Keynote Speakers

Professor Grant Guilford 
Vice Chancellor, Victoria University of Wellington

Professor Grant Guilford has been Vice-Chancellor at Victoria University of Wellington since March 2014. As Vice-Chancellor, he is Chief Executive of the University, its administrative and academic head, employer of all staff in the University, and Chair of the Senior Leadership Team. He is responsible to the University Council for ensuring that the University carries out its statutory and contractual functions in teaching, research and community service. Professor Guilford was previously the Dean of the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Auckland and a member of its Senior Management Team. He has successfully led large and complex academic organisations, beginning with the Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences at Massey University.

Professor Guilford holds Bachelor of Philosophy and Bachelor of Veterinary Science degrees from Massey University and a PhD in Nutrition from the University of California, Davis. Earlier in his career, he undertook teaching, research, clinical and leadership roles at the University of Missouri, the University of California, Davis, and Massey University. He has driven major capital works processes and participated in a wide range of commercialisation processes. He is on the board of the Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency (WREDA) and chairs its Risk Audit Committee and is a member of the New Zealand China Council. Professor Guilford has also previously been on the board of a number of companies, research consortia, joint ventures, centres of research excellence and a Crown Research Institute.

Professor Jan Thomas
Vice Chancellor, Massey University

Presentation Topic: Confessions of a baby boomer: Spotify, monetisation, musty offices and the whole catastrophe

Professor Jan Thomas commenced as Vice Chancellor of Massey University in January 2017.  From 2012 Jan served as Vice-Chancellor and President at the University of Southern Queensland in Australia.  Prior to that, she held various senior executive positions at Murdoch University and the University of Notre Dame Australia from 2003. Professor Thomas has a PhD in Veterinary Science from Murdoch University and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute for Company Directors. She has received numerous awards for her leadership in education.  Professor Thomas is currently a Member of the Council of the Association of Commonwealth Universities based in London and is a member of the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Council.