Sold Out—Women Leading Business Lunch 2025

Come together on Friday, 7 March, and be part of an important celebration: International Women's Day, proudly supported by our principal partner, Lillis Clark.

The theme for 2025 is #AccelerateAction, focussing on the need to speed up the current progress towards achieving gender equality. To support this theme, our speakers are two inspirational women who have been on their own journeys to leadership in male-dominated fields.

What’s in-store:

Be inspired by our two keynote speakers, distinguished businesswomen Katherine Rich – Chief Executive of BusinessNZ, and Mary Los’e – CEO of the Pacific Business Trust.

Katherine Rich was an MP from 1999-2008, before becoming CEO of the NZ Food and Grocery Council. Katherine now leads BusinessNZ, the peak advocacy organisation of Aotearoa, where she continues to be a prominent voice in both business and politics

Mary Los’e is a seasoned leader in partnership, communications and organisational change. Mary’s expertise in engaging Iwi and Pacific communities has seen her achieve economic growth and strategic change, and many will know her from holding many prominent roles with NZ National Telehealth Services, BNZ’s Innovation Unit and Housing NZ (now Kāinga Ora).

Be part of change

Join us for an afternoon of insightful stories, thought-provoking discussions, and a chance to connect with change-focussed individuals as we collectively strive towards a more inclusive world.

What’s included:

· Bubbles and canapés on arrival

· Lunch with drinks

· Our legendary goodie bags

Table Bookings:

If you would like to book a table of 10 people, please contact Wellington Chamber of Commerce to book this directly: events@wecc.org.nz

Member tables: $850 + GST

Non-member tables: $1,050 + GST

Agenda:

12.00pm - 12.30pm: Networking

12.30pm - 2.00pm: Lunch and guest speakers

Thank you to our event partners

Goodie Bag Sponsors

Womens Day 2025 Goodie Bag Sponsor Logos

Prize Sponsors

Speakers:

Mary Los'e

A seasoned leader in partnering, communications, service design and organisation transformation, Mary has specific expertise in Iwi and Pacific engagement with proven results to establish and drive economic growth. She is skilled at leading strategic and operational change by creating a high performance culture and teams. As a member of Global Women Mary has both private and public sector experience; Chief of Customer Experience at NZ National Telehealth Services, Head of Partnering at BNZ’s Innovation Unit, General Manager Communications at Housing NZ (now Kāinga Ora). Mary has recently started governance service joining the Breast Cancer Foundation NZ Board towards the end of 2023. She has an Undergraduate and Master of Business Administration from the University of Auckland. Mary is a proud West Aucklander from Kelston with whakapapa to Ngāti Rereahu ki Ngāti Maniapoto and Ulutau, Houma in Tonga.

Katherine Rich

Katherine Rich is the Chief Executive of BusinessNZ, the peak advocacy organisation for New Zealand business, bringing a wealth of experience from her career in both politics and industry. She served as a Member of the New Zealand Parliament from 1999 to 2008. Prior to joining BusinessNZ, Katherine was the Chief Executive of the New Zealand Food and Grocery Council from 2009 to 2023, advocating for the interests of grocery manufacturers and suppliers as well as advocating for trade liberalisation as a member for the APEC Business Council for five years. Katherine holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Otago. Her early career included roles in both the public and private sectors. Katherine continues to be a prominent voice in New Zealand’s business and political spheres and her leadership at BusinessNZ focuses on fostering a thriving business environment and advocating for policies that support economic growth and sustainability.