Speakers – EMPA New Zealand Conference

Sean Howard

Genevieve Blunden — Wed, 15 May 2024 01:00:37 +0000

Sean is CEO, WPP Government & Public Sector Practice. The WPP Government and Public Sector Practice works with governments and public sector organisations around the world, pioneering the application of excellence in public communications to the challenges of public policy delivery. Further details coming soon.

Mark Trüdinger

Adrianne Betlehem — Thu, 02 May 2024 01:11:44 +0000

Mark Trüdinger is the Group Recovery Manager for Northland Civil Defence Emergency Management. With an initial background in communications, he has worked for the last two decades for an organisation that specialises in working with communities who have experienced hardship and trauma after disasters, war, and genocide. His approach to community engagement in the Recovery from 2023’s Cyclone Gabrielle blended traditional approaches from communications and community engagement with collective community practices. As part of this recovery and preparing the Regional Recovery Plan for Northland, he worked with more than 500 people and 100 organisations.

Andrew Campbell

Adrianne Betlehem — Thu, 02 May 2024 01:10:30 +0000

Andrew Campbell is Global Director of Strategic Communications for the Octopus Energy Group based in London. He has also been on the frontline of New Zealand’s recent major emergency events.

As Chief Press Secretary to Dame Jacinda Ardern and Chris Hipkins he devised the media strategy and led the Government’s communications response through an unprecedented range of domestic crisis including COVID-19, the Whakaari/White Island volcanic eruption, the 2019 Christchurch terrorist attack and resulting ban of semi-automatic firearms and the responses to a range of climate related disasters including the historic 2023 Auckland floods and Cyclone Gabrielle – New Zealand’s most costly weather event.

Prior to his time in the Prime Minister’s Office he worked for New Zealand Rugby and was a former Communications Director and Chief of Staff for the New Zealand Green Party.

Philippe Borremans

Adrianne Betlehem — Wed, 01 May 2024 04:01:06 +0000

Philippe Borremans is an independent consultant with over 25 years of experience specialising in risk, crisis, and emergency communications. He advises multinational companies and works with large public institutions such as the European Union, the World Health Organization and the African Union. He develops training and designs simulations to improve crisis communication strategies.

Philippe also lectures at universities across Europe and North Africa and shares his insights at industry conferences. He is the author of the book “Mastering Crisis Communication with ChatGPT; A Practical Guide” and editor of the weekly newsletter Wag The Dog, which reports on trends in risk, crisis, and emergency communication. He began his career at IBM and Porter Novelli International, where he focused on corporate and crisis communications.