About Us
Committee
organised and managed by a selected committee.
Grant Walker
My wife and I, established 2B Connected, an outsourced call centre service. In a relatively short period, we’ve grown exponentially and now have a team of over 70 dedicated staff. At the core of this growth is my firm belief in nurturing our employees, thereby opening doors for them to the myriad career opportunities within our industry.
I’m known for my unique and proactive approach to business and contact centres. While I’m comfortable challenging conventional wisdom, I always do so respectfully, standing firm on what I believe is the best course of action.
I’m driven by an unyielding energy, passion, and determination to see the New Zealand Contact Centre industry flourish. A strong industry body like CCNNZ allows us to pool our collective expertise, fostering opportunities for current leaders and attracting fresh talent to this often-overlooked yet incredibly rewarding career path.
Outside of work, I relish quality time with my wife and two children. I also challenge myself both mentally and physically by participating in ultra-marathons, triathlons, and adventure
Elias Kanaris
With an impressive career spanning three decades in diverse leadership roles across various industries, Kanaris brings a wealth of experience to CCNNZ and will guide the organisation to even greater achievements.
Elias Kanaris brings a unique blend of expertise, having not only dedicated years to the contact centre industry but also demonstrated his commitment to the non-profit sector. With a successful history in executive leadership, mentoring CEOs, and assembling high-performing teams, he has led a services-oriented non-profit with over 20,000 members across 20 countries. Renowned for his profound understanding of the contact centre industry and the unique dynamics of membership associations, Kanaris is well-positioned to lead CCNNZ in realising its vision of becoming the preferred association for contact centre professionals. His vision includes reintroducing networking events, focus groups, and educational pathways to empower members with the latest industry insights.
Hayley Hewer
Quality Assurance & Training Team Leader – DuluxGroup
Kia Ora Koutou,
I am Hayley and I am a firm believer that Contact Centre’s are the hidden treasure of all organizations! I am a proud advocate of the Contact Centre Industry and all it has to offer.
My Contact Centre Journey started over 14 years ago and in that time I have worked as an Agent, Trainer, QA and currently I am the Quality Assurance & Training Team Leader at DuluxGroup.
In the last 10 years I have specialized in Quality Assurance & Training (a field I never knew existed) until joining the DuluxGroup Contact Centre.
I am passionate about sharing knowledge, networking, training/coaching, people development and customer experience.
I look forward to hearing about you and your experiences in the industry and how we as a community can support each other.
Yann Teboul
My current role as Chief Customer Officer at ecoPortal since 2021 is the latest chapter in my career spanning over 30 years in global IT companies. Prior to my current position, I worked in several bluechip New Zealand organisations, where I played a pivotal role in driving increased sales and improved customer satisfaction. Responsibilities included leading the delivery support for the sales process, owning end-to-end service delivery, and managing Project Delivery teams, resulting in enhanced team performance and high levels of customer retention.
As a fractional CIO, COO, and BI specialist, I specialise in business digital transformation and project management. Throughout my career, I’ve successfully assisted numerous companies in their IT transitions and BI dashboard creations, showcasing my commitment to operational efficiency and delivering exceptional results.
Before my time at ecoPortal, my tenure at Accordo was marked by overseeing global service delivery teams in 25 countries. Notably, I managed a 250+ seat call center, leading the organisation in exceeding service level expectations and fulfilling our commitment to client satisfaction. With a background in professional services, enterprise sales, and information technology, combined with strategic thinking and exceptional communication skills, I positioned myself as a results-driven leader committed to operational efficiency, growth opportunities, and delivering exceptional results for clients and stakeholders.
Throughout my career, I have been recognised as a champion for transformation in the industry. Serving as the former Chairman of the French New Zealand Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a French Foreign Trade Advisor, I remain dedicated to making meaningful contributions to the broader business community.
Laurie Smith
Committee Member
Owner/Director – CRM Consulting
Laurie worked for The Startel Group for 14 years and was organiser of their Awards from their introduction in 1997 until the closure of Startel in October 2003. Following that, Laurie purchased the license to continue with the CRM Customer Service Awards and associated mystery shopping programs under her own company, CRM Consulting Limited.
The CRM Contact Centre Awards have gained considerable momentum over the last 17 years with more companies realising the importance of providing their customers with superior customer service, and Laurie is well known within the NZ Contact Centre industry.
She was part of the inaugural set up of CCiNZ (now CCNNZ) and has been closely involved with them since then, most recently being part of the Advisory Board.
Giles Potter
After working in senior leadership roles in financial services, I started Great Outcomes to support and assist contact centres throughout Aotearoa in 2001. As a consultant I’ve been engaged by many of New Zealand’s contact centres. The last five years has brought tremendous change, introducing hybrid work-from-home practices as well as increased automation and self-service capability. I’ve been very deeply involved in that change through assisting clients to migrate their contact centres to cloud applications.
I’ve lived in Tamaki Makaurau almost all my life with a brief stint overseas and am lucky enough to have a very capable wife Sonja and three great children. I’m excited to be on the Committee and look forward to bringing experience to share with all members.
Richard Winterburn
Committee Member
Business Development Manager – Digital Island
My first ‘proper job’ was in a Call Centre back in the 90’s selling telecommunications equipment for one of Europe’s largest distributors, it was an amazing time to join the industry, the technology was just taking off and I was fascinated, I really caught the bug. From there, I’ve provided equipment, services and consultancy to Contact Centres of all sizes, from 5 to 2000 agents, from headsets to Artificial Intelligence (AI), Consulting and Customer Pathway Mapping and even hold a patent for a security device. I’ve been lucky enough to be asked to present both live in person and on webinars to audiences interested in new technologies and how to deploy them, and am a passionate supporter of developing both the Customer and the Agent Experience in the knowledge that if you look after your staff they’ll look after your customers.
With customers ranging from startups and SMB to Enterprise, sales to debt collection, Local and National Government, Police and even Buckingham Palace (yes, there’s a call centre in Buckingham Palace!) I have amassed a wealth of experience across the industry over the last 25 or so years – good grief, has it been that long?
I was born in Yorkshire and moved to Auckland in 2014 to deploy in-cell technology in prisons and retain a passion for improving the futures of people in the system. I enjoy spending time with my family, our dogs and sheep, trail running, I’m Event Director at Cornwall Park parkrun, motorcycling and classic cars.
If you think I can help, I’ll be delighted to hear from you, please get in touch.
Patrizia (“Trixi”) Schwartz
Administrator – CCNNZ
Meet Patrizia – aka Trixi – a creative and efficient individual with a diverse background. Originally from Germany and raised in South Africa, she moved to New Zealand in 2014. Trixi is known for her journey from corporate roles to launching Trixi’s Creations, focusing on Healing heARTs. Skilled in computer graphics, administration, customer service, and event organisation, she is passionate about teaching and embracing diversity, leaving a colourful impact on the world.
Bashar Basheer
Marketing – CCNNZ
I am a passionate Brand, Social Media & Communications Strategist, Social Media Leader, and Storyteller.
I love helping brands and individuals shine their brightest through impactful narratives and captivating content.
I am a Social Media Strategist and the Global Head of NielsenIQ’s Social Media team. I am also on the path to launching a full-service Real Estate Media business, specialising in serving real estate professionals with their marketing needs across photography, videography, social media, and branded content.
I am married and have three young boys. It’s a full house in the Basheer household, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Kelly Brickley
Principal Consultant – COPC Inc.
Kelly Brickley has over 30 years of experience in the contact centre industry, starting as an agent for Telecom in 1990. Her career has spanned leadership roles in operations management, deployment of technology tools, and consultancy aimed at improving contact centre performance.
She spent 10 years in the USA developing channel sales programs and training for ICMI, working with major organisations like Bank of America and IBM. Upon returning to New Zealand, Kelly ran her own consulting business before taking on leadership roles in both government and private sector contact centres.
Currently, Kelly serves as the Principal Consultant for COPC Inc. in New Zealand, guiding businesses in CX technology and best practice operations.
