Bruce Robertson
Bruce was an establishment Trustee on HTT, briefly leaving before returning as Chair. He is one of New Zealand’s most experienced advocates who began interacting with Cabinet Ministers while in his early 20's. At that time, he was the Federated Farmers advocate for the arable and transport sectors. In 1995, he joined Hospitality New Zealand, leading a revival of the organisation, resulting in its growth from 700 members covering bars, to 3,200 members representing the breadth of the hospitality industry from cafés to luxury lodges. Bruce left his role as Chief Executive of Hospitality New Zealand after 20 successful years and now undertakes several governance and advisory roles across hospitality, gaming, tourism and industry training including being Chair of Service IQ and the Christchurch Casino.
Email Bruce
Rebecca Ingram
Chief Executive, Tourism Industry Aotearoa
TIA is New Zealand’s only independent association that represents all sectors of New Zealand’s large and diverse tourism industry. Representing 1200 member businesses from small owner/operators to large publicly listed tourism corporates and international hotel chains, TIA is striving for New Zealand to be world-leaders in ‘next generation’ tourism – tourism for good. Tourism that brings value to those who travel here and to those who live here.
Prior to joining TIA, Rebecca spent seven years at Tourism New Zealand (TNZ), where she held various roles including General Manager of New Zealand and Government Relations. She was previously responsible for TNZ’s PR and Major Events, leading a global team across 10 markets in highlighting the best of what New Zealand has to offer to visitors.
Rebecca has 20 years of leadership, marketing and communications expertise, with proven experience delivering successful business strategies, engagement and advocacy programmes and leading complex transformation in her time at both Spark (then Telecom) and Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand.
Email Rebecca
Steve Armitage
Chief Executive, Hospitality NZ
Masters of Arts (Hons) in Political Science (University of Auckland).
Steve is of Ngāpuhi descent with strong familial connections to Whangārei and the Far North.
He has most recently been Managing Director at Daylight, a strategic consultancy specialising in major events, tourism and business events for the betterment of local communities, visitors and businesses.
He was previously General Manager Destination at Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (now Tataki Auckland Unlimited), the region's cultural and economic growth agency, where he had oversight of tourism marketing, destination management, major events, business events and international education.
Steve oversaw the development of Auckland’s major events portfolio, including the Cricket World Cup, 36th America’s Cup, FIFA Women’s World Cup and Rugby World Cup. He also led the Auckland Convention Bureau to grow Auckland as a premium destination for business events in domestic and international markets.
Steve has previously worked in the New Zealand Government as a strategist advising the government on a range of portfolios, including tourism.
He is also past-Chair of Business Events Industry Aotearoa and current co-Chair of the Tourism Data Leadership Group.
Steve's vision is to lead a collaborative organisation which engages efficiently and effectively on behalf of the membership, delivers meaningful action through the insights of members, and continues to support, attract and develop capability for the sector.
Email Steve