF was the winner of the 2021 Diversity Awards NZ Inclusive Workplace award and were thrilled to also win that year’s Supreme Award. This recognised the commitment driving excellence in workplace inclusion and belonging.

Recently GWF launched the “WeBelong” programme to inspire everyone on this journey to ensure the business is a place where “Everyone belongs, Everyone is valued and Everyone has equal opportunity”.

Robin Davies

Robin Davies is an experienced business leader, leadership coach and trainer, and a passionate advocate for inclusive workplaces.

With over 30 years in the corporate world, Robin brings deep expertise in leading high-performing teams and shaping award-winning workplace cultures. Hercareer spans senior finance, commercial and HR Director roles at leading organisations including EY, Lion, Stuff and Fonterra.

Robin is a Workplace Inclusion Accredited Professional, an Associate Certified Coach, and a Chartered Accountant. She also serves on the Advisory Board of the YWCA Gender at Work Community, and on the NZ Food and Grocery Council’s Talent and Diversity Working Group.

In 2022, Robin launched her own business to help leaders flourish in their careers and to build healthy, high-performing workplaces. She works with a wide range of organisations across Aotearoa, offering consulting in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), as well as leadership coaching and training, and career coaching.

Katherine Hall

Most recently Katherine led the Construction and Infrastructure Centre of Vocational Excellence, known as ConCOVE Tūhura as the centre’s Executive Director.

Katherine holds a Master’s in Technological Futures and is known for her ability to disrupt through connecting people and initiatives. She is laser focused on deduplication of effort and driving real, equitable, outcomes. Katherine gets shit done.

Katherine has long advocated for diversity, equity and inclusion in construction and infrastructure through her career in vocational education and brought this to life in ConCOVE Tūhura, where DEI was a key strategic theme for their work in reimagining vocational education.

In a past life Katherine led the People Development workstream in the Construction Sector Accord, a government-industry partnership to transform the sector, housed within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Nowadays, Katherine is a Vocational Education and Training consultant.

Zeina Jalil

A strategic and influential executive leader with more than 20 years of award-winning experience across diplomacy, business, and public sector leadership and governance in New Zealand and Asia, Ziena is known for building trusted relationships across cultures and systems to deliver inclusive, lasting impact.

Recognised with a global Silver Stevie Award for Female Executive of the Year (Government or Not for Profit), Ziena has significant experience in large, complex organisations, and has led major initiatives and high performing teams across a multitude of sectors.

Prior to joining Hato Hone St John, she was Deputy Chief Executive at Te Pūkenga and served on the boards of the Natural Hazards Commission, Education New Zealand, DNA, Asia New Zealand Foundation, ATEED and the Cancer Society. Ziena has also received several international awards for her work advancing New Zealand’s profile and partnerships in Asia, where she was based for 10 years as Regional Director (South and Southeast Asia) for Education New Zealand, New Zealand Trade Commissioner to Singapore, and Head of North Asia Marketing and Communications for New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.

A member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors, Global Women and Asia 21, Ziena is an internationally recognised speaker and facilitator, and brings a strong commitment to leadership, equity and purpose.

Trina Jones

Trina brings over 25 years of recruitment experience to the table, with a strong focus on leading and inspiring successful teams for nearly half of that time. Known for her expertise and industry relationships, Trina is a Co-Founder of Cultivate Recruitment. In 2023, Cultivate won the Seek Medium Recruitment Agency of the Year award and became Aotearoa’s first recruitment agency to achieve BrainBadge accreditation, showcasing their commitment to DEI.

Apart from her professional achievements, Trina is dedicated to driving women in leadership roles and enhancing DEI across Māori, Pasifika, and neurodiverse talent pools. Outside of work, Trina enjoys exploring her passion for travel, with Italy and Bali being among her favourite destinations.

Kavita Khanna

Kavita Khanna is a People & Culture leader with more than 25 years’ experience across New Zealand, Australia and India, working at the intersection of strategy, culture and equity.

Kavita has held executive roles leading People, Health &Safety, Wellbeing and DEI. She is an entrepreneur with a portfolio focused on humanising work. Kavita hosts Fearlessly Human, a global podcast, co-leads LexPeritias, a workplace conduct and conflict practice specialising in complex people risk. She is also the founder of ReWireWorks, an organisational diagnostic designed to enable resilience, adaptability and sustained performance into core people systems and governance. Kavita is President and Chair of the Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resource Management, Board Director of the World Federation of People Management Associations and HRNZ, a Chartered Fellow of HRNZ and a member of Global Women.

Kavita's practice spans inclusive leadership and governance, Te Tiriti-aligned practice, ethical people risk and future workforce strategy, alongside long-standing experience as an HRNZ Awards judge. She is delighted to join the Diversity Awards NZ judging panel.

Susan Lowe

Susan is the Chief People & Safety Officer at Alpine Energy, supporting people to be safe, well and thrive everyday at work. She is a seasoned executive leader, passionate about the strategic value the people function delivers for organisations and Aotearoa as a whole.

Susan feels that culture is at the heart of any organisation and a great culture is about enabling people to bring their whole selves to work and be their best self, for themselves, the business, and their whānau. Susan strongly believes that great organisations prioritise growing capabilities both at an individual, team and business level ensuring sustainability for the future workplace. This is a critical part of building a great culture, which will attract the best talent, have better capability, and be more innovative.

Connor McLeod

Connor McLeod (Rangitāne o Kaituname te Wairau) is Diversity and Inclusion Advisor at Massey University, and the founder of Uenuku Consulting. Connor has worked in takatāpui and rainbow inclusion and broader DEI since the early 2010s, beginning in LGBTQIA+ youthwork and development. He has worked with Q-Youth Inc. in Whakatū | Nelson, and InsideOUT Kōaro as one of the organisation’s first chairs and employees. Further to this, he has designed and implemented takatāpui and rainbow plans and services at Te Herenga Waka | Victoria University of Wellington, and TeKunenga ki Pūrehuroa | Massey University.

Connor recently received the 2024 Rainbow Excellence Awards’ Supreme Winner category on behalf of Te Kunenga kiPūrehuroa | Massey University, and is an accredited Workplace Inclusion Professional. They are passionate about Tiriti and indigenous-centred approaches to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Nathan Mahikai Riki

Nathan has experience entrenched in the enablement of culturally empowering practices. A former university lecturer in te reo Māori and culturally responsive practices, Nathan is an active leader and regarded speaker in the development of safe places for Māori and indigenous communities.

He has delivered multiple layers of impact spanning from rangatahi Māori (youth), through to the deep implementation of tikanga Māori and cultural competency into corporate and government organisations.

Dr Guillermo Merelo

Guillermo Merelo is a diversity, equity and inclusion, organisational development, and community engagement specialist with over three decades of experience working at the intersection of these fields. His work is grounded in the integration of diverse academic traditions into applied equity practice, with a strong focus on translating theory into sustainable organisational and systems change. His research and publications explore equity and inclusion, community participation, and the intersections of gender, ethnicity, sexual identity, and faith.

Guillermo has worked as a senior public servant, organisational practitioner, and columnist across Latin America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. He has held senior leadership roles including Executive Director of People of Culture at the Electoral Commission in Mexico City, and Head of Research and Innovation at Diversity Works New Zealand. He is currently Associate Director of Staff Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Waipapa Taumata Rau | The University of Auckland, and Co-Vice President of the Equity Practitioners in Higher Education Association (EPHEA).

Alongside these executive roles, Guillermo has served as an equity and inclusion advisor and board member, supporting organisations to embed DEI principles into governance, strategy, and everyday practice. His advisory work spans a wide range of contexts, including Artspace Aotearoa, the Office for Seniors, New Zealand Police, NZ Work Research Institute, and the Centre for Co-Create Ageing Research, where his focus has consistently been on strengthening equity-led decision-making, culturally responsive practice, and inclusive systems. He also advises organisations across the Asia-Pacific region on DEI strategy, leadership capability, and systems change.

Catherine Smith

Catherine is kaitiaki of our people and our unique Tāmaki Paenga Hira culture. She is responsible for health, safety and security, visitor services and volunteers and is the executive lead for Auckland Museum’s diversity and inclusion culture.

Catherine brings wide-ranging experience to Auckland Museum with a background in social work, operational management and well over a decade in Human Resources and organisational development roles. She is committed to creating a sustainable, high performance workplace where people experience enriching work and are inspired to innovate.

Before coming to the museum, Catherine was the Human Resources lead for the NZ Human Rights Commission and held the Workforce and Leadership Capability portfolio at Ko Awatea, Counties Manukau District Health Board.

Catherine is a trained coach and Independent Workplace Investigator. She holds a Bachelor of Social Work, a Postgraduate Diploma in Business, a Master’s degree in Human Resources and Organisational Development and has won several academic excellence awards for her postgraduate studies. Catherine has held the role of Director People and Organisation since June 2016.

Paul Spoonley 

Distinguished Professor Emeritus

Paul Spoonley is a sociologist and his specialist areas include social and demographic change, especially cultural diversity, and how these changes impact on policy and public understanding.

A former Pro Vice-Chancellor of Massey University's College of Humanities and Social Sciences, he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, and affiliate of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity. He was awarded the Science and Technology Medal by the Royal Society for his contribution to intercultural understanding.

Paul was made a Fellow of Auckland Museum and is a current Board member. He is an Associate of Koi Tū and is working on a project on social cohesion and social resilience. In 2025, he was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

Paul is a regular commentator in the news media. He is the author or editor of 29 books.

Teina Teariki Mana

Teina Teariki Mana serves as Community Engagement Manager at Vector, drawing on 16 years in the energy sector to design and deliver community-centred strategies.

Born in Rarotonga, with heritage from Scotland, Tahiti, and the Cook Islands, Teina brings a uniquely integrative leadership approach across finance, risk management, operations, and stakeholder engagement. Teina holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Business from the University of Auckland and has championed change within Vector, receiving national recognition for diversity leadership. Guided by lifelong learning and a commitment to better outcomes, Teina is passionate about ensuring every voice is valued and every community has the opportunity to thrive.

Teina remains dedicated to building bridges across cultures and industries, believing that authentic engagement is the foundation for lasting impact and generational change.

Earle Wilkes

Earle Wilkes is the Managing Director of Equity Matters Limited, a specialist consultancy dedicated to advancing equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) across organisations. Earle also chairs the Wilkes Education Scholarship Trust; a charitable fund providing scholarships and grants to support access to higher education for disadvantaged minority ethnic students. With more than 25 years’ international experience in the EDI and culture change field, he has advised and led teams across government departments, corporates, NGOs, and public and third-sector organisations.

He brings substantial boardroom experience, having served as a non-executive director with bodies such as the Advertising Standards Authority, the General Teaching Council for England, Fundraising Institute of New Zealand and the Institute for Learning. His public service includes several Secretary of State appointments with organisations such as the Department for Education, the Learning & Skills Council and the Institute for Learning, where he was later awarded a Fellowship for his contributions to professional standards.

Prior to establishing Equity Matters Limited, Earle was Head of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (New Zealand & Pacific) at ANZ, Principal Adviser at the Department of Internal Affairs and an independent special adviser to the Judicial Appointments Commission.

He is a strong advocate for equity of outcome, believing that only by addressing historic and institutional bias can organisations move toward genuine equity and meritocracy.

His personal passions include education, community, whānau, sport and the environment.