NZ CIO Awards winners announced at gala event in Auckland

Kiwibank’s Hamish Rumbold has been named CIO of the Year at the 2024 New Zealand CIO Awards.

Rumbold, who finished up with Kiwibank last month as chief digital and technology officer, took out the title at the gala awards dinner at Auckland’s Spark Arena on Tuesday night.

The awards were held as part of the New Zealand CIO Summit, produced by IDC and Brightstar.

The judging panel said Rumbold was recognised for building a high performing team that works well cross-functionally and is highly aligned to customer outcomes. 

The Kiwibank technology team implemented personalised in-app messaging using innovative technology, Atomic.io and delivered simpler and better customer and team experiences and improved development processes to innovate and release new products, features and capabilities faster.

“Hamish exemplifies how technology leaders can successfully blend commercial, customer and digital expertise to translate priorities into deliverables across business and technical environments,” the CIO Awards judging panel said.

The other finalists for the CIO of the Year 2024 award were Samir Ranchhod, chief digital officer at Tamaki Health; Shayne Tong, chief digital officer at Foodstuffs South Island, and Tim Aynsley, head of technology at Mercury NZ.

Meanwhile, Dianne Daniels was recognised with the Outstanding Contribution to Technology and Business in New Zealand award. Daniels, a former teacher, has been a champion for digital inclusion and equity in Aotearoa’s communities through her work for Digital Wings and other charitable organisations.

Foodstuffs South Island and NZ Red Cross were joint winners in the Best ICT Team Culture and Inclusion category.

Foodstuffs South Island received the honour for the work the team has done to transform its culture “from isolated cubicles to dynamic collaboration, uniting everyone in a shared mission”. This transformation over 18 months has resulted in a significant increase in employee engagement, rising from 61 per cent to 72 per cent in just one year.

Red Cross, which has a team of six IT professionals supporting 10,000 volunteers and 600 employees, was recognised for its transformation, which “was essential to turn a previously rigid tech shop into a dynamic and responsive ‘yes’ shop.”

The Business Transformation through Digital and IT award was given to Mercury for their work on the multi-million-dollar migration of Trustpower telecommunication and power retail customers into Mercury Energy technology systems, following the acquisition of that business. The judging panel said the work was “a masterclass in laying the right foundations for success.”

The Emerging ICT Leader of the Year award was presented to Manvi Madan, manager of data and insights at Port of Auckland. Madan helped shape a common data platform migration to the cloud for the organisation, while still enabling operations via day-to-day data reporting activities, often stepping into temporary leadership voids to ensure a successful outcome.  “Manvi is a strong voice for ethics and equality in one of the fastest growing and most critical areas of information technology and sets the standard for emerging ICT leaders,” the judging panel said.

In the Community Tech Champions category, the award went to Tōnui Collab, a specialist STEMM (science, technology, engineering, maths and mātauranga Māori) education partner, committed to digital equity and strengthening the opportunities for taitamariki (young people) to contribute in meaningful ways to the success of Aotearoa’s tech sector. 

Full list of winners and finalist at the 2024 New Zealand CIO Awards

Gala dinner sponsored by Spark Business Group.

CIO of the Year (sponsored by Lagom)
Winner: Hamish Rumbold, Kiwibank
Finalist: Samir Ranchhod, Tamaki Health
Finalist: Shayne Tong, Foodstuffs South Island
Finalist: Tim Aynsley, Mercury

Outstanding Contribution to Technology and Business in New Zealand (sponsored by Sharp)
Dianne Daniels

Best ICT Team Culture and Inclusion (sponsored by Juniper Networks)
Winner: Foodstuffs South Island 
Winner: New Zealand Red Cross
Finalist: Kiwibank
Finalist: ProCare Network 

Business Transformation through Digital and IT (sponsored by Clearpoint)
Winner: Mercury
Finalist: Hamilton City Council
Finalist: Whakarongorau Aotearoa / New Zealand Telehealth Services

Emerging ICT Leader of the Year (sponsored by 2degrees)
Winner: Manvi Madan, Port of Auckland
Finalist: Moonis Vegdani, Counties Energy 

Community Tech Champions (sponsored by NZTech)
Winner: Tōnui Collab
Finalist: Christchurch City Council
Finalist: New Zealand Centre for Digital Connections with India