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Marika Hughes is the Director of Strategic Crisis Management within the National Security and Resilience Group at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. She leads efforts to strengthen New Zealand’s strategic crisis management system, ensuring coordinated, effective responses to nationally significant events through the ODESC framework. With a career spanning both the US and New Zealand governments, Marika has held senior roles in intelligence, defence, and national security, including with the FBI and New Zealand Customs. Her extensive experience across crisis leadership, governance, and interagency coordination underpins her commitment to building a more resilient and secure Aotearoa.

Marika Hughes

Director of Strategic Crisis Management

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet New Zealand

Marika Hughes is the Director of Strategic Crisis Management within the National Security and Resilience Group at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. She leads efforts to strengthen New Zealand’s strategic crisis management system, ensuring coordinated, effective responses to nationally significant events through the ODESC framework. With a career spanning both the US and New Zealand governments, Marika has held senior roles in intelligence, defence, and national security, including with the FBI and New Zealand Customs. Her extensive experience across crisis leadership, governance, and interagency coordination underpins her commitment to building a more resilient and secure Aotearoa.

SESSIONS

Day 1

2.50

Panel: Making incident response a whole-of-business capability

  • Who truly owns an incident response, and why must accountability extend beyond the IT or security team to include business leaders and executives?

  • How can agencies make incident response and maintaining continuity a whole-of-business capability rather than an IT responsibility?

  • How can government departments coordinate effectively across agencies during interconnected disruptions?

  • What can digital and security leaders learn from emergency management when responding to large-scale cyber incidents?

  • What does real preparedness look like in the public sector today?

Moderator:

Yolanda Wilke, Domain Lead - CISO Office Inland Revenue NZ


Panellists:

Vicki Scott, Deputy Chief Executive, People Services and Delivery, Parliamentary Counsel Office

Matthew Shaw, Head of Emergency Management and Business Continuity, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

Marika Hughes, Director of Strategic Crisis Management, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet New Zealand

Emma Bickerstaffe, Director, Cyber Defence Operations, National Cyber Security Centre

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