The canterbury tech team in fancy dress

Our
Committee

The Committee is elected annually, usually at the end of each year.  We are unashamedly a group of volunteers trying to make things happen in our tech community. While we have great support from our team, the committee all still have day jobs, so the more ideas, volunteers and feedback we get, the better. The 2023 Committee members are listed below.

Committee

Elected Committee Members

Vaughan Luckman

Chair

Vaughan is an experienced Business Analyst with a background working across a wide-range of fields – business process, IT, training, and commercial/financial analysis – in both the Government and Private sectors. Vaughan loves everything to do with business improvement – and has enjoyed applying these skills to Canterbury Tech over the past few years.

Séku Skandan

Deputy Chair / Acting Chair

Seku is an experienced product innovator, Digital-Tech IMPACT & new age IKIGAI strategist, XR content technologist & software developer, social change agent & digital transformation executive with dynamic leadership, broad technology, marketing, and a developmental studies background.

His interests are converged towards the domains of climate change, social justice & innovation (diversity and inclusion), future of education (curriculum/content/accessibility), future of work (collaboration/productivity/tools), and community development.

His vision is to leverage the use of technology and other disruptive innovation to mitigate challenges confronting humanity to create a beautiful, healthy, green, kind and just world.

Mariann Matai

Treasurer

Mariann proudly manages the South Island operation for Catalyst IT and has an awesome team of skilled technologists, consultants and managers she works with both in Christchurch and Dunedin. Kiwi owned Catalyst IT has been around for over 20 years and employs over 350 fantastic people across the globe. Mariann’s career in the IT sector began almost 25 years ago as a developer, then project manager, then general manager.

Over the years she worked with pretty much any industry you can name and enjoys the variety. She is passionate about the planet and looking after the future of all creatures that call it home. Excited about the potential New Zealand and specifically Christchurch can play in making the world a better place through technology and innovation.

Feel free to email Mariann with any questions/suggestions or just to connect.

Kahn Mitchell

Committee Member

Kim Crawford

Committee Member

Patrick Keo

Elected member

Patrick has been involved in the tech sector in New Zealand for the last twelve years. Ten of those years have been with Concentrate where he has helped grow kiwi tech companies, increase their market share or reach within New Zealand and overseas.

A lot of the clients he works with are based in the Canterbury region, some have also gone on to become finalists and winners at the Champion Canterbury awards.

Patrick is passionate about the sector and wants to help it grow even more.

Committee

Appointed Committee Members

Grace de Leon

Committee Member

Prableen Oberoi

Committee Student Representative

Hello, I’m Prableen Oberoi. With over a decade of experience in electronic security, I’ve shaped significant projects with esteemed clients like Mataura Valley Milk, DHL Global, and more. Transitioning into software development, I’m currently immersed in my Honours in Software Engineering at the University of Canterbury.

My technical arsenal is vast. My backend skills encompass Python, Java, and JavaScript, to name a few. On the frontend, I’ve refined my expertise with tools like ReactJS, HTML, CSS etc. In the mobile sphere, I’ve explored Android development through Kotlin and have crafted cross-platform applications using React Native. Database realms aren’t unfamiliar; I’ve worked extensively with MySQL, PostgreSQL, Dynamo DB etc . One of my strong suits is crafting efficient CI/CD pipelines, ensuring streamlined software deployment.

My current venture sees me partnering with Trimble, innovating in AR views. Past roles at ANZCO Foods and EVNEX have given me insights into anomaly detection and carbon emission reporting.
But here’s what adds a unique facet: As a Student Representative at the Canterbury Tech Cluster, I am not just a member but an active voice for the student community within the tech sector. My role here is not only to bridge the gap between students and professionals but to also ensure the cluster gets a fresh perspective – the future of tech. I am poised to weave together my diverse experiences, aiming for perpetual growth and persistent contributions to the tech community.

Karen Haigh

Board Observer - ChristchurchNZ

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