Background

I've spent twenty years at the intersection of data, technology, and institutional change — mostly inside or alongside New Zealand's state sector, but also internationally with the WHO, in Australia, Chile, and the USA.

As Director of Innovation at the Ministry of Social Development, I set up the first Advanced Analytics team in 2009 and founded the Investment Approach in Work and Income. This was then lifted to a whole-of-government reform known as Social Investment — reshaping how the state sector invests in citizens based on outcomes, not transactions. I led New Zealand's whole-of-government data sharing initiative, resulting in all social sector data being joined together in the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI).

Since then I've focused on the deeper challenge: how do organisations and communities share information safely and at high value? I founded the NZ Data Commons movement, completed a four-year PhD in the philosophy of information under a Marsden Scholarship, and now serve as a Trustee of the NZ Data Trust, building a Health Information Commons.

While I was away doing the PhD, AI arrived. I've since become AI-native myself — building a working AI environment from scratch to test what's real and what's hype. The hard part isn't the technology. The hard part is seeing what's possible — and then making the case to your board.

Independent Advisor — AI adaptation, data strategy, and institutional transformation (current)

Trustee, NZ Data Trust — Health Information Commons (current)

Trusted Advisor on Social Investment 2.0 — institutional design, data sharing, outcomes measurement

Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System — contracted report on outcomes and data sharing

Kāinga Ora — Advanced Analytics capability development, leadership mentoring

Inland Revenue — $30M Advanced Analytics platform case

Social Wellbeing Agency — independent restructuring advice

International — Chile, Australia, WHO, USA on investment approaches and data sharing

Director of Innovation, MSD — founded the Investment Approach and Social Investment reform

PhD, Philosophy of Information — Victoria University of Wellington (Marsden Grant, 2019–2023)

Harvard Kennedy School — Leadership Development

Wharton School — Executive Education

BA (Hons), 1st Class — Philosophy & Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington

Edmund Hillary Fellow (2017)

Te Pūnaha Matatini Advisory Board — Centre for the Science of Complexity (2015–2021)

NZ Data Futures Forum — independent think tank (2013)