2026 Programme

8.00am – 9.00am
Registrations and Networking
9.00am – 9.45am
Welcome & Mihi Whakatau
9.45am – 10.00am
Opening Address

Room: ASX Auditorium

10.00am – 10.45am
Opening Keynote Speaker – “Why the smartest AI still isn’t a collaborator you can trust”

Sponsored by: ChristchurchNZ

Room: ASX Auditorium

10.45am – 11.45am
XO Recruitment Morning Tea and Networking
11.45am – 12.25pm
Business – Evolve or Die: Why the fastest iterators win

Room: ASX Auditorium

11.45am – 12.25pm
Technical – “It’s just data… until it isn’t”

Room: Technical Stage

11.45am – 12.25pm
Canterbury Focus – “SaaSpocalypse”

Room: Smudge Stage

12.35pm – 1.15pm
Business – “From spreadsheets to scale-up: what building a fintech in a heavily regulated industry taught us about automation, AI and trust”

Room: ASX Auditorium

12.35pm – 1.15pm
Technical – “Solopreneruing: Architecting an ambitious business that stays lean but scales”

Room: Technical Stage

12.35pm – 1.15pm
Canterbury Focus – “Beyond the Scoreboard: Engineering a Competitive Edge”
  • Programme
    Beth Smith, Lead Performance Scientist | Crusaders Rugby

Room: Smudge Stage

1.15pm – 2.15pm
Perpetro Software Lunch and Networking
2.15pm – 2.55pm
Business – “Your toughest questions about startup success and failure. Addressing your most challenging provocations on startup life, founders, success and failure. Fully interactive, user-driven session with no topics off the table”

Room: ASX Auditorium

2.15pm – 2.55pm
Technical – “Ocean Flyer Seagliders: Their journey – technical challenges and development, and what this could mean for New Zealand’s transport future”

Room: Technical Stage

2.15pm – 2.55pm
Canterbury Focus – “Your mind is your moat: Why your cognitive architecture is your greatest asset for the future”

Room: Smudge Stage

3.05pm – 3.45pm
Business – “Selling AI to people who don’t want it: Building enterprise SaaS in 2016 vs 2026”

Room: ASX Auditorium

3.05pm – 3.45pm
Technical – “Cybersecurity in the Age of AI: Safeguards and tactics to offset risks when AI fails”

Room: Technical Stage

3.05pm – 3.45pm
Canterbury Focus – “Real lessons from building startups in Aotearoa. Hear from four founders building New Zealand’s next generation of tech startups”

Room: Smudge Stage

3.45pm – 4.30pm
Afternoon Tea and Networking
4.30pm – 5.15pm
Closing Keynote Speaker – “Investing Through the Cycles”

Drawing on quantitative research and macroeconomic analysis, Ben explores the relationship between artificial intelligence, productivity, central bank policy, interest rates, and global liquidity, and discusses the implications for equities, fixed income, commodities, and digital assets.

Sponsored by: ChristchurchNZ

Room: ASX Auditorium

5.15pm – 5.30pm
Wrap up and Closing Remarks

Room: ASX Auditorium

5.30pm – 6.30pm
Enable Networking Drinks and Nibbles
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