100 People Behind Bay Business - 2023

The Bay Venues executive
team, from left to right,
Samantha Wilkie, Chad
Hooker, Adam Ellmers,
Kristen Brown, Paul
Dunphy, and Tina
Harris-Ririnui.
capability to enable us to connect better with
customers. Within Bay Venues’ remit, we also
operate some more commercially focused areas
such as Bay Catering, Bay Audio Visual and
BayStation. This enables us to provide a complete
offering for customers booking events in our
facilities, while at the same time generating a
financial return that can be invested back into our
community facilities.
KRISTEN BROWN
general manager: People & capability
My team is focused on a few priority areas over
the next year but the biggest one is creating a
learning and development programme that creates
leaders who lead from every seat. If we do that
well, each and every customer will be delighted
with their experience. And when I say customer, I’m
talking about every person who walks through the
doors of our facilities, as well as every Bay Venues
employee who works alongside us. The people and
capability team serve both. Community connection
starts at home, after all, and exceptional customer
experiences are only possible when you have
happy, valued employees. I’ve worked in the HR
space for a variety of different organisations and
big commercial entities over the years, across
a range of sectors and industries. What floored
me when I started at Bay Venues was the size of
our heart. It was evident from the outset that our
people are here to make a genuine difference to the
communities in which they live, and I’m really proud
to be a part of that.
PAUL DUNPHY
general manager: facilities
We want all of our facilities to be the best they
can be. Our facilities are filled with members of
the community every single day and our focus is
making them places for our people to feel safe and
connected. Maintaining and improving our assets
is our key responsibility. We are doing a good job if
no one notices the work we do because everyone’s
experience is smooth. This includes the running
of large venues such as Baywave, Mount Hot Pools
and Trustpower Baypark, as well as enabling our
clients that are hosting events and activities, and
customers visiting our facilities. We also look
after the organisation’s response to sustainability,
accessibility, and security – putting a clear focus
on this across the city to ensure our facilities are
for everyone. With my background and experience
in local government, both overseas and locally at
Tauranga City Council, I am leading the Bay Venues
team that is working closely alongside the council
to adapt, improve and, in some cases, completely
rebuild and transform the public facilities that our
growing city will need over the next 10 years and
beyond.
100 – PEOPLE BEHIND BAY BUSINESS | 2023 | 51