Dame Diana Crossan will provide inspiration for her audience, telling some stories about leadership in action the mindset driving the outcomes, influencing strategies and overcoming barriers. She will focus on three significant examples to illustrate and guide public service professionals.
About Diana:
Diana started her career started as a probation officer. She held several senior roles in the public service including the head of the Equal Employment Opportunities unit and Group Manager HR for the Justice Department. She was in the set up team for Contact Energy. For a short time, she was GM Hydro at Clyde and Roxburgh dams.
Diana worked in the management team in AMP, New Zealand as Manager of Agency Development and in 2000, she was appointed leader of an AMP team in the UK, charged with changing the distribution system in the AMP-owned financial services companies with a combined total of 4.1 million customers.
Diana was New Zealand’s Retirement Commissioner for 10 years, with roles to lift the financial knowledge of New Zealanders aged five to 105 and to provide advice to the Government regarding New Zealand’s retirement income policies.
As well as being on the board of several major companies including NZ Post and Mighty River Power, Diana was Chair of the JR McKenzie Trust for 10 years and also the Ngai Tahu Savings Scheme, Whai Rawa for 9 years.
She was the Chief Executive for Wellington Free Ambulance from February 2013 to 26 May 2017. Wellington Free Ambulance has over 300 staff and provides world class free emergency and paramedic healthcare to the greater Wellington region.
Diana is on several boards in the private, public and community sectors. These focus on justice and wellbeing for New Zealanders and include work with disadvantaged women and families, financial literacy, financial products and support for refugees.
Diana was appointed Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2019 New Year honours.