Sir Ashley Bloomfield was the invited guest speaker at the annual Eat Talk Connect (ETC) charity business lunch, held at the Ascot Park Hotel in Invercargill on Friday.
The former New Zealand director-general of health shared his insights on resilience and leadership, which included the four key values of kindness, trust, honesty and humility.
Sir Ashley last visited Invercargill in March 2020 - just prior to the first lockdown - to watch his son at the national pipe band championships, and was piped into the luncheon by a lone piper.
He was involved in guiding the nation during the onset of Covid-19, but now has a new role as a professor at the University of Auckland teaching public health and leadership.
