Webcast
1
CPD
Join us for a director-focused briefing with Robert Patman on global trade shifts, tariffs and what they mean for New Zealand boards.
Global disruption is no longer a background risk for boards. Trade rules are fragmenting, strategic competition is reshaping supply chains, and climate-linked standards are increasingly influencing market access, disclosure expectations and organisational resilience.
The IoD’s Geopolitical climate: Boardroom briefings is a four-part webinar series designed to help directors govern with confidence in this changing environment. Each quarterly session in 2026 brings a different expert perspective on the geopolitical forces shaping New Zealand organisations, translating global developments into the strategic questions boards should be asking.
In this fourth briefing, Robert Patman, a Professor of International Relations and an Inaugural Sesquicentennial Distinguished Chair at the University of Otago, will provide a clear, director-focused overview of global trade and policy shifts. Drawing on deep experience across government relations, trade strategy and geopolitical risk, Robert will explore developments in key markets.
Directors will gain practical insights into how tariff volatility, regulatory divergence and emerging trade standards translate into real strategic, risk and reputation implications — and what this means for board-level decision-making now.
Robert is one of the University of Otago's inaugural Sesquicentennial Distinguished Chairs and his research interests concern international relations, global security, US foreign policy, great powers, and the Horn of Africa. He is a former HOD of the Department of Politics and also served as an editor for International Studies Perspectives and Head of Department of Politics.
Robert is the author or editor of 12 books. Publications include Strategic Shortfall: The 'Somalia Syndrome' and the March to 9/11 (Praeger, 2010), co-edited books titled China and the International System: Becoming a World Power (Routledge, 2013); Science Diplomacy: New Day or False Dawn? (World Scientific Publishers, 2015) and New Zealand and the World: Past, Present and Future (World Scientific Publishers, 2018). Robert is currently writing a volume called Rethinking the Global Impact of 9/11 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020).
He is a Fulbright Senior Scholar, an Honorary Professor of the New Zealand Defence Command and Staff College and provides regular contributions to the national and international media on global issues and events.
CMInstD
Judene is a Principal Governance Adviser with the Institute of Directors’ Governance Leadership Centre and Chapter Zero NZ lead providing best practice advice, guidance and advocacy for directors. She is also chair of the Nelson Historic Theatre Trust, deputy chair of the Rātā Foundation, and a trustee for the Network Tasman Trust.
Prior to joining the IoD she ran her own consultancy for over 20 years, specialising in governance, policy, strategy and communications working across a wide range of sectors, including housing, health, solid waste, aviation, energy, not-for-profit and infrastructure.
Judene was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to governance, local government and the community in the 2026 New Year Honours. She was a local government elected member for 12 years and a director on a range of private and public entity boards. She has a background in behavioural science and communications and is a Chartered Member of the IoD.
Amy McNicol
National Sponsorship and Events Manager
+64 27 265 5834
Amy.McNicol@iod.org.nz
