Join us to hear MBA graduates and former Members of Parliament the Hon Nicky Wagner and the Hon Clayton Cosgrove discuss how preparing for a life in business prepared them for politics, how politics and business differ, and what the future holds for NZ businesses post-election. UC Economics Lecturer Stephen Hickson will facilitate the discussion.

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Speakers:

Hon Clayton Cosgrove

Former Member of the New Zealand Parliament. First Elected in 1999, he did not seek re-election at the 23 September 2017 General Election.

Cabinet Minister 2005 - 2008, Minister of Immigration, Associate Finance Minister, Minister of Building & Construction, Minister for Small Business, Minister of Statistics, Minister for Sport & Recreation, Minister for the Rugby World Cup, Associate Justice Minister.

Clayton is a former business owner. He has also worked in senior commercial roles in the telecommunications and minerals industries both in Australia and New Zealand in the field of public/corporate affairs until elected to the New Zealand Parliament in 1999.

Clayton is a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Management and in 2007 he was appointed an Adjunct Senior Fellow in the College of Business and Economics at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch New Zealand.

Hon Nicky Wagner

After leaving school Nicky trained as a secondary school teacher and taught at Hagley High School and Hornby High School before taking up a position at the Christchurch Polytechnic.

In 1998, she established an internet and e-commerce business specializing in on-line marketing and the development of industry clusters. She also served as a director of the Canterbury Employers Chamber of Commerce and the Ashburton Savings Bank, and is a member of the Institute of Directors.

Following the 2005 election Nicky entered Parliament as a List MP before becoming MP for Christchurch Central in 2011 following a recount triggered by an election night draw.

In 2014, Nicky was appointed as a Minister in the fifth National government, with responsibility for Statistics and Customs.

Following the 2014 election, Nicky retained her Customs portfolio and gained responsibility for Disability Issues. Before the 2017 election, Nicky also became Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration. During this time, she was also an Association Minister for Conservation, Christchurch Earthquake Recovery, Health, and Tourism.

Stephen Hickson

Stephen has a Master of Arts with Honours in Economics. He worked full-time for Statistics New Zealand for 13 years, including taking on the role of Census National Field Manager.

Stephen has been a member of the faculty at the University of Canterbury since 2002 with research interests centred around teaching and assessment in economics. He is currently the Director of the Business Taught Masters programme.

In 2012, he was awarded a national Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award and he continues to lecture on the UC MBA programme. Stephen comments that “MBA students have opinions and views and love to share them. That makes them interesting to teach.” He loves to challenge any views and be challenged back.

He enjoys swimming, biking and listening to podcasts on economics and also church history. His wife and 3 adult children think that is odd. They are probably right.