The rules of business are being rewritten. Trade tensions, political shifts, capital flows, and the relentless pace of change mean that standing still is no longer an option.

The Faraday 2026 Conference is built for leaders who are ready to move.

Programme & Speaker Line-up

From Conrad Smith on high-performance leadership, to David Seymour on what election year means for NZ business, to deep dives on private capital and organisational transformation — this is a day designed to sharpen your edge.

With the help and support of our trusted partner BoardPro, this year’s Faraday Conference is on Wednesday 26th August 2026 at The Northern Club followed by networking drinks and
nibbles.

9.00 - Registration and Coffee
 
9.30 - Introductions and Welcome
Henry Lynch, Co-founder of Faraday
 
9:40 – Private Capital-using Private Capital to power your business’s ambitious growth plans
Linda Sturges, Head of Private Capital at BNZ who has had 30 years’ experience in the Financial Markets and is passionate about wealth creation for business owners.

BNZ work with the market to match investors with businesses seeking growth capital and Linda will take us through what is required to obtain Private Capital and how to get your business ready for that and for sale.

 
10:30 Morning Tea

10.50 Elevate your Strategy and Accelerate your Implementation Paul Young, Faraday Chair and Advisor

Paul will take us through tools that will rethink your approach to strategic positioning and productivity that will enable your business to access where it stands today and identify the critical big moves needed to strengthen your competitive edge in 2026

11.20 Taking lessons from high performance sport and the All Blacks into business, boardrooms and life beyond the game. 
Conrad Smith, All Black, Lawyer and Head of Rugby Operations of International Rugby Players Association
Conrad will take us on his journey from being an All Black to serving on several World Rugby Committees and how he has taken this into business and boardrooms around the world and what leadership lessons he has learnt.

12.20 Lunch

1.05 NZBlood nzblood.co.nz
Each year Faraday asks a charity to speak at the Conference. This year we have invited NZBlood. In business cash flow is the blood of the business however human beings need blood as well to survive. In this session we will hear how important to NZ is blood and plasma donations.
 
1.35 Transforming Organisational Performance
Craig Steel is the founder and Chief Executive of Vantaset Vantaset.com

To compete in the years ahead, Chief Executives and Business Owners will need to deploy better tools to not only lift their people's productivity but execute their strategy more consistently and efficiently.

Craig will step us through what his 40 years of research on human and workplace performance has uncovered and how true organisational transformation can be achieved.

Craig is considered one of the world’s foremost performance transformation experts and Australasia’s leading authority on workplace performance.

During his 40 years in the performance industry, he has helped athletes win over 20 World Cup and World Championship titles, and hundreds of leaders transform the performance and productivity of their organisations.

His proprietary high-performance operating system (Performance-OS™) has been described as ‘one of the most important breakthroughs in workplace performance in decades’.

Today, Craig and his team are helping CE’s and business owners globally build more competitive future-ready organisations.

2.35 Trade | Tariffs | Fuel Crisis | Free Trade in a fast-moving world

Jo McKeagg, Divisional Manager, Economic Division Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Jo is the Director of our Economic Division and - among many other things- leading our effort on the Middle East fuel crisis. She was formerly the head of the Ministry’s trade law team and led the successful Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) against Canada. Jo also most recently served as the Principal Adviser to the Deputy Secretary for Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Australia.

3.15pm Coffee

3.45 Election Year and what that means for NZ Businesses

David Seymour, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Regulation, MP for Epsom and ACT Party Leader

David grew up in Whangārei with two brothers, a Pharmacist Mum, and a
draughtsman Dad. He was exposed to business from an early age.
He studied electrical engineering and philosophy at the University of Auckland, his first job was working night shift at a sawmill, and his first full time job was on a design project for a fibre optic roll out. 
First elected in 2014, he has now been elected four times. David passed End of Life Choice Act, giving New Zealanders the right to make decisions about their own lives. It was a landmark law, passed by referendum in 2020.

4:20pm Close followed by networking drinks and canapes
Ivy Bar, Northern Club

Entry fee: $450 + GST
More information: info@faraday.company