From risk to opportunity: Lessons from the State of a Thriving Nation 2026

This webinar will be recorded and shared in a follow-up email. If you can’t attend live, please register and we’ll send you the recording after the event.

Overview

Workplace injury claims in New Zealand have fallen 28 percent in a decade. Yet harm still costs the country $5.5 billion a year, more than half of it from occupational ill health, and our fatality rate remains 1.4 times Australia's and 3.2 times Great Britain's. Mental wellbeing is the one harm indicator still heading the wrong way.

Most boards meet health and safety through incident reports, assurance and compliance. That work matters, but it is defensive by design. This webinar asks a different question: what if health and safety is one of the clearest readings a board has on leadership quality, operational discipline and long-term performance?

Drawing on the Business Leaders' Health and Safety Forum's State of a Thriving Nation 2026 report, Francois Barton and economist Shamubeel Eaqub will unpack what leading organisations did differently, even under budget pressure. They'll look at worker involvement, measurement and supply-chain relationships as capabilities that lift productivity and resilience as well as safety, and what it means that 41 percent of injury claims arise in producing inputs for other businesses.

The conversation will also explore psychosocial risk as a signal about job design, workload and change, and why stewarding systems, rather than managing individual risks, is where boards make the real difference.

You don't need to be a health and safety specialist to get value from this session. It's for any director who wants a sharper view of where value, capability and risk actually sit in their organisation.

Francios Barton

Francois is the Chief Executive of the New Zealand Business Leaders’ Health and Safety Forum – New Zealand’s largest CEO membership group, representing a coalition of more than 440 CEOs who lead more than 25% of our national workforce, and committed to building cultures that enable people and business to thrive. 

His motivating belief, developed and confirmed by more than 20 years of working with business and across government in policy, strategy and regulation, is that progress only comes when leaders confront difficult realities together.  This is why Francois was one of the founders of the Business Leaders’ Health and Safety Forum back in 2009 and is immensely proud and privileged to have been Forum Chief Executive since 2015.

Shamubeel Eaqub

Shamubeel Eaqub is an experienced economist who makes economics easy. He is a thought leader unafraid to take a contrarian view.

He is an engaging and knowledgeable speaker. He is a regular and respected contributor to media, government and business sector discussions on economic and strategic matters.

He holds a BCOM with honours in Economics from Lincoln University and is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Herman Visagie

MInstD

As General Manager of the Governance Leadership Centre and Registrar, Herman leads the organisation’s research, advocacy, policy agenda, and governance support for directors and boards. Prior to joining the Institute, Herman held executive level and governance roles across the private, not-for -profit, and public sectors. Previous roles include CEO of Telecommunications Dispute Resolution Limited, General Counsel at the Real Estate Authority, and Executive General Counsel, Chief of Staff, and Company Secretary roles at TSB Bank. He has held a number of governance roles, including Chair of the Finance, Audit, and Risk Committee for the Law Society of New Zealand, and has supported a governance education and improvement processes for organisations in NZ and the wider region in the areas of strategy, risk management, and organisational design.

Additional information

Event cancellation policy

Regrettably, registration fees cannot be refunded when cancellations are received within two working days prior to any event.  See our standard terms and conditions for more information.

Contact

Carla Britz
National Events Executive
+64 9 365 2736
carla.Britz@iod.org.nz