Lee Astridge is the founder of No.8HR, a specialist recruitment and human resources business operating in the Australasian agribusiness sector.  As a ‘performance and strategy’ coach Lee is passionate and committed to helping business owners achieve better bottom-line performance through effective people strategies.   
She has over 25 years’ experience in strategic HR and people development roles which includes global experience gained in a range of positions including senior leadership, management and technical specialist in-house roles.  Lee also advises to a number of governance and operational boards across a variety of businesses.  
Although proudly ‘a generalist,’ her time most recently has been with clients focused on organisational strategy, design, and culture change, alongside management and leadership capability analysis and development.
Lee is a professional member of the Human Resources Institute of New Zealand and holds tertiary management and HR qualifications.  She has built a reputation as motivational facilitator who challenges clients to identify new insights and consider new paradigms for themselves, their teams and their businesses.

Ifor is acknowledged as one of the most influential cluster practitioners in the world, with hands-on experience extending to over 50 countries. 
Ifor has been an advisor to The World Bank, EU, OECD, UNDP, international aid agencies and national & regional economic development agencies on six continents. 
Ifor is a Founder, Past President and Member of the Board of Advisors of TCI Network - the global practitioners network for competitiveness, clusters and innovation (Barcelona). 
He has served on Cluster Advisory Boards in Denmark, India, Mexico and Africa, and on the European Cluster Observatory.  
Ifor is the author of the ‘Cluster Development Handbook’, the first comprehensive guide to the What? the Why? and the How? of cluster engagement.

Katherine Newman is a Reservoir Engineer at Contact Energy. Originally from Texas, she began her career in Oil and Gas and has enjoyed a transition into the Geothermal industry since moving to New Zealand in 2019. 
Katherine is now leading the reservoir commissioning for the upcoming Tauhara Power Station, and she serves as the chair of Training and Development for the Women’s Network at Contact. 
Katherine is also proud to be the Chair of WING New Zealand, where she leads a team of professionals who focus on high-impact industry initiatives to challenge norms and empower members. 

Chelydra Percy is the new Chief Executive of GNS Science, taking up the role on May 1 2023.

Before being appointed as GNS chief executive, Chelydra served as Group Chief Executive of BRANZ (Building Research Association of New Zealand), a role she had held since 2013.

She comes to GNS with plenty of experience in the CRI (Crown Research Institute) sector, having previously worked at Callaghan Innovation, AgResearch

Mike is the General Manager of Geothermal Resources and Development at Contact Energy, leading new power and direct heat opportunities and exploration for new geothermal resources. His team have worked on Te Huka, Te Mihi, Tauhara and redevelopment of Wairakei, from conception through consenting, construction and operation. Mike has been on the Board of the New Zealand Geothermal Association and is an editor of the Geothermics science journal. Previously, Mike worked in wholesale electricity markets and development of wind and hydro power projects. He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and has experience in the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia and the United States. In 2015 Mike was the Deloitte Energy Awards New Zealand Energy Executive of the Year.