CIO50

Rebecca Chenery

Chief Digital Officer, Watercare

Rebecca is Watercare’s Chief Technology Officer. In this role she has responsibility for all aspects of IT and technology at Watercare. As the Executive Sponsor of Watercare’s recent transformation programme, Rebecca is passionate about the opportunities that come with the evolution of technology solutions and teams, from ‘back office support’ to critical business enablers.

In 2020 Rebecca was #1 on the New Zealand CIO50 list, which recognises the top 50 senior technology executives who are driving innovation and influencing rapid change across their organisations.

Prior to joining Watercare in 2010, Rebecca worked held a variety of roles in the information services and telecommunications industries in New Zealand and overseas.

Jen Cherrington

Chief Digital Officer, Callaghan Innovation

Jen Cherrington activates innovation and helps businesses grow faster for a better New Zealand, through a range of R&D services at Callaghan Innovation. Jen also works as a digital advisor to corporate boards and startups. She has held a range of business technology executives roles in New Zealand and in the UK. These include Executive GM technology and digital (CTO) at Genesis Energy; vice president - digital technology and innovation, at Electrocomponents Plc in the UK; managing director for eBay, director (home and garden, toys, personal care) at Amazon and director, BT Business Online for British Telecom.

Kevin Drinkwater

Retired CIO Mainfreight

Kevin Drinkwater was CIO at Mainfreight for almost 34 years. During this time, he was responsible for creating and implementing many significant new and innovative business systems. Prior to COVID-19, his role involved a significant amount of travel which has enabled him to observe technology in many different countries and companies. Previous Mainfreight roles include CFO, GM of the Logistics division and Sales Manager.

Kevin is chairman of Duffy Books in Homes NZ and is also a director of its sister organization in the USA. He is on the advisory board of A-Ward Attachments. He has previously spent 10 years as a director of SPCA Auckland and 6 years on the Board of TUANZ.

Alan Hesketh

Business Value Consulting

Alan has proven experience in leading digital change as a CIO across multiple industries, sectors and geographies. His focus on putting the customer at the centre of outcomes has been successful in implementing digital capabilities across both private and public sector organisations. Through over 30 years of leading IT and digital organisations, Alan has developed a deep understanding of relevant strategies and change management approaches. He has a record of dramatic performance improvements with internal IT and digital teams that achieve significant improvements in business outcomes.

Alan is committed to continuous improvement, having seen that yesterday’s exceptional performance is tomorrow’s expectation. He holds a BSc (Information Sciences) from Victoria University of Wellington, reinforced by hard-won experience in demanding business environments.

Ilan Oshri

Director of the Centre of Digital Enterprise, University of Auckland

Professor Ilan Oshri joined University of Auckland Business School in 2018. He has been the Director of the Centre of Digital Enterprise since 2019. He is the co-author of 22 books on information systems outsourcing and digital innovations. His work was featured on the Wall Street Journal, BBC Radio 4, Business Week, the Financial Times and many other journals and magazines. Ilan is a regular speaker in international conferences, a contributor to numerous professional magazines and a keynote speaker in corporate events and seminars.

Julia Kotlarsky

Professor of Information Systems, University of Auckland

Julia Kotlarsky is a Professor of Information Systems at the University of Auckland Business School, New Zealand. She holds a PhD from Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (Netherlands). Julia’s research interests revolve around technology sourcing and digital innovation in knowledge-intensive businesses. More recently, she has also started to study the interplay and interfaces between artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and human actors, focusing on data issues and digital transformation. Julia has published 16 books on technology, innovation and sourcing, and has written extensively about these topics in both managerial and academic journals including MIS Quarterly, Journal of Management Information Systems, Journal of Strategic Information Systems, Journal of Information Technology, and the Wall Street Journal.

Byron Connolly

Editor-in-chief, CIO Australia and associate editor, CSO Australia

Byron Connolly has 25 years’ experience as a journalist and editor. In his current role as Editor-in-Chief at CIO Australia, he is responsible for commissioning, writing and editing content for the brand. He also facilitates roundtables and conferences for senior IT and business executives and creates content from these events.

Prior to this role, Byron was a Senior Writer and Editor at Editor Group, a Sydney-based corporate writing agency, where he produced editorial material for some of the world’s top technology and consulting companies.

Byron was Editor of technology channel publication, CRN Australia, published by Haymarket Media Group, and held senior editorial roles at technology publications ITNews and Information Week at Penton Media and APN News and Media.

He was also Client Services Director at public relations firm Upstream Australia (now Bite Global).

Cathy O’Sullivan

Editor, CIO New Zealand

Cathy O’Sullivan is Editor for CIO New Zealand, based in Auckland. Cathy has worked in digital, print and broadcast media for almost two decades in newsrooms across New Zealand and Europe. She has a keen interest in emerging and disruptive technologies.

David Kennedy

David is a Board member and Executive with more than two decades of experience in cyber and 10 years in global CISO, CIO and COO roles. As a CIO he has helped create $2 billion Kiwi tech companies and has helped many more successfully grow and transform their businesses.

He works with medium-large sized organisations in translating business strategy into target operating models that transform and ready a business for the next level of growth, acquisition integration or purchase.

David is also a mentor to business leaders as they achieve higher success. He achieved consistently high rankings in the CIO 100 and was also runner-up in CIO of the year.

Jennifer Sepull

CIO, Chief Digital Officer, COO, VP of Sales, VP of Client Services

Jennifer Sepull has over 25 years of global leadership experience as a CIO, Chief Digital Officer, COO, VP of Sales, VP of Client Services, and a Principal for global consulting services. Jennifer has experience building new start-ups and leading large global teams in highly complex/ regulated industries. Jennifer has expertise in technology, architecture, cybersecurity, development, and building e-Commerce/ omni-channel digital platforms for fortune 200 companies. She has extensive industry knowledge in retail, consumer products, automotive, high-tech, healthcare, financial services, aviation, and manufacturing.

Most recently, Jennifer sat on the executive leadership team for Air New Zealand, as the Chief Information/ Digital Officer. She was responsible for leading all Global technology, cybersecurity, application development, design, architecture, innovation, mobility, and digital e-commerce for the airline.

In addition, Jennifer is the CEO and Executive Advisor for JMS Digital Advisory Group, LLC. Jennifer leverages her knowledge and experience leading digital transformations, data and Analytics, cybersecurity, and technology to provide executive advisory services to help companies around the world.