Leadership, Storytelling & Transition Speaker

Cassie Roma is a storyteller, strategist and straight-talking creative powerhouse — a Californian-born, Auckland-based speaker who spent two decades leading brand and content strategy for some of New Zealand's biggest names before turning her focus to human-first leadership and the question underneath every transition: who am I becoming?

Who is Cassie Roma?

Cassie Roma is a keynote speaker, storyteller, entrepreneur and documentary maker based in Auckland, New Zealand. Originally from California and a University of California, Santa Barbara graduate, she moved to Aotearoa in her twenties and spent two decades leading brand, content and social strategy for Air New Zealand, ANZ Bank, Mighty River Power, NZME and The Warehouse Group, where she was Head of Content Marketing. She is the founder and director of CR&Co, her Auckland creative consultancy, and co-creator of First Movers Media. In 2025 she co-directed and co-produced Heal The Hauraki, a three-part documentary series with Mandy Kupenga about the restoration of Tīkapa Moana / the Hauraki Gulf, told through the lens of science, mātauranga Māori and the leadership of wāhine Māori. Cassie hosts the Kindness Warriors podcast, is a TEDxAuckland alumna and a former chair of the Auckland Pride board, and served as Advisor to the CEO on TVNZ's The Apprentice Aotearoa. Her work now sits at the intersection of leadership, storytelling, identity and transition.

Career Highlights

• Founder and Director of CR&Co, an Auckland-based creative and brand consultancy

• Co-creator of First Movers Media

• Co-director and co-producer of Heal The Hauraki, a three-part documentary series released in 2025

• Host of the Kindness Warriors podcast, and co-host of Ginger's That's What She Said

• TEDxAuckland speaker

• Advisor to the CEO on The Apprentice Aotearoa (TVNZ); also appeared on Celebrity Treasure Island

• Former Chair of the Auckland Pride board

• Led brand, content and social strategy for Air New Zealand, ANZ Bank, The Warehouse Group, Mighty River Power and NZME

• Trustee of The Long Game, a national athlete transition and performance platform

• Proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community and a longstanding advocate for women in business and rainbow communities

Key Speaking Themes

• Leadership Rewired — human-first leadership inside complex systems

• Storytelling as strategy — why stories aren't soft, they're strategy

• The Art of Becoming — identity, transition and reinvention

• Beating Burnout — making care a business metric, not a buzzword

• Navigating neurodiversity at work and beyond

• Diversity, inclusion and belonging in high-performing teams

What Your Audience Will Gain

Cassie blends bold storytelling with business savvy, bringing energy, humour and a bit of rebel magic to every room. Audiences leave with language for what they've been feeling but couldn't articulate, practical tools for leading through change, and the courage to challenge systems and narratives that no longer serve them.

Ideal For

• Leadership conferences and executive strategy days

• Women in business and women in leadership events

• Diversity, inclusion and belonging programmes

• Brand, marketing and communications summits

• Conference MC, interview and panel facilitation roles

Frequently Asked Questions about Cassie Roma

What does Cassie Roma speak about? Human-first leadership, storytelling as strategy, identity and transition, burnout and care, neurodiversity, and diversity, inclusion and belonging.

Where is Cassie Roma based? Cassie is Californian by birth and has lived in New Zealand since her twenties. She is based in Auckland and travels nationally and internationally for speaking engagements.

What is Cassie Roma best known for? Two decades of brand and content leadership for major New Zealand organisations, founding CR&Co, hosting the Kindness Warriors podcast, and co-creating the Heal The Hauraki documentary series.

Can Cassie deliver workshops as well as keynotes? Yes. Cassie offers keynotes, workshops, advisory and facilitation, executive coaching, MC work and interviews.

Has Cassie Roma made a documentary? Yes — Heal The Hauraki, a three-part series co-created with Mandy Kupenga on restoring the health of the Hauraki Gulf, launched in 2025.

Does Cassie Roma work with sporting organisations? Yes. Cassie is a trustee of The Long Game, a national athlete transition platform, and speaks on identity, transition and the leadership capability that elite sport develops.