Anne Columbus
Chief People Officer, General Manager Corporate Services
Christchurch City Council
Anne Columbus is the Chief People Officer and General Manager of Corporate Services at Christchurch City Council, bringing nearly two decades of senior leadership experience in complex public sector environments. She oversees a broad portfolio including IT, legal services, risk, property, and organisational planning, and is known for driving strategic transformation, modernising corporate functions, and building high-performing, people-centred cultures. With a Master of Science in Industrial and Organisational Psychology from the University of Canterbury, Anne specialises in organisational development, strategic planning, and business process improvement. She has also served as an Associate Partner at EY, strengthening her expertise in change, governance, and public sector performance.
SESSIONS
Day 2
12.20
Peer-to-peer roundtable discussions
Delegates will split into peer-led groups to discuss key challenges within the digital and security world under Chatham-House rules. Attendees will have the opportunity to attend 2 x 30-minute interactive sessions of their choice
A: Assuring digital service providers: Implementing security baselines, metrics and onboarding frameworks
Adwin Singh, Cybersecurity Domain Lead – CISO Office, Inland Revenue NZ
B: Building security understanding and culture across the organisation and the executive team
Denis McGrath, Cyber Security Specialist (Awareness and Education Lead), New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade
C: Reimagining the role of AI, from personal productivity to organisation-wide transformation
Milica Zivanovic, Chief Information Officer, Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission
D: Making change management work for digital transformation leadership
Anne Columbus, Chief People Officer, General Manager Corporate Services, Christchurch City Council
Day 2
4.20
Panel: Making change management the engine of transformation
Why do so many technology projects fail at the adoption stage, and how can early investment in change management prevent that?
What does effective leadership buy-in look like in practice, and how can senior executives model the change they expect?
How can organisations engage users meaningfully to reduce resistance and turn employees into champions of new systems?
Paula Knaap, Deputy Chief Executive, Organisational Enablement, Ministry of Regulation
Andrea Conlan, Chief Operating Officer, NZ Police
Milica Zivanovic, Chief Information Officer, Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission
Anne Columbus, Chief People Officer, General Manager Corporate Services, Christchurch City Council