Thought Leadership Speakers

Steve Taylor

Regulatory leader, Taumata Arowai

Steve has been responsible for administering and navigating various regulatory regimes in both central government and local government. Steve understands first-hand the challenges facing many organisations dealing with regulators, having led applications to deliver major infrastructure projects in both the private and public sector.  

Steve is passionate about delivering positive outcomes through regulatory systems. Before joining Taumata Arowai, Steve was at the Department of Conservation for 5 years. There, he was the Director of Regulatory Services, responsible for establishing the office of regulatory services. Before then, Steve was the Group Manager Environmental Strategy and Approvals at Transpower. He also held the role of Director of Business Transformation and Insight at Upper Hutt City Council. 

Dr. Belinda Cridge

Technical Lead Drinking Water and Education, Water New Zealand

From toxicology labs to training rooms, Dr Belinda Cridge has dedicated her career to keeping our drinking water safe and our sector future-ready. With a strong background as a toxicologist at ESR, she brings deep science expertise to the work of building skills across Aotearoa. 

At Water New Zealand, Belinda leads initiatives that are reshaping training and education; from modernising our digital badges and launching new courses, to strengthening mentoring programmes, partnerships, and even scholarships (which were oversubscribed in their very first year!). She’s also passionate about outreach, helping schools and students engage with the science of wai and inspiring the next generation of water professionals. 

And when she’s not tackling contaminants or designing training pathways? You’ll probably find her out walking her dog because even the toughest toxicologist has a soft spot.  

Tania Domett

Researcher, Evaluator & Strategist; Director, Cogo

Tania Domett is a researcher and strategist specialising in workforce insights, stakeholder engagement, and organisational capability with extensive experience across a range of sectors including construction and infrastructure. Tania is known for designing effective engagement processes that connect decision‑makers with workers, communities, and industry to shape practical, future‑focused solutions. She is a member of the Aotearoa New Zealand Evaluation Association (ANZEA) and the Research Association New Zealand. 

Philip Aldridge

Chief Executive, Energy and Infrastructure Industry Skills Board

With an extensive background in commercial enterprises, NGOs, and government organisations, Philip joined after leading Waihanga Ara Rau Workforce Development Council. His prior experience includes tenure as Executive Director of the Health Association of NZ, and leadership roles with Infratrain, Telecom NZ and Superu (Social Policy Evaluation and Research Unit). 

Having led initiatives to improve the Canterbury Rebuild’s labour supply, in conjunction with the infrastructure and construction industry, education providers and Government agencies, Philip understands the challenges and opportunities involved with transformational programmes of work involving many stakeholders. Philip has a strong passion and vision for the Energy and Infrastructure Industry Skills Board (ISB) and has rapidly recruited a motivated team to help move the organisation from the establishment start-up phase to full operation in a short space of time 

James Bracefield

Principal, Western Heights High School

James Bracefield is an experienced New Zealand educator and the Principal of Western Heights High School (Te Kura Tuarua o Kaitao Rotohokahoka) in Rotorua. With over 22 years in the education sector, he has dedicated his career to supporting diverse student communities, fostering inclusive learning environments, and guiding young people toward successful futures.  

Leadership & Governance 

Beyond his school leadership, James actively serves the broader Bay of Plenty community through governance and advocacy roles: 

• Te Waiariki Purea Trust: He has served as a Trustee for over 15 years, supporting community initiatives and youth development across the region. 

• Sport Bay of Plenty: He serves as the Chair of the Principals Management Group, advocating for student participation, well-being, and physical activity across regional secondary schools. 

Educational Vision & Pathways 

Driven by a passion for getting students into their future careers, James believes in providing a broad spectrum of choices to suit every learner’s strengths. Under his leadership, Western Heights High School offers a dual academic qualification pathway—giving students access to both NCEA and Cambridge International examinations.  

To support practical, hands-on learning and transition into the workforce, the school uses Trades, Gateway and their own Construction School to link over 180 senior students with specific pathways and potential employers. Through these flexible, innovative approaches, James ensures that students gain real-world experiences.

Abtin Ijadi Maghsoodi

Associate Director & Lead Data Scientist, KPMG New Zealand

Abtin Maghsoodi is an Associate Director at KPMG New Zealand and a Lead Data Scientist within the firm’s Lighthouse team. He specialises in applying advanced data science, artificial intelligence, and analytics to complex public sector and infrastructure challenges. Abtin works closely with clients to translate data into practical insights that support better decision‑making, service performance, and investment outcomes. He combines deep technical expertise with a strong understanding of real‑world operational environments, helping organisations adopt AI responsibly and at scale to deliver measurable value.

Alistair Evans

Alistair Evans is the Head of Data and AI at KPMG New Zealand, where he leads teams focused on data, analytics, cloud, and artificial intelligence solutions. He has worked with a wide range of organisations across the government, financial services, infrastructure, utilities, manufacturing, logistics, and retail sectors in both New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Alistair works closely with senior executives and delivery teams to design and implement practical solutions that improve organisational performance, strengthen decision-making, and enable sustainable business transformation. His experience in data and AI spans strategy and solution development, transformation assurance, and large-scale data migrations. He combines broad technical expertise with programme leadership experience, enabling organisations to move confidently from strategy through implementation to operational adoption.

Jonathan Pawley

Jonathan is a team leader at New Zealand’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). Part of his role is the co-ordination of the NCSC’s relationships with critical infrastructure, which includes regular engagement with both the Water and Energy sectors. Jonathan has led the NCSC’s engagement with the operational technology (OT) users, working across the sector to raise awareness of cyber security risk and to help increase cyber security resilience. Jonathan has a degree in Computing from the University of Portsmouth and has worked for the British, Australian and New Zealand Governments. He is a member of the New Zealand Industrial Control Systems Cyber Technical Network.

Jason Cotton

Program Director, Intelligent Water Networks (IWN)

Jason Cotton is the Program Director at Intelligent Water Networks (IWN), where he leads collaborative innovation programs that help Victoria’s water sector identify, trial and adopt emerging technologies to build a more resilient and future-focused sector. Jason is passionate about connecting utilities, researchers and technology providers to solve complex challenges and accelerate the delivery of practical, sustainable solutions.

Jason joined Intelligent Water Networks (IWN) in 2023 from Greater Western Water (GWW) where he was the Manager of Innovation and Continuous Improvement and played a key role in the integration of GWW by leading the Operations Stream Integration.

Jason holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree from Flinders University and studied under Gary Hamel at the Innovation Academy in the US.

David Romilly

Chief Engineer, Lutra

David Romilly is Chief Engineer at Lutra, a New Zealand water and wastewater company that pairs process engineering with its SaaS product Infrastructure Data (ID) platform. He brings 23 years across the United States, Australia and Aotearoa, having worked both as a utility owner running large treatment plants and as a consulting engineer. David leads Lutra’s engineering team and its work to bring AI and digital tools into everyday water practice, and chairs the Biosolids Subgroup of Water New Zealand’s Wastewater Special Interest Group. He is a chartered engineer (CPEngNZ and CMEngNZ) and a Professional Engineer in the United States. 

Elliose Kidd

Chief Advisor, Commerce Commission – Infrastructure Regulation Branch

Elloise Kidd is currently a Chief Advisor at the Commerce Commission, in the Infrastructure Regulation Branch, with nearly a decade of experience in public policy and regulation. She holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Science and has worked on various environmental policy reforms across different government departments before joining the Commission. At the Commission, Elloise is in the Electricity Distribution Regulation team and is currently co-leading the cross sector workstream on resilience investment decision-making. Elloise is passionate about developing policy that makes a difference to New Zealanders.   

Lance Webb

Head of Customer Experience, KPMG New Zealand

Lance Webb leads KPMG New Zealand’s Customer Experience Practice, helping organisations design, deliver, and scale experiences that drive both customer and commercial outcomes.

With more than 20 years of experience, Lance has led customer, digital, and business transformation initiatives across many industries including government, financial services, retail, telecommunications, energy and utilities, automotive, sport, entertainment, airlines, and B2B services.

Lance specialises in customer experience strategy, customer insights, service design (CX, UX and UI), operating model transformation, and AI-enabled customer innovation. He works closely with leadership teams to align customer experience with business strategy, helping organisations strengthen customer and community relationships, improve performance, reduce cost-to-serve, and unlock sustainable growth.

At KPMG, Lance leads a multidisciplinary team spanning experience strategy, customer insights, service design, and agile digital delivery. Together, they help organisations build customer-centric products, services, and experiences.

A passionate advocate for the role of customer experience in creating enterprise value, Lance holds a Master’s in Technological Futures and brings a future-focused perspective on the intersection of customer experience, artificial intelligence, and business strategy.

David Norman

Chief Economist, GHD Australia & New Zealand

David Norman is Chief Economist at GHD for Australia and New Zealand. Much of his work in water focuses on affordability and efficiency. He has completed several studies for regional and local councils across New Zealand as they balance the current challenging fiscal environment with the need to improve water outcomes. David is also helping several water services entities as they progress through the establishment phase and move from water services delivery plans to practical implementation and driving efficiency across their businesses. 

David Walker

Senior Commercial & Water Sector Advisor, GHD

David Walker is a senior commercial and water sector advisor with 30+ years’ experience in infrastructure including CCO establishment. This includes the Watercare Services establishment in 2010 and the National Transition Unit in 2020 along with regional CCO studies. 

David’s experience also incorporates economic regulation from energy sector projects. 

Qualifications 

David is a Chartered Accountant (CA) with degrees in Economics and Accounting, is a member of the Asset Management Council, GHD’s representative on the WNZ Water Utilities Forum and is participating in the new WNZ Policy & Regulatory Taskforce. 

Ryan Orr

Principal & Water Lead – South Island, GHD

Ryan Orr is a GHD Principal and Water Lead for the South Island with 16 years’ experience delivering complex water infrastructure and flood protection projects for local government clients across New Zealand. He has led the investigation, design and delivery of major flood resilience programmes, including the Westport Flood Protection Scheme and a range of stopbank, floodwall and river protection projects for regional councils. Ryan combines technical engineering expertise with strong project leadership, helping clients develop practical, resilient and cost-effective solutions that protect communities and critical infrastructure from flood risks while supporting long-term water management outcomes. 

Vhari McWha

Director, Sapere

Vhari McWha is an independent regulatory and competition economist. She is a Director at Sapere and advises on public policy and regulation, including competition analysis and market design. Vhari has a particular interest in the role of prices and pricing methodologies in networks and other markets. She has developed pricing strategies and models for electricity and gas distribution, airports, air navigation services, wastewater, border charges and house insurance.  

Vhari was a Commissioner at the Commerce Commission from 2020 to 2026. During her time at the Commission, Vhari led the economic regulation work of the Commission in energy, dairy and airports and played a significant role in the regulation of the water and fibre sectors. She also sat on competition matters, including market studies into groceries and residential building supplies and more than twenty merger decisions. 

Michelle Allfrey

Michelle Allfrey is General Manager Commercial Engagement at WEL Networks a regulated electricity lines distribution company.  Michelle has extensive experience in regulatory engagement, customer outcomes, and strategic stakeholder management. She works closely with industry and regulatory partners to navigate complex regulatory environments, drive organisational transformation, and deliver practical solutions that balance compliance, innovation, and customer-focused outcomes.

Mike Wakefield

Partner, Simpson Grierson

Mike is a specialist in water services, environmental and local government law, with extensive experience advising on policy development, governance, regulatory reform and administrative decision-making. He advises local authorities, water service providers and sector organisations on a wide range of legal and strategic issues, drawing on in-house local government experience in both New Zealand and the United Kingdom. 

Mike has been a lead member of Simpson Grierson’s water reform group, supporting local authorities and the Department of Internal Affairs through the Three / Affordable Water Reform programme, and more recently supporting local authorities and newly established water organisations with the implementation of the Local Water Done Well policy. His work spans all aspects of the local government and water services operating environment, including decision-making processes, funding and financing powers, legislative reform, regulatory matters and statutory compliance. His practical understanding of local government and water service provider operations enables him to provide clear, strategic advice in complex and evolving regulatory environments.   

Andrew Parsons

General Manager – Growth and Delivery

Andrew Parsons is General Manager Growth and Delivery, responsible for planning, growth, asset management and the delivery of water and wastewater infrastructure across the network. 

He is an outcomes-driven infrastructure leader with more than 35 years’ experience delivering large-scale, complex capital programmes and leading organisational transformation. His experience includes strategic infrastructure planning, Crown partnerships and collaboration across sectors and iwi. 

Andrew brings a strong track record in aligning infrastructure delivery with sustainability and Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations. He focuses on enabling integrated, future-ready infrastructure that supports regional growth and delivers enduring value for communities. 

Kevan Scott

Director, Scott Consulting

Kevan is the Director of Scott Consulting a small management consultancy based in Wellington. Since 2022 Kevan has been intimately involved in the water reforms as Head of the Office of the Executive Directors at the National Transition Unit, Chief of Staff at Wai Tamaki ki te Hiku (Entity A), project lead for the preparation of Gisborne’s WSDP, and for the past 12 months has been the Transition Director for Waipa District Council during the erstablishment of Waikato Waters, including a stint early this year backfilling part of the Executive Director role  at Waikato Waters. Scott Consulting has also provided the core of the establishment team for Tiaki Wai over the past couple of years. 

Kevan has over forty years’ experience in a wide range of roles in the public and wider state sectors, both in New Zealand and overseas. From these he has gained an extensive understanding of leadership and governance, public sector management, policy and legislative change, and machinery of government. He has held roles as diverse as being an international civil servant at the United Nations in New York, to being a member of the budget team at the NZ Treasury during the Global Financial Crisis. 

Kevan was an artillery officer in the New Zealand Army for over 20 years and has completed operational deployments to Bosnia, East Timor and Afghanistan. 

Olivia Dovey

Water Services Manager, Porirua City Council

Olivia has just finished up as the Programme and Operations Lead for the Tiaki Wai Establishment Team, on loan from her substantive role as Water Services Manager at Porirua City Council. In this critical establishment position, Olivia successfully oversaw the integration of nine complex workstreams to support the “go-live” of Tiaki Wai on 1 July 2026. Olivia also led the transfer and blending of three waters operations functions across five shareholding councils and the former Wellington Water.  

Olivia’s 20-year career at central and local government spans Parks and Infrastructure planning, policy, asset management, operations and crisis leadership – Olivia is a qualified CDEM Controller. These broad experiences underpin her reputation as a highly pragmatic leader trusted to deliver under pressure.  

Outside of work you‘ll find Olivia tending to the chickens, vege garden and natives on her family’s farmlet north of Wellington. 

Padraig McNamara

Partner, Simpson Grierson

Padraig (Paddy) is one of New Zealand’s leading resource management and local government lawyers, advising councils, council-controlled organisations and other public sector clients on complex governance, regulatory and infrastructure matters. 

His expertise includes resource management, with a particular focus on water supply, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, as well as local government powers and decision-making, CCO governance, roading and land transport, regulation of water services, bylaws, legislative drafting and law reform. Paddy is also one of New Zealand’s most experienced public law litigators, regularly appearing for clients in judicial review and other public law proceedings before the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. 

Paddy is a current Water New Zealand Board member. 

Donna Hurley

Partner, Simpson Grierson – Resources & Infrastructure

Donna is a leading real estate lawyer who advises clients on complex property transactions and issues. She works extensively with local and central government on property, infrastructure and public works projects, including issues relating to the provision of water services. 

Her expertise spans public works, property development, leasing, subdivision, and the acquisition and disposal of property, with a particular focus on infrastructure projects. Donna advises on easements, roading, reserves and leasing arrangements, including the transfer of land and interests in land to water organisations as part of the Government’s Local Water Done Well framework. She also assists public sector clients with the acquisition and disposal of land under the Public Works Act, including offer back obligations under section 40 of the Act. Donna adopts a pragmatic, practical approach to legal advice and works closely with her clients to understand their strategic drivers and objectives. 

Robert Brodnax 

Technical Fellow – Policy and Strategy Advisory, Beca

Robert Brodnax is Technical Fellow Strategic Advisory for Beca.  Robert has over 35 years experience in resource management, infrastructure investment, spatial planning and policy development working at the interface between local and central government and iwi to resolve challenging multi stakeholder issues and opportunities.  His experience ranges of water quality and water allocation policy to infrastructure investment decision making, business cases and regional spatial planning.   

Thomas Wilding

Team Leader – Hydrology and Groundwater, Waikato Regional Council

Thomas Wilding is the team leader of hydrology and groundwater at Waikato Regional Council. With a background in water allocation and environmental flows, the increasing frequency of drought is key focus area for his work in the Waikato region.  He has worked in water science for 25 years. Most of that work was in New Zealand, and completed his PhD at Colorado State University working with state water managers. 

Julian Fyfe

Sustainability & Engineering Professional
Chair, Water New Zealand Water Efficiency and Conservation Action Network

Julian is a sustainability and engineering professional with over twenty years of experience water sector across consulting, water service providers and academia. Holding a PhD in environmental engineering and a diploma in leadership and management, his expertise spans technical and advisory domains. With management and on-the-ground experience across water resource management, urban water planning, infrastructure delivery, network operations and performance, and more, he has an astute awareness of the technical, economic, environmental, legal and practical aspects of water servicing and sustainability. Julian is the current chair of the Water NZ Water Efficiency and Conservation Action Network. 

Martyn Cole

Strategic Adviser, MWater Advance

Marty Cole is a strategic adviser to councils and central government on the future of water services in Aotearoa. Through MWater Advance he works at the strategy level, helping leadership teams set direction on asset management, investment and three waters uplift. His thirty years across New Zealand, Ireland and the UK span senior asset management leadership at Wellington Water and Kāpiti Coast District Council, where he directed the district’s move to universal metering and volumetric charging. He has shaped sector practice as Chair of the Water Services Managers Group and a contributor to the Water New Zealand Metering Guidelines, and advised the National Performance Review. His focus is helping the sector shift from managing assets to generating value from them. 

Elliott Kennedy

Senior Water Engineer and Analyst, Tiaki Wai

Elliott Kennedy is a Senior Water Engineer and Analyst with Tiaki Wai. He specialises in water loss, pressure management, network optimisation, and data analytics, and has led several strategic initiatives to improve water network performance. Elliott is passionate about applying innovative, data-driven solutions to water utility challenges

Jessica Niemack

Jessica has worked at Utilities Disputes for over five years developing trusted relationships with communities and utilities companies across Aotearoa.  She works together with local iwi, hapū, Pasifika communities, culturally diverse groups, and other stakeholders increasing awareness of Utilities Disputes’ free, fair, and independent utilities dispute resolution service. She meets with over 300 organisations each year many multiple times as she follows the community engagement framework model developed in-house.  

Grounded in trust, collaboration, and Māori tikanga, Jessica is passionate about creating working partnerships that improve all Kiwis access to Utilities Disputes’ services especially across the water sector.