Amanda Currie left a career in financial regulation to breed microbes on a 745-hectare regenerative farm in Central Otago, New Zealand. That changed my entire perspective around farming.” Her shift from spreadsheets to soil science reflects a broader theme explored at the event: resilience in the face of systemic challenges.
From Corporate to Soil: A Personal Transformation
Currie and her husband Adrian Currie, a former Booking.com executive, established Tinwald Farm, which raises cattle, sheep, horses, and produces a single-vineyard Pinot Noir. The farm’s operations depend on complex systems: Jason manages grazing rotations for 250 Angus cattle and 1,500 sheep, while Rob hand-prunes vines to maintain balance. Her focus on soil microbes underpins every visible element of the farm, influencing everything from the quality of the wine produced to the health of the livestock.
The concept of resilience echoed throughout WiT Queenstown, surfacing with the same frequency as discussions about artificial intelligence. Organizers framed the event as a forum for exploring how industries adapt to global shocks, but the most compelling insights emerged from examining the unseen forces that sustain ecosystems and businesses alike.
Two Airlines, Two Approaches to Resilience
Air New Zealand CEO Nikhil Ravishankar addressed the airline’s struggles directly, citing engine issues that grounded a fifth of its fleet and $2 billion in idle aircraft. “When you are in New Zealand and you have only 115 planes and your competitors have 1,500, 1,600 planes, you just have to be smarter,” he said. His strategy centered on leveraging AI to integrate fragmented systems, fleet planning, crew rostering, and maintenance, into a unified optimizer, akin to how soil microbes underpin farm health.
In contrast, Fiji Airways CEO Paul Scurrah emphasized emotional resilience, drawing from his experience leading Virgin Australia through collapse. “It teaches you that you should have an aspiration for being as happy as you can in the circumstances you’re in,” he said, linking optimism and gratitude to community-driven recovery. His vision for the airline as “the world’s happiest” reflects a belief that resilience begins with mindset, not just technology.
Intrepid Travel CEO James Thornton rejected the notion that technology alone could rebuild travel’s resilience after decades of industry disruptions.