Dr Libby Weaver
Dr Libby Weaver (PhD) is one of Australasia’s leading nutritional biochemists. Armed with an abundance of knowledge, scientific research and a true desire to help people regain their energy and vitality, Dr Libby empowers and inspires people to take charge of their health and happiness through her books, live events and nutritional support range.
Having sold over 350,000 books across New Zealand and Australia, she is a 12-times bestselling author.
A respected international speaker, Dr Libby’s expertise in nutritional biochemistry has led her to share the stage with Marianne Williamson, Sir Richard Branson, Tony Robbins and Dr Oz. She is regularly called on as an authoritative figure in the health and wellness industry and has been featured in numerous media publications including The Times, The Huffington Post, Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian Women’s Weekly and she appears regularly on breakfast radio and television.
With a natural ability to break even the most complex of concepts into layman’s terms, Dr Libby’s health messages embrace her unique three-pillared approach that explore the interplay between nutrition, emotions and the biochemistry of the body.
It’s no surprise that when it comes to achieving and maintaining ultimate health and wellbeing, Hollywood stars, Deborra-lee Furness and Hugh Jackman, describe her as a “one stop shop in achieving and maintaining ultimate health and wellbeing.”
Mike McRoberts, summit MC
One of New Zealand’s most recognisable faces, Mike McRoberts graces our TV screens weekday evenings bringing us our six o’clock news bulletin with co-anchor, Samantha Hayes.
The former 60 Minutes current affairs host whose reporting career spans more than 20 years, is perhaps best known for his journalism work in some of the worlds most dangerous places, covering conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza, East Timor and the Solomon Islands.
Mike has also covered some of the world’s biggest natural disasters in China, Haiti, Pakistan and South East Asia and of course the Christchurch Earthquake.
Beginning his career in 1984 as a cadet at Radio New Zealand, Mike then furthered his journalism career when he accepted a role with TVNZ in 1995 as a sports reporter. It is after this role that he moved to TV3 and progressively took up a position which saw him reporting for the current affairs programme 60 Minutes.
Being booked as both an MC and to speak, word is definitely out about McRoberts. Combining his journalism skills with extraordinary anecdotes, Mike shares insight into his career, giving his audience an idea of what happened in some of those sticky situations before the camera started rolling – what it takes to get the real story.
In his book, Beyond the Front Line, Mike expands on the events that have taken him to many of the world’s war zones and disaster areas. He gives an insightful account of his experiences; the warfare, the devastation and finding humour in surprising places, as well as the fascinating people he’s met getting the stories.
Mike has won numerous journalism awards, including TV Journalist of the Year in 2006 and News Presenter of the Year in 2017. A keen sports follower, Mike has also presented and reported from several Rugby World Cups and Olympics Games.
After growing up in Christchurch, Mike now lives in Auckland and has 2 children, Ben and Maia.
Mike is also a keen supporter of many charities, particularly those helping underprivileged or disabled children
Rob Fyfe
Rob has had a varied business career over the last 35 years both in New Zealand and internationally. Having left school to join the Royal New Zealand Air Force, Rob completed an honours degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Canterbury. He then progressed through a range of roles in banking, telecommunications, television, airlines, and the outdoor apparel industry.
Rob is best known for his role as CEO of two iconic New Zealand brands: Air New Zealand and Icebreaker. Rob is currently on the Boards of Michael Hill International, Antarctica New Zealand, Air Canada and is a strategic advisor to Craggy Range Wines and the New Zealand Government on the Pike River Mine re-entry. Rob is also a strategic advisor to the CEO’s of VF Corporation and Icebreaker on supply chain ethics and the issues of modern slavery and human trafficking and is the New Zealand representative for the Bali Process Government and Business Forum.
In 2015, Rob was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Commerce from the University of Canterbury.
Hannah McQueen
Hannah McQueen is a financial force of nature who is driven by a desire to make Kiwis smarter about money and has built a career on her ability to help them get ahead.
Hannah has no time for doubters – if someone tells her she can’t, she will – and she has.
Hannah is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Masters of Taxation Studies. She has founded a successful business, is the author of three books, is a mother of two and is a columnist and the go-to media commentator on personal finance issues.
Her business, enableMe – Financial Personal Trainers, has been a game changer for thousands of Kiwis since it opened 10 years ago. It now has 11 branches around the country, but it has its roots in Hannah’s own experience of her first mortgage. Running the sums, she quickly realised no matter how good the rate, she’d paying many times the original loan in interest to the bank. So, she approached the Mathematics Department at the University of Auckland and worked with them to create a formula that would enable her to pay her loan off as quickly as possible, with as much flexibility as possible. Realising she was on to something, she patented the formula. Helping people conquer or leverage their natural tendencies and find the surplus cash to make the most of that formula is the foundation of enableMe. Hannah and her team have helped thousands of clients, whether middle income or high net worth, get ahead.
Hannah is now turning her attention to making kids more financially capable, sooner. In researching her latest book “From Pocket Money to Property: How to Create Financially Independent Kids” she realised that while this generation will need to be much more financially astute than their parents, no one is equipping them for that reality. In 2018 Hannah will be launching a new online tool to teach kids of all ages the money skills they desperately need, and a mentoring programme to help teenagers select and work towards a fulfilling career.
Hannah McQueen is hugely driven, passionate about what she does and proud of the fact she’s able to change lives by giving people control over their finances.
Shannah and Lyndall, The Essentialists
Shannah and Lyndall, The Essentialists are internationally acclaimed educators of life and wellness skills. Dubbed the Thelma & Louise of life and wellness, Shannah and Lyndall between them have more than three decades of presenting and executive coaching experience across public and corporate sectors globally. Shannah and Lyndall work with a diverse range of leaders and levels from CEO’s, management executives, entrepreneurs, sporting leaders including Olympians and many people in between to empower and educate.
There is a reason companies like Google, Nike and Apple are embracing wellness and life skills as a tool for reducing stress in their companies. They have realized the detrimental impact stress has on the efficiency and health of their staff. For people globally, it is time to educate them, to bring them back to some form of self care and reduce the burden on our health and corporate investments. Shannah and Lyndall educate and inspire their audiences to take control of their health and ultimately their happiness by implementing and committing to what it essential.
Shannah Kennedy
Shannah is a leading Australian business and life strategist and is the author of best-sellers Simplify, Structure, Succeed-the practical toolkit for modern life and The Life Plan – simple strategies for a meaningful life. An Advanced Certified Life Coach and NLP practitioner, Shannah works individually and in groups with a diverse range of executives, business owners, entrepreneurs and sporting leaders and participants. A speaker on the circuit, focusing on the importance of a life plan along with simple strategies for success in life, both personally and professionally she is a regular guest at conferences and offsite retreats. Recent clients include Macquarie Bank, Deloitte, CBA, NAB, HPE, Mercedes Benz, Mortgage Choice, MTA Travel, Sussan Group, QBE and many more. She has built her business from referral only that has her coaching her clients on a global level and is a leader in creating simple structures that enable clients to gain control of their lives in our era of time famine. “I work with clients, groups and teams to find clarity in vision and what tools they need to allow them to grow, evolve and flourish each year as people.” Shannah’s expertise is sought after in the media. Recent coverage includes The Age/Sydney Morning Herald Business Day, BRW, Marie Claire, Herald Sun, Women’s Health, Coach Magazine, Management Today, The Australian Financial Review and Sunday Life.
Shannah’s motto is “stop being a passenger in life, jump into the driver’s seat and take control”.
Lyndall Mitchell
Lyndall is a wellness entrepreneur, qualified and accredited coach and founder of the Aurora Spa Group, Australia’s pioneering, award-winning urban spa group. Lyndall brings to her work the “hard yards” of running a thriving business with more than 100 staff; the knowledge gained from creating successful consumer brands and the knowledge that comes from being a loving mother and spouse. “I work with people who want to create the business, life or career they want. Whether its individuals, executives or entire organisations, I believe that with the right tools, motivation, guidance and support, we can all achieve our own vision of success”. Lyndall’s professional background has led global corporate businesses, freelancers, business start-ups, busy mums and many people in between to achieve their vision of success. Lyndall is a regular contributor on wellness & lifestyle topics in the media. Recent coverage includes: The Today Show, Australian Financial Review, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Bulletin and many global on line platforms and publications. Lyndall has a powerful combination of hands-on business experience and more than two decades working one-on-one and in groups with busy, successful people who are feeling overworked, overwhelmed and overscheduled. “I am on your team and here to help you”.
Michelle Gibbings
Michelle Gibbings is a change leadership and career expert and founder of Change Meridian. She is the Author of ‘Step Up: How to Build Your Influence at Work’, and ‘Career Leap: How to Reinvent and Liberate your Career’.
Obsessed with unlocking high-impact choices to accelerate meaningful progress, Michelle is enabling a new breed of leader – one that’s fit for the future of work. Through this passion and advocacy for a new way of working, Michelle has built a distinguished reputation as the keynote speaker, advisor and executive mentor of choice for leading edge corporates and global organisations. She is a sought after media commentator featuring regularly in national publications and outlets across the country.
Michelle has Undergraduate Degrees in Communications and Commerce, a Masters in International Trade, Certification by the International Federation of Compliance Associations, and Chartered Manager status.
She is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Fellow of Finsia and the Australian Institute of Managers and Leaders, and alumnus of Leadership Victoria’s Williamson Community Leadership Program.
Caroline McGlynn Tran
Charismatic and engaging, Caroline is considered by her peers as a dedicated public servant and leader in her field. Quite simply, she ‘makes things happen’.
Caroline is an experienced C-Suite executive administrator and office manager. She joined Public Service mid-way into her career, having spent a number of years in the demanding Asian construction and property development sector. She has been in the service of both the New Zealand Government abroad and foreign governments at home. She now brings all those learnings and her ‘can do’ attitude to her self-appointed role as Ambassador of the Administrative Profession.
Mykel Dixon
Named Australia’s ‘Breakthrough Speaker of the Year 2018’, Mykel Dixon is on a colourful crusade to unleash the Art of You.
A jazz-musician by trade, gypsy by nature, fierce nonconformist and prolific anti-perfectionist, he leads a new wave of entrepreneurial savants showing forward thinking companies how to stay relevant in a 21st-Century Renaissance.
Blending his unique experience, a bias for action and a magnetic stage presence, Mykel’s keynotes are practical, poetic and full of possibility. Using live music, spoken word, visual storytelling and audience participation, he helps audiences reclaim their creative confidence, rediscover their career potential and reimagine their infinite value in the emerging world of work.
Whether trekking the Argentinian Andes or on surf safari in Southern Africa, breaking month long vows of silence in Indian ashrams or owning beach bars in Cambodia, Mykel has always valued and served his wanderlust, which continues to inspire & inform his ideas, his intent and his art.
Mykel Dixon is the not-so-secret weapon for those of us who need to consistently produce beautiful, meaningful and highly original work. Which nowadays, is all of us.
Blythe Rowe (masterclass facilitator)
Blythe Rowe is a people and culture expert and is widely recognised for her passion, energy and her ability to shake things up. After 13 years working in Senior HR roles for some of the region’s largest businesses including McDonald’s and the retail giant, Bunnings, Blythe’s obsession for people and performance led her to become the founder and director of the training organisation, Human Incite.
Blythe is brilliant at revving up productivity and performance in individuals and organisations, whether it’s via her high energy keynote presentations, training workshops or one on one leadership mentoring. Blythe is the author of the book ‘Bullies, Blamers & Bludgers’ and is on a mission to rid our workplaces of toxic behaviours, build meaningful relationships and create workplaces worth belonging to.
Blythe is a bit of a closet nerd as she loves to continually learn. She holds a Masters in Management Enterprise, a Bachelor of Business, she is an accredited NLP practitioner/coach and is a Global Partner of the About my Brain Institute (AMBI), offering her clients brain-based assessments and solutions through a better understanding of the brain.
Her passion, energy and enthusiasm is infectious. Combine these with her expertise in people leadership and neuroleadership and her ability to ‘tell it like it is’, in a fun, yet pragmatic and practical way, will prove the perfect ingredients to inspire you and your team into action.
Kasia Orlowska-Meinen (masterclass facilitator)
Kasia Orlowska-Meinen is a founder of Kasia OM a multifaceted consultancy delivering corporate and professional development, personal growth and connections via a women’s network.
Kasia has delivered high quality leadership development training and executive coaching programs to private and public sector clients in Australia and internationally since 2009. As part of her ‘Connect’ platform, Kasia provides events and workshops, training and coaching programs for women, who through connections, growth and achievement of their most aspiring goals, positively influence their lives and those around them.
Kasia has worked with leaders and organisations in helping them develop their cultures and desired behaviours by bringing required change: clarity, purpose and alternative perspectives and creating values and vision alignment.
Kasia is a great believer in the power of self-awareness, mindfulness and overall emotional intelligence as the fundamental building blocks of the most effective leadership and communication. In 2015 Kasia was interviewed by ABC TV for their Australia Wide national broadcast to talk about the benefits of teaching mindfulness and meditation in a corporate environment for leadership and professional effectiveness.