Jo-Anne Ruhl
Managing Director and Vice President, Australia and New Zealand, Workday
Agenda
-
In person
-
Wednesday, 29 April 2026
-
New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC)
Here's your personal timetable for the day.
Registration Opens
Get ready to join us at Workday Elevate Auckland. Check in at our registration kiosk, grab your lanyard and a coffee as we begin the day.
Welcome
Workday Auckland Executive Keynote
Workday Innovation Keynote
Rob Zwiebach
Vice President, Product Management - Financial Management, Workday
Customer Keynote: Westpac
Marc Figgins
Chief People Officer, Westpac New Zealand
Customer Keynote: Assurity Consulting
Garth Hamilton
Co-Founder & Managing Director, Assurity Consulting
More than just a coffee break: Morning tea at the Workday World Expo
Join us at the Workday World Expo for a morning tea experience that's as interactive as it is invigorating. Network with peers, engage with Workday experts and explore the latest innovations while savouring delicious refreshments. This is the perfect opportunity to connect, collaborate and kick start your day in the heart of the action.
11:25am–12:25pm
Strategy & Vision / Demo
This session will unveil a vision for a New Work Day for HR—a fundamental shift from systems that simply track work to those that actively enable it through Agentic HR.
Grounded in three core imperatives, this strategy demonstrates how Workday’s Enterprise AI platform reinvents core HR with trusted AI, delivers a new level of business value, and builds for the future through a unified, AI-driven architecture.
By leveraging Workday’s unparalleled context—encompassing 75 million users and 20 years of experience—HR leaders can now deploy specialised agents across payroll, recruiting, and performance to eliminate "talent trapped in trivia" and allow their teams to lead with empathy and creativity.
Kumari Williams
Chief VIBE Officer, Workday
12:25pm–1:30pm
Fuel Your Curiosity: Lunch and Exploration at the Workday World Expo
Join us for lunch at the Workday World Expo and discover a world of possibilities. Explore interactive demos, engage with industry leaders and connect with fellow attendees while enjoying a delightful meal. This is your chance to fuel your body and mind in the centre of innovation.
1:30pm–2:00pm
Partner Lens
2:00pm–2:30pm
Customer Deep Dive
Nikki Mackay
Chief People Officer, Farmers Mutual Group
Katie Ham
General Manager - People, Assurity Consulting
11:25am–12:25pm
Strategy & Vision / Demo: A Practical Look at AI Agents in Finance
Hear the latest insights on the state of AI in Finance for 2026, exploring how Workday customers are navigating the shift from simple automation to autonomous agents. You’ll get an early look at upcoming Workday features and releases including Workday Finance Agents, as well as a sneak peek at building a Finance AI Agent.
Luke Bebbington
Strategic Industry Advisor, Workday
Rob Zwiebach
Vice President, Product Management - Financial Management, Workday
12:25pm–1:30pm
Fuel Your Curiosity: Lunch and Exploration at the Workday World Expo
Join us for lunch at the Workday World Expo and discover a world of possibilities. Explore interactive demos, engage with industry leaders and connect with fellow attendees while enjoying a delightful meal. This is your chance to fuel your body and mind in the centre of innovation.
1:30pm–2:00pm
Partner Lens
2:00pm–2:30pm
Customer Deep Dive
Esther Monks
Strategic Industry Advisor, Workday
Greg Garland
General Manager - Commercial Finance, Genesis Energy
Guillem Bonavia
Chief Financial Officer, Shuttlerock
11:25am–12:25pm
Strategy & Vision / Demo: Accelerating Transformation with an AI-First Open Platform
As AI moves from experiment to core infrastructure, CIOs are the primary architects of the machine-human workforce. This keynote sets the stage for the IT track, exploring how Workday’s open, AI-native platform eliminates technical debt by unifying the enterprise’s two most critical data sets: People and Money. We move beyond the hype to show how an open architecture allows IT leaders to stop simply maintaining systems and start orchestrating intelligence—creating a flexible digital backbone that turns raw data into measurable business agility.
Shan Moorthy
Chief Technology Officer, Asia Pacific, Workday
12:25pm–1:30pm
Fuel Your Curiosity: Lunch and Exploration at the Workday World Expo
Join us for lunch at the Workday World Expo and discover a world of possibilities. Explore interactive demos, engage with industry leaders and connect with fellow attendees while enjoying a delightful meal. This is your chance to fuel your body and mind in the centre of innovation.
1:30pm–2:00pm
Partner Lens
2:00pm–2:30pm
Customer Deep Dive
Shan Moorthy
Chief Technology Officer, Asia Pacific, Workday
Chrissy Smith
Chief Transformation Officer, Beca
Jason Mangan
Chief Digital Officer, University of Auckland
1:30pm–2:00pm
Shaping the future of Adaptive Planning
In unpredictable times, unified planning is essential for building resilience. Join us for this forward-looking breakout session exploring the strategy and vision for Workday Adaptive Planning, and how agentic AI is enabling smarter, faster decision-making across finance, HR, and operations.
The session will feature a live demonstration, providing a firsthand look at the latest innovations and AI-powered capabilities in Workday Adaptive Planning, and an engaging fireside chat featuring Public Trust of New Zealand, who will share their experience and key learnings from their Adaptive Planning journey.
Vince Randall
Vice President Sales, Asia Pacific and Japan, Workday
Erik Ersfjord
Senior Solutions Consultant, Workday
Dan Devcich
Head of Finance, Public Trust
2:30pm–3:15pm
Reflection and recharge: Afternoon tea at the Workday World Expo
Take a pause and reflect on the day's insights with afternoon tea at the Workday World Expo. Connect with fellow attendees, share key takeaways and recharge before the closing keynote.
3:15pm–4:00pm
External Locknote
4:00pm–4:10pm
Closing Remarks
Jo-Anne Ruhl
Managing Director and Vice President, Australia and New Zealand, Workday
4:10pm–6:30pm
Unwind and connect: the Workday Auckland Elevate after-party
Don't miss the ultimate networking event! Join us at the Workday World Expo for an evening of drinks, delicious bites and entertainment. Relax, unwind, and connect with peers, partners and Workday leaders as we close the day.
Got questions? We have answers.