It’s not often you can be inspired, motivated, brought to tears, and shaking with laughter in the one afternoon. But that’s exactly what more than 350 women experienced at last week’s annual Business Women’s Network Speaker Series.
We were blown away with the stories brought to us by our five sensational speakers, who so easily captured us with their charisma, drive, humour and downright resilience.
A massive thank you to our speakers: Rebekah Campbell, Cecilia Burgess, Sally Duxfield, Amanda Lowry, and Kerre Woodham.
This year’s theme, Paving the Way, was about highlighting women who have – in their own unique way – paved the way for others in their respective fields. We heard exceptional insights from the worlds of entrepreneurialism, corporates, and media, as well as learning about the complex chemicals that drive our bodies, and the rebuilding of mind & body when everything goes wrong.
For the first time the Chamber’s Speaker Series was held at Baycourt, allowing us to empower, uplift, and connect more women than ever before. Thank you to everyone who attended and helped make the event everything it was.
We also couldn’t have pulled this event off without our amazing sponsors.
A message from our sponsors
Principal Sponsors
Craig Investment Partners
Craigs Investment Partners are proud to sponsor the BWN Speaker Series in 2023. The series consistently presents us with first-class speakers who possess an unrivalled ability to ignite inspiration and impart invaluable wisdom. Their captivating stories and expert insights empower attendees to reach new heights in their personal and professional lives.
Creating an inclusive environment where individuals from all walks of life can resonate with our speakers key messaging, fostering a sense of belonging.
The organisers consistently seek feedback, learn from past events, and implement enhancements year after year. This commitment results in an ever evolving and dynamic experience for attendees, providing fresh perspectives and keeping the series relevant and engaging.
Our sponsorship of the BWN Speaker Series is driven by the exceptional quality of speakers, the inclusive atmosphere, and the commitment to ongoing improvement. It aligns with our values, and we are excited to support this remarkable initiative for years to come.
Cooney Lees Morgan
We were thrilled to be a principal sponsor of this year’s BWN’s Speaker Series ‘Paving the Way’, which highlighted several local woman, including our own Sally Powdrell, who have knocked down barriers and reinvented the way women operate in various industry sectors. The dynamic, incredible speakers included CLM CEO Cecilia Burgess, who shared her top five tips for women in business and told us her story, including some incredibly tough challenges she’s faced along the way. Resilience, openness, generosity, authenticity and lean out were Cecilia’s tips, with a mantra of “Love many, trust few, always paddle your own canoe” [Sarah Tittle Barrett].
Senior Associate Tanya Drummond our BWN Committee member, said “with a new venue, new format and almost 400 attendees, this year’s conference was in my opinion, the best yet! The varied speakers kept the audience engaged, educated and entertained starting with Rebekah Campbell’s 2 year quest for a husband and ending with the Kerre Woodham’s thoroughly entertaining career journey. Being at Baycourt gave it a Ted X feel and provided lots of opportunity for networking and business development.”
Premier Sponsors
Young Read Woodberg
YRW Chartered Accountants are proud sponsors of the BWN Speaker Series and have been for a number of years now. Given our team are predominately women, we have always seen it as extremely important to foster the growth of women in business. Partnering with BWN is a good opportunity in which we can do this. This year’s BWN Speaker Series was truly an event of the year.
King St
We have been proud sponsors of the Tauranga Business Chamber BWN Speaker Series for the past two years now. It’s been an honour to be part of such an inspiring event for our community and we really enjoy bringing our design concepts to life across all the event collateral. It’s a great opportunity for the women in our agency to connect with likeminded women within the local business community and be empowered by the stories the speakers share.
Mediaworks
MediaWorks is again very proud to sponsor the BWN Speaker Series 2023. This year’s event was another stand out day, with an exceptional range of interesting, varied and inspiring speakers. Paving the Way was a significant and important theme, and it was poignant to hear from speakers at the very beginning and end of their professional careers, and everywhere in between. Having an event and environment which is specifically tailored to foster women’s professional networking and connections, is so important to a thriving business community and MediaWorks appreciates the opportunity to support this series.
Partner Sponsors
Toi Ohomai
The Business Women’s Network (BWN) Speaker series took place on Tuesday, 27th of June at Baycourt in Tauranga’s CBD. Toi Ohomai | Te Pūkenga had a stand in the exhibitor’s hall where we welcomed attendees to speak to us about the Wāhine Māia – Women in Trades initiative and study options. There was a lot of interest in what we had to offer and it was a good opportunity to educate people on what’s happening with the Te Pūkenga journey.
It was an excellent day of networking, kai, and inspirational speakers including Kerre Woodham, Rebekah Campbell, Amanda Lowry, Cecilia Burgess, and Sally Duxfield. Each speaker shared what they had learnt from their unique experiences in both life and business, often taking the audience from heartbreak to hysterics. The key outcomes of the day were: look after yourself, look after others, and don’t be shy to own the room.
Kale Print
As leaders in the New Zealand print industry we feel it is our responsibility to forge new pathways in order to create a brighter future. We do this through our continuous investment in leading edge technology, actively pursuing environmental accreditation, and putting people and planet before profit. It is for this reason that we continue to support the BWN Speaker Series. To help celebrate the women in our local business community that push the boundaries and break new ground. Let’s continue to lift each other up and inspire others to come along on that journey with us!
Westpac
Westpac were thrilled to sponsor the Tauranga Business Chamber BWN Speaker Series again this year. At Westpac we are passionate about the growth, development and empowerment of all women and the BWN Speaker series 2023 did not disappoint, delivering once again some of the very best inspirational and educational speakers. The speakers were funny, thought provoking and generated an energy that filled the venue and sat with each woman for long after. Each year we have a large contingent of Westpac woman attend from across the Bay of Plenty providing a great opportunity to network and engage with the other wonderful woman in our local communities. The day was thoroughly enjoyed by all and we look forward to many more.
Ryan + Alexander
Ryan + Alexander Consulting are proud to sponsor the BWN Speaker Series for the third year running. Founded by two local women, R+A has supported businesses and jobseekers in the Bay since 2016 and we see the Speaker Series as a special opportunity for us to contribute to the thriving local Business Community. It is a chance for our wonderful team to take some time out of their ‘everyday’, to be inspired by amazing speakers and to meet other local business women in our beautiful city.
Sprout Customer Research
Sprout Customer Research sponsors the afternoon and supports BWN because we believe in women and innovation.
Attending events like the speaker series provides us with valuable inspiration and the opportunity to connect with local businesses. The opportunity to be influenced and talk to women in strong leadership positions.
Being part of such events not only promotes a sense of pride but also creates a network of individuals and businesses working towards similar goals. This woman’s business community can further support each other, as we work towards driving change and innovation locally. Big thanks to Anne, the other BWN committee members and the Tauranga Business Chamber for an enjoyable afternoon.
Pillar Consulting
Pillar Consulting is a New Zealand based consulting firm based in the beautiful Bay of Plenty, with offices in Auckland, Wellington and Brisbane. We specialise in Health and Safety and Human Resource consulting services. We are passionate about partnering with our clients to help them put strong, robust processes in place to allow them to protect their people and their business.
Our philosophy is to implement best practice health and safety and HR systems and then provide training and education to make it easy to put into everyday practice. We see ourselves as true business partners and look to engage as if we are part of our client’s team.
On the back of client demand we have also set up Pillar Recruitment, specialising in the sourcing of Health and Safety and People and Culture candidates only. We love providing the full spectrum of services to our clients.
