MORGO 2010 speakers will include some serious talent from around the globe. You will hear some of the hottest entrepreneurs and executives from some of the coolest companies talk about their businesses and what they’ve learned. MORGO is both inspirational and educational - make sure you’re a part of MORGO 2010!
MORGO 2010 Speakers
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Steve Bayliss Most recently Steve was General Manager Marketing for Air New Zealand. During his 6 year tenure the airline went from the aftermath of a near bankruptcy to the Best Airline in the World - as judged by Air Transport World. Often referred to as the Oscars of the airline industry. Air New Zealand also became the most awarded marketing group in New Zealand picking up numerous domestic and international awards for design, loyalty programs, creativity, & communications. At Air New Zealand Steve was responsible for the Global Marketing & Sponsorship Teams, Direct Customer Communications, Airpoints and Tier Recognition Programs, and the Branded Journey including Premium Customer and Lounges Group. More |
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Andrew Dzurak, University of New South Wales (Australia) Andrew Dzurak is one of Australia’s leading experts in nanotechnology and quantum information technologies. He is the Director of the Semiconductor Nanofabrication Facility at the University of New South Wales, and Node Director of the Australian National Fabrication Facility, a network of university-based laboratories that provide researchers and industry with access to state-of-the-art fabrication facilities. ANFF enables users to process hard materials (metals, composites and ceramics) and soft materials (polymers and polymer-biological moieties) and transform these into structures that have application in sensors, medical devices, nanophotonics and nanoelectronics. Andrew and his team have developed a range of single atom nanotechnologies of immediate relevance to today’s semiconductor industry. Andrew holds a PhD in physics at the University of Cambridge. More |
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Jeff Gordon, OpenCloud (UK) Since Jeff joined OpenCloud as CEO in January 2008 the company has enjoyed significant growth and has won business with major telecommunication operators around the world. In addition to his duties at OpenCloud Jeff is non exec Chairman of Celltick, a fast growing provider of mobile content discovery services. Jeff has a strong track record leading multibillion-dollar, pan-European businesses. He also has considerable experience in managing high growth scenarios. Jeff’s general management experience included heading Motorola’s EMEA infrastructure business in which he was responsible for $1.6 billion in annual revenues and 1400 employees. He also held significant senior management positions within Unisys culminating with his appointment as Chairman of Unisys’ European Board where he was responsible for $2.2 billion in annual revenues and 10,000 employees. Jeff holds a BSc in theoretical physics from Imperial College, London. |
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Andrew Grant, McKinsey & Company (China) Andrew Grant leads McKinsey & Company’s Public and Social Sector Practice in Asia. He is a member of McKinsey’s global Board and until recently led McKinsey in Greater China. A consultant with 18 years experience, he has served many of the worlds leading corporations in a broad range of industries. However, his professional focus is currently on helping public sector clients solve their most pressing strategic challenges. Economic Development, Healthcare and infrastructure are foremost amongst them. Andrew joined McKinsey in Sydney in 1992 and has subsequently worked in Tokyo, London, Santiago, Auckland and Greater China. Andrew won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, where he gained a Masters of Politics, Philosophy and Economics with first class honours. He also holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree with first class honours from Auckland University in New Zealand. More |
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Stephen LeFebvre, BioVittoria Stephen LeFebvre is the Co-founder, and Director of Sales and Marketing Asia Pacific for BioVittoria Limited. In the seven years since co-founding BioVittoria, the company has become the worlds largest producer and processor of monk fruit (Chinese luo han guo) and has created a vertically integrated value chain which includes seedling cultivation, harvesting, processing and product formulation. In February 2010 BioVittoria received official notification from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that its Fruit-Sweetness™ branded monk fruit concentrate is GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe). It is actively engaged with most of the tier one global food and beverage companies for the incorporation of Fruit-Sweetness™into new and existing products lines. Fruit-Sweetness™ delivers 100% natural, great tasting, calorie-free sweetness from pure fruit, and offers a new and unique alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners. BioVittoria’s corporate offices are in Hamilton, production facilities in Guilin China, and sales and marketing offices in the US. More |
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Richard Little, Rex Bionics Richard Little is Founder & Chief Technology Officer of Rex Bionics. Rex Bionics Rex began with a simple idea– a practical new option for standing and walking that could be used by people in wheelchairs. The outcome was the development of Rex, the pair of robotic legs. Richard started his career over twenty years ago in the oil industry in Scotland as a marine engineer. He has since enjoyed a wide range of leadership roles in a number of industries world-wide, working with automotive, military and medical technologies. New Zealand based for the last 16 years, Richard formed Rex Bionics Ltd in 2007 with fellow engineer Robert Irving to develop innovative medical robotic technology that could bring new-found mobility to many thousands of users world-wide. More |
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Al Monro, CEO, Next Window As CEO of NextWindow since 2002, Al Monro has been responsible for creating the strategy for the company and building the team for its success. Al’s background includes broad experience in technology with an international backdrop. During his 18 years with IBM, he was a member of the senior executive team in New Zealand, launched a new business for the company in Vietnam, and served as a general manager for IBM Malaysia. From 2000 to 2002 he worked in private equity, launching a company to invest in business-to-business infrastructure and technology. He received his Bachelor of Laws from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. More |
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Dr Andrew Rickman OBE (UK) Dr Andrew Rickman OBE is the founder and chairman of the Rockley Group, a technology investment fund organisation focussed on developing technology based businesses that contribute to global sustainability and the improvement of human well-being. He is Chairman of several early stage venture backed companies and an investment partner in Rockley China, Beijing, a Chinese focussed private equity group. Andrew was previously the founder, CEO and Chairman of Bookham Inc – now called Oclaro Inc, the world’s largest fibre optics telecom component producer headquartered in the US. He grew the company from a start-up to a FTSE100 company. In 2000, Andrew was named UK’s Technology and Communications Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young. Andrew has a mechanical engineering degree from Imperial College, London; a PhD in Photonics from Surrey University, an MBA from Cranfield University and honorary doctorates from Surrey, Kingston and Edinburgh Napier University. He is a chartered engineer and a Fellow of the Institute of Physics. He was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Millennium Honours list for services to the telecommunications industry and is a winner of the prestigious Royal Academy of Engineering Silver medal for his outstanding contribution to British Engineering. More |
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Grant Ryan, Founder, YikeBike YikeBike founder, Grant is an addicted inventor and entrepreneur. He has founded a number of companies including GlobalBrain.net (sold to NBCi), RealContacts, SLI Systems (profitable fast growing SaaS search company) and Eurekster (North America Red Herring 100 in 2006). He is on the board of Canterbury Development Corporation and has also served on the board of the New Zealand Government’s $140 million Venture Investment Fund and $430 million Foundation for Research Science and Technology. Grant has a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Ecological Economics from the University of Canterbury. The YikeBike perfectly combines his love of mechanics, environment and innovation. More |
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Professor Jonathan Sackier (US) Jonathan is a surgeon by training who helped introduce laparoscopic techniques, has been widely published in peer-reviewed journals and books and serves a number of editorial boards and medical societies. Jonathan has helped develop many medical technologies from work with amniotic stem cells in the 1980’s to his collaboration with Computer Motion to bring the first commercial surgical robot, AESOP, to market. He has also launched a number of other companies and brought several inventions to profitable fruition. He has consulted for many healthcare companies, sat on the Associate Board of AdvaMed and several corporate governance and advisory boards. A frequent commentator in the media, he also developed celebrity patient advocacy campaigns such as the Carnie Wilson web-cast which drove increased attention to bariatric surgery. More |
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Sean Simpson, Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder, LanzaTech Sean holds a PhD from York University, UK, and a Masters degree from Nottingham University, UK. Prior to LanzaTech, Sean had eight years experience in bio-products development. Including operating a cell culture facility and developing a pilot plant with Hoffmann La-Roche in Basel, Switzerland, health biologics with Sandoz Forschungsinstitute, Vienna, Austria, working on crop biologics with the Japan International Research Centre for Agricultural Sciences, Tsukuba, Japan, and most recently, pioneering a process for ethanol production from hardwood with Genesis R&D Corporation in New Zealand. The latter has since been spun out by Genesis R&D and established as a stand-alone company called BioJoule. More |
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Naomi Simson, RedBalloon (Australia) One of Australia’s outstanding female entrepreneurs, Naomi Simson is the founder and CEO of fast growth online gifting retailer RedBalloon, which has made the BRW Fast lists six years in a row. Naomi is an employee engagement advocate, and she practices what she preaches in her own business. RedBalloon has been named as one of only six Hewitt Best Employers in Australia and NZ for 2009. RedBalloon has also been nominated by BRW as being in the top ten Best Places to Work in Australia behind the likes of Google. Naomi has received several accolades in recent years, she won the Business category of the 2010 Women of Style Awards, the National Telstra Business Womens Award for innovation and she was one of four finalist in the 2009 Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year awards. Naomi writes a blog naomisimson.com which is listed in the top 15 of Australia’s Best Business Blogs and she also writes for Smart Company. More |
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Ian Taylor, Animation Research Ian is the Executive Producer of Animation Research. Ian graduated with an LLB, and had 15 years experience with TVNZ as Presenter and then Producer/Director. In the early 1990’s Ian formed his own companies (Taylormade Media, Video Factory, Animation Research) specialising in television and computer generated 3D applications. More |
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Mario Wynands, Sidhe Mario Wynands is the Managing Director and co-founder of Sidhe, New Zealand’s largest game development studio. In his 13 years at the company, he has negotiated and managed numerous game titles and content production deals, and overseen the creation of critically acclaimed titles including Shatter for PlayStation 3 and PC, as well as highly successful licensed titles including Speed Racer the game, Jackass the game and the Rugby League series. Mario is also the president of the New Zealand Game Developers Association, acting as an industry advocate as well as assisting and mentoring other game developers. He is a graduate of Victoria University with degrees in business management and computer science and has studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. More |
Updated 19 July 2010.
The speakers list will be updated regularly.
