As one of ShopCare’s founding trustees, Mike O’Brien has been part of the journey right from the start, helping to secure the early ACC funding that brought ShopCare to life and continuing to guide its direction today.
Mike’s career has spanned senior roles in retail, manufacturing, and supply chains, including time as Country Leader for a global logistics provider. This leadership experience gives him a real-world understanding of how workplaces operate and what it takes to keep people safe. He has experienced the impacts of harm throughout his life and career as a father, brother and leader. His activity in the last 10 years has focused on activating others in preventing workplace harm, both at organisational and system levels.
As founder of Govn365, principal of Navona, and now Chair of Health and Safety Association NZ (HASANZ) and steering group member of the Business Leaders Health and Safety Forum, Mike is helping to shape the future of health and safety across Aotearoa. He’s also involved in national system activation projects like Future Safe Aotearoa, SafetyTech, and partnerships across agriculture, manufacturing, and local government.
Mike’s approach is simple: real change happens when leadership, capability, and culture come together. He focuses on four key pillars: leadership, capability, technology, and government activation, all working towards preventing harm before it happens.
Outside of work, family and friends are at the heart of everything he does. Mike enjoys hiking, travelling, biking, golf, and water sports, as well as enjoying art, culture and good food with his wife, Bronwyn. He says these creative pursuits help to keep his thinking fresh and balanced.