AI adoption top of mind for Waikato business leaders

Wednesday, 24 June 2026

A Waikato panel featured, from left, 2Degrees chief business officer Andrew Fairgray, Fosters Construction chief executive Warren Luxton, Company-X co-founder and director David Hallett, and University of Waikato director of digital innovation and strategy Karyn Rastrick.

For Waikato business leaders it’s no longer a question of whether to use artificial intelligence - it’s a matter of how.

The topic dominated discussion as a panel of experts unpacked the latest edition of the 2Degrees Shaping Business study and what it meant for the region at a Waikato Chamber of Commerce event on Tuesday.

On the panel was 2Degrees chief business officer Andrew Fairgray, Fosters Construction chief executive Warren Luxton, Company-X co-founder and director David Hallett, and University of Waikato director of digital innovation and strategy Karyn Rastrick.

Artificial intelligence dominated the discussion panel, which was held by the Waikato Chamber of Commerce.

The longitudinal survey, now in its seventh year, found Waikato businesses were continuing to show forward momentum and were more optimistic compared to the rest of the country. Businesses in the region were also more likely to embrace innovation, and were no longer waiting on a post-Covid recovery.

That willingness to adopt new technology was evident during the panel discussion, with attendees asking how to implement artificial intelligence, measure its success, and more.

Fairgray said businesses needed to make sure they weren’t reproducing an existing process when implementing AI.

The 2Degrees Shaping Business study takes the temperature of businesses around the country. Chief business officer Andrew Fairgray said the results were encouraging for the Waikato.

“Redesign how you work and the work flow with it, and it's like any business investment: make sure you know what the outcome is.”

But Hallett cautioned that adopting AI didn’t automatically guarantee cost-savings or increased innovation.

In some cases, he said, Company-X had found it cost more to use AI to complete a task than an experienced software engineer.

Using AI doesn’t guarantee increased productivity or cost-savings, Company-X co-founder and director David Hallett told panel attendees.

“It’s a bit like putting 98 octane fuel in your 91 car - you won’t see any benefits [but] it will still run your car.”

One attendee asked panellists how businesses could keep their humanity during the “onslaught of AI”.

Luxton said it was a conversation he’d been having with other Fosters shareholders.

Fosters chief executive Warren Luxton believed the future would become more focused on either technology or humanity.

They saw the future as going one of two ways, with life becoming “either much more technology-focused or much more human-focused”.

“I'm optimistic that some of it will swing back to actually humans do make a real difference,” he said.

Rastrick said she did not think businesses needed to choose between technology and AI, adding the technology could be used to “supercharge” the relationship-building process.

University of Waikato director of digital innovation and strategy Karyn Rastrick said businesses could use AI while remaining relationship-focused.

“I think it’s a both answer.”

While AI led much of the discussion, Fairgray told the Waikato Times after the panel that results from the broader survey were encouraging for the region.

“I think South Island economically is still the strongest, and that's being driven by Canterbury and the whole rebuild, the university and what's going on there,” he said.

“Waikato and Bay of Plenty probably are the next strongest that we're that we're seeing.”

He attributed the region’s performance to the Fonterra payout, the University of Waikato, and booming construction, adding the Waikato Expressway also delivered a boost.

The biggest challenge for the region, he said, was where to next.

“You've got dairy, you've got the university, how can you leverage it for innovation? How do you create an innovation hub and attract and retain people?”