Experience

TCF (New Zealand Telecommunications Forum)

• New Zealand
• Telecommunications
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Chief Executive Officer

  • Aug 2021 - Present

  I run the Telecommunications Forum, the industry association that represents Aotearoa New Zealand’s telecommunications sector. I run the Telecommunications Forum, the industry association that represents Aotearoa New Zealand’s telecommunications sector.



Brislen Communications

• New Zealand
• Public Relations and Communications Services

• Principal

  • May 2015 - Present

  I have worked in and around the New Zealand media scene for 20-odd years, as reporter, editor, commentator, corporate communications leader, lobbyist and now consultant. I have experience with large companies, working on their corporate communications strategy and implementation, and also with the tech start-up space, working with new players who are going to change the world as we know it. My experience includes crisis communications, media relations, social media, corporate communications strategy work, internal communications, supporting corporate communication teams through change processes and government relations work. I am often called on to comment on technology, media and other associated issues by local media outlets including TVNZ, Mediaworks, Radio New Zealand, NewstalkZB and others. I have with a range of clients, including Datacom, Paymark (now Worldline NZ), and ITP to name a few, and seem to spend an inordinate amount of time explaining that no, mobile phones won't give you cancer. Show less



Datacom

• Armenia
• IT Services and IT Consulting
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Strategic Communications Manager

  • May 2019 - Aug 2021

  I ran the corporate communications team for Datacom, looking after analyst briefings, stakeholder communications, internal and external communications and government relations. Part of my remit is to build a team of communicators, put in place processes to help the company communicate better through professional media and social media channels and to engender a culture of story telling for New Zealand's largest locally-owned, and best kept secret, tech company. I ran the corporate communications team for Datacom, looking after analyst briefings, stakeholder communications, internal and external communications and government relations. Part of my remit is to build a team of communicators, put in place processes to help the company communicate better through professional media and social media channels and to engender a culture of story telling for New Zealand's largest locally-owned, and best kept secret, tech company.



Anthem, New Zealand

• New Zealand
• Public Relations and Communications Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Exec Director

  • Jun 2014 - May 2015

  PR agency based in Auckland. PR agency based in Auckland.



Telecommunications Users Association of NZ Inc (TUANZ)

• Chief Executive

  • Feb 2011 - May 2014

  Lobby, harass, cajole, wheedle, inform, translate, manage, plan, compare, assist, drive, enthuse, demand, engage and occasionally leverage. During my time at TUANZ we faced a number of major changes. The global financial crisis hit us hard and we had to restructure the organisation to survive the year. On top of that, we refocused how we would operate and instead of working all year on loss-making events, decided we would focus on policy work in the short term. Why would you join an organisation that didn't represent your needs? To that end we worked hard to represent end users in a number of key debates - around the Ultrafast Broadband Project and the Rural Broadband Initiative in particular, but also in the spectrum auction process for 700MHz spectrum and most notably in the Copper Tax battles, which ultimately resulted in Chorus having to revisit its own internal processes rather than receiving a $600m handout from the public purse. I represented TUANZ and telco users on both the Telecommunications Dispute Resolution Service board and the Telco Carriers Forum board, ensuring the voice of the customer wasn't drowned out by the voices of the carriers. The job required me to do a lot of media work. Without a marketing budget it fell on me to ensure the TUANZ name was heard far and wide and to that end I made sure we were always available for media interviews. Any typical month would see between 20 and 30 interviews resulting in a lot of publicity both for TUANZ and the telco sector as a whole. Everyone is a customer of the telcos and in this connected age there's no way to avoid that. It shouldn't be a negative relationship but for some reason it often is. At TUANZ I worked to be both industry cheerleader and its conscience - an often difficult balancing act. Show less



International Telecommunications Users Group (INTUG)

• Board member

  • Feb 2011 - May 2014

  I'm on the board of INTUG, working to represent New Zealand customers' needs in the wider international context. As part of this, I regularly attend the APECTEL working group to represent INTUG. There, we run the industry workshop, attended by dozens of representatives from around the Asia Pacific economies. I'm on the board of INTUG, working to represent New Zealand customers' needs in the wider international context. As part of this, I regularly attend the APECTEL working group to represent INTUG. There, we run the industry workshop, attended by dozens of representatives from around the Asia Pacific economies.



Telecommunications Dispute Resolution Service

• Council Member

  • Feb 2011 - May 2014

  The TDR is New Zealand's independent dispute resolution service and I served on its board, or council, as one of two user representatives. The TDR is a tremendous addition to the telco landscape and resolves sticky problems for customers of most of the telcos in New Zealand. During my time we helped guide both the operational team (an external agency) and the so-called owners of the TDR, the Telecommunications Carriers Forum, to ensure the TDR was funded appropriately, had the right mandate and was able to do the job we wanted. Show less



Telecommunications Carriers Forum

• Board Member

  • Feb 2011 - May 2014

  The TCF is a government mandated forum where the telcos can all meet to determine how to interact with each other. Designed to implement decisions handed down from the Telecommunications Commission, the TCF is where the industry rolls up its sleeves and gets the work done. Issues like interconnection, number portability, emergency calling and all the other dull but vitally important components of the industry only work when everyone is playing by the same set of rules. The TCF is the place where that all happens. My role on the board was to ensure the user voice was heard and to be an independent check on the board members. It would be all too easy to dismiss the TCF as an old boys' club or worse, a smoky back-room where deals are done in secret, but with TUANZ present we could ensure that never happened. Show less



Vodafone New Zealand

• New Zealand
• Telecommunications
• 700 & Above Employee

• Head of Corporate Communications

  • Feb 2010 - Feb 2011

  I ran the communications team at Vodafone - internal comms and external. During my time we handled day to day product launches, emergency comms for the first Canterbury earthquake, visits by the global CEO, and managed to cut the budget in half while doing so.I managed to keep us off Fair Go as much as possible during my time.I also set up Vodafone's social media policy, built an online forum that attracted 30,000 visitors a month and established our presence on Twitter at a time when corporates stayed well away from such things.During my tenure the team dealt with various product launches, some corporate level decisions that required issues management and a shooting in one of the stores. Show less

• Communications Manager

  • Dec 2006 - Feb 2010

  I ran the comms team, deal with an issues-rich environment, crisis management response, pro-active comms and set up the social media strategy.



Qantas Media Awards

• Judge

  • 2008 - 2009

  Having been an entrant in the Qantas Media Awards several times I was honoured to be asked to help judge the awards themselves in 2008 and 2009. The categories I handled were associated with web news and I was able, in some small way, to encourage reporters to do more with the medium than simply repost something that had appeared in print. It was a great opportunity to step back from the coalface as it were and look at what makes an online news story work well for the reader. Having been an entrant in the Qantas Media Awards several times I was honoured to be asked to help judge the awards themselves in 2008 and 2009. The categories I handled were associated with web news and I was able, in some small way, to encourage reporters to do more with the medium than simply repost something that had appeared in print. It was a great opportunity to step back from the coalface as it were and look at what makes an online news story work well for the reader.



Computerworld

• United States
• Book and Periodical Publishing
• 700 & Above Employee

• Editor

  • Sep 2005 - Dec 2006

  I ran the editorial team at Computerworld, putting together a weekly newspaper and writing editorials and features as well as news stories.

• Reporter

  • Jan 2005 - Sep 2005



New Zealand Herald

• Acting IT editor

  • Aug 2004 - Jan 2005

• IT reporter

  • May 2004 - Aug 2004

• Online reporter

  • Feb 2002 - May 2004

• Reporter

  • Aug 1997 - Feb 2002


TVNZ
• New Zealand
• Broadcast Media Production and Distribution
• 700 & Above Employee
• Subtitling Editor

  • 1993 - 1997