Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum

What Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum does

The Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF) is a non-profit bilateral organization founded in 2004 to convene senior business and government leaders from Australia and New Zealand on strategic trans-Tasman priorities. It operates as the only high-level bilateral Leadership Forum engaging both governments and business across the Tasman, anchored by a Steering Committee of 20 CEOs from major corporates including Air New Zealand, Ampol, Beca, Boeing Australia/NZ, CyberCX, Fonterra, Infratil, Qantas, Seek, Spark, Woolworths Group, and Z Energy. Governance is co-chaired by John Paitaridis (CyberCX CEO, Australian Co-Chair) and Greg Lowe (Beca Strategic Growth Advisor, New Zealand Co-Chair), with a small Secretariat led by Ranj Samrai (Director Australia) and Stephen Jacobi/Jessica Russell/Simon Le Quesne (New Zealand).

The Forum's product surface is event- and dialogue-based rather than technology-based. Core offerings include the flagship biennial Leadership Forum (15th held in Pōneke Wellington in July 2023; 16th in Canberra in September 2025; next expected ~2027), industry roundtables (e.g., fuel disruption roundtable in April 2026 alongside the bilateral Treasurer/Finance Minister meeting), CEO Forum events with Prime Ministers, the ANZLF Emerging Leaders Programme, the Indigenous Business Sector Group (Māori and Aboriginal/TSI), the ANZLF Defence Dialogue, the Australia-India CEO Forum, and the Trans-Tasman Innovation & Growth Awards. Recent convening activity includes a Business Dialogue with PM Albanese and PM Luxon in June 2026 ahead of the Leaders' Meeting in Noosa.

The revenue model is non-transactional. The Secretariat is funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, with institutional hosting from the Business Council of Australia and Business New Zealand, and supplementary corporate sponsorship from roughly 30 trans-Tasman corporates. There is no pricing model, no ticket revenue, and no commercial product; participation is invitation-only. The organization explicitly carries no proprietary technology stack — its asset is the relational network it has compounded over 20 years.

Name

Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum

Legal name

Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum

Website

https://anzlf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum is a non-profit bilateral organization that convenes senior business and government leaders from Australia and New Zealand to advance trans-Tasman trade, investment, and strategic cooperation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Bilateral Business Forums

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAGAGAK

Executive Summits & Invitation-Only Forums

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Live Entertainment & Events (Concerts, Theater, Festivals)/Conventions & Conferences (Business Events)

SECONDARYTHAHAMAA

Executive Leadership Summits (C-Suite, Board, Strategy Offsites)

Travel & Hospitality/MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions)/Corporate Meetings & Summits

Keywords

• Bilateral leadership forum
• Business government dialogue
• Trans-tasman relations
• Bilateral economic cooperation
• Policy advocacy forums

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: The ANZLF Secretariat is funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, providing core operational funding.
2. Corporate Partnerships: Support from leading Australian and New Zealand businesses including Air New Zealand, Ampol, Arup, ASB, Aurecon, Beca, BlueScope, Boeing, Bunnings, Callaghan Innovation, Chartered Accountants, Christchurch Airport, Commonwealth Bank, CyberCX, Fonterra, Fulton Hogan, Genesis, Height, Infratil, Kordia, NAB, Pharmaco, Port of Auckland, PwC, Qantas, Seek, Spark, Woolworths Group, and Z Energy.
3. Business Organization Support: Funded by Business New Zealand and the Business Council of Australia, which serve as the institutional hosts for the ANZLF Secretariat.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF) is a non-profit organisation that operates as a bilateral business-government forum, facilitating dialogue between senior Australian and New Zealand business and government leaders. Founded in 2004, it convenes leadership forums, an emerging leaders programme, industry roundtables, and specialised dialogues (including defence and Australia-India CEO engagement) to advance trans-Tasman policy and commercial engagement.

Product overview

The Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF) operates as a single unified platform for bilateral business-government engagement, not a modular software product. The core offering is the biennial Leadership Forum event supplemented by year-round programs including the ANZLF Emerging Leaders Programme, Indigenous Business Sector Group, industry roundtables, CEO Forum events, ANZLF Defence Dialogue, and Australia-India CEO Forum. These programs collectively facilitate strategic dialogue, economic cooperation, and relationship-building between Australian and New Zealand business and government leaders.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ANZLF Leadership Forum The flagship bilateral forum convening senior Australian and New Zealand business and government leaders for dialogue on trans-Tasman policy, trade, and economic issues.
• Emerging Leaders Programme
• Indigenous Business Sector Group A sector-focused group that engages Indigenous business leaders within the bilateral forum framework, providing a dedicated channel for Indigenous business perspectives in trans-Tasman dialogue.
• Industry Roundtables Topic-specific roundtables that bring together business and government participants around defined bilateral policy or industry issues, enabling focused discussion outside the main leadership forum.
• Defence Dialogue A specialised dialogue programme focused on bilateral defence industry and policy engagement between Australia and New Zealand under the ANZLF umbrella.
• Australia-India CEO Forum A bilateral CEO-level forum connecting Australian and Indian business and government leaders, convened using the ANZLF model and extending the forum's convening approach to a second bilateral relationship.

Quantifiable outcome

• Two-way trade between Australia and New Zealand reaching NZ$29 billion in 2022
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

30 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and TradecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2004Government department providing core funding to the ANZLF Secretariat and supporting trans-Tasman economic relationship initiatives.
• New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and TradecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2004Government ministry providing core funding to the ANZLF Secretariat and supporting bilateral trade and economic cooperation.
• Business Council of AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2004Australian host organization for the ANZLF, providing institutional support and connecting with Australian business leaders.
• Business New ZealandcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2004New Zealand host organization for the ANZLF, providing institutional support and connecting with New Zealand business leaders.
• Air New ZealandminorOthersCorporate partner providing support to ANZLF as part of trans-Tasman business community engagement.
• AmpolminorOthersCorporate partner providing support to ANZLF as part of trans-Tasman business community engagement.
• ArupminorOthersEngineering and advisory firm partner supporting ANZLF initiatives.
• ASBminorOthersBanking partner supporting ANZLF as part of trans-Tasman business community engagement.
• AureconminorOthersEngineering and advisory partner supporting ANZLF initiatives.
• BecaminorOthersConsulting firm partner supporting ANZLF. Beca CEO Greg Lowe serves as New Zealand Co-Chair of ANZLF.
• BlueScopeminorOthersManufacturing partner supporting ANZLF as part of trans-Tasman business community engagement.
• BoeingminorOthersAerospace partner supporting ANZLF. Boeing Australia/NZ CEO Maria Fernandez serves on ANZLF Steering Committee.
• BunningsminorOthersRetail partner supporting ANZLF as part of trans-Tasman business community engagement.
• Callaghan InnovationminorOthersNew Zealand innovation agency partner supporting ANZLF initiatives.
• Commonwealth BankminorOthersBanking partner supporting ANZLF as part of trans-Tasman business community engagement.
• CyberCXminorOthersCybersecurity partner supporting ANZLF. CyberCX CEO John Paitaridis serves as Australian Co-Chair of ANZLF.
• FonterraminorOthersDairy co-operative partner supporting ANZLF as part of trans-Tasman business community engagement.
• Fulton HoganminorOthersInfrastructure partner supporting ANZLF as part of trans-Tasman business community engagement.
• GenesisminorOthersEnergy partner supporting ANZLF as part of trans-Tasman business community engagement.
• InfratilminorOthersInfrastructure investor partner supporting ANZLF. Infratil CEO Jason Boyes serves on ANZLF Steering Committee.
• KordiaminorOthersTechnology partner supporting ANZLF as part of trans-Tasman business community engagement.
• NAB (National Australia Bank)minorOthersBanking partner supporting ANZLF as part of trans-Tasman business community engagement.
• PharmacominorOthersPharmaceutical partner supporting ANZLF as part of trans-Tasman business community engagement.
• Port of AucklandminorOthersPort operator partner supporting ANZLF. Port of Auckland CEO Roger Gray serves on ANZLF Steering Committee.
• PwCminorOthersProfessional services partner supporting ANZLF as part of trans-Tasman business community engagement.
• QantasminorOthersAviation partner supporting ANZLF as part of trans-Tasman business community engagement.
• SeekminorOthersEmployment platform partner supporting ANZLF. Seek CEO Ian Narev serves on ANZLF Steering Committee.
• SparkminorOthersTelecommunications partner supporting ANZLF as part of trans-Tasman business community engagement.
• Woolworths GroupminorOthersRetail partner supporting ANZLF. Woolworths Group CFO Stephen Harrison serves on ANZLF Steering Committee.
• Z EnergyminorOthersEnergy partner supporting ANZLF as part of trans-Tasman business community engagement.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Australia Japan Business Cooperation Committee: Long-standing bilateral business-government forum between Australia and Japan. Operates an identical high-level CEO and ministerial convening model, making it a structural analog to ANZLF in a different bilateral corridor.
• New Zealand International Business Forum (NZIBF): NZ's peak international business forum that Stephen Jacobi also leads as Executive Director. Comparable mission of convening senior business leaders to advance trade and investment policy, with similar government and corporate funding mix.
• Australia-India Business Council (AIBC): Bilateral business-government body advancing Australia–India commercial ties. Closely comparable to ANZLF's Australia-India CEO Forum sub-program and the broader ANZLF convening model applied to a different bilateral corridor.
• New Zealand United States Council: A bilateral council advancing NZ–US business and policy engagement with similar membership, government-to-business dialogue and senior executive convening function — directly comparable to ANZLF's NZ-side remit but for a different bilateral relationship.
• New Zealand China Council: Bilateral business-government body promoting NZ–China relations; ANZLF's NZ Director Stephen Jacobi previously held leadership roles here. Structurally identical convening model applied to a different bilateral partner.
• Australian American Leadership Dialogue (AALD): Operates the same bilateral business-government leadership dialogue model as ANZLF, convening senior Australian and US business leaders, ministers and officials. ANZLF's Australian Director Ranj Samrai was previously Program Director at AALD for five years, underscoring the operational and structural parallel.

Broad incumbents

• BusinessNZ: NZ's peak business advocacy body that hosts ANZLF's New Zealand Secretariat. Same convening and policy-influence model as ANZLF but applied to a broader domestic and multilateral mandate.
• Business Council of Australia (BCA): Peak Australian business body that institutionally hosts ANZLF's Australian Secretariat. Serves a broader domestic advocacy mandate but shares the same CEO-led, government-engagement model that underpins ANZLF's Steering Committee.

Emerging players

• AUKUS Industry Forum / AUKUS Business Dialogue: Emerging business-government dialogue channels supporting the AUKUS security partnership. Overlaps with ANZLF's Defence Dialogue sub-program and competes for the same senior defence, aerospace and cyber executives across Australia and the UK/US.

Others

• Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) bilateral dialogues: India-side counterpart bodies engaging with Australian counterparts (including via the ANZLF-facilitated Australia-India CEO Forum). Relevant as the foreign-counterparty ecosystem ANZLF coordinates with when running its Australia-India program.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/the_anzlf
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/anzlf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum