Jon Calder

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Jon Calder

Jon Calder

Chief Executive Officer

Qualifications : MBA, PGDipMS, University of Waikato.

Jon Calder is Chief Executive Officer of Tompkins Wake and one of New Zealand's most recognised law firm leaders, and he's not a lawyer.

Since taking the helm in 2016, Jon has led one of the more significant transformations in the New Zealand legal market, growing Tompkins Wake from a dominant regional practice into a nationally recognised firm, now ranked among the country's top firms by lawyer headcount and reputation. T

His vision is a deliberate blend of the best of Big Law and New Law, the credibility and depth of a full-service firm, with the agility, innovation and client focus of firms willing to think differently. Technology, innovation, and continuous improvement are embedded in the way the firm operates.

Under his leadership, the firm has been recognised as New Zealand Mid-size Law Firm of the Year and has since grown into the large law firm category. Jon won the Managing Partner of the Year award at the New Zealand Law Awards in consecutive years. He has been named among New Zealand Lawyers' Most Influential Leaders and received the Chief Executive of the Year award at the Westpac Waikato Business Awards in 2018.

His executive education includes programmes at Harvard Law School and Stanford Graduate School of Business. He holds an MBA from the University of Waikato.

Jon is a Director of LawSet and Board Dynamics, a member and alumnus of the Te Hono Movement, and a Member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors. He is a Trustee of the Waikato Anglican College Trust, the governing body of St Paul's Collegiate, his alma mater.

Jon's view is simple: the best-performing firms of the next decade will be those that have the courage to lead differently.

Jon has been a keynote speaker and presented in forums including:

2023 LAWFEST, Keynote "Achieving Sustainable Growth"
2022 Future Firms Forum", Opening speaker "Driving Growth: A Non-Lawyers Perspective"
2019 LAWFEST, MC and Panel Speaker, Changing the mould: Lessons from innovative firms

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