Stirring The Pot

In this episode of Stirring the Pot we’re talking with our General Manager of Structural Systems, Kaveh Andisheh. One thing we have come to recognise is that one of the strengths of HERA is our amazing multi-cultural team who bring their life experiences to the table every day to inform and develop our research, training and project work. The twists and turns they have taken in their life and care...

In this episode of Stirring the Pot we’re talking with Pūhoro STEMM Auckland Kaihautū Leads, David Hemopo & Waikaraka Ruwhiu-Toms. HERA has been very fortunate to have been able to forge a strong connection to both David and Waikaraka as Pūhoro are tenants at HERA House! On top of that, we are lucky enough to receive weekly Te Ao Māori lessons from them each week, which has had a massive influ...

In this episode of Stirring the Pot we’re talking with our Manager Customer Experience, Rebecca Symonds. Rebecca is a familiar face to a lot of our members, and is responsible for ensuring they are well supported by delivering smarter solutions that drive our industry forward. Join us as she chats about what HERA membership involves, the value it brings as well as the some of the key initiatives w...

In this episode of Stirring the Pot we’re talking with Mackenzie Horwood Verstappen. Mackenzie is a student at the University of Auckland who is currently studying towards a Bachelor of Global Studies in Environmental Sustainability and Māori. We discuss how tauiwi (non-Māori) can be advocates and hold space for Māori to lift the cultural burden in the workplace. This is about how we can make a cu...

In this episode of Stirring the Pot we’re talking with HERA CEO Troy Coyle, and Technical General Managers – Kaveh Andisheh and Michail Karpenko. Together we discuss the recent win success of securing Endeavour Funding of close to $10.3 million to carry our a four year Construction 4.0 research project. We are beyond excited about this opportunity to transform the construction sector in Aotearoa N...

On this episode of Stirring the Pot, Kim Nugent chats with our Whanake Scholarship recipients Lily Sanson and Lydia Frater. The future of work is increasingly Māori, and it is predicted that Māori will represent approximately 30% of the workforce by 2030. Specifically for the steel industry, it has already been found that the growth of Māori in high skilled occupations like managers and profession...

On this episode of Stirring the Pot, we’re talking with Black Steel Mobile Ltd General Manager, Stephen Powell. He has a candid conversation with our Innovation and Transformation Architect Greg Buckley to chat about the challenges industry is facing in terms of labour and skills shortages and how HR innovation plays a part in overcoming them at Black Steel. From breaking down barriers to initiate...

On this episode of Stirring the Pot, we’re talking with Paihau-Robinson Research Institute Junior Engineer, Megan Girdwood. Megan is a Graduate Chemical and Process engineer with a minor in Energy Technologies, and recently submitted her Masters thesis also in Chemical Engineering.   Her current project is developing a closed-loop, green process to extract vanadium from a co-product of the NZ stee...

In this episode of Stirring the Pot, we're talking with our General Manager Comms 4.0, Kim Nugent and CEO, Troy Coyle. Their discussion focuses on the work HERA has recently been undertaking to create a program centred around Mātauranga Māori to assist members and industry to be genuine cultural partners. An early challenge has been around helping key stakeholders to understand why this proje...

In this episode of Stirring the Pot, we're talking with our Automation and Welding 4.0 Engineer, Holger Heinzel. Holger's role is to focus on the development of tools and methodologies to help manufacturing organisations with their transition to Industry 4.0. A key aspect of this is his ability to now carry out SIRI assessments, which is a global scheme to formally evaluate manufacturing...

In this episode of Stirring the Pot, our General Manager Welding Centre, Michail Karpenko chats with our Senior Welding Engineer, Alan McClintock. Alan is a well respected person in our industry and has made many significant contributions over his career. His expertise in consulting for welding processes, weldability and quality management - including codes and standards for structural, transport,...

In this episode of Stirring the Pot, we’re talking with BRANZ General Manager of Research, Chris Litten. Tasked with challenging Aotearoa New Zealand to create a building system that delivers better outcomes for all, Chris and his team oversee a range of research projects in environment and zero-carbon, fire, healthy homes, materials, and structural and seismic engineering to make that a reality....

In this episode of Stirring the Pot, we’re talking with New Zealand Steel Quality Assurance Manager, Sahar Hosseini. As a qualified Quality Management System ( ISO 9001) developer, lead auditor and risk management expert with engagement in Health & Safety Management Systems, she brings ten years of international experience to the Steel industry as a materials engineer and technical leader. Cha...

In this episode of Stirring the Pot, we’re having a korero with Matt Woodley, CEO of construction technology company Donovan Group. He leads a team focused on solving construction challenges by transforming the global construction industry with fresh ideas to age-old problems. In this podcast, we delve into the core business of Donovan Group and their focus on developing technology that looks to d...

Today we’re talking with Helen Davidson and Ceinwen McNeil. Helen is ACE New Zealand Chief Executive, and one of the drivers behind the Diversity Agenda, and Ceinwen is BVT Engineering’s Chief Executive, Diversity Agenda Steering Committee Chair – and of course, no stranger to Stirring the Pot! Join us as we have some real talk around diversity and the big issues for women in the workplace from di...

In this episode of Stirring the Pot we’re talking with Wairangi Jones. Wairangi is a specialist in Māori engagement and cultural advice at Tūtira Mai which is an organisation leading the way in cultural competency and leadership training. Today we chat about employees culture impacts their views of work and influences their actions, how you can see your employees through a different lens and how e...

In this episode of Stirring the Pot we’re talking with Advanced Materials Director & Materials and Transition Engineer, Jill Cooper. Jill has over 35 year’s experience in steelmaking, smelting, kilns, reformers and refractory lined product units, and has a particular interest in the new low carbon economy. Together we chat about steel decarbonisation and what an ideal domestic steel industry w...

Today we are talking with IIW Fellow, Chris Smallbone. Chris is a qualified Mechanical and International Welding Engineer and a retired Professional Chartered Engineer in both Australia and the UK and has contributed significantly to the metals industry in his career through education, training and qualification programs and project works. Together we chat about viewing sustainability metrics via...

Today we are talking with Margaret Devlin and Amy Barrett around achieving genuine diversity and inclusion within the workplace. Margaret is the Chair of the Infrastructure NZ Board, and Amy has recently been elected as the Chair of their Diversity Advisory Board – a new initiative to guide stronger and broader diversity initiatives in the infrastructure sector.   Contact Margaret LinkedIn: https:...

In this episode of Stirring the Pot we’re talking with Tane van der Boon. Tane is Co-Founder and CEO of the Envirotech charitable trust MAUI63; as well as Founder and CEO of Inviol – an AI powered health and safety solution start-up. Tane is going from strength to strength leveraging computer vision and machine learning to enhance organisations right across the business landscape.   Contact Tane L...

In our bonus episode release today we carry on our conversation with Dr Joe Te Rito that we started in Episode 60. Joe is the Deputy Director Māori and Kaihautū Mātauranga Māori for Ako Aotearoa – the NZ Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence. In this role, he promotes Māori learner success focused on providing professional learning development for educators across the whole tertiary sector. At H...

In our first Season 4 episode of Stirring the Pot we’re talking with Dr Joe Te Rito. Joe is the Deputy Director Māori and Kaihautū Mātauranga Māori for Ako Aotearoa – the NZ Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence. In this role, he promotes Māori learner success focused on providing professional learning development for educators across the whole tertiary sector. At HERA, we have been very fortuna...

In this ‘lockdown’ episode of Stirring the Pot we’re talking with Social Change Leader, Jordan Akhurst. She has an amazing track record for delivering strategies, programs and projects that foster inclusion, transformation and collaboration, and we’re excited to share her knowledge with you in order to help shed light on how diversity and inclusion is important for the future of our workforce. Aft...

In this lockdown episode of Stirring the Pot we talk with Sustainable Steel Council Board Members - Scott Morrison of Fletchers Steel who is the Deputy Chair; and Laura Coffey of Pacific Steel, who is Secretary. We go into detail about their current print and digital media campaign and what it covers, who it targets and the key messages they're trying to drive.   Contact Scott LinkedIn: https...

In this episode of Stirring the Pot we talk with Hanga Aro Rau WDC CEO, Phil Alexander-Crawford; and Deputy Chief Executive, Samantha McNaughton. Together we discuss the work they're doing to put Hanga Aro Rau on a secure footing to strengthen the voice of industry in vocational education and training. Connect with Phil LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-alexander-crawford-03b12136/...