Featured Talks & Speakers

Todd McClay is the Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Forestry, Minister for Hunting and Fishing, Minister for Trade, and Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs. He has been the MP for Rotorua since 2008.

Todd held several Ministerial roles in the Fifth National Government with portfolios including Trade, State-Owned Enterprises and Revenue.

Todd has previously been a diplomat and was the Cook Islands and Niue Ambassador to the European Union. He has worked in business in Europe as well as government and public relations internationally.

Hon Nicola Grigg

MINISTER OF STATE FRO TRADE
MINISTER FOR WOMEN

With more than 16 years’ experience in the WTO, Ms. Anoush der Boghossian is the Head of the WTO Trade and Gender Unit, leading the Organization’s work on trade and gender since 2016. She was appointed as the WTO’s first trade and gender expert by former Director-General Roberto Azevêdo. Anoush is a recognised researcher and trainer on gender responsive trade policy. In particular, she is one of the coauthors of the WTO/World Bank report on “Women and Trade” and the lead author of the gender chapter (4) in the Aid for Trade Global Review 2022 publication. In 2023 She has six new forthcoming publications with the World Trade Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Sherbrooke University and journal of Legal Issues of Economic Integration and the ILO. Her research mostly focuses on the links between trade policy, trade rules and agreements, aid for trade and women’s economic empowerment. Driving research on trade and gender globally, she is the Founder and Chair of the WTO Gender Research Hub, a global research network that fosters research and experts’ partnerships on gender equality in trade. In December 2022, she initiated and chaired the first edition of the World Trade Congress on Gender, the first research conference on trade and gender organised internationally, building a bridge between researchers and trade policy makers. In 2023, Anoush has been nominated to represent the WTO at the G20 Empower initiative. Anoush is also a policy maker on gender issues and she drafted the first gender policy of the WTO, issued and adopted by Director-General Ngozi OkonjoIweala in December 2022. She studied in France and Scotland and holds a Masters in European and International Law, and a Masters in Communications.

Professor Shiro Armstrong

DIRECTOR, AUSTRALIA-JAPAN RESEARCH CENTRE
DIRECTOR, EAST ASIAN BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH
CRAWFORD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY, ANU

Vangelis Vitalis is Deputy Secretary, Trade and Economic. He is New Zealand’s Chief Negotiator who led the conclusion of negotiations for the New Zealand European Union Free Trade Agreement (EUNZFTA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) and the Malaysia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (MNZFTA). He was also a member of the negotiating teams for the New Zealand-China FTA and the P4 Agreement.

Vangelis was also the APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) Chair for New Zealand’s host year in 2021 which established the APEC Aotearoa Plan of Action(external link) – APEC’s programme of work for the coming two decades. Vangelis was also the CPTPP SOM Chair for New Zealand’s host year in 2023 which oversaw the accession of the United Kingdom and the establishment of the Auckland Principles [PDF, 527 KB] which guide and inform the process for CPTPP members to consider accession requests.

Prior to taking up his role in Wellington in 2017, Vangelis was New Zealand’s Permanent Representative (Ambassador) to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Geneva where he chaired the agriculture negotiations in a personal capacity. In this role he helped draft the text of the historic Nairobi WTO Ministerial Decision(external link) to eliminate agricultural export subsidies. Vangelis has also been New Zealand’s Ambassador to the European Union and NATO in Brussels and has had postings to Canberra and Moscow.

In his role as Deputy Secretary, Vangelis also had management oversight of the conclusion of negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, the UK-NZ FTA, the FTA upgrades with China and ASEAN. In addition, Vangelis has helped design and implement the advancement of New Zealand’s strategy of concerted open plurilateralism [PDF, 215 KB] including through the conclusion and expansion of the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement, the Agreement on Climate Change and Sustainable Development and the Indigenous Peoples’ Economic Cooperation and Trade Arrangement. Vangelis was also involved in the establishment and expansion of the Inclusive Trade Action Group and New Zealand’s membership of the Global Trade and Gender Arrangement [PDF, 462 KB].

Vangelis has worked outside the Ministry including in the Secretariat of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development(external link) (OECD). He is a past member of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF)(external link) Global Future Council on Trade, is currently a member of the WEF International Trade and Investment Action Group and is also on the Steering Committee for the WEF Climate Trade Zero initiative. He has chaired in a personal capacity the OECD Committee on Trade and the Environment. the OECD Global Forum on Trade and Climate Change and is currently the New Zealand Envoy for the Small Advanced Economies’ Initiative(external link).

A keen saltwater land-based fisherman, Vangelis is married with three children and speaks Greek, German and Russian. He is a longstanding (and suffering) supporter of the Wellington Phoenix Football Club.

Alasdair Hamilton

BRITISH CONSUL GENERAL IN AUCKLAND
DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF THE PITCAIRN ISLANDS

Stephanie Honey is Associate Director of the New Zealand International Business Forum, provides policy advice to the New Zealand members of the APEC Business Advisory Council and is also a trade policy and strategy consultant, including working with the New Zealand China Council. 

She is also co-founder of a consultancy providing executive education in trade policy. Stephanie’s areas of interest span regional economic integration and the WTO, agriculture and food trade issues, services trade, investment and cross-cutting issues such as non-tariff barriers and the digital economy. She has worked extensively on trade issues relating to the Asia-Pacific, including China (where her interests include Belt and Road), ASEAN and North America, as well as Europe and Australia. 

Prior to becoming a consultant, Stephanie had extensive government experience, including serving as the New Zealand agriculture negotiator in the WTO Doha Round negotiations; as the senior official for the bilateral relationship with Australia; and a three-year posting in Brussels at the New Zealand Mission to the European Union.

Mia Mikic

UNIVERSITY OF WAIKATO