Insider + President's Column - December 2022
Kia ora koutou
It’s hard to believe this time last year, we were still under COVID restrictions. While COVID hasn’t magically disappeared, it’s been great to catch up at events, face to face – and clearly the 439 delegates who attended our 2022 Conference in Christchurch, felt the need to do the same.
Work has already started on our 2023 Conference, 27 & 28 July, in Tauranga. We’re hoping to have the same kind of numbers attend so save the date now! We’ve listened to your feedback on widening the pool of speakers, so look out for our ‘call for speakers’ in mid to late January. After all, the ILANZ Conference is intended to be by and for in-house lawyers, so we’re keen to hear your topic and speaker suggestions.
In our mid-year elections, we farewelled three ILANZ Committee members and welcomed four new ones. This month we profile one of our new committee members, Sophie Mentink. Some of you will have meet Sophie at our MAS end of year drinks on 30 November in Auckland. While I couldn’t be there myself, I hear everyone had a great time. The MAS Satellite Quiz took place the same night – check out the winners below.
Our last events of the year take place today – drinks at Flamingo Joe’s in Wellington, and Jennifer Page from Air New Zealand will speak at our GC Forum in Wellington, thanks to valued partner Bell Gully. We’re grateful for Bell Gully’s support and the time speakers give up to share their knowledge and experiences. We’d also like to acknowledge our other long-standing valued partners, Denton’s Kensington Swan and Deloitte, for their ongoing support through 2022 and beyond.
Finally, I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to taking a break over Christmas, spending time with family and recharging after a big and busy 2022. We’re in the planning stages of a range of events and webinars for 2023, so if there’s a speaker you’d like to suggest for a GC Forum, webinar or event, free to contact me at ilanz[email protected].
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas, a happy New Year and above all a summer break that (re)connects you with the people, places and activities that fill your tank.
Noho ora ma rā / Take care of yourself
Grant Pritchard
ILANZ President