Leaders building cultures that enable people and businesses to thrive.
"I get advice. I get knowledge. I get mentoring and I get support. The Forum provides all of those things for me. That helps me, but it also helps our organisation as we’re able to take the resources the Forum produces and we’re able to learn from other Forum members, and with all that shared knowledge hopefully we’re able to improve safety." Roger Gray, CEO Port of Auckland
Common challenges & How the Forum helps
Common challenges
How the Forum helps
When you join the Forum you’ll be supported to improve workplace health and safety by leveraging the combined skills, influence and resources of our members, as well as holding government and regulators to account for their role.
Specific benefits and features
Connect with a nationwide network of over 440+ NZ CEOs
Tap into this network with members just like you – a CEO/Managing Director/Country Lead that operates a business in New Zealand.
Gain access to exclusive in-person networking opportunities from CEO-only lunches and small-group field trips to member-led events and virtual connection calls on topical issues.
Each interaction is designed to foster connections, insight sharing and real-time learning - at the top table.
Access to global thought leaders
Engage with international and NZ-based thought leaders at major Forum events throughout the year.
These sessions bring fresh global perspectives to the table and explore how proven tools, strategies and insights can be applied within the NZ business context.
Demonstrate your organisation’s commitment to thriving people and workplaces.
Membership signals to your workforce, supply chains, investors and broader network that your organisation is actively investing in fostering environments where people and businesses can thrive together and demonstrates your organisation’s commitment to leadership that drives productivity and safety.
As part of your membership, you will co-sign the Forum Pledge with the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety which further consolidates this commitment.
Investment in New Zealand’s health and safety performance
Your membership directly funds the development of the Forum’s world-class resources on health and safety leadership. Made publicly available thanks to membership investments, these resources enable wider change beyond individual organisations. As a Forum member, you’re not just investing in your workplace – you’re helping lead progress across your industry, sector and nation.
About the Forum
The Forum is made up of 440+ CEOs, Managing Directors and Country Heads of New Zealand organisations, collectively influencing around 25% of New Zealand’s total workforce.
Launched in 2010 by then-Prime Minister John Key with just under 100 founding members, the Forum has steadily expanded its reach and diversity.
Joining the Forum gives you access to a unique network of CEOs and senior leaders in New Zealand and supports your leadership of health and safety. A recent survey of members found that more than two thirds of members made a change, or changes in their workplace that they would directly attribute to the work of the Forum.
What is the investment?
Members support and invest in the Forum by paying an annual membership fee which covers all events and attendance at Forum events and the development of resources. The Fee is graduated to recognise the variable size of Forum member organisations. Members select the category where they meet at least two of the three criteria – annual turnover, asset value and employee numbers. All annual fees are exclusive of GST.
For more details please see the membership fee criteria
$850
$2,125
$4,250
$6,375
$12,750
What happens after I join?
-
1
Make the commitment
Your membership journey starts with a one-on-one meeting with the Forum’s Chief Executive Francois Barton, either in-person or online.
-
2
Invest in the Forum
A personalised Forum Pledge - signed by Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety – will be mailed to you for co-signing and display at your organisation, reinforcing your visible commitment to thriving people and businesses.
-
3
Demonstrate Leadership
You and your senior leadership team will receive event invitations, curated resources and regular updates from the Forum to keep you engaged and informed throughout the year.
"It brings together like-minded business leaders who share a common set of problems and issues, and it's an opportunity to learn and leverage off that collective learning and wisdom."
-
"It’s a community of like-minded leaders. It’s about leaders being vulnerable, it’s about leaders sharing ideas. It’s about leaders learning from each other." Peter Reidy - CEO, KiwiRail
-
"I’ve found value in networking with other CEOs running organsiations who have similar or identical risks. We all have the same problems to solve, and it’s been hugely helpful as a leader of an organsiation where we have high risk, I can lean on other CEOs to form part of the work we need to do in our business." Deena Clarkson - CEO, Coda Group
-
"It is part of our organisation’s commitment to improving health and safety. Being a member of the Forum we’re kind of waving our flag and saying hey, this is important to us and we want to do better." Paul Goodeve - CEO, Clarus
-
"This work really matters. The mahi is important. We represent over 25% of New Zealand’s workers and so you have a real influence over how work gets done and how work gets procured in New Zealand." Sheridan Broadbent - Chair, Business Leaders’ Health and Safety Forum
-
"The Business Leaders’ Health and Safety Forum is something New Zealand can be really proud of. We are the only Chief Executive leadership group in the world focused on the role of leading health, safety and wellbeing. I speak to colleagues in all parts of the world and they are always amazed and impressed when they learn what we’ve done. I think it’s the best of what we can do in New Zealand." Francois Barton - Chief Executive, Business Leaders’ Health and Safety Forum
FAQs
Don’t take our word for it read what our 440+ CEOs have to say about the benefits of joining the world’s only Chief Executive leadership group focused on improving the health, safety and wellbeing of our organisations and the country.
We’ll support you to make positive changes in your workplace – a recent survey of members found that more than 2/3 made a change, or changes, in their workplace that they would directly attribute to the work of the Forum.
Your wider organisation will also reap the benefits of Forum membership, with tailored events throughout the year for General Managers, Health and Safety and HR Managers and wider teams.
Each member organisation pays an annual fee which covers all events and attendance at Forum events, as well as the development of resources. There are five fee categories, based on the variable size of the organisation. This annual fee ranges from $850 excl GST to $12750 excl GST each year. Please see the fee categories here.
Joining the Forum is straightforward. Simply complete the Join Us form, make an investment, and commit to participating in Forum activities. From there, you will be welcomed to the community and supported to engage in a way that aligns with your leadership priorities and capacity.
While day-to-day participation may sit somewhere else within your organisation, we do ask that the formal commitment to join the Forum comes from the ‘CEO’, Country Manager or equivalent. This is simply a recognition of the Forum’s founding principle: leadership and commitment come from the top.
To demonstrate this commitment, your CEO agrees to be the membership holder and be listed on our member’s page.
All events run by the Forum are complimentary to members and are part of the annual membership fee each organisation pays every year. In some instances, where the Forum sponsors an event, or promotes a relevant health and safety leadership course which is run by an external provider there may be a cost to attend. This will always be clearly advertised.
The short answer is no. While health and safety is a central focus, the Forum’s work is ultimately about leadership - key to building thriving workplaces. That includes safety, as well as productivity, wellbeing, sustainability and business profitability.
As the Forum Chief Executive put it: “What I have heard from members is that [they value] the ability to connect with other CEOs outside of the sector they usually operate in, so they get exposed to different contexts but often with similar issues – labour shortages, compliance requirements, mental wellbeing, supply chain leadership… it’s a wonderful opportunity to share, contrast, and learn.”
If you’re interested in joining the Forum, we’d love to have you attend one of our upcoming CEO events to learn more about our work, our members and the work we do. Please get in touch with us and we’ll make sure you’re on the invite list for our next event in your area.