Sunday Star-Times

Fighting for finance

CFO Summit warms up

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Finance experts in insurance, telecommun­ications and transport are in the running to be named New Zealand’s chief financial officer of the year.

The CFO Awards celebrate New Zealand’s top chief financial officers and senior finance executives at an awards dinner at SkyCity on March 15.

The EY CFO of the year finalists for 2017 are Sean Kam of Partners Life, Kate Jorgensen of KiwiRail, and Andrew Carroll from Chorus.

Kam joined Partners Life as chief financial officer in mid-2012.

Before that Kam had been chief financial officer at Heartland Bank, which he had helped spin out of troubled finance company Marac Finance.

He joined Partners Life with what managing director Naomi Ballantyne described a ‘‘strong market reputation’’ built on more than 20 years in finance positions at both listed companies and financial institutio­ns.

At Partners Life he was most recently in charge of a project which raised $200 million for the company.

Jorgensen joined KiwiRail in March 2015, having previously worked at Fletcher Building for six years.

She has been credited with transformi­ng the chief financial officer role at KiwiRail, and led an overhaul of its IT systems.

Chorus chief financial officer Andrew Carroll joined the company in 2011 with a decade’s experience in the telecommun­ications industry.

He had previously worked at Telecom for nine years, and was director of Investment Banking at Credit Suisse First Boston New Zealand before that.

At Chorus, Carroll’s responsibi­lities included ensuring strong financial performanc­e at Chorus, as well as building relationsh­ips with shareholde­rs and the investment community.

Ngai Tahu Holdings chief financial officer Allan Hickford received the top gong in 2016 for his role in Ngai Tahu becoming the first iwi to surpass $1 billion in assets.

His focus on transparen­cy and improved reporting helped build understand­ing, trust and confidence in both the commercial arm of Ngai Tahu and iwi shareholde­rs, judges said.

The CFO summit will feature four internatio­nal keynote speakers including Stratfor vice president of strategic analysis Rodger Baker, Centre for Digital Business managing director Marie Johnson, University of Melbourne professor Peter Gahan, and Fossil Group chief financial officer Dennis Secor.

Finalists for the Chartered Accountant­s Australia New Zealand finance team of the year are Summerset, Xero, Southern Cross and the Department of Internal Affairs.

The Technology One financial innovation project of the year finalists are Placemaker­s, Southern Cross and Synlait Milk.

The University of Auckland Business School young financial manager of the year finalists are Tim Mackay of Sealord, Casey Blatch from Synlait, Jessie Watling from Ruapehu Alpine Lifts Limited, and Fletcher Building’s Jeremy Yan.

Finally, the MasterCard small and medium enterprise finance team of the year category finalists are Red Bull, Powerhouse Ventures, and 90 Seconds.

The awards are organised by Fairfax Media (publisher of Stuff) and Conferenz.

This year’s CFO Summit will focus on the geopolitic­al landscape and its impact on local business, innovation and growth, technology and disruption, and the future of the workplace.

The EY CFO of the year finalists for 2017 are Sean Kam of Partners Life, Kate Jorgensen of KiwiRail, and Andrew Carroll from Chorus.

CFO Summit & Awards are at SkyCity, Auckland, on March 15. Register at www.cfosummit.co.nz

 ?? CHRIS SKELTON/FAIRFAX NZ ?? Partners Life chief financial officer Sean Kam, is a finalist for this year’s EY CFO of the year.
CHRIS SKELTON/FAIRFAX NZ Partners Life chief financial officer Sean Kam, is a finalist for this year’s EY CFO of the year.
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