Meet our 2026 Judges
Meet the esteemed panel of judges behind the 2026 Bizzies Awards. Bringing a wealth of industry expertise and experience, they have generously dedicated their time to carefully evaluate each entry and select the most deserving winners.
Leonie Ashford, Tourism New Zealand
Leonie is dedicated to advancing the Business Events industry in New Zealand, as well as across the Asia Pacific and globally. Since joining the Tourism New Zealand Business Events team in 2011, she has been a key leader and now serves as Business Events Special Advisor, focusing on strategic projects. Her skills in storytelling, cultural identity, and environmental stewardship have played a pivotal role in the success of New Zealand's business events sector. On the international stage, Leonie represents the Asia Pacific region as a member of the ICCA (International Congress & Convention Association) Board of Directors, championing the region's diversity and expertise to help shape the industry's future. Her dedication to fostering collaboration and building meaningful partnerships ensures she is always ready to connect, share, and contribute to the industry's growth and success.
Scott Callaway, Christchurch Airport
Scott Callaway is General Manager Tourism & Trade at Christchurch Airport. He has led the airports relationship with airlines and tourism and trade bodies within New Zealand and offshore for the past ten years.
Kiri Goulter, Kiri Goulter Consulting Ltd
Kiri pioneered one of New Zealand’s first sustainable tourism programmes in Northland in the early 2000s, supporting more than 80 businesses to embed sustainable practices. Since then, she has been central to advancing sustainability through destination management, authoring New Zealand’s Destination Management Guidelines and supporting RTOs nationwide to put sustainability at the heart of their plans. She has also contributed to the Aotearoa Circle’s Climate Adaptation Roadmap, the Tourism Industry Transformation Plan (Environment) and RTO Climate Champions programme with The Travel Foundation. Kiri is internationally recognised for her leadership in sustainability and stewardship, sharing New Zealand’s journey at global forums in the USA, Europe, Chile, and the Pacific.
Anna Hayward, Destination Marlborough / Tourism Talent
Anna Hayward brings over 20 years of sales and marketing experience across the tourism and hospitality sectors, with a career spanning local government, regional tourism organisations, international hotel groups, luxury lodges, public relations, and the oil industry. For 14 years, she led the Auckland Convention Bureau at Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, where she played a pivotal role in establishing and growing the bureau, including developing Auckland's first Strategic Business Events Plan, launching New Zealand's first business events ambassador programme, and managing a trans-Tasman business development team.
Anna has served as Chair of the Convention Bureau of New Zealand and received the Business Events Industry Aotearoa Outstanding Achievement Award in 2018. She currently works as Senior Associate, Business Events at Tourism Talent and Business Events Development Manager for Business Events Marlborough, while also providing consulting services across New Zealand's business events industry.
Catherine Jones Creative HQ
Catherine Jones is Chief Executive of Creative HQ, New Zealand’s leading hub of entrepreneurship. Since 2018 she has spearheaded programmes that have helped ventures reach a combined valuation of over NZ $1.5 billion and employ more than 1,500 people. With a background in investment banking and law, Catherine brings strategic and commercial expertise to growing high-impact ventures. Under her leadership, Creative HQ has won the 2024 Hi-Tech Award for Best Contribution to the Tech Sector, the Supreme Wellington Gold Award and has just been named a finalist in the 2025 Best Places to Work awards.
Sandra Julian
Ngati Mutunga, Ngati Tama, Ngāti Toa and Te Atiawa
With over 25 years in the business events industry, she carved a unique path as the only Māori Approved Professional Conference Organiser (PCO). As founder of Auaha, she built a thriving agency known for weaving cultural values into world-class events, before successfully selling the business. Along the way, she has dedicated eight years as a BEIA Mentor, sharing her expertise to grow the next generation of industry leaders.
That entrepreneurial spirit continues to drive her today. As a certified business coach and mentor, she partners with Indigenous and female service-based business owners who are ready to step out of the hustle and into sustainable growth. Her work blends strategy with cultural integrity, helping wāhine reclaim their time, amplify their impact, and create businesses that not only succeed but leave a lasting legacy.
Elaine Linnell, New Zealand Events Association
Elaine discovered her passion for events early on and has built a career spanning corporate conferences in London to some of New Zealand’s largest sporting and cultural occasions, including the 2011 Rugby World Cup, the World Masters Games, and the British & Irish Lions tour. With experience across events, sponsorship, and marketing, she has spent the past three years as General Manager of the New Zealand Events Association, supporting and advocating for the industry. She firmly believes that once you find yourself in the events world, you never really leave, and that’s something to celebrate.
Sarah Meikle,
Sarah is an experienced food, drink, tourism and events professional with more than 25 years' experience across the sectors. She began her career with Tourism New Zealand, working in Wellington, India and London, before returning to New Zealand as General Manager Marketing for Positively Wellington Tourism (now WellingtonNZ), where she led the promotion of Wellington to local, domestic and international audiences and co-founded Visa Wellington On a Plate. In 2014, Sarah became Chief Executive of the Wellington Culinary Events Trust and subsequently led the acquisition of Beervana, helping grow flagship events that positioned Wellington as New Zealand's premier food and beverage destination. In 2020, she founded Food + Drink New Zealand, a consultancy supporting destinations, events and food businesses to maximise tourism opportunities, and later launched All India Permit Tours, a luxury small-group travel company specialising in curated tours to India. Sarah is passionate about supporting the food tourism and events sectors and continues to build an extensive governance portfolio, serving on several boards and trusts across New Zealand while maintaining strong industry networks both locally and internationally.
Gillian Monahan, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Gillian has more than 20 years' experience working in strategic marketing and communications roles across tourism, cultural institutions, and events sectors in Aotearoa and globally.
Dylan Rushbrook, Tourism Talent and Central Otago District Council
Dylan is an experienced leader in tourism, community development, and strategic planning, currently serving as Group Manager, Community Vision at Central Otago District Council, where he oversees economic development, tourism, strategy, and community engagement. Prior to joining local government, he spent more than 20 years in the commercial sector in senior roles with SKYCITY Entertainment Group and Heritage & CityLife Hotels, and later served as General Manager of Tourism Central Otago, leading the region's destination management and marketing efforts.
Dylan is also a director of Dunedin Venues Management and a founding partner of Tourism Talent, a specialist executive search agency operating across New Zealand, Australia, and Japan. As a founding board member and former chair of YoungTEC NZ, he has long been committed to developing future tourism leaders. Since relocating to Central Otago in 2018, Dylan has played an active role in shaping the region's future, with a strong focus on balancing growth, community values, and long-term sustainability.
Penelope Ryan, Tourism New Zealand - Global Manager Business Events
Penelope is the Global Manager Business Events for Tourism New Zealand. She honed her strong commercial background in global FMCG marketing working on some of the world's most recognised brands before moving into the travel and tourism sector with Tourism New Zealand. Her time with Tourism New Zealand has allowed her to work across the Australian market, New Zealand domestic market and more recently in global roles for business events. The ripple effect that happens when great people come together to share their knowledge drives Penelope's love of business events and she is constantly seeking new and innovative ways to achieve and push targets.
Susan Sawbridge, Daylight Ltd
Susan has worked in and around Business Events for over 25 years: in regional bodies, for central government, and now as an independent business owner. She has advised on business event strategies at home and overseas and been a BEIA Mentor for several years. Guided by an industry stakeholder group, Sooz led the writing of Pīata Mai, the national statement of strategic direction for New Zealand's business events sector.
Tracey Thomas, Conference Innovators
Tracey Thomas is a Director of Conference Innovators, a professional conference organising company that has been shaping New Zealand’s business events landscape for more than 30 years. With extensive experience delivering major national and international conferences, Tracey is enthusiastic about the power of business events to connect people, drive knowledge exchange, and create lasting economic and social impact.
Jessica Vandy, The Tenth Letter Consulting
Jessica is an experienced sustainability practitioner and impact consultant, with a career spanning over 19 years in the Asia Pacific region. As the founder of a New Zealand-based consultancy, she works with destinations, event organisers, and tourism stakeholders to empower the industry to thrive responsibly. Jessica’s approach goes beyond sustainability, championing the regenerative mindset.
Jenny Walsh, Motive Events
Jenny Walsh has more than 18 years of experience in the events and incentive industry, building a reputation for creating memorable, results-driven experiences. She began her career with Flight Centre's Cievents, progressing to General Manager and becoming known for delivering events that exceeded expectations and achieved strong business outcomes. After successfully leading a high-performing team in the UK, Jenny returned to New Zealand in 2017 and, in 2020, co-founded Motive Events with two business partners, driven by a belief in the enduring value of events and travel. As Managing Director, she has led the agency's growth into a thriving business specialising in corporate incentives and national and international conferences. Guided by a "fly high" mentality, Jenny and her team combine creativity, strategy, and adaptability to deliver exceptional experiences while fostering bold, genuine, and lasting client partnerships
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