Featured Speakers

Will Hall, NZ

We are ‘happy’ and ‘love’ being able to tell you that actor Will Hall from the Insiders Guide to Happiness and Insiders Guide to Love will join us at our Welcome Reception.

The two series aired in 2004 and 2005, and examined the pursuit of happiness and love in a quirky, distinctly Kiwi way that included Chaos theory, time travel, reincarnation, and a common bleeding disorder. Reviewer Diana Wichtel summed Happiness up as “metaphysics in a car wash”. Will’s work in Happiness was recognised by an award for Best Performance by an Actor at the New Zealand Screen Awards.

A native of Christchurch, Will had a traditional upbringing (Heaton Intermediate, St Andrews College and Lincoln University). His dad was an Accounting teacher, and Will took drama classes to avoid his dad's classes (thanks dad!).

As part of the Happiness plot, Will undertook extensive training in Tai Chi, including one-on-one tuition with a master of the art, Stan Chun.
"I ended up getting quite good," says Will proudly. "I was a little apprehensive about it, but then thought it was cool. My tutor can still kick my arse, but I'd like to keep doing it because it was great for relaxing." Insiders will see an exhibition of this proficiency at our Welcome Reception when Will spars with a local Tai Chi master who has agreed to come out of retirement just for this very special night.

Donald Reinertsen, USA

Don Reinertsen has devoted the past 24 years to improving the management process in order to accelerate the product development process. In 1983 he coined the term "the fuzzy front end", and as a consultant at McKinsey & Co. in America, wrote the landmark article that first quantified the value of development speed. By 1991 he was writing about the importance of design in process inventory, and the application of queuing theory to development process design.

Don brings fresh perspectives and quantitative rigor to development process management. Developing Products in Half the Time, which he co-authored, fast became a handbook for rapid product development. He has extensive experience in both product development and manufacturing, and has worked with an exhaustive list of leading-edge product development organizations. His last handiwork, Managing the Design Factory, shows his know-how in avoiding unnecessary costs and maximising profits, regardless of business sector, or low or high margin.

Don has taught executive courses on product development at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) since 1993. His recent public course on Lean Product Development has quickly grown in popularity. He has an electrical engineering degree from Cornell, and an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School. Don will present the keynote Friday morning, "Applying Lean Methods to Product Development". He will also guide an in-depth exploration of these methods during an extended session Friday.

Richard Gee, NZ

Richard Gee advises small-to-medium owner-operated businesses on how to add value by improving their strategies in business development, planning and marketing. He has guided over 200 NZ companies in a variety of projects, including strategic development. He has worked with Chambers and Enterprise Business groups, as well as Small Business advisors.

Richard is privileged to have experienced a broad spectrum of the business world, which he blends and will share with us. He was one of the core team of the first service organisation in NZ and first distribution company in Australasia to become ISO 9002 accredited. His background includes directorships, a successful franchise, and starting an export manufacturing factory. Richard’s work has taken him throughout New Zealand, and to Australia, the Pacific Islands, USA, and Europe. He lectures in Marketing, and has written several textbooks on the subject. He holds diplomas in Management and Marketing. Richard will present the keynote Thursday morning, "Your Biggest Risk on a Project", and will also lead a session on Thursday.

Compère - Joe Bennett, NZ

If you’re like many of us, you feel as if you already know Joe from his syndicated columns in the newspapers. He has three times been voted columnist of the year at Qantas Media Awards. Five of his books have been published in NZ, and three worldwide. Titles include Just Walking the Dogs and Sleeping Dogs and Other Lies. Now a freelance writer, he appears with regular irregularity on television and National Radio. He lives with a dog and three chickens on the shady side of Lyttelton.