Confidence, courage and backing yourself were the themes of the Auckland Boat Show’s inaugural Women in Marine event, which drew a crowd of 115 industry professionals on 5 March.
The gathering highlighted the growing contribution of women across the marine sector, from on-the-ground operations to sailing, media and business leadership.
Speakers included Olympic Gold Medallist and America’s Cup trailblazer Jo Aleh, founder of Wild Chix Isabell Zitzelsberger, and Ocean Media’s Managing Director Hillary Buckman, Managing Director of Ocean Media, with MC marina industry veteran Nicky Vaux.
“What stood out for me was that each of these leading women had the strength to move forwards with amazing confidence,” says show organiser Stacey Cook.
“This resonated with my own experience, and it was reflected in the stories of each of the speakers. Isabell had an idea, she knew her market, and she got on with founding her business. Hillary saw a business opportunity and went for it and has never looked back, and Jo Aleh never stopped giving up and is now the first woman to sail with Emirates Team New Zealand.”
Stacey, who spearheaded the event, was delighted with the uptake. “Seeing everyone at the event and socialising together for a couple of hours was just fantastic,” she says. “The Auckland Boat Show is committed to making more of these gatherings happen in the future – watch this space.”
ENDS
Leave a Reply