AI for Good - Wellington | 14 May 2026
Our Speakers
Perspectives on AI in Aotearoa. Real experience, honest conversation.
Tracy Morris
Head of Engineering at Trade Me
Tracy Morris is a product-led technology leader with over 25 years of experience delivering digital products and platforms to millions of New Zealanders, currently serving as Head of Engineering at Trade Me. A finalist for the 2024 Diversity Champion of the Year, she is a passionate advocate for systemic change to increase the representation of women in technical leadership. As an organiser of the Wellington AI Engineering Meetup, Tracy actively promotes responsible AI adoption and high-performance governance to ensure diverse voices shape the future of technology.
Jack Shennan
CEO & Co-founder, Shire
Jack Shennan leads the customer functions across Shire, a company on a mission to make sure no one is taken advantage of when they buy a property. Among the first 0.1% of ChatGPT users, the company have been leaders in applied AI since before OpenAI, Anthropic, or Copilot were mainstays of CTO balance sheets. They have AI agent products in property due diligence, construction, and more. 100 year old lighthouse customer Master Electricians partnered with the team to build an AI voice agent that turned +20 minutes of paperwork on every job into a 5 min phone call.
Martin Kay
Founder and Director, Adminis
Martin Kay has 30 years experience as an entrepreneur and investor specialising in startups and early stage ventures. Martin has worked and invested in some of New Zealand's most high profile successes such as Trade Me and Xero, as well as founding Adminis.co.nz which now administers over $20 billion in investment funds. Martin brings energy, unique insights and strategies for execution to startups.
Kate Kolich
Head of Data and Artificial Intelligence, Contact Energy | Co-chair, Women in Data Science New Zealand
Kate is the Head of Data and Artificial Intelligence at Contact Energy, with over 25 years of leadership experience in data, digital transformation, and innovation across both public and private sectors. She has received multiple industry awards for data projects and was named one of the top 100 innovators in data and analytics globally by Corinium Global Intelligence in 2024. Kate is committed to advancing the data science community, co-chairing Women in Data Science New Zealand and serving on the advisory board of the Victoria University of Wellington Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. She is also an associate of Wellington Uni-Professional, where she teaches a course on responsible data and AI use. Kate brings a visionary yet pragmatic approach to leveraging emerging technologies, with a strong focus on ethical AI and inclusive innovation.
Hayley Horan
CEO, Business Central & Wellington Chamber of Commerce
Hayley Horan is a seasoned executive with a strong background in business, government, and education. She has held senior leadership roles at Microsoft and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), including serving as the New Zealand Trade Commissioner to Singapore. Currently, she is the CEO of Business Central and the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, where she focuses on building connected and resilient regional economies.
Venue & logistics partner
Shawn George Mathew
VESA & The ATOM, Victoria University of Wellington
Shawn George Mathew leads the Victoria Entrepreneurship and Startup's Association (VESA) at Victoria University of Wellington and is the event's venue and logistics partner through The ATOM - VUW's entrepreneur hub. VESA brings together students and the wider startup community through events, hackathons, and hands-on workshops, and has been instrumental in making The ATOM available as a home for Wellington's AI community conversations.
Date & Time
Thursday 14 May 2026
Doors 5:15pm - Programme 5:45 - 7:30pm
Venue
The ATOM
Victoria University of Wellington Entrepreneur Hub