An Academy Award winner, an African explorer and a community adventurer feature at this year's Reboot Your Business in Napier on Friday next week, June 30.
Despite being encouraged to leave school at 13 for farm work Paul Pattison has gone on to work with movie names including Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron, Patrick Dempsey, Jon Voight, Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Robert De Niro, Jason Statham, Gregory Peck and Anne Margaret.
The Taradale resident of six months describes himself as a "citizen of the world" with another home in Greece. His next project is in Prague in three months.
"I've basically travelled the world for the last 45 years doing special-effects makeup," he says.
He shared the 1995 Oscar for Best Makeup with Lois Burwell and Peter Frampton for the film Braveheart.
Winning the Oscar made his working life easier but also more difficult because of raised expectations on high-profile films.
He plans to share his journey to Los Angeles studios with the Friday-morning audience at Napier Conference Centre.
"It will be a two-part discussion - how I got there and what my job entails."
Havelock North's Cam McLeay started adventuring as a part-time rafting guide while a student, an expertise that took him around the world. He fell in love with Uganda where he owned and ran a rafting, bungy jumping, jet boating and tourism operation and led an ascent of the Nile.
He owned and operated Wildwaters Lodge, a high-end facility perched on islands on the Nile, listed in Lonely Planet as a top destination.
While they've lacked exotic glamour and glitz, Sandra Hazlehurst says her adventures with people have been no less exciting.
She is a commercial property landlord, chair of the trust that stages the Edible Fashion Awards and next week becomes Hastings' acting mayor.
"Community organisations that improve the way we live in the district are really my focus - it's a big adventure," she says.
Reboot Your Business is organised by Napier businessman Gary Hemming, originally using people his LinkedIn network.
"Very little happens unless somebody drives it, so I formed the group here in Hawke's Bay called Face-to-Face, which now has 340 members," he said.
"We get together each month. It is a people-helping-people programme and there is no cost other than the direct cost of attending.
"At the end of the day, people are all that is really important and the more you bring them together, the more things happen.
"In January we do what we called Kickstart and mid-year we do Reboot, with the concept of helping people meet people and sharing their business ideas and stories - what people have been through on their journey, which stimulates more ideas."
To book contact kaye@commonsense.co.nz