Wellington - Sold Out

Speakers:

Jessie Wong

Jessie Wong is a Wellington entrepreneur and founder of luxury leather goods brand Yu Mei. She set up Yu Mei after winning an AMP scholarship while completing a Bachelor of Fashion Design at Otago, allowing her to invest in the specialised machinery required to craft leather goods. Together with her production manager Adrian, Wong grew the brand, picking up 32 stockists in 18 months following successful showings during Yu Mei’s first two appearances at New Zealand Fashion Week. 

Six years on, Yu Mei has grown to a team of 16, with a permanent design studio, and three flagship stores across Wellington and Auckland. Under the guidance of her female business mentor, Wong has scaled her business, securing a world-class manufacturing facility to realise plans for international expansion. With a large network and community of successful fellow females, Wong is a woman in business with an impressive strategic outlook and vision for the future of regenerative leathercraft.

Miranda Hitchings and Jacinta Gulasekharam

Miranda and Jacinta founded Dignity in 2016 with a mission to deliver period equity in Aotearoa. They provide free period products through two Impact Initiatives: “Buy-one, Give-one” partnerships for business and gifting initiatives for the benefit of Kiwi workplaces, youth and community groups. They were recognised as joint finalists at the 2019 Wellingtonian of the Year Awards, while Jacinta was a finalist in the 2020 Women of Influence Awards.

Dignity has so far helped supply nearly 200 schools, youth and community organisations with free access to period products and gifted 34,474 boxes of period products, 455 Oi menstrual cups and 1,704 pairs of AWWA period proof underwear.

Miranda and Jacinta’s long term goal is ending period poverty: “we believe no-one should miss out on opportunities simply because they have their period.”

Rebecca Kitteridge

Rebecca Kitteridge was appointed Director-General of Security in May 2014. 

Before her appointment Rebecca was the Secretary of the Cabinet and Clerk of the Executive Council, within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. She served under four Prime Ministers and four Governors-General in that role and in earlier roles in DPMC. 

In March 2014, Rebecca was appointed as a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, in recognition of her service as Cabinet Secretary and Clerk of the Executive Council. 

In 2017, Rebecca won the Public Policy Award at the New Zealand Women of Influence Awards. 

Rebecca lives in Wellington with her husband and daughter. When she is not working she enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, reading and cycling. 

with Host Anna Fifield

Anna Fifield became the editor of the Dominion Post and the Wellington editor for Stuff in October, returning to New Zealand after 20 years abroad.

She was a foreign correspondent for the Financial Times and the Washington Post during those years, posted to Seoul, Tehran, Beirut, Washington DC, Tokyo and, most recently, Beijing. She was a Nieman journalism fellow at Harvard University in 2013-14 and was awarded Stanford University's Shorenstein Prize in 2018 for her reporting on Asia.

Her book, "The Great Successor: The Secret Rise and Rule of Kim Jong Un," has been published in 24 editions