IDC and Conferenz congratulate this year’s winners in the CIO Awards held tonight in Auckland. The Awards recognise the
individuals and teams who have shown leadership, innovation and foresight in their contribution to ICT and business.
Winners were announced tonight at a glittering awards ceremony at Auckland’s Civic Theatre with over 600 technology
leaders in attendance.
The Awards were supported by ServiceNow, Juniper Networks, ClearPoint, 2degrees, RWA Technology People, Sharp, CompTIA
and Younity.
Highlights include:
Sally Copland, General Manager - Digital at Countdown named as CIO of the Year, and;
Frances Valintine named for her outstanding contribution to business and technology in New Zealand.
Winners were announced in seven categories:CIO AWARD WINNERS 2020CIO of the Year 2020 – Sponsored by CompTIA
WINNER: Sally Copland, General Manager – Digital, Countdown
FINALISTS:Iain Gauld, CIO, ContactMandy Simpson, Chief Digital Officer, Z EnergyMark Denvir, Director ICT, Auckland CouncilStella Ward, Chief Digital Officer, Canterbury District Health Board and West Coast District Heath BoardOutstanding Contribution to Technology and Business in New Zealand - Sponsored by Sharp
Recipient – Frances ValintineEmerging ICT Leader of the Year 2020 – Sponsored by 2degrees
WINNER: Dr Margaret Harris, CIO, ContainerCo
FINALISTS:Chris Marsh, Group Infrastructure Manager, FreightwaysMo Chalabi, Digital Consultant, BecaSustainability through Technology – Sponsored by Younity
WINNER: Southern Cross Health Society
FINALISTS: Z Energy, Genesis Energy, Tonkin + TaylorCommunity Tech Champions – Sponsored by Juniper Networks
WINNER - Te Reo Irirangi o Te Hiku o Te Ika
FINALISTS: Manaaki powered by Indigo, The Pam Fergusson Charitable TrustBest ICT Team Culture – Sponsored by RWA Technology People
WINNER: Fidelity Life
FINALISTS: Counties Manukau Health, Otago Polytechnic, Stats NZ Tatauranga Aotearoa, VocusBusiness Transformation through Digital and IT – Sponsored by ClearPoint
WINNER: New Zealand Inland Revenue
FINALISTS: Countdown, PlaceMakers
Louise Francis, Country Manager of IDC New Zealand, applauded the winners and finalists for their outstanding
achievements. “In a year of epic challenges this year's winners and finalists elevated the view of what the face of
digital leadership looks like in New Zealand. The calibre of entries this year was exceptional. Each one provides many
examples of how other businesses and CIO’s can emulate their successes, using innovation and a culture of challenging
the status quo, to tackle the massive disruptions of today for a rapid return to growth tomorrow."
The CIO Summit and Awards is New Zealand’s premier professional development forum for senior ICT executives. More about
the awards can be found at https://www.ciosummit.co.nz/cio-awards.WINNERS BIOs & IMAGES:Outstanding Contribution to Technology and Business in New Zealand - Sponsored by Sharp
Recipient – Frances Valintine
Born in rural Taranaki and headed to the bright lights of London at 17, Frances was shaped by some of the most
progressive technology markets at a time when consumer technology was starting to emerge into the marketplace. She
returned to New Zealand in the 1990s with a commitment to share her learnings to help leap-frog New Zealand into the
future.
In 1998, when Aotearoa was still focused on traditional primary export sectors, she cut a new path for creatives and
early adopters of emerging technologies. She established formal qualifications and career paths in 3D animation, Digital
Media, Game development and visual effects - industries that were forming at the fringe of technology innovation.
Fifteen years later in 2013 she established The Mind Lab to upskill an entire generation of teachers in emerging digital
technologies. The Mind Lab created learning labs throughout the country for school students to learn how to code, build
robots, create websites, and develop computer games. The organisation's impact earned it the title of Best Start-Up in
Asia Pacific as judged by Steve Wozniak and Sir Richard Branson in 2014.
In 2016 Frances founded Tech Futures Lab, a Graduate School for professionals looking to learn contemporary skills and
knowledge for the digital economy. With a suite of graduate programmes from Master of Technological Futures to
postgraduate studies in Connected Environments. She has educated over 20,000 adult students in formal programmes. Many
thousands more through short tech courses in software development and over 250,000 school aged students.
In addition, she has advised hundreds of New Zealand businesses in digital transformation. These businesses include some
of New Zealand largest corporations, government agencies and tech start ups.
Frances is a New Zealand Flying Kiwi and a member of the NZ Hi Tech Hall of Fame. She is a Sir Peter Blake Leader, and a
Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her Lifetime commitment to technology and education.
She sits on multiple boards and is an advisor to the BNZ Bank. She is a selection adviser to the Edmund Hillary
Foundation which brings extraordinary international talent to New Zealand as entrepreneurs and investors. She is a
long-standing judge for the Hi Tech Awards, and a mentor to female technology leaders in New Zealand and in India. She
is a Director, with 8 other female leaders, of On Being Bold, a platform to support and encourage emerging female
leaders and Year 13 students to dream big. She is also a proud mum of four young adults and a relentless advocate for
encouraging greater diversity in tech.
Her immense impact on so many New Zealand businesses, students and professionals make her an exemplary recipient for
this year's award.CIO of the Year 2020 – Sponsored by CompTIA
WINNER: Sally Copland, General Manager – Digital, Countdown
Sally Copland is the General Manager – Digital at Countdown. Copland saw the importance of setting the strategic
priority of becoming a leading digital retailer. She created CountdownX, the supermarket's digital and data driven
portfolio, by bringing eCommerce, loyalty, direct marketing, and IT together, and significantly bolstered internal
digital technology capabilities. By showing the digital strategy's alignment and benefits for the broader Woolworths
Group and being clear on resourcing and investment requirements, the initiative gained support from higher management of
the Woolworths Group.
The CountdownX team is central to the retailer's strategy and were a critical element of Countdown’s swift response to
the COVID-19 challenges, and its revamped Countdown app offers a personalised shopping experience and keeps customers
engaged. Under Copland's leadership, Countdown's online business has grown significantly and is now one of the largest
grocery retail sites in New Zealand.NZ Emerging ICT Leader of the Year 2019 – Sponsored by 2degrees
WINNER: Dr. Margaret Harris, CIO, ContainerCo
Dr Margaret Harris is the CIO of ContainerCo. In this role, Harris, conceived of, developed, and implemented
ContainerCo's 'Grid' logistics management solution. Project Grid automates the movement of empty containers from
terminals as a service for shipping companies, a task that ContainerCo was performing manually. Harris leveraged the
company's existing data streams to create efficiencies by matching loads of containers to trucks leaving with a load. As
a result, truck utilisation improved, fewer trucks transited through ContainerCo's gates, and the company could move
more containers in a shorter time span. Harris established digital training opportunities for ContainerCo employees and
she advocates for technology adoption in small and medium-sized logistics businesses.Community Tech Champions – Sponsored by Juniper Networks
WINNER: Te Reo Irirangi o Te Hiku o Te Ika
Te Reo Irirangi o Te Hiku o Te Ika, also known as Te Hiku Media, works to conserve the Māori language. Te Hiku Media's
long-running project, Papa Reo, is a research program that began with the idea "to teach computers te reo Māori". Papa
Reo aims to develop a multilingual platform for natural language processing and machine learning (ML) tools. The project
focuses on making AI and ML language processing tools accessible for Māori and Pasifika languages. Te Hiku Media's work
is vital for language conservation in the digital age.Best ICT Team Culture – Sponsored by RWA Technology People
WINNER: Fidelity Life
Fidelity Life is the country's largest locally owned and operated life insurer. Recently Fidelity Life has undertaken
major changes in processes and culture. The company has made the move from an antiquated and conservative organisation
to one implementing agile working and culture programmes for a collaborative culture that encourages innovation.
A company-wide culture programme was created to demonstrate how people's behaviour makes a difference and measure the
impact on the business. Other components of Fidelity Life's new team culture include a personalised talent management
programme with access to external coaches, encouragement of volunteer work, flexible working, and an Accessibility Tick.Business Transformation through Digital and IT – Sponsored by ClearPoint
WINNER: New Zealand Inland Revenue
Te Tari Taake, New Zealand Inland Revenue, plays a prominent role in providing economic and social wellbeing for around
3 million New Zealanders each year. In a multi-stage digital transformation, Inland Revenue has successfully transformed
New Zealand’s revenue system by automating the process of collecting and distributing money to the population. This
saves considerable time and costs for individual customers, employers, businesses, and government services. The
deployment of its START technology platform has enabled a seamless integration of all tax and social policy products - a
world first for a revenue organization.Sustainability through Technology – Sponsored by Younity
WINNER: Southern Cross Health Society
Southern Cross Health Society quickly adapted to the changing health landscape brought about by COVID-19 by utilising
and implementing their digital strategy. Ensuring their members were at the forefront of their response, they pledged
$50million to help customers through this time. Each member received a credit as a percentage of their premium, and
members who lost work were offered policy freezes. Their strong digital policy enabled Southern Cross Health Society to
deliver this promise quickly and effectively, maintaining strong customer relationships.