KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
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Conference MC
Mark Bunting Mark Bunting started his professional life as a school teacher. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in education, majoring in psychology, he took his lengthy and expensive training in the education area and became a radio announcer. There he spent over 30 years, winning numerous national awards, hosting nationwide and local shows and managing teams of announcers, journalists and writers. Mark always knew he’d return to education, and over several years training high performing sports and business teams to communicate to win, he has developed his own technology - OPEN flames communications. This course has been adopted and adored by many schools throughout the country, and is becoming invaluable with the advent of the innovative learning spaces that are becoming commonplace in today’s educational institutes. “I teach people to talk in a way they’ll be listened to and to listen in a way that people will want to speak to you”. As well as having been a teacher and radio announcer, Mark is a business owner, father, trainer, top polling Hamilton City Councillor, Committee Chair, School board member, TV host and is the breakfast host on the nationwide radio show ‘Bunting in the Morning” on Magic FM. He has also been an aerobics instructor, but please don’t ask him about that. Mark is on a mission to get the entire country getting on, and to once again return Aotearoa to being known as the friendliest country in the world. |
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Keynote Speaker - William Pike
William Pike is an inspirational kiwi who is on one hell of a journey - from losing his leg in a volcanic eruption, to starting a nationwide youth development programme, to mountaineering in Antarctica, William has an unfair advantage when it comes to talking about the necessity of stepping outside of your comfort zone to overcome challenge, change and achieve extraordinary things. It’s easy to see that William has an infectious enthusiasm for adventure, life and fun. His character and outlook on life are nicely summed up by the title of his popular autobiography, Every Day’s A Good Day. As a young, passionate explorer, William has spent countless days and nights off the beaten track in New Zealand’s backcountry and in far off places such as Antarctica and deep in the South Pacific Ocean. William motivates, shocks and inspires audiences by retelling his captivating tale of survival on Mount Ruapehu where doctors noted his survival as a miracle. Engaging, real and down to earth, William weaves relatable messages into his stories that challenge audiences to step outside of their comfort zone - to achieve their goals and experience the extraordinary. |
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Keynote Speaker - Michele A'Court
Winner of “Female Comedian of the Decade” at the 2010 NZ Comedy Guild Awards, Michele A’Court is a stand-up comedian, MC, writer and social commentator. Michele has been working as a corporate MC and entertainer for more than 20 years – and in this current climate is using her skills as a television host (dating back more than three decades) in the online environment, giving Zoom meetings and webinars a professional flourish. Her international experience as a stand-up comedian includes work in the United States, Canada, the UK, Australia, Papua New Guinea and East Timor. She won the VAC Reilly Award for Excellence in Comedy in 2015. She regularly tours solo comedy shows around New Zealand – everywhere from opera houses to community halls. In the 2022 New Year Honours, Michele was recognised for her services to the entertainment and comedy industries and becomes an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM). Television & Radio Michele first came to the nation’s attention as the host of “What Now” in the 1980s, and has worked on screen ever since, most recently as a regular guest host on Three’s primetime show, “The Project”. She has made regular appearances on the hit comedy show “7Days” since it began in 2009. Michele is a frequent voice on RNZ National’s “Nine to Noon” and “The Panel” and is a sought-after contributor on commercial radio. She also co-hosts “On The Rag”, a monthly podcast hosted by The Spinoff, plus a monthly video series of the same name funded by NZ On Air. Writer Originally trained as a journalist, she wrote a weekly newspaper column from 2008 to 2019 on current social issues for Stuff. She continues to work as a freelance writer for a variety of publications. Michele has written two bestselling books: “Stuff I Forgot To Tell My Daughter” (2015) and “How We Met” (2018) both published by Harper Collins. Community Michele is the Patron of “The Aunties”, a grassroots charity for women and children in need. She is also Patron of the Moving & Handling Association of NZ (MHANZ) which cares for carers in the health sector. Michele is a proud member of Actors’ Equity, and a Life Member of the NZ Comedy Guild. |
