ABOUT CHRIS
I've always been interested in how things work.
And how they could work better.
From growing up alongside a cement plant in Westport to working across telecommunications, digital transformation, enterprise technology and product leadership, I've spent more than 25 years turning complexity into clarity - and ideas into things that work.
Chris Dwyer
Founder · Digital Consultant
Auckland · Aotearoa New Zealand
The point of view
I like complicated problems.
Not because complexity is inherently good. Because somewhere inside most complicated problems is a simpler answer waiting to be found.
My job is often to help find it - then bring the right people, technology and decisions together to make it real.
The big idea
Technology is rarely the hardest part.
Making it useful is.
The best technology doesn't exist for technology's sake. It should help people do something better - serve a customer, run an operation, grow a business, make a decision or create something new.
That's the lens I've carried throughout my career.
Where it started
It started in Westport.
My father was the Electrical Engineer at the Holcim cement plant.
Growing up next to the plant, technology was part of everyday life. I would often tag along with my father on call-outs and emergency breakdowns. I remember being fascinated by the huge control rooms, with walls of buttons, lights, printers and alarms, and watching them gradually evolve as Rockwell and Honeywell computers and automation became part of the plant.
I didn't know it at the time, but those experiences were shaping me. I wanted to understand how things worked, how technology could make things better and, perhaps most importantly, I enjoyed being around the people who made it happen.
During the school holidays, I started working in the Electrical Workshop. Before long, I found myself spending more and more time around the site's computers, helping fix hardware and software problems and connecting them across the plant.
By the time I finished sixth form, I was working at the plant full time. The site was going through a period of major technology change, and I found myself right in the middle of it. I helped upgrade the plant's network, introduce fibre and Cisco equipment, support the move to Windows and Citrix, and implement SAP across the warehouse and purchasing operation.
I also became the person people called when something wasn't working. Computers, software, networking, phones or the PABX, it didn't really matter. I enjoyed figuring out what was going wrong, working with the people involved and finding a practical way forward.
That's probably where it started for me.
Technology was interesting, but what really interested me was what happened when you put it in the hands of people.
How they used it. How it changed the way they worked. And how the right technology, introduced in the right way, could make something complicated feel surprisingly simple.
That idea has followed me ever since.
The journey
25+ years. One consistent thread.
1999–2002
Holcim · Westport
Electrical, technology, infrastructure, SAP, automation and business operations.
Where curiosity became capability.
2003–2008
Telecom New Zealand
Customer solutions, broadband provisioning, technical support and service delivery.
Where technology met the customer.
2008–2021
Telecom → Chorus
Business transformation, operational separation, fibre products, retailer integration, digital channels, Salesforce and enterprise technology.
Where complexity became transformation.
2015–2021
Business Technology Manager · Chorus
Customer Management & Salesforce. Platform leadership, product management, agile delivery, partners, vendors and business transformation.
Where technology became business capability.
2021–2023
A deliberate reset
Stepped away from corporate life to live differently, explore, create and think seriously about the next chapter.
Where the next chapter began.
2023–present
Founder · cdwyernz.com
Independent digital consulting, strategy, transformation and product thinking.
Where experience became something of my own.
EXCELLENCE & DELIVERY
Proof that I deliver.
Over more than two decades, I've worked on complex technology, transformation and operational change where getting the outcome right mattered. Along the way, I've been recognised for delivery, leadership, collaboration and finding a way through difficult problems.
2019
Customer Interaction Management
Transforming how Chorus managed customer interactions.
Delivered a major Salesforce transformation that brought customer care, digital channels and service processes together, creating a stronger foundation for customer visibility and long-term operational capability.
Recognition: Delivery of a high-complexity transformation.
2014
COFFII Delivery Excellence
Delivering complex fibre fulfilment on time.
Helped deliver a highly complex customer ordering, fibre fulfilment and integrated inventory programme under significant delivery pressure. Success depended on bringing people, technology and stakeholders together around a common outcome.
Recognition: COFFII Delivery Excellence.
2014
Vodafone B2B On-boarding
Getting Vodafone connected.
Navigated 12 months of changing requirements, competing priorities and high-pressure delivery challenges to successfully onboard Vodafone to the B2B assurance platform.
Recognition: Delivery commendation.
View All Accomplishments
2012
Fibre Operational Strategy
Building the operational foundations for fibre.
Developed the operational support model for Layer 1 fibre access products, creating a framework for supporting customers and operational teams as the new technology scaled.
2011
Overcoming Fibre Roadblocks
Finding a way through when fibre hit roadblocks.
Helped resolve critical legal interception requirements and installation process failures that were holding up a major fibre programme.
Recognition: People Driving Our Success.
2011
Rapid Product Launch
From legal ruling to product launch in under three months.
Worked through significant regulatory and operational constraints to develop and launch a unique access product at exceptional speed.
2010
Regulatory Programme Management
Delivering through a major regulatory transition.
Managed critical business and operational activities through one of Telecom NZ's significant regulatory undertakings, helping minimise disruption and risk for customers and suppliers.
2009
Next-Generation VoIP
Making the next generation of home voice services possible.
Helped deliver a Next Generation Home VoIP trial under tight regulatory requirements, working across technology, operations and delivery teams to get the outcome over the line.
Recognition: Going the Extra Mile.
2008
Crisis Commitment & Teamwork
Keeping customers informed when things went wrong.
Supported the response to a significant mass-market internet and email outage, helping coordinate customer compensation, communications and operational responses under intense pressure.
Recognition: Commitment & Teamwork.
Signature transformation · Chorus NZ
From fragmented CRM to enterprise platform.
A platform that had evolved organically became an opportunity to rethink how customer technology was owned, delivered and operated.
Centralised ownership
Created a dedicated Customer Platform capability and established professional and managed services with Davanti Consulting.
Enterprise-grade platform
Migrated core capabilities to Salesforce Lightning on a new Australian instance and built for scale.
Agile delivery
Established Sales, Service and Platform squads to move away from traditional waterfall delivery.
Business + technology
Business owners became directly engaged in priorities, delivery and outcomes - accelerating value from the platform.
My hats: Business Owner/Sponsor · Business Technology Manager · Product Manager · Product Owner
Philosophy
How I Work
01. Empathy
Start with people
Meet people where they are. Understand what they actually need before trying to build a technical solution.
02. Clarity
Make complex simple
Turn convoluted technical ideas and messy business problems into something teams can see, understand, and act on.
03. Possibility
Challenge assumptions
Respect operational constraints while asking what could be done differently to unlock new value.
04. Ecosystem
Unite the stakeholders
Connect executives, customers, product, tech, operations, and external vendors around shared outcomes.
05. Honesty
Radical transparency
Acknowledge what is actually happening - even when it's messy. Real progress starts with honesty.
06. Delivery
Get it done + have fun
Take the work seriously without taking yourself too seriously. High performance is easier when teams can laugh.
"Chris is one of those authentic innovators who is a quick start on radical process improvements. His core strength is his ability to see the 'big picture' and deliver solid milestone outcomes. Customers love working with him and he is great at building frameworks for success."
Guy McKee
Business Builder & Platform Manager
Certifications & Capabilities
The reset
Sometimes you need to step away to see what's next.
After 18 years in telecommunications and technology, I stepped away from corporate life in 2021. It was deliberate. I wanted to live and love life. To explore. To create. To reconnect with the things that made me curious. To think. To dream a little bigger. It taught me something important:
Work matters. But it isn't the whole story.
I didn't come out of that period wanting to leave technology behind. I came out knowing I wanted to use everything I'd learnt differently - more independently, more directly and more personally.
Why CDWYER NZ exists
That's why I built CDWYER NZ
I wanted to take more than two decades of experience across technology, digital, business transformation and operations and make it useful to organisations that don't necessarily need - or want - another big consultancy.
They need someone who can understand the problem, ask the hard questions, see the bigger picture, get into the detail when required, bring the right people together and help turn an idea into something that actually works.
Practical expertise. Clear thinking. Better technology. Real outcomes.
Have something worth figuring out?
A problem you're trying to untangle. An opportunity you're trying to understand. A digital capability that needs to grow. Or an idea that needs someone to help turn it into reality.