Speaker List

Tim is a leading commercial lawyer, who established Chapman Tripp’s Financial Services team. Tim is sought after for his commercial and practical expertise, problem solving abilities, and in-depth legal and regulatory knowledge, particularly in the financial services, investment products, insurance and banking sectors. He has a broad range of experience, including commercial law, licensing, regulatory compliance, mergers and acquisitions, anti-money laundering (AML), overseas investment, and restructurings. He was instrumental in developing many of the country’s largest KiwiSaver schemes and other investment funds, including cash and term PIE products for the banking market, which collectively raised over $20b. As part of his broad-ranging commercial and financial services practice, Tim advises insurers, fund managers, intermediaries, and other financial service providers on responding to law reform, and their licensing and compliance programmes, covering a range of legislation including the Financial Markets Conduct Act, Financial Markets (Conduct of Institutions) Amendment Act, Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Act, AML legislation, Overseas Investment Act, Financial Service Providers legislation, CCCFA, trans-Tasman mutual recognition regime, Non-bank Deposit Takers legislation, and the Companies Act. Tim is recognised as a Band 1 financial services lawyer by Chambers Asia Pacific 2023 and as a leading individual by Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2023. He is also listed in EuroMoney Experts Guide to the World’s Leading Banking Finance and Transactional Lawyers as one of the outstanding investment funds practitioners, and in Best Lawyers 2020 as a leading mutual funds lawyer.

Stephen is the Director, Business Development at UnderwriteMe, a leading provider of automated underwriting solution that helps insurers transform their business process and make insurance more accessible. Driven by a passion for digital innovation and transformation, he is responsible for driving sales strategy and market development in Australia and New Zealand. In this role, he aims to create value for clients through enhancing their underwriting and claims automation proposition.With over 15 years of experience working in the life insurance industry in Australia, he has built his expertise in underwriting, team leadership, project management, digital innovation, and relationship management.

41 years experience in the New Zealand Life Insurance Industry Was the founding employee and Chief Operating Officer of Sovereign (now known as AIA) Founder of Club Life in 2001 (now known as Chubb) Founder and Managing Director of Partners Life since 2010. Naomi is most likely the only women in the world to have started and built the three largest competitor companies in any one market. Having recently completed the transaction for the acquisition of Partners Life by Global Giant Life Insurer Dai-ichi Life, Naomi is also possibly the first women founder in NZ to have sold her start-up business for over $1b. As the single longest serving Chief Executive in the New Zealand Life Insurance market, the outcomes of her work over the past 41 years are evident for all to see – as she puts it, her successes and mistakes are there for all to see. Naomi is an inductee in the Company of Women Female Entrepreneur Hall of Fame, is the recipient of the ANZIIF Lifetime achievement award for her services to the New Zealand life insurance market, was appointed as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2017 New Year’s honours list and has recently been named in the Forbes 50 over 50 Asia Female Entrepreneurs list. Naomi is also a sought after key note speaker who gives freely and willingly of her time to tell the story of her journey and the lessons she has learned, including the mistakes she has made. She has motivated and inspired audiences across New Zealand from all walks of life and is passionate about helping others to follow their own dreams. Over her lifetime in the Industry Naomi has created careers for many hundreds of New Zealanders, created business opportunities for many thousands of New Zealand and international businesses, created hundreds of millions of dollars of returns for shareholders, and financially supported hundreds of thousands of New Zealand clients when health issues interrupted their lifestyles.

Jack Tame is the host of TVNZ’s Q+A and Saturday Mornings on Newstalk ZB. He previously spent five years as TVNZ’s correspondent in the United States. He enjoys reading, test cricket, and Kanye West’s first seven albums.

David is experienced in leading and consulting marketing and corporate communications, specialising in growing capability for organisations. He has worked in the financial services industry for over 20 years in both government and private sector roles in the UK, US, EU and more recently in New Zealand at the Financial Services Council. Originally an engineer, David is a Chartered Marketer, holds a master's degree in Strategic Marketing and recently graduated with a master's degree in Wine Science and Business from the University of Auckland.

Laura holds the dual roles of General Counsel and Chief Risk Officer for Southern Cross Health Society. In her General Counsel role, she provides legal counsel to the society’s board of directors and senior management and leads the legal and governance team that advises on, among other areas, corporate governance, privacy law, insurance and financial services law and commercial transactions. In her Chief Risk Officer role, she leads the Risk and Compliance Management teams, which oversee the Society’s risk governance framework and risk appetite, and ensures all risks generated by the it’s businesses are measured, reviewed and monitored on an ongoing basis. Prior to working at the Society, Laura has had a career within financial services both in New Zealand and the UK, having held the roles of: Head of Risk, Compliance and Conduct for Westpac’s Institutional, Business and Commercial bank; General Counsel and Head of Risk for Flexigroup (an ASX registered company); Head of Legal for Latitude Financial Services and GE Capital; Lawyer and Director at Royal Bank of Scotland and ABN AMRO Bank; Legal Counsel at Barclays Bank; Senior Corporate Solicitor at NY law firm Kaye Scholer, and Solicitor at DLA Phillips Fox. Laura lives in Auckland with her family, dogs and cat and is seen out of office hours on sidelines of her kids’ sports, as well as baking, beaching and generally getting outdoors.