New Mumbrella360 sessions put CMOs, influence and representation at the centre of Catalyst program
The Mumbrella360 Catalyst program continues to expand, with new sessions examining CMO accountability in an AI-shaped industry, the commercial realities of representation in media, and how marketing leaders are driving growth inside increasingly complex organisations.
Paul Nunnari, paralympian, CEO , Inclusively Made
New sessions for Mumbrella’s flagship three day event Mumbrella360 have been announced today.
What’s Keeping CMOs Up at Night? returns for its third year at Mumbrella360, having become one of the conference’s most consistently rated sessions. For 2026, the discussion will move into how the CMO role is being reshaped by AI, rising performance pressure and organisational redesign.
The panel will examine how CMOs influence CEOs, CFOs and boards; what it takes to build an AI-ready marketing organisation; how capability, operating models and team structures are being redesigned; and how leaders are responding to growing talent and training challenges.
The panel includes Joanna Robinson, CMO, The Iconic; Gonçalo Pinto da Costa, head of marketing, Swarovski; Jodi Murray-Freedman, CMO, Bakers Delight, and Fraser McNaughton, CMO, Grant Thornton, and will be moderated by Louise Cummins (Founder, Australian Centre for AI in Marketing and former CMO, World Vision).
Another newly announced session, Nothing About Us, Without Us: When Representation Flies, examines the role of representation in shaping belief, infrastructure and commercial outcomes in Australian media.
The conversation is led by Henry Smith, founder, Inclusively Made, and Paul Nunnari, paralympic silver medallist, Public Service Medal recipient, and CEO of Inclusively Made. Drawing on work delivered through Inclusively Made – Australia’s certification standard for inclusive production — the session explores how brands and broadcasters including Nine, Woolworths, Bupa, Big W and Telstra are embedding inclusive practices at a structural and organisational level.
The session will examine Nine’s 2024 Paralympics broadcast, which reached 8.7 million Australians, as a case study in representation driving reach, relevance and commercial performance when inclusive thinking is embedded from the outset.
Completing the announcement is From Cost Centre to Catalyst: How CMOs Drive Growth, led by Lara Thom, recently named Mi3’s CMO of the Year.
Drawing on her work at Guzman y Gomez, Thom will examine how marketing can operate as a direct driver of revenue and growth. The session focuses on linking creativity, data and brand-building to measurable commercial outcomes, building fast and accountable marketing teams, and positioning marketing as a strategic growth engine.
The sessions reinforce Catalyst’s focus on marketing as a force for transformation – commercially, culturally and organisationally.
Mumbrella360 takes place from 26–28 May 2026. Super early bird tickets with a saving of $900 are on sale until midnight Friday 12th December.
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