Alex Kravchenko
Doctor of Philosophy
Luke Coxhead
Walking in the footsteps of Sir Edmund Hillary on a trek through the Himalayas is just one of the many incredible memories that Luke Coxhead will treasure from his time at Waikato University.
Digital Product Manager at Air New Zealand
Hamilton
On completing his Bachelor of Management Studies with Honours degree in 2014, Luke joined EY as a graduate Management Consultant in Auckland.
Within four years he had relocated across the ditch to Sydney, Australia and been promoted to Manager within the Customer & Strategy Advisory team. Having proved his abilities, Luke was responsible for managing cross-functional teams to design and transform customers' experiences with a focus in financial services.
After six years in Management Consulting Luke left EY and took up his next role at HSBC as Proposition & Customer Experience Manager (Retail Banking), also based in Sydney.
In 2021, Luke moved back home to New Zealand to take up a role at Air New Zealand as Digital Strategy Manager focused on customer and commercial products. He has now transitioned into a new role as Product Manager responsible for the Air New Zealand mobile app experience. A creative and strategic thinker, Luke says he is passionate about harnessing technologies to deliver an exceptional customer experience.
A talented hockey player, the ex-Tauranga lad began his studies at Waikato in 2010, when he was offered a Sir Edmund Hillary Scholarship in recognition of his sporting success playing in the National Hockey League.
During his studies at Waikato, Luke was part of a talented team of strategic management students who came runners-up in the National Business Case Competition in 2013.
His management internship paper gave him the chance to work at Calder & Lawson travel agency for five months.
In 2014, Luke received a Step Higher Award, presenting him with an amazing opportunity to travel to Nepal to see some of the community projects started there by Sir Ed to provide health and education for the local people.
Luke says the trip to Nepal was the perfect way to finish off his studies and is something he’ll never forget.
“As a Hillary Scholar, my values are modelled by Sir Ed’s constant belief in challenging your own limits and trying to make a positive difference in the world.”
