The New Zealand Technology Industry Association (NZTech), the voice of the New Zealand tech sector, appoints new Board Directors from across the tech ecosystem.

NZTech has a new board, including senior government sector members following its 6th Annual General Meeting in Auckland last month.

New NZTech board members include: Chris Bishop, Manager ICT Policy and Programmes, MBIE; Diane Knowles, NZ Country Manager for Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Services; Paul Deavoll, Head of South Island, Spark NZ; and Sarah Perry, CEO, SnapComms.

The new board members join those who were re-elected for a successive term; and those who will continue for another year. They are: Rob Lee, Managing Director, IBM New Zealand; Mark Nichols, General Manager, Trimble Navigation; Bennett Medary, Director of Simpl Group; Rob Old, General Manager, Provoke Solutions; Bob Pinchin, CEO, Swaytech; Jonathan Miller, National Network Manager ICT, Callaghan Innovation; and Frances Valintine, Chair of the Mindlab by Unitec.

Departing board members this year are: Keith Watson, Managing Director, Hewlett-Packard New Zealand; Tom Duffy, Chief Operating Officer, Fuji Xerox; Steve Newman, CEO, EROAD; and John Ferguson, Customer Manager, NZTE.

This year’s Board Chair will be appointed at the first meeting of the new Board in late August.

“I am excited to be working with such a strong and dynamic Board,” says NZTech CEO Graeme Muller. “The Board selection process focused on ensuring we attracted the right level of diversity to enable us to achieve our purpose of being the voice of the technology sector while delivering on our key strategies. With new Board members from Christchurch, Auckland and Wellington, across key government, corporate and New Zealand export business organisations we have increased our ability to truly represent the sector.”

NZTech has been growing rapidly with a broad array of tech-based organisations continuing to join to support our mission of improving New Zealand’s economic prosperity through a vibrant technology sector. NZTech members include organisations ranging from start-ups and locally focused IT firms to fast-growth tech exporters, hi-tech manufacturers, telco’s, major corporations and education providers.

“The growing recognition of the importance of technology for New Zealand’s economic success is coming about as all sectors and occupations become more digitalised,” says Mr Muller. “NZTech’s members are combining their voices to raise awareness of the need for our Government to develop a national digital strategy that addresses the implications of this in key areas such as education, health and society in general .”

“NZTech is focused on three primary areas where we believe technology can make a significant positive impact on our economy – helping New Zealand technology businesses to lift the country’s export earnings, helping guide and support government technology decisions, and helping drive the digital transition of the education system so that all Kiwi kids have the best start in life.”

This media release was directly sourced from the New Zealand Technology Industry Association website here. 

Revenue from New Zealand-made video games and game apps more than doubled to $80.2 million in the year to 31 March 2014, according to an independent survey of NZ Game Developers Association members. 90% of those earnings were digital software exports, primarily through the Internet and app stores.

Digital distribution platforms like the AppStore and Steam mean that New Zealand no longer has any significant disadvantage in the international games market due to distance. “Interactive entertainment software is a hi-tech weightless export industry that creates New Zealand-owned IP and competes on a global scale,” says NZGDA Chairperson Ben Kenobi. “With smart digital exports there is no upper limit on how many physical copies you can sell.”

The majority of earnings were recurring New Zealand-owned Intellectual Property, with only 12% of revenue coming from contract work for other companies. 50% revenue came from direct sales, 22% from advertising, with 9% being licensing and royalties.

“The growth reported in our survey comes from a cluster of studios who are now well-established with global reputations and are six years old on average. However, the Developers Association is concerned at a lack of new globally-successful studios and the next generation of startups,” says Ben Kenobi.

“With the right infrastructure and support, New Zealand’s interactive entertainment sector could be far larger again.” For instance, the interactive game development industry in Finland – a country with a similar population to New Zealand – was worth over three billion US dollars last year.

To address this, the Developers Association launched its own $25,000 business startup competition, the Kiwi Game Starter. Three finalists will pitch their prototypes and business plans to a panel of judges during the New Zealand Game Developers Conference at AUT University on 19 September.

“Unfortunately existing business startup or creative sector programmes don’t quite suit the nature of games businesses who must compete globally from day one in order to succeed,” said NZGDA chairperson Ben Kenobi. “The competition aims to raise awareness about the challenges facing NZ game developers and attract investor and sponsor funding for future initiatives.”

“Exports from interactive entertainment now exceed local film or music exports. Domestically New Zealanders spend over $295 million on interactive games each year, far more than we spend on music or watching movies. The reality is that interactive games are a serious business for New Zealand.”

Mr Kenobi says there are exciting opportunities in the areas of games for health, education and social change.

The survey also found there were 450 fulltime equivalent professional game developers in New Zealand, with several hundred other part-time developers.

30 video game development businesses were independently surveyed with figures as of 31 March 2014. This is the fourth year of the survey with the methodology based on Statistics New Zealand’s Screen Industry Survey.

The Institute of Directors’ 2015 Directors’ Fees Report shows directors’ fees have risen moderately this year, but workloads have almost doubled, reflecting an environment where boards are facing more scrutiny and regulation than ever before.

Institute of Directors Chief Executive Simon Arcus says despite the median increase in non-executive directors’ fees by 4%, most (88%) saw a median increase of 41% in time commitment.

“The right balance between risk and reward is critical to attracting skilled, competent and diverse talent to your board table,” Mr Arcus says. “We think there could be pressure on director remuneration levels in an era of increased liability and compliance. Our members tell us the burden of compliance has grown. What New Zealand needs is highly skilled, fairly remunerated directors. It’s not enough to say there are plenty of directors lining up out there: New Zealand needs a focus on quality not quantity.”

This is the first year that the IoD has worked with EY to undertake our annual IoD Directors’ Fee Survey, and this year saw a 27% boost in survey participation, making it the most comprehensive in our history.

EY partner Una Diver says the relatively modest increase in directors’ fees is a concern. “Do their current pay levels mean we don’t adequately value the critical governance role directors perform? We know the regulatory landscape is changing significantly, meaning it is critical that people with the right mix of skills are attracted to governance roles.”  

Survey data shows only 50.6% are satisfied with their current level of remuneration, Diver says. Diversity in the boardroom is another area where progress has been slow. According to the IoD-NZIER Director Sentiment survey, of current serving directors, 64% agree diversity is a key consideration in making new appointments. Nevertheless, female non-executive directors comprise only 26.9% of the total sample; for Māori non-executive directors the figure is 4.7% and for Asian directors 0.2%. 

“There are good economic arguments for getting the right skill mix, and gender, onto boards,” Diver says. “Research shows even one woman on a board can enhance its performance. It’s time to see the diversity statistics improve.” 

Mr Arcus said it is also notable and concerning that the disparity between New Zealand and overseas owned companies has increased.

“In 2014 NZ-owned company director fees were on average 58% less than overseas-owned companies. In 2015 it is 63% less,” Mr Arcus says. “Many variables need to be considered when determining a fair and reasonable fee. Directors play a central role in the economic health of our country. Economies are about confidence, directors are the backbone of that confidence. I am not afraid to say that directors are worth it. We pay directors to do the right thing not the commercially safe thing,” Mr Arcus says. “That can involve taking risks. New Zealand needs directors who are courageous but for whom the risk and reward balance in remuneration makes sense.”

This media release was directly sourced from the Institute of Directors website here. 

For further information:

Institute of Directors – Justine Turner, Communications Manager, justine.turner@iod.org.nz

The New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA) is extremely disappointed Trade Minister Hon Tim Groser has rejected the call for an independent assessment of the impact of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement (TPPA) on our health system.

“The NZMA joined with a growing number of health organisations in calling for such an independent assessment,” says NZMA Chair Dr Stephen Child. In a letter in May, the NZMA formally requested a comprehensive, independent Health Impact Assessment (HIA), based on the actual text of the agreement and including input from sector experts.

In his reply, Minister Groser noted that the Government was committed to protecting the fundamentals of the public health system, including PHARMAC. But he rejected a specific HIA in favour of a general National Interest Analysis, including health-related issues.

Dr Child says health equity and public health measures are key advocacy issues for the NZMA. “These include issues surrounding alcohol, tobacco regulation and affordable access to medicine,” he says. “We need to have a clear understanding of the possible effects of the TPPA on current and future policy settings and directions—before we are committed to such a deal.

“Before New Zealand commits to an agreement, we must ensure our ability to achieve legitimate public policy objectives—such as the protection of public health, safety and the environment—is protected. To do this we must have an independent assessment focused on these aspects.”  

The United Nations Human Rights Commission recently voiced its concern about the possible ‘chilling effects’ of the Investor-state-dispute settlement (ISDS) chapter in the TPPA. As experience with other free trade agreements has shown, the regulatory functions of many states—and their ability to legislate in the public interest—have been put at risk by the ISDS provisions.

As the UN pointed out: ‘ISDS chapters…provide protection for investors but not for States or for the population. They allow investors to sue States but not vice-versa.’ 

Increasing numbers of health organisations and individuals have called for an HIA, with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) joining the chorus this week, ahead of this week’s Trans-Pacific Partnership talks in Hawaii.

“With the total lack of transparency around the negotiations so far, we need the assurance an independent assessment can give that our health system and affordable access to medicines will be protected, and the TPPA will not compromise New Zealand’s ability to formulate policies to improve the health of its people,” says Dr Child.

This media release was directly sourced from the New Zealand Medical Association website here. 

Members are not just a number on a database. Attend AuSAE’s upcoming Workshops on membership Engagement to find out how to engage with different generations of members, identify stumbling blocks to developing robust membership programs and walk away with the tools to help your get more value out of your membership and give your members more of what they want. This is the ideal workshop for chief executives and senior management who work in associations and the Not-for-Profit sector. 

For more information and to register, please click on a location below:

Wellington Workshop: September 22 2015

Auckland Workshop: September 15 2015

Christchurch Workshop: September 1 2015

Tourism New Zealand is celebrating today’s milestone of reaching three million international visitors annually for the first time, saying it spells jobs, income and economic value for all New Zealanders. 

Tourism is this country’s biggest services export and Tourism New Zealand’s Chief Executive Kevin Bowler says the industry is growing strongly. 

“Yesterday the International Visitor Survey showed total international visitor expenditure up 28 per cent to $8.7 million, and now having topped three million arrivals, it’s good news for all New Zealanders.  

“International visitor spend is distributed widely across the economy; it’s not just accommodation or tourism activities that benefit; spending occurs at the local supermarket, petrol station, dairy, retail shops, and a myriad of other local businesses.”

Even before this recent surge in visitor numbers, the tourism industry was directly responsible for nearly 100,000 jobs (4.7 per cent of employment) in New Zealand. A further 73,000 people are indirectly employed bringing the total number of people employed as a result of tourism to around 170,000 (or 8.3 per cent of all New Zealand’s employment)*.

“We are also starting to see more visitors arriving outside of the traditional summer period and a wider regional distribution of visitor spending – all positive signs for the long-term growth of the industry and New Zealand’s regions. 

Data released today by the Statistics New Zealand show that for the year-ending July 2015, over three million visitors came to the country, an increase of 7.3 per cent on the previous 12 months.

Leading the way was the Australians at 1.29 million maintaining steady growth of 4.1 per cent. 

New Zealand’s second largest source of visitor arrivals are the Chinese at 315,248, growing at 29.5 per cent year on year. 

Australia, China, UK, USA, Germany and Japan round out New Zealand’s top six source markets.  

Kevin says potential visitors to New Zealand continue to associate the country with landscapes and scenery, wildlife, and adventure.

“For the past 15 years we have been playing to these strengths through the 100% Pure New Zealand campaign, during which time annual visitor arrivals have grown from around 1.54 million to where they are today.”

* Tourism Satellite Account 2014 – See full report here: http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/industry_sectors/Tourism/tourism-satellite-account-2014.aspx

An industry association has announced a raft of new changes, starting with a complete rebrand.

The FBAA has announced a variety of changes, including a new logo it says will appeal to a broader demographic. The association has also launched a new website and plans to introduce video newsletters. FBAA chief Peter White said the changes are the first in a series of new offerings to be rolled through the end of 2016.

“A new higher calibre level of free PD Days will be offered to members with the addition of VIP guest speakers, and these will be professionally videoed and placed on our website so regional people and those that can’t attend can still benefit with the professional content and CPDs," White said.

White said the association was also formally kicking off its CPDOne offering, which enabled the FBAA to manage its members' CPD points and provide access to more content.

White said further announcements and initiatives were on the way from the association, urging members to "just wait and see, and you'll be very pleased".

"I believe this is the most exciting year in the FBAA’s history and is changing the game. This renewal will directly benefit all of our members and the industry as a whole, which is what we are about.”

Article sourced from www.brokernews.com.au on August 21 2015.

AuSAE Networking Lunches offer a great chance to get out of the office and meet new connections in the sector. Each lunch also features an insightful presentation on various topics of importance. Attending a lunch is a great chance to see what AuSAE really offers which is a place like-minded professionals can gather and share workplace challenges and achievements over a delicious two-course luncheon at a great venue. Check out the upcoming lunches below. We would love to see you there!

Brisbane | 'Reinventing for Relevance' Lunch on Thursday 3 September

Stephen Tait (CEO at CCIQ) will outline the steps CCIQ has gone through on their journey and provide you with insights, knowledge and experience of this truly transformational process which has resulted in record membership numbers, unparalleled reach and ever increasing influence and engagement [more]

Adelaide | 'When it's time to Realign, Regroup and Restructure' Lunch on Tuesday 8 September

Kathryn Cunningham (CEO at AASA) will sit down with AuSAE's Deputy CEO, Toni Brearley, to discuss AASA's secrets to restructure success and how to get your team and membership base on board with significant change plans [more] 

Melbourne | 'Grow the Pie or Look after the Slices?' Lunch on Tuesday 15 September

Paul Greenberg (Founder and Chair at NORA) will share NORA's journey and how the team will focus on remaining relevant, defining strategic direction and best serving both their membership and industry [more]

Sydney | 'Grow the Pie or Look after the Slices?' Lunch on Wednesday 16 September

Paul Greenberg (Founder and Chair at NORA) will share NORA's journey and how the team will focus on remaining relevant, defining strategic direction and best serving both their membership and industry [more]

Canberra | 'How to Commercialise your Not-for-Profit' Lunch on Thursday 17 September

Vera Visevic (Partner at Mills Oakley Lawyers) will discuss how not-for-profits can undertake commercial activities to ensure the long term viability of your organisation [more]

Perth | 'Effective Leadership' Lunch on Thursday 24 September

Christina Matthews (CEO at WACA) will share the steps, key insights and learnings Christina has observed through WACA's transformation [more] 

This excerpt was originally sourced from Associations Now here and was written by Katie Bascuas. 

Take a look at a couple of companies that are getting rid of performance reviews and rewarding hackers who can identify security concerns and how these ideas could prove fruitful for associations.

Whether it’s membership, online learning, or marketing, associations can take a cue from for-profit organizations in any number of areas.

While they may not have the same staff resources or budgets as for-profits, associations can still match up in dexterity and capability. Here are a couple of recent examples of corporate ingenuity that might spark ideas for associations:

Wave goodbye to annual performance reviews and rankings. Last month, consulting firm Accenture announced it will be eliminating yearly reviews and employee rankings beginning in September.

Why? According to Accenture, the amount of time and resources that were being spent on the reviews wasn’t yielding the desired goal: to boost employee performance.

“The process is too heavy, too costly for the outcome,” the company’s CEO, Pierre Nanterme, told The Washington Post. “And the outcome is not great.”

To read the full article please click here. 

This information was directly sourced from  the MS Research Australia website here. 

MS Research Australia has been recognised as Charity of the Year in The Australian Charity Awards 2015. There are approximately 2.5 million people worldwide and 23,000 within Australia affected by multiple sclerosis (MS). In just ten short years MS Research Australia has greatly increased the level of funding for MS research creating a significant impact on the number of research programs focusing on MS throughout Australia. Using strong research governance principles as well as innovative campaigns and platforms, MS Research Australia is achieving its goals.

Dr Matthew Miles, Chief Executive Officer of MS Research Australia said, 'It is a great honour to be awarded Charity of the Year. This award is a culmination of over ten years of very hard work by many people. The support of people with MS, donors, state based MS societies, allied organisations and corporate organisations has been critical to this success'.

The Australian Charity Awards were introduced in recognition of the dedication and achievements of non-profit organisations, charitable funds and charitable institutions. As a partner program of The Australian Business Awards, the Awards highlight charitable organisations that have achieved outstanding results through initiatives that have significantly benefited charitable causes.

Ms Tara Johnston, Program Director, Australian Charity Awards says, 'The initiatives of charitable organisations are dedicated to transforming the lives of individuals, inciting social change and creating a positive impact on the broader community. We are proud to honour MS Research Australia for its achievements'.

Mr Simon McKeon AO, Patron, MS Research Australia and 2011 Australian of the Year said 'As the Founding Chairman and now Patron of MS Research Australia, it's wonderful to see how the hard work of many people in this impact-driven charity has achieved great outcomes for people with MS'.

Megan Healey is a mother of three children and was diagnosed with MS 17 years ago. She says 'As someone who is living with MS, it gives me hope to see the ground breaking achievements of MS Research Australia. It is imperative that we continue to work towards a cure for this disease not only for the individuals living with MS, but also for their family members and the community. National awards such as this are wonderful for the recognition of the hard work and also to increase awareness about MS'.

The 2015 Australian Charity Awards program received a significant number of nominations, with five organisations shortlisted and recognised for Outstanding Achievement and MS Research Australia announced as the overall winner for The Australian Charity of the Year.

For more information on The Australian Charity Awards go to www.charityawards.com.au