Celebrating those who gave their time to the Business School in 2025

Alumni and industry who give their time to support our programmes and students were recognised at a special thank you event hosted by the Interim Dean at the end of November 2025.

Every year alumni and industry professionals volunteer their time and expertise to the Business School as guest speakers, guest lecturers, judges for student competitions, mentors, coaches, advisory board members and more.

Business School supporters from 2025 were invited to a special Supporters Thank You event hosted by interim dean, Professor Carla Houkamau at the Business School on Tuesday 25 November 2025.

It was a fantastic opportunity to recognise and celebrate all those who give their time so generously to support our students, our programmes, and the School.

Attendees heard from guest speaker Dame Ranjna Patel, trailblazing businesswoman and community-minded philanthropist, who shared some of her journey and lessons from life co-founding Tamaki Health and family harm intervention service Gandhi Nivas.

Several long-standing and outstanding supporters received Supporter Awards at the event.

Jason Tran was recognised for his contributions to the delivery of INFOSYS 704 – IT Consultancy course, in 2024 and 2025, which enabled the department to transform their traditional lab sessions into dynamic, hands-on workshops where, with Jason’s mentorship and technical guidance, students were able to rapidly prototype and deliver 100 innovative functional apps tailored to address contemporary challenges faced by New Zealand businesses.

David and Ojas were recognised for their contributions to the Accelerate Programme, a voluntary, extracurricular initiative connecting high-achieving first-year students with non-profits and charities to help them solve their business challenges. Both Accelerate alumni themselves, they stepped in to mentor students for an entire semester when it looked like the programme was not going to be able to run.

Daren Grover (GM) and Louisa Hawkes (Communications and Volunteer Manager) from Project Jonah, New Zealand's leading marine mammal protection and rescue charity, were recognised for their contributions to BUSINESS 351: The Industry Case Course. They collaborated closely with 450 third-year students, dedicating extensive time to help the teaching team write the case, and providing critical guidance to frame the complex, high-stakes ethical and operational challenges facing a modern conservation NGO.

Interim Dean Professor Carla Houkamau with Matthew Cowie, Partner - Climate Change and Sustainability Services at EY New Zealand

Over the past two years, Matthew provided exceptional and sustained support for the core course Business 202 - Business Consulting, delivering highly engaging and interactive guest speaker sessions to nearly 300 students at a time. His focus on climate change and climate reporting from a New Zealand perspective has provided students with crucial, real-world insights into the evolving landscape of corporate responsibility in NZ.

Interim Dean, Professor Carla Houkamau with Aston Moss, Chief People Officer at Briscoe Group — Interim Dean Professor Carla Houkamau with Aston Moss, Chief People Officer at Briscoe Group

Aston has been a steadfast supporter of the Business School since 2020. Despite the demands of his executive role, he consistently and generously gives his time, energy, and expertise to enrich our teaching, research, and strategic initiatives. His guest lectures and project mentorship have brought HR theory to life for our students, and his involvement in accreditation panels, leadership forums, advisory groups, and curriculum development has helped shape our programmes to meet evolving industry needs.

Interim Dean, Professor Carla Houkamau with John Miles from the New Zealand Marketing Association. — Interim Dean Professor Carla Houkamau with John Miles from the New Zealand Marketing Association.

John has been the driving force behind the Top Talent Programme, an exclusive initiative and the only one of its kind in Aotearoa, designed to provide top performing marketing students with industry leading insights, hands-on experience, and valuable networking opportunities with some of New Zealand’s most renowned companies, such as Google, DDB and 2degrees. John has also been involved as a guest speaker, judge and advisory board member. He has been a catalyst for industry connections and has opened real doors for our students.

Alumni Relations Manager, Natalie Newton, Interim Dean, Professor Carla Houkamau, and MBA Director Mike Lee, with past and present board members of the Auckland MBA Alumni group, AMBAA. — Alumni Relations Manager Natalie Newton, Interim Dean Professor Carla Houkamau and MBA Director Mike Lee with past and present board members of the Auckland MBA Alumni group, AMBAA.

A special group award went to the 32 MBA alumni who have sat on the Board of the MBA Alumni Association over the last 13 years, dedicating hours of work to keeping the MBA alumni network connected. The MBA Alumni Club was started by a group of MBA alumni back in 2012, 13 years later the association continues and is thriving. Keeping a group like this going takes real dedication and drive - the School is incredibly lucky that it has such a passionate group of alumni focused on strengthening the University of Auckland MBA alumni network.

Interim Dean, Professor Carla Houkamau with recent Executive-in-Residence, Dr Alan Jackson — Interim Dean Professor Carla Houkamau with recent Executive-in-Residence Dr Alan Jackson

Dr Alan Jackson received a Distinguished Supporter Award on the night. The University’s Partnership with Eden Park called for a rigorous assessment of the stadium's economic contribution to the Auckland regional economy. With a distinguished international background in leadership at the Boston Consulting Group, and expertise in stadia and the professionalisation of sport (among many other things), Alan came on board as an Executive-in-Residence and generously volunteered his time and expertise to co-lead the year-long project, ultimately co-authoring the final report "The Economic Contribution of Eden Park to the Auckland Region". In addition to this enormous project, Alan has also been involved in a range of other activities at the School.

Director of the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Darsel Keane and Interim Dean, Professor Carla Houkamau with independent director, mentor and angel investor, Debra Hall. — Director of the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Darsel Keane and Interim Dean Professor Carla Houkamau with Debra Hall, independent director, mentor and angel investor.

Debra Hall also received a Distinguished Supporter Award on the night. One of New Zealand’s most ardent angel investors, Debra has been an incredibly active and valued supporter of CIE since 2017, participating as a judge, guest speaker, mentor and more, in programmes ranging from Ideate, Validate, Summer Lab, Venture Lab, the Velocity $100k Challenge and the Velocity Ideas Challenge.

Second-year Commerce and Property student, Eva Kulkarni closed the event with a special thank you message to all our supporters on behalf of the student body. This year, Eva was a finalist in the Business Student of the Year Competition, represented the University in the Oceania-Trans Tasman Case Competition, was on the executive of the Commerce Students’ Association and took part in the Business School’s Women’s Mentoring Programme. A double blackbelt in karate, three years ago she founded KickStartYouth, a nonprofit that has provided free self-defence lessons to over 3,000 tamariki, an experience which earned her a University of Auckland Blues Award for Service and Leadership.

See more photos from the event below.