Speakers

Dr. Adrian Ng is a New Zealand General Practitioner, Urgent Care Physician and medical technology entrepreneur, and the CEO of RapiDose Project, a novel medical device designed to eliminate weight-based paediatric medication dosing errors at the point of care. A Fellow of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, Dr. Ng founded the RapiDose Project from frontline clinical experience, recognising a critical patient safety gap in paediatric resuscitation. Housed at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute Cloud 9, the RapiDose Project brings together clinicians and engineers to transform innovative ideas into real-world clinical practice. Dr. Ng leads the company's vision, strategy, and commercialisation pathway.

Dr Alastair Dunne is a practising New Zealand GP and Co-Founder & CEO of Gestalt, an AI-native medical education startup scaling clinical reasoning training. A dual College Fellow (FRNZCGP, FRACGP), Cambridge MBA in healthcare strategy, and Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors (CMInstD), Alastair brings over 15 years of clinical practice across diverse settings - New Zealand, Australia, the Middle East, and even remote medicine at sea - alongside non-clinical work in health technology and governance. Previous experience includes special projects with G42 Healthcare, a multi-billion-dollar AI company in Abu Dhabi.

Dr Amio Matenga-Ikihele (Te Whānau-ā-Apanui | Niue) is a digital health equity researcher, clinician, and systems leader whose work is reshaping how Pacific communities engage with health technology. She holds a PhD in Health Sciences from the University of Auckland, where she remains an Honorary Lecturer in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences. She is a Fellow of Health Informatics New Zealand and a co-founder and Strategic Lead (Digital Health & AI) at Moana Connect.

Anne is a highly accomplished and results-oriented senior regulatory, quality, and auditing leader with over two decades of experience spanning software development, process optimisation, and global medical device compliance. Leveraging a strong foundation as a former software developer and certified quality and regulatory professional, she brings deep expertise in guiding innovative medical devices and SaMD from concept through global regulatory approval, conformity assessments, and lifecycle management. Her core strengths include regulatory strategy for Australia, Europe (MDR) and other key markets, ISO 13485–aligned quality management systems, and risk-based internal and supplier audit programmes that turn complex requirements into pragmatic, business-focused processes.

Professor Anthony Butler is a radiologist and Director of Imaging at the University of Otago, Christchurch, and a clinical radiologist at Christchurch Hospital. He has supervised more than 45 PhD students, published over 150 scientific papers (H-index >35), received more than 10 research awards, including from the Royal Society of New Zealand, and led more than NZ$12 million in research grants. A former member of the detector physics group at CERN, he co-founded MARS Bioimaging Ltd in 2007 to take CERN technology to the clinic. He continues to serves as Chief Technology Officer, developing spectral photon-counting CT technology for point-of-care applications (NZ MedSafe and USA FDA-510k clearance).

Dr Benjamin O’Brien has 20 years’ experience developing and commercialising technology. Ben has a BE in Mechatronics and a PhD in Bioengineering from the University of Auckland. In 2012 he co-founded a stretchable sensor company, StretchSense, and was the CEO for over a decade. Today, StretchSense builds and sells the world’s most unobtrusive gloves for XR training, and Ben serves as a director on the board. Ben believes that technology startups are the key to future economic and social prosperity. To this end, he is mentoring academics and founders and working on a book for entrepreneurs, “The Bottom of the Cliff”. Ben recently wrote an essay helping academics take the leap of faith to become entrepreneurs. Check it out here: https://www.bottomofthecliffbook.com/blog/the-leap-of-faith

Brian Ward is Founder and CEO of Aroa Biosurgery, a New Zealand company developing medical products for soft tissue reconstruction and complex wound healing. Since founding Aroa in 2008, Brian has led the company from scientific discovery through to global commercialisation, ASX listing and international market growth. He has more than 30 years experience in life sciences and healthcare, spanning clinical, technical, commercial and strategy roles with multinationals including Baxter, Beecham and SmithKline Beecham. Brian holds a BVSc from Massey University and an MBA with distinction and was founding CEO of NZBio.

Bruce Moller is the Chief Executive Officer of Howard Wright Limited, a position he has held for over 30 years. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) from the University of Canterbury and an MBA from Cranfield University. Based in New Plymouth, Bruce takes pride in the specialist team at Howard Wright, whose collective expertise allows the company to compete globally. He views his role as a continuation of the company’s long-standing tradition of practical innovation and user centred design, focusing on the Company’s simple purpose of "making care safer and easier" for both healthcare personnel and their patients.

Candice Apelu Mariner is General Manager of Pacific Health Services Hutt Valley, the only Pacific-led health and social service provider in a region of 160,000 people. A 2026 Winston Churchill Fellow and Doctor of Health candidate with the Victoria University of Wellington, Candice is a health innovator driving AI and digital transformation in primary care. She has pioneered the introduction of AI scribes and remote monitoring technologies to extend care reach for Pacific communities, and has presented her work internationally, including at the Global Precision Public Health Conference in Malaysia. Her approach integrates data-driven innovation with culturally grounded, community-led models of care to advance health equity.

Daniel Wilson (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Pikiao) lectures in Computer Science at Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland. His teaching and research are in the areas of AI, Māori Data Sovereignty, Māori Algorithmic Sovereignty, and AI ethics. Daniel is a member of the management group for the AI in Health Research Network, a Co-Director of the Centre of Machine Learning for Social Good, Pou Pae Auaha at Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, a member of Te Pokapū in The Māori Data Sovereignty Network - Te Mana Raraunga, member of the Kāhui Māori for the AI Forum, and treasurer of the AI Researchers Association. Daniel has a PhD in Philosophy and a Master of Professional Studies in Data Science from Waipapa Taumata Rau.

Dr David White is a biomedical engineer, applied research leader, and commercialisation specialist with more than 46 years of experience advancing innovation across health, engineering, and technology. He holds senior leadership roles as Head of Innovation and Commercialisation at Vitality Innovations, Senior Researcher at the New Zealand College of Chiropractic, Founder and Chief Science Officer at Goodair, and Chief Science Officer at Symply. David is recognised for building bridges between research, design, and industry to develop practical entrepreneurial solutions with real-world impact. His own innovation work focuses on the upper airway and nasal breathing, with a particular interest in creating novel therapeutic approaches for chronic physical and neurological conditions by harnessing the body’s own physiological repair mechanisms. Across a career that spans academia, industry, and business, David has combined human physiology with broad technical and commercial experience. Before and alongside his research career, he previously worked as an automotive engineer, toolmaker, mechanical design engineer, technical manager, and film producer, shaping the multidisciplinary perspective that underpins his innovation practice today. Previously an Associate Professor with a 32-year academic background, David has maintained strong industry engagement and used his experiences to support founders and inventors take technologies from early concept through to production-ready products.

David Lovegrove is Head of Design at TASKA Prosthetics, where he leads the design team in the development of globally recognized myoelectric prosthetic hands. With over 30 years’ experience in strategic design and engineering, David’s empathetic, user-focused approach has driven TASKA’s market leadership and innovation in prosthetic technology. He holds multiple patents and design awards, and previously founded New Zealand’s most successful product design consultancy, 4ormfunction, acquired by TASKA in 2019. His career spans pioneering work at Fisher & Paykel, Formula 1 engineering, telecomms and international medical device design.

Dr Diana Siew is a strategic leader in New Zealand’s MedTech innovation ecosystem. She co-founded the Consortium for Medical Device Technologies (CMDT), a national network that connects researchers, clinicians, and industry to accelerate health technology development. Diana leads major initiatives including Te Tītoki Mataora, the MedTech Research Translator and the BioBridge Programmes, which support research translation, capability building, and early-stage ventures. She also helped establish MedTech-iQ Aotearoa. Diana serves on the Return on Science Medtech & Surgery Committee and University of Sydney Biomanufacturing Incubator Advisory Board. Diana is Strategic Partnerships Lead at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland.

Dr Guy is a Canterbury Medical Research Foundation (CMRF) research fellow at the University of Canterbury. She is an ECR who confirmed her PhD ( “Rethinking respiratory diagnostics and monitoring: From hardware to model-based therapeutics” ) in 2025 in mechanical engineering. Her focus has been in respiratory system modelling and she has been developing a tool for technique-independent lung function monitoring to be used for at-home management of chronic respiratory disease, where the current options require measurements of maximal breaths (in-clinic).

Elle Archer is a systems strategist and futurist working across iwi development, digital infrastructure and governance transformation. With 30 years across science, technology and economic development, she designs integrated ecosystems that move communities from digital equity to sovereignty. Her kaupapa: Tāku take, he whakakotahi. WE shapes me.

Eric spent 12 years as a firefighter before a massive stroke left him unable to speak or swallow. After intensive rehabilitation at the Rose Centre, he regained both and later returned there as patient peer support, helping others navigate recovery. The experience reshaped his purpose and ignited his commitment to supporting people with dysphagia. He went on to serve as a Community Stroke Advisor with Stroke Aotearoa NZ, supporting survivors and whānau. Today, Eric brings lived expertise to MedTech as a Patient Engagement Specialist at Swallowing Technologies. Outside work, he explores Christchurch’s food scene with his fiancée Jess, celebrating the joy of eating he fought hard to reclaim.

Greg Shanahan is the co-founder of HealthTech company Veriphi and the founder of Technology Investment Network (TIN), New Zealand’s leading source of information and insights on NZ’s globally focused technology sector. Veriphi’s mission is to revolutionise IV medication safety by verifying the identity and concentration of intravenous drugs before they are delivered to patients. Combining laser spectroscopy, AI, and cloud computing, Veriphi’s technology can accurately recognise drugs and their concentrations within delivery consumables. The company’s ambition is to become a major global player in intravenous drug delivery, with current expansion focused on Australia and the United Kingdom.

Isaac Cleland is the Founder and CEO of RosterLab, a New Zealand health tech company helping hospitals automate rostering and optimise workforce planning. His journey began with a PhD in Engineering Science at the University of Auckland, where he focused on nurse rostering optimisation and applying advanced mathematical techniques to complex healthcare scheduling problems. Through RosterLab, Isaac has focused on turning deep research into practical software that supports clinical teams, improves staffing alignment, and brings the judgement of expert rosterers into scalable technology.

Dr James Daniell is President & Chief AI Officer at Orchestral, helping governments and health systems deploy AI to deliver personalised care at scale. For over a decade, he has led global strategic efforts across AI, data, software, and biotech, translating research into commercial outcomes. Previously, James helped scale LanzaTech to a US$2.2B Nasdaq listing, leading international R&D teams. A published scientist and inventor, he serves on iGEM’s Scientific Advisory Council and holds a PhD in Computational Biology from the University of Auckland. He also completed executive education at Stanford Graduate School of Business and studied technology, ethics, and public policy at Sciences Po.

Jesse is the General Manager for the LifeHealthcare team and business based in Auckland, New Zealand. Part of the EBOS Medical Technology Group, LifeHealthcare is a specialised Australian & New Zealand Medical Technology distribution business, delivering service and support for a broad range of products & technologies across multiple therapeutic areas. With over 13 years’ experience in various roles within LifeHealthcare based in both Australia and more recently NZ, Jesse has developed strong insights into how to build teams and infrastructure to effectively deliver high quality service and support for medical technology brands into these markets.

Associate Professor Joanne Choi is a clinician-researcher and innovator at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago, where she leads the Clinical and Translational Research Programme at the Sir John Walsh Research Institute. Her work focuses on advanced dental materials, digital manufacturing, and translating research into clinically meaningful healthcare solutions. With over 90 peer-reviewed publications, Joanne’s research spans digital dental technologies, 3D-printing, and restorative dental materials. She is also the inventor of Snow Cap Crowns, a paediatric dental innovation currently moving through the commercialisation pathway. In 2025, her team received the HealthTech Award for best translational research project at Te Tītoki Mataora HealthTech Week in recognition of their translational innovation work.

Jordan is a Mechanical Engineering PhD candidate at the University of Canterbury. Her research focuses on developing non-invasive physiological monitoring technologies for critical care applications, with a particular interest in optical sensing and pulse oximetry. She is currently working on a non-invasive, neck-worn sensor for monitoring oxygen utilisation in real time to support earlier detection and intervention in clinical care. Her research is guided by clinical and community engagement, with a focus on designing technologies alongside end users to ensure they are practical, accessible, and centred around patient and clinician needs.

Jordan is an Investment Manager for the Aspire Seed Fund with a background spanning mechanical engineering, biomedical science, and medical device commercialisation. Before moving into venture capital, he spent several years in Product Development at Fisher & Paykel Healthcare working across the OSA product portfolio, taking a number of devices through to market. He has a particular focus and passion for medical devices and the opportunities emerging across the sector.

Lance has over 40 years’ experience in the healthcare industry, 20 of which were in executive leadership roles with NYSE-listed multinational medical device companies. He is a past National President of the Australian Institute of Medical Scientists and was most recently the Director, Investment and Innovation at the Liverpool Innovation Precinct. He has Masters Degrees in Clinical Biochemistry, Business Administration and Commercial Law, is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Chairs the boards of Navi Medical Technologies and Lenexa Medical. Lance served on the Expert Advisory Group for the NSW Innovation and Productivity Council, is an Advisory Board Member for MedTech Research Translator in New Zealand, a member of the NSW Medical Devices Fund Assessment Sub-Group, was a Specialist Advisor for the Australian Clinical Translation and Commercialisation MedTech grant program, mentors for numerous start-up accelerator programs and is invited regularly to present on Startup Governance.

Matt Lazenby is a product design leader with over 25 years of experience developing solutions across consumer products, subsea systems, and medical devices. With a focus on image-guided therapy, he has led new product design and manufacture of Class I devices used in interventional radiology, cardiology, and neuroradiology, where performance, reliability, and usability are critical. Matt believes the most meaningful innovations come from deep customer insight translated into practical, high-performance solutions addressing unmet needs. His work spans research, design, engineering, clinical evaluation, and manufacturing, bringing concepts through to real-world impact within a compliant Design History File in regulated medical environments.

Megan Barnes is the New Zealand Business Development Manager for Equitech, bringing more than 20 years of software development experience across New Zealand’s public and private sectors. Based in Wellington and Wairarapa, she works with health providers to introduce Speedback, an innovative AI‑enabled virtual care platform. Megan is energised by work that blends people, technology, and problem‑solving to help teams unlock better ways of working and deliver meaningful outcomes for their communities.

Natalia Lopez is the Co‑Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Kitea Health, a medtech company developing innovative, non‑invasive solutions for monitoring intracranial pressure in patients with neurological conditions. She leads the company’s operational strategy, with a focus on scaling clinical, regulatory, and commercialisation efforts. With a background in quality systems, manufacturing and early‑stage company building, Natalia brings a strong track record in advancing technologies from benchtop to market.

Peter Burnand is the General Manager of Obex Medical in New Zealand, part of the Bunzl APAC MedTech group. He has over 25 years’ experience in healthcare. Over the past 15 years in MedTech, Peter has worked across product management, sales leadership, and business leadership roles. He works closely with global manufacturers to bring new technologies into the New Zealand market, with a focus on market access, clinical adoption, and building effective distributor partnerships.

Rachael McGuckian is an International Market Manager at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) and a member of the South East and East Asia (SEEA) Lead Team. She leads market connectivity across nine priority markets — India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. In her role, Rachael acts as the key link between NZTE’s in market teams, New Zealand based colleagues and exporters, ensuring exporter needs are translated into clear market strategy and on the ground activation. Rachael brings deep international experience to the role, having held two overseas postings as a Trade Commissioner in Milan and Hong Kong. She has worked extensively with export customers across a wide range of sectors and market maturity levels, from early stage exporters through to globally established firms.

Rachelle Hodgson is a highly experienced executive with more than 30 years in the medical device industry. She is the Founder and CEO of Endoventure, a medical device distribution company, and serves as Director of Traksol, the New Zealand partner for hTrak SAS. Throughout her career, Rachelle has built a strong reputation for leadership, strategic business development, and advancing innovative healthcare technologies within the medical sector.

Dr Ralph Highnam, DPhil (Oxon) is a pioneer in breast imaging science and med-tech. He co-founded Volpara Health in 2009, serving as CEO and Chief Scientist until its acquisition by Lunit in 2023. His work on volumetric breast density measurement transformed breast cancer screening worldwide. Ralph holds degrees from Brunel and Oxford Universities, co-authored Mammographic Image Analysis with Professor Sir Mike Brady, and has 150+ publications and multiple patents. Previously CEO of Mirada Solutions (acquired by Siemens), he is now a founder (again), academic and investor.

Ryan P. Radecki, MD MS FACEM FACEP, is a U.S.-trained emergency physician and clinical informatics specialist.  He works in the ED at Waitaha Canterbury, and as Senior Clinical Advisor to Health NZ on the HealthX team.  He is also a member of the HNZ National Artificial Intelligence and Algorithm Expert Advisory Group, the National Clinical Practice Committee, and the Whānau, Consumer and Clinician Digital Council.

Sam leads health sciences research advisory and business development activities at the University, supporting researchers and clinicians to secure funding, build partnerships, and translate research into impact. He returned to Dunedin after a 10 year international career spanning applied research, innovation, and project leadership in Europe, including senior roles with Mars Incorporated in the Netherlands and PRO Wageningen University Research Institute RIKILT. Sam’s background across academic, industry, and research institute settings informs a strong understanding of translational research and stakeholder engagement. He holds a BSc (Hons, First Class) and a PhD from the University of Otago.

Sonny Taite is Director of Digital Innovation & AI at Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand, where he leads HealthX, the national programme accelerating artificial intelligence and digital innovation across the clinical frontline. With more than 30 years' experience across the private and public sector, he is focused on bringing practical, proven AI tools out of the lab and into clinicians' hands at pace. Known for aligning emerging technologies with clinical need, Sonny puts equity, workforce capability, and clinical value at the centre of every deployment. He champions a model of innovation that moves quickly, learns through rapid testing, and scales proven solutions, so that AI delivers real, measurable benefit for healthcare professionals, patients, and communities across Aotearoa.

Simon’s career as an Industrial Designer ranges from professional practice in industry through to teaching and research in academia. His industry experience includes Fisher and Paykel Appliances, including their early medical devices, followed by more than 20 years at the internationally renowned Porsche Design Studio as Assistant Design Director. Simon joined Victoria University of Wellington/Te Herenga Waka as the founding Programme Director of Industrial Design with subsequent roles as Head of the School and Associate Dean, Research & Innovation for the Faculty of Architecture and Design Innovation. Current activities include facilitating translational research by bringing together science, design and industry via active affiliations with Te Tītoki Mataora and the NZ Product Accelerator.

Stella is a passionate and purpose-driven executive who thrives at the intersection of people, technology, and systems change. Throughout her career, she has been guided by a simple but powerful belief: that bold ideas, when nurtured with integrity and kindness, can transform lives and communities. With over a decade of executive leadership across health, technology, and innovation, Stella has led large-scale digital transformations, built high-performing teams, and created spaces where creativity and collaboration flourish. Stella is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Digital Health Association (DHA) | Te Rōpū Hauora Matihiko, the leading voice for digital health in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Here she leads a small team to support the thriving network of organisations that are members who range from healthcare providers and tech innovators to government bodies and global companies, all working together to revolutionise the way health services are delivered and experienced. At DHA, our strength lies in our community — bringing together the custodians of nearly all health-related data in New Zealand to drive meaningful change in the health sector. “What matters most to me is the impact we create, whether that is improving healthcare delivery, supporting innovators, or building partnerships that span sectors and borders,” she says. When not working, you will find her exploring the arts, supporting local innovation ecosystems, or enjoying the natural beauty of Ōtautahi Christchurch. “I’m endlessly curious, always learning, and deeply committed to creating a future that’s more connected, equitable, and inspired. I love meeting people who are passionate about making things better.”

Thor is a Professor at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute and has a joint appointment with the Department of Engineering Science and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Auckland. His research combines medical imaging with computational modelling to understand mechanisms of musculoskeletal injury and disease. The goal of this work is to provide clinicians with tools to assess musculoskeletal function and personalise treatment of musculoskeletal disorders. Thor has published 170+ journal papers on these topics and spun-out two companies from his research, including IMeasureU (inertial sensing for human movement) and FormusLabs (orthopaedic pre-operative planning). Current research focuses on workflows to generate digital twins (Musculoskeletal Atlas Project), improving reproducibility of knee models with application to ACL reconstruction (KneeHub), and large-scale harmonisation of clinical gait data (MotionConnect).

William Lin is the Commercial Sales Manager at The Insides Company, where he leads APAC and Rest of World expansion efforts for a new category of life-saving medical devices designed for patients with severe colorectal and gastrointestinal conditions. With a background in physiology and bioscience enterprise, and commercial experience spanning channel partner management, new product launches, key account development, and international market strategy, William has introduced The Insides Company's innovations to patients across Oceania, Southeast Asia, and South Africa. He is passionate about advancing early-stage MedTech and driving commercial strategies that improve patient outcomes.

XB is a Senior Associate with WNT Ventures, New Zealand's longest-running deep-tech incubator and VC firm. With over 30 companies invested across various sectors, WNT is committed to backing innovations grounded in scientific and engineering breakthroughs. Prior to WNT, XB was an Investment Manager at SEEDS Capital, the largest early-stage deep-tech fund of the Singapore government with over US$500M in AUM, investing in 15 Healthcare companies across different themes such as Digital Health and Therapeutics, Biotech and Medtech.

Dr. Yaara Yarmut is Chief Regulatory Officer at Alimetry, a New Zealand medtech company with an FDA-cleared AI-powered wearable for gastric diagnosis. A veterinarian by training, she spent over a decade in clinical research, quality and regulatory affairs for medical device startups - building quality systems and navigating regulatory pathways from the ground up. In her current role, she oversees regulatory strategy, quality management, and submissions across multiple jurisdictions, while contributing directly to Alimetry's commercial direction.