Panel Discussion

2

CPD

Battle of the boardroom: where experience meets fresh thinking

Explore how experience and fresh thinking combine to shape learning and growth in the boardroom.

Speaker(s)
Erica Amon, Natasha Harvey, Rodney Young, Doug Wilson, Jenny Nand
Date
5:30pm — 7:30pm, 19 February 2026
Venue
FMG Stadium Waikato
Location
Gate 5, 128 Seddon Road, Hamilton
Price members
$50.00 incl GST
Price non-members
$75.00 incl GST

Overview

The boardroom is more than a place for decisions; it is a place for growth and reflection. Our upcoming panel discussion, Battle of the Boardroom, will explore the questions every director should be asking: What am I learning? What have I learnt? What don’t I yet know—and how do I learn what I don’t know?

The conversation will highlight why we should never discount the wisdom of experienced directors, whose knowledge and perspective provide stability and insight. At the same time, newer directors bring fresh thinking, energy, and challenge, creating opportunities for shared learning. Together, the panel will discuss how boards can foster a culture of knowledge exchange—where mentoring and reverse mentoring are embraced as powerful tools for collective growth.

The real battle of the boardroom is not only making sound decisions today, but also equipping ourselves to make better ones tomorrow.

Erica Amon

 CMInstD

Erica graduated from the University of Otago with a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Clinical Pharmacy. She has over 20 years of experience across a range of roles in the health sector, including 11 years as Regional Manager for Healthcare of New Zealand—the country’s largest provider of community-based health and residential disability services.

Erica is currently an Associate with Navigator Ltd, a consultancy supporting NGOs and iwi organisations to translate strategy into sustainable operations.

A passionate advocate for strong governance, Erica has been an active member of the Institute of Directors, serving for 10 years on the Waikato branch committee and has lead Special Olympics NZ through SportNZ’s Governance Mark programme achieving certification in 2022, and recertification in 2025.

Outside of work, Erica enjoys golf, exploring New Zealand’s Great Walks and Bike Rides, travelling, and learning the art of growing her own vegetables.

Natasha Harvey

CMInstD

With a diverse career spanning accounting, information systems, commercial finance, and governance, Natasha brings critical insights that challenge thinking, sharpen strategy, and drive value creation. Natasha thrives on supporting and inspiring others—both in the workplace and across the wider community. Natasha is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors, a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, and a graduate of the Institute’s 2017 Mentoring for Diversity programme. Her experience bridges complex commercial environments and the for-purpose sector, underpinned by a commitment to transparency, visionary financial leadership, and practical, solution-focused thinking.

Passionate, driven, and endlessly curious, Natasha asks the right questions—what, so what, now what—to look ahead and challenge the status quo. Natasha thrives in dynamic, high-performing teams, bringing strong financial expertise, commercial acumen, leadership, stakeholder engagement, project delivery, and a talent for aligning cross-functional teams to deliver innovative, collaborative outcomes.

Rodney Young

MInstD

Rodney is a recognised audit and risk leader with extensive experience in organisational risk, assurance, and strategic leadership. As GM Risk and Assurance at Gallagher Group Limited, Rodney leads enterprise risk, internal audit, and organisational resilience across global operations. He has pioneered innovative approaches such as AI-enabled risk frameworks and objective-centric models, enhancing organisational agility and performance.

Rodney has also held key risk and assurance leadership roles at Te Pūkenga, and Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. His contributions have earned him accolades such as the RiskNZ Risk Professional of the Year Award (2024) and runner-up for RMIA's Risk Leader of the Year (2023). He currently serves as a National Board Director for the Institute of Internal Auditors New Zealand, and on the Board of Trustees for Community Link Trust, where he contributes to building resilient and high-performing organisations.

 With advanced qualifications in leadership communication, internal audit, and risk management, Rodney combines strategic insight with cultural competence, including mātauranga Māori, to deliver inclusive and impactful governance solutions.

Doug Wilson

With over fourteen years as a partner at Deloitte, Doug’s primary focus is largely acting as a trusted advisor to his clients. This can involve sitting on advisory boards, or just working alongside business owners to help identify and achieve their growth strategies. Over the last several years Doug has focused his advisory work on corporate finance related projects in the following related areas: Strategic Planning; Business structuring; Financial advisory; Business sales/acquisitions; Valuations; Capital raising; and Succession planning.

Doug also has several governance roles covering ‘for profit’ and ‘not for profit’ organisations and this provides a solid basis in understanding how to work on a business rather than in a business.

Jenny Nand

Jenny is a seasoned public servant and community leader with over 16 years of experience spanning the public sector, community development, and governance. 

Jenny holds governance roles as Chairperson of Community Waikato, and Trustee of the Len Reynolds Trust, reflecting her deep commitment to youth empowerment, intercultural understanding, and equitable outcomes. She also contributes to intercultural dialogue and community cohesion as the co-chair of the Waikato Intercultural Fund.

 

Additional information

Should you have any dietary, mobility, cultural or other requirements, you can let us know on the registration form.

By registering for this event you are confirming that you agree to adhere to our event terms and conditions.

Branch event cancellation policy

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

Contact

Megan Beveridge
Waikato and Bay of Plenty Branch Manager

+64 21 358 772
megan.beveridge@iod.org.nz

Our sponsors

The Waikato branch acknowledges the generous support of

A S B

Book this event

  • Hamilton

    date
    19 Feb 2026

    Members — $50.00

    Non-members — $75.00