Speakers

Group Executive, Telstra Enterprise

Mike joined Telstra in October 2018 as Group Executive, Telstra Enterprise. Responsible for revenues in excess of $8bn, he manages a growing business that delivers connectivity, platforms, applications and tailored industry solutions to Telstra’s enterprise and government customers. He is also responsible for Enterprise’s international operations, with approximately 3,500 people in 20 countries and the largest subsea cable network in the Asia Pacific region.

Chief Executive Officer, Telstra

Andy became Chief Executive Officer in May 2015, having served as Telstra's CFO and Group Executive International. An experienced senior executive with a career spanning more than 30 years, Andy spent 20 years with AXA Asia Pacific, where he held a number of positions including Group Chief Executive (2006-2011), Chief Executive Officer for Australia and New Zealand, Group Chief Financial Officer and Chief Executive for Asia.

Chief Digital Evangelist, Salesforce

Vala is the Chief Digital Evangelist for Salesforce and author of ‘The Pursuit of Social Business Excellence’. He has also authored over 400 articles and is a regular contributor to HuffPost, Inc Magazine and ZDNet. As co-host of a weekly thought leadership show called DisrupTV, Vala has interviewed more than five hundred Fortune 1,000 CXOs, start-up founders, venture capitalists, and tech and media analysts. He has more than 380,000 Twitter followers and was named Forbes Magazine’s most influential digital business leader for CIOs and CMOs on Twitter for 2017/2018.

Winter Olympics Gold Medallist

Best known for winning Australia’s first ever female Winter Olympic Gold Medal, Alisa is an in-demand keynote speaker and corporate consultant. As well as helping organisations achieve sustainable success through a focus on resilience, mindset and improved human performance, she’s also a highly experienced non-executive director, was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 2007 and became a Member of the Order of Australia in 2018.

Creative Director CJZ

Michael is co-founder and Creative Director of CJZ, Australia’s largest locally owned production company. He has a wide range of credits as director, writer, producer and executive producer across scores of factual and drama productions. His series Go Back to Where You Came From for SBS was awarded an International Emmy and a Rose d’Or for best international television production. Other credits include iconic factual series Bondi Rescue and the documentary feature Jimmy Barnes Working Class Boy. He is passionate about storytelling across many genres.

Co-Captain, Carlton Football Club

Sam is the Co-Captain of the Carlton Football Club and a life-long Carlton fan. Having joined the team he supported as a boy, he’s won the John Nicholl’s medal and was named in the 2017 All-Australian team. Despite ACL injuries that ruled him out for the 2018 and 2019 seasons, he was elected vice-captain in 2018 and co-captain in 2019 – a testament to his dedication, professionalism and focus on putting the team first.

Business communication specialist

A global thought leader on authentic leadership and business storytelling, Gabrielle has worked with high-profile leaders, top 50 ASX companies and multinationals to humanise their communications. She’s a bestselling author, graduate of Harvard Kennedy School of Executive Education and the brains behind Jargon Free Fridays, a movement aimed at promoting plain speaking in the workplace.

Paralympic gold medallist

One of Australia's most inspirational, well-known and respected athletes, Kurt is a three-time Paralympic gold medallist and four-time World Para Athletics Champion. He’s also been a winning crew member of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race and – incredibly – he’s also crawled the entire 96km Kokoda track. Today, Kurt is actively involved in various charities as a board member, patron and ambassador, and is a Commissioner of Sport Australia and Board Member of Paralympics Australia.

Former ABC Four Corners host

Kerry O’Brien is one of Australia’s most distinguished and respected journalists with six Walkley Awards for excellence in journalism, including the Gold Walkley. His time at the ABC has seen him interview many distinguished world leaders, from Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela and Mikhail Gorbachev to Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, as well as influential figures in the arts, science and business.

Demographer and social commentator

Bernard Salt is widely regarded as one of Australia's leading social commentators. He currently heads The Demographics Group, providing specialist advice on demographic, consumer and social trends for business, and writes weekly columns for The Australian dealing with social, generational and demographic matters. Prior to that, Bernard founded KPMG Demographics and is widely known for his six best-selling books and media appearances.

Founder and director of Rezilium

Kamal’s journey has taken him from monk to executive to venture capitalist to keynote speaker. And this unorthodox path has helped him form a unique perspective on life. As one of the leading authorities on leadership and resilience, he is a speaker, trainer and the author of three books, including the international bestseller ‘Mental Resilience: The Power of Clarity’. Today, Kamal is the founder and director of Rezilium, a strategic leadership firm, and Chair of the Conversations Think Tank at RUOK?

Award-wining video journalist

Emily Verdouw is a video journalist who directs, produces, films and edits short documentaries for TV and online. She won the 2018 Young Walkley for visual storytelling. Her stories have explored sensitive topics like the Port Arthur massacre, domestic violence perpetrators, PTSD in soldiers, suicide, the mental health of refugee children and brain disease in football. She has reported around the world for outlets like HuffPost, BuzzFeed and SBS VICELAND.