Tony Alexander was Chief Economist at the BNZ for almost 25 years and has been out on his own as an independent economist since late-2019. He distributes the free weekly “Tony’s View” publication to over 10,000 subscribers each week, writes a weekly column for NZ Herald, and speaks at about 80 functions a year around New Zealand.

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“What I concentrate on and where my true area of expertise lies, is translating the arcane world of economic developments and trends into a language understandable by most people in the business and home buying sectors.”  

Julien Pouteau is a results-driven and dynamic Managing Director with over 25 years of international experience across Australia, Morocco, France, and the USA, including seven years of progressive leadership at d'Albora—Australia’s largest marina network.

With a strong focus on marina operations, boatyard management, and boat sales, Julien has played a key role in the sustained growth and transformation of the business, rising from General Manager to Managing Director. He has led major expansion initiatives, elevated customer experience standards, and strengthened commercial performance across the portfolio.

Julien brings deep strategic and operational expertise, particularly in asset optimisation, financial management, team leadership, and sales enablement. Known for aligning innovation with business goals, he champions continuous improvement—leveraging technology, data, and cross-functional collaboration to deliver long-term value and premium marine experiences

Mike has been Chief Executive at Queenstown Lakes District Council for the past nine years. Prior to taking on the role, he spent ten years as General Manager, Strategy and Planning, at Christchurch City Council.

In his current role, rapid growth and development has been a constant theme. Queenstown Lakes continues to experience the country’s highest rates of growth and the associated pressures of achieving that based on a very small population base, and a challenging and difficult typography to develop in.

Mike considers himself extremely lucky to be able to live and work in such a stunning environment. The district’s “unlimited desirability” ensures the locality is a magnet for investment, recreation, and lifestyle opportunities. The attractiveness creates significant pressure and demand, and a big responsibility not to ruin the qualities that make the district so special, while still meeting the needs of an ever-expanding community.

Dave is an accomplished CEO with over 15 years experience leading event, sports and related entities, most recently leading the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023.  Prior to his leadership roles, Dave’s career has spanned practicing solicitor, accounting, and marketing roles.  Dave is passionate about delivering outstanding customer experiences in nature, and inspiring & leading teams towards the achievement of great outcomes across social, environmental and economic measures. Dave is currently CEO of RealNZ one of New Zealand’s largest tourism entities, where he and the team are working hard to achieve their purpose of "helping the workload fall in love with conservation".

Coming to our formal dinner on Thursday night? Brendan will entertain you with world-class and never before seen magic with quick wit comedy, insane mind-reading, cheeky pickpocketing and plenty of audience participation to create the ultimate entertainment experience that has made him an audience favourite worldwide!

Suzanne is the CEO of the Marina Industries Association (MIA); a position she has held since 2020 and follows 15 years in senior management roles in the marina industry. She was the General Manager of The Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club for 12 years, one of the NSW largest and most comprehensive waterfront facilities and sailing clubs before taking on the role of CEO of the country's largest marina group, d'Albora Marinas. 

Prior to taking on the MIA CEO role and while working in marina operations, Suzanne served as a Director and Treasurer of the MIA 2012- 2020.  She also served on the Board of Australian Sailing 2019-2023.  

Prior to her involvement in marina industries, Suzanne held senior roles in several large domestic and international hotel organisations, both in Australia and abroad.  She spent several years in the education sector as an undergraduate lecturer to students undertaking a degree in hotel management. 

Peter has been immersed in the marine industry since 1985. Beginning as a shipwright before steering his journey into marina operations and in 1991 he joined d’Albora Marina Akuna Bay as Dockmaster where he honed his skills in day-to-day marina management and customer service.

Peter’s expertise expanded through senior roles at the Royal Motor Yacht Club Broken Bay where he oversaw marina operations for 10 years and with Pacific Pontoon & Pier, contributing to marina construction projects. 

Returning to the d’Albora group in 2015, Peter managing multiple Sydney marinas and now serving as the State Manager for NSW overseeing the operations of 7 NSW Marinas.

Iraj Barabi is a seasoned executive and entrepreneur with a diverse background in technology, manufacturing, innovation, marine & tourism industries.  Iraj has a passion for spearheading challenging projects and operates businesses in both New Zealand and the United States. Queenstown Marina & Watersports LTD are the latest projects Iraj is focused on in Queenstown.

David Joyce is the Head of Marketing at d'Albora, Australia’s largest premium marina network. With over 20 years of experience in marketing—including senior roles within the advertising and financial services industries—he has led global campaigns across B2B, B2B2C, and B2C markets. With extensive experience in brand strategy, customer engagement, and marine lifestyle marketing, he leads initiatives that drive growth and elevate customer experience across the portfolio. David brings a strong leadership focus and a passion for connecting people with the water through compelling storytelling and innovative marketing strategies.

This year has seen the rollout of new fast track approvals and development of new and amended national resource management direction including significant changes to the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement.  Sally Gepp KC will present an update on the year's key developments in planning and consenting and insights into future resource management law changes.

www.sallygepp.co.nz

Chris is Chair of the New Zealand Marina Operators Association and GM Marina & Maritime, Far North Holdings Limited.

Chris has been with Far North Holdings Limited since its inception 17 years ago. Now, as general manager, he is responsible for the daily operation of the Maritime and marina Assets the company owns and operates.

Prior to FNHL Chris worked at the Far North District Council (FNDC) as group manager (customer services), leading pivotal projects like the development of Kerikeri’s Procter Library. As FNDC executive officer, he managed various development initiatives and strategic planning efforts.

Chris is a Fellow of the Financial Services Insitute of Australasia and is a Certified Marina Manager.

Phil Wardale currently serves as Secretary of NZMOA and is the Managing Director of WARDALE Consulting. He is also host and Master of Ceremonies of the New Zealand Marinas and Boatyard Conference.

He holds the role of Project Director for Te Pūwaha (the Whanganui Port Revitalisation Project) and serves as a company director for Bay of Islands Marina Ltd and Nelson Marina Management Ltd.

WARDALE Consulting specializes in maritime advisory and project management services, primarily for local government agencies in New Zealand.

Lesley Southwick has been the Learning and Development Manager at Marine and Specialised Technology Academy (MAST) since 2022. With extensive experience across vocational education, she has held senior strategic and operational roles in sectors including forestry, real estate, professional services, manufacturing, rugby, infrastructure and now the wider marine, marina and boatyard industries. Lesley has a strong background in business and hospitality, enabling her to effectively commercialise training products and services. 

Passionate about work-based learning, she aims to empower apprentices to lead meaningful lives through high-quality training. Her expertise includes establishing new Private Training Establishments (PTEs), working with industry to develop new programmes of learning/apprenticeships or courses while ensuring compliance with NZQA and TEC standards. Her collaborative approach bridges industry and learners, shaping relevant qualifications and programmes, particularly in marina and boatyard operations and the wider marine sectors.

Giles Day is a leading provider of practical, hands-on workplace learning programmes. Including Lean Manufacturing, Team Leadership, Problem Solving and Health and Safety.

With a unique delivery style and engaging approach, Giles can provide tailored solutions to implement positive workplace culture change.

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Giles' session is called 'Efficient by design: a practical look at lean thinking in action'.

Kathryn is the marine team leader in the biosecurity team at Environment Southland. During her 4 years in this role, she led the $2 million Jobs for Nature Fiordland Undaria Control Programme, and has overseen the marine biosecurity, compliance and diving operations. Prior to that, she worked in the policy and compliance teams at Environment Southland and completed a master’s degree in coastal science at the University of Otago. 

Ekrem Reyhancıoglu is Asia Pacific Director at Wearth Group, a global leader in marina and waterfront development that includes Poralu Marine. Based in Bali, he oversees business growth and delivery of landmark projects across the region, including Westernport Marina, Tauranga Marina, Kinmen Marina in Taiwan, and innovative initiatives such as the Tsui Ping River floating platform in Hong Kong. He is also leading the redesign of Chaffers Marina in Wellington. As Vice Chair of the Asia Working Group at ICOMIA, Ekrem advances recreational boating in Asia-Pacific and is recognised for creating sustainable, profitable, and smart marina eco-systems.

At 0124hrs on the 5 March 2025 Greg Prescott's  phone starts ringing. It's marina security, we have a fire, a big fire!

"I jump out of bed and pull the curtails aside, what I see is simply horrific, a huge orange glow looms over the Tauranga Marina.

There is no sign of emergency services yet, I pull on any clothing I can find and race out the door…"

Greg offers his insight into this event, how we averted an environmental disaster and what we learnt.

Sharron Beck, CMO — a Southland sheep farm girl and Swedish‑speaking sailing enthusiast — has worked alongside Brian Caulton at Whangārei Marina for 20 years. For the past seven of those, they have been the planning for the new 115‑berth Okara Marina, located downstream from the current facility, that is now under construction. She’ll share how the project is progressing.

Brook McRae is a passionate and experienced underwater professional, and founder of Commercial Dive Specialists based in the Bay of Islands and Warkworth (Auckland). With 17 years of commercial diver experience on a broad range of projects across New Zealand and South-East Asia, Brook has established a reputation for expertise, safety and innovative problem-solving in the industry. 

Beyond his technical skills, he enjoys mentoring upcoming divers and is the industry rep on the Diving Industry Advisory Group (DIAG) that provides advice to WorkSafe around health and safety and regulatory improvements in occupational diving. 

Brook is dedicated to advancing industry standards through innovation and safety, and he regularly collaborates with clients to develop sustainable and cost-effective marine infrastructure projects. Most recently, Brook has been leading the development of underwater industrial solutions for marine biosecurity for protection of our unique NZ marine environment, and he will share his insights at this conference. 

Margaret Wind is a passionate advocate for New Zealand’s commercial maritime industry. As Publisher and Editor of Skipper Magazine since 2023, she brings fresh perspective and decades of hands-on experience to one of the country’s leading maritime publications. She also serves as Executive Director of the NZ Marine Transport Association, championing industry sustainability, seafarer training, and stronger representation for commercial operators.

Margaret’s career spans over 30 years in the maritime and transport sectors, including senior roles with BP Oil, managing a truck sales and servicing business, and leading New Zealand’s first safe ship management company. She has also been closely involved in major events such as the Whitbread Round the World Race and the Louis Vuitton Cup.

Born in Auckland and inspired by her grandfather, a former Sanford ship’s master, Margaret has combined her lifelong love of the sea with commercial acumen and industry leadership. Today she is recognised as a respected voice for New Zealand’s maritime sector, dedicated to ensuring it remains resilient, innovative, and future-focused.

Fiona Bycroft is CEO of Naut, a Whangārei-based innovator pioneering high-powered electric propulsion for boats. With an engineering background and a passion for sustainable futures, Fiona is driving Naut’s mission to electrify marine transport. In her session, she will explore why the shift from fossil fuels to electric is accelerating, and what it means for marina operators. From safety considerations to charging infrastructure, Fiona will share practical insights from Naut’s journey, customer experiences, and global trends - equipping marina operators to understand the opportunities and prepare for a cleaner, quieter, and more future-ready boating environment. 

Master of Engineering Graduate from AUT, started career as a Design Engineer in the marine sector. Currently Vikas is General Manager at Dixon Manufacturing Ltd and also one of the Executive members of NZSSDA (New Zealand Stainless Steel Development Association) assisting NZ Stainless Steel Fabricators, Suppliers, Architects, Uni Students and primary users