Speakers
Pio Terei
Pio Terei MNZM has turned his many talents into a stellar career as a musician, comedian, actor, whānau advocate, speaker, and hunter-gatherer presenter. From Māori radio he moved to screen comedy; Pete and Pio, The Life and Times of Te Tutu; drama Mataku, No 2; entertainment Big Saturday Night In, It’s In The Bag; travel Intrepid Journeys, Te Araroa: Tales From The Trails, Off The Grid; and food Kai Safari, Tangaroa.
Pio Terei is one of television’s great survivors. He has carved himself a career as a Māori entertainer and feels passionate about both those roles. He has always been proud of being Māori. He has always entertained easily and effortlessly in the way of his people. Pio derives sustenance from being a part of the wider whakapapa of Māori entertainment. Ancestors in that illustrious family tree include the marae orators and singers of his Tai Tokerau tribes. More recent forebears include the Māori showband generation and iconic greats like Ricky May, Tūī Teka, Sir Howard Morrison and Billy T James. Pio has always used his skills in the tradition of someone who is the total package: Singer, musician and comic.
Chris Clay
Chris is an accomplished educator, innovator and futurist
As well as a long career as a science educator, Chris was also the founding Education Director for the Mind Lab by Unitec. These days Chris focusses on creating experiences that push people’s thinking in new directions and help groups recognise their collective potential.
Chris has received a range of awards including being named Microsoft’s Innovative educator of the year (ahead of over 200,000 other nominees). Chris is also an accomplished public speaker who has delivered keynote talks at many international conferences as well as speaking on the TEDx stage and the Singularity UNZ Summit.
Annah Stretton
GENERATING PROFIT WITH A PURPOSE –THE STRETTON FOUNDATION, RAW AND KIA PUĀWAI.
Right from the beginning, Annah has been an active supporter and contributor to many of New Zealand’s well-loved charities. Back in 2013, however, Annah took her philanthropy to a whole new level with the establishment of the Stretton Foundation as a vehicle to drive social change. It was time to take advantage of all that the fashion industry had taught her to generate real outcomes for some of New Zealand’s largest challenges.
Her first social venture was RAW (Reclaim Another Woman) which is focused on breaking the cycle of intergenerational disadvantage by helping female offenders transition from a life of crime to a life of promise through education, employment and intensive peer support. Her second, Kia Puāwai, is focused on redefining the road to better health and wellbeing in the workplace, and in the community, by introducing simple, seamless and sustainable edits to your lifestyle. Her third, The Good Collective, aims to supercharge the effectiveness, community impact and long-term sustainability of the Waikato charitable sector through the creation of our one-stop-collaboration hub.
Annah’s story is one of success and failure, trial and error and disruptive and adaptive leadership, as she challenges the status quo and embraces new normals to drive social change in this country.
Rawiri Paratene
Actor, writer and director Rawiri Paratene, ONZM, first sprang into the public eye on the iconic Play School and comedy shows like Joe and Koro. In 1999 he played gangmember Mulla Rota in the sequel to Once Were Warriors, and four years later was seen around the globe as the stubborn grandfather in Whale Rider. In 2010 he won further acclaim after starring in movie The Insatiable Moon.
From playing gangmembers and Māori elders to impersonating Winston Peters, Rawiri Paratene has won a reputation for the versatility of his acting. But the versatility does not end on screen — Paratene has also directed for radio and screen, won a Robert Burns Fellowship for his writing, taught drama, and spent time as deputy chair of the New Zealand Film Commission.
Rob Hewitt
A former NZ Navy diver, Rob was propelled into the limelight for seemingly tragic reasons in 2006. Rob, the brother of former all black Norm, set out with friends for a scuba dive off Wellington. Strong underwater currents swept Rob away from his mates and off course.
An extensive coast guard search was undertaken and for 4 days there was no sign of Rob. His family and everyone else assumed the worst until miraculously he was found floating alive.
Rob’s story is an inspirational tale of guts, determination, and the Maori warrior spirit in the face of impossible odds.