Published on the 26/08/2025 | Written by Newsdesk

SCTI’s Alexandra Smart takes top honours…

Alexandra Smart has taken out top honours at this year’s CIO Awards, with AA Insurance, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Auckland Transport and Hamilton City Council also among the winners.

Smart’s CIO of the Year win came on the back of a ‘comprehensive transformation of Southern Cross Travel Insurance’s core systems’ with the judges praising her as an inspiring leader whose vision and strategic execution have delivered measurable growth and positioned the company for an ambitious new five-year strategy with technology as a true driver of business success.

Smart was one of two female health leaders to take out awards on the night

Hamish Archer, chief digital officer of WEL Networks; Sean O’Donoghue, CIO of BestStart Educare and Stephen Kurzeja, chief technology information officer for 2degrees, were finalists in the CIO of the Year category.

Smart was one of two female health leaders to take out awards on the night, with Stasha Rmandic, New Zealand Telehealth Services  head of analytics and insights beating out Fiona Millar from Christchurch International Airport, and Henry Chen from Yes Energy to take out the Emerging ICT Leader award. The award is presented to future leaders, under the age of 35.

Judges noted Rmandic’s ‘dynamic’ leadership of a high-performing team delivering strategic insights for critical decisions in a 24/7 virtual care environment, and recognised her as a values-driven leader passionate about health equity and using data to create meaningful change.

New Zealand Health Teleservices Whakarongorau Aotearoa was also a finalist for the Innovation Leadership through an Emerging Technology category, losing out to Hamilton City Council, which has used emerging technologies to create a high-resolution, predictive model for capturing and applying tree canopy data.

Elle Archer, whose current roles include as director of the electrotechnology and IT establishment advisory Industry Skills Board and a member of the executive council of AgriTech NZ, was the final individual honoured on the night receiving this year’s Outstanding Contribution to Technology and Business in New Zealand. Archer is also chair of Te Hapori Matihiko, and has worked extensively for Māori innovation.

The annual awards recognise exceptional leadership, transformative projects and impactful contributions across New Zealand’s tech sector with awards presented across seven key categories.

Finalists in the awards are selected based on a review of their written submissions and then face an independent judging panel of Kiwi ICT and business community.

AA Insurance’s win came in the Business Transformation through Digital and IT category, with the company modernising a complex, legacy business in a move judges said was not ‘merely an upgrade, but a truly transformative project’.

Auckland Transport’s HOP Open Loop project, which allows commuters to pay for public transport using contactless bank cards and digital wallets, won the organisation the Excellence in Customer Value award, ahead of Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and Lightwire.

But while F&P Healthcare missed out on that award, they quickly scooped up the Best ICT Team Culture and Inclusion award.

The final award, for Community Tech Champions, went to Digital Future Aotearoa for its work on initiatives such as Recycle a Device and Code Club Aotearoa, and efforts to provide digital skills for the next generation and pathways into tech for underrepresented communities.

The full list of winners is:

NZ CIO of the Year

Winner:

Alexandra Smart, Chief Technology Officer, Southern Cross Travel Insurance

Finalists:

Hamish Archer – chief digital officer, WEL Networks

Sean O’Donoghue – chief information officer, BestStart Educare

Stephen Kurzeja – chief technology information officer, 2degrees

Emerging ICT Leader of the Year

Winner:

Stasha Rmandic, Whakarongorau Aotearoa New Zealand Telehealth Services

Finalists:

Fiona Millar, digital transformation manager, Christchurch International Airport

Henry Chen, principal analyst and data scientist, Yes Energy

Business Transformation through Digital and IT

Winner:

AA Insurance

Finalists:

2degrees

Foodstuffs South Island

Excellence in Customer Value

Winner:

Auckland Transport

Finalists:

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare

Lightwire

Innovation Leadership through an Emerging Technology

Winner:

Hamilton City Council

Finalist:

Whakarongorau Aotearoa New Zealand Telehealth Services

Best ICT Team Culture and Inclusion

Winner:

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare

Finalists:

Fletcher Building

2degrees

Community Tech Champions

Winner:

Digital Future Aotearoa

Finalists:

Talent Rise

Women in Data Science New Zealand

Outstanding Contribution to Technology and Business In New Zealand

Elle Archer