Speakers

GLOBAL SPEAKER

Thomas Barta

Thomas Barta is a global authority on marketing leadership.

He’s the CEO of the Marketing Leadership Institute.

A former McKinsey Partner and CMO, he pioneered the world’s largest study on marketing leadership — 68,000+ assessments across 60+ countries.

Thomas has written the #1 marketing leadership book The 12 Powers of a Marketing Leader (with Patrick Barwise) and founded the Marketing Leadership Masterclass.

As Dean of the global CMO Fellowship, he has guided 400+ leaders to the top.

His work appears in Marketing Week, Forbes, and Nikkei.

Thomas delivers keynotes and growth workshops internationally.

GLOBAL SPEAKER

Mark Pollard

Mark runs Sweathead, a strategy training, event, and publishing company. 
 
He’s trained The Wall Street Journal, Complex Media, On Running, Twitter, and Meta while growing the Sweathead Facebook Group to over 20,000 members and the Sweathead podcast to over 1.6 million total listens.  
 
Mark spent almost two decades working in advertising in agencies like Leo Burnett, Big Spaceship, and McCann before setting up Sweathead in New York City. His roles have touched user experience, social media strategy, and account planning. 
 
Outside of advertising, Mark is a writer and publisher. In fact, he published Australia’s first full color hip hop magazine with a CD and, having raised $37,000 on Kickstarter, he’s sold 8,000 copies of his first book “Strategy Is Your Words”. 
 
He’s spoken at conferences like the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity and he’s hosted strategy masterclasses in tens of countries.  

GLOBAL SPEAKER

Sherilyn Shackell

Sherilyn launched The Marketing Academy, a non profit organisation, in the UK in 2010, Australia in 2014, USA in 2018 & APAC in 2023, bringing together some of the world’s best known & popular brands to provide world class learning for all levels of talent from emerging leaders to CMOs. 

She is also the Founder & Chairman of The Marketing Academy Foundation, a stand alone charity providing marketing apprenticeships for young people from challenging backgrounds. 

A highly popular and engaging keynote speaker you’ll often find her delivering leadership development programs. When she gets the chance, she writes about talent engagement & development and all things ‘leadership’ featuring in The Sunday Times, FastCo, Telegraph, AdNews, Marketing Week, AdWeek, Marketing Magazine, Management Today and CMO.com. 

She’s received recognision for her work; CIM Women in Marketing ‘Special Award for Contribution to Marketing’, was inducted into the Courvoisier Future 500, invited to join the Marketing Group of Great Britain and was identified as one of the UK’s Vision100 by Adobe and AdNews Top 50 list of most powerful influencers in Australia. 

GLOBAL SPEAKER

Ruben Schreurs

Ruben Schreurs is Ebiquity’s Group Chief Executive Officer. Ruben joined the Company in 2020 following the acquisition of Digital Decisions BV, the specialist digital media monitoring and optimisation service provider, which Ruben founded in 2017. After joining the Group Ruben was Ebiquity’s Chief Product Officer until July 2023 and Chief Strategy Officer since that date. Prior to setting up Digital Decisions, Ruben previously held positions at Infectious Media and Autheos.  

GLOBAL SPEAKER

Maura Tuohy Di Muro

Maura is a seasoned Product Marketing leader and ethical technologist best known for shaping trust & safety products and marketing initiatives at Discord, Twitter, and Mozilla.  

She has built a reputation for pioneering trust & safety marketing programs that are engaging, impactful, and—most importantly—don’t suck. Notable projects include Twitter Data Dash, a side-scrolling pixel art game designed to demystify Twitter’s revamped privacy policy (RIP), as well as Discord’s Safety Tarot Cards, the Teen Charter for a Better Internet, and the Zoltar Safety Fortune-Telling Machine—all innovative approaches to digital safety education. 

Before transitioning into product marketing in tech, Maura honed her expertise in advertising agencies, spending five years in Australia, where she earned her MBA—and, in a moment of infamy, walked away with a $15,000 Banksy painting (a story best left for you to uncover). 

Passionate about digital literacy, Maura is dedicated to bridging the gap between parents and teens in the realms of gaming and social media. She believes in harnessing the power of the internet and AI as tools for human progress and is committed to helping mission-driven organizations develop exceptional products while educating users, parents, and policymakers alike. 

She holds a Master’s in Law from UC Law San Francisco and aspires to pursue a PhD in AI safety—“once things calm down.” At home she is kept on her toes by her two boisterous boys and wonderful husband.  

Mark Ritson

Mark Ritson is a former marketing professor, brand consultant, and columnist. He holds a PhD in marketing and has taught at London Business School, MIT, Melbourne Business School, and the University of Minnesota. He spent 13 years as in-house brand consultant for LVMH. He has won Columnist of the Year seven times in the British press awards and currently writes for AdWeek, The Drum, Mumbrella, Horizont, and Resumé.

In 2019 he left academia to build the Mini MBA in Marketing – now the world’s leading short marketing programme, with over 40,000 graduates across 60 countries. He is based in Tasmania and Sydney. Often at the same time.

GLOBAL SPEAKER

Peter Chun

Peter Chun is the EVP and Global Head of PAC (Platforms, Algorithms, and Culture) at VaynerX, leading the company’s platform and creative strategy. His expertise in platforms and cultural trends allows him to deliver cutting-edge insights and maximize relevance for the agency and its brand partners.

As an innovator, Peter spearheads VaynerX’s initiatives across emerging landscapes, consistently pushing boundaries and setting new standards. His strategic vision and commitment to staying ahead of the curve have positioned VaynerX as a leader in the digital marketing space, delivering exceptional results for its clients.

With over 15 years of experience in digital marketing, performance advertising, and venture-backed consumer startups, he’s worked with the world’s largest consumer Internet brands, such as Apple, American Express, and Nike, to name a few.

Before joining VaynerX, he was the Head of Platforms at SocialCode, leading the launch of Facebook Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Snap’s Ad API’s. Peter’s previous roles included managing director at LinkShare (acquired by Rakuten) and head of solutions at Clickable

Brenda Denbesten

Brenda Denbesten is an award-winning leadership and communication specialist with over 18 years’ experience across mining, manufacturing and engineering – some of Australia’s most complex, high-pressure environments. A former chemical engineer, she brings deep operational credibility to her work helping leaders communicate with clarity, confidence and influence when it matters most.

Brenda works with organisations and senior professionals to strengthen decision-making, build trust and create high-performing cultures where people speak up and lead with impact. She is the co-founder of Speakworthy, host of The Inclusive Advantage podcast, and Chair of the Intersectionality Advisory Committee for the National Association of Women in Operations (NAWO). Her work is known for being grounded, commercially relevant and immediately applicable in real-world leadership and communication challenges.

Rebecca Darley

Bec describes herself as “CMO-plus” – the culmination of a 25+ year marketing career across global and local brands plus C-suite experience spanning Business Strategy, P&L ownership, Board Directorship and Chairperson responsibilities.

Bec is currently Group Chief Marketing Officer for TPG Telecom, working across their suite of brands including Vodafone, TPG, iiNet and Felix. Previously as CMO & MD Consumer Division at Domain Group, Bec led a diverse portfolio including the Group’s Marketing and Sustainability teams as well as P&L responsibility for the growing Consumer Solutions division. Bec has held senior marketing roles at CBA Group, Westpac Group & IKEA.

Bec is actively involved in the industry as a guest speaker, panellist, mentor and awards judge; and her work has been recognised locally and globally. Whilst her career is incredibly fulfilling, Bec is a proud mum to three delicious humans – Max,9, Indy, 8 and Poppy, 6.

Dr Bill Page

Dr Bill Page is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and one of the Institute’s Senior Marketing Scientists. His research focuses on understanding shopper behaviour and the mental structures that lead to purchase. This includes understanding fundamental patterns of shopper behaviour, how shoppers navigate retail environments, and the pester power of children. He uses these shopper insights to help retailers and manufacturers improve the physical availability of their brands. Bill works with Institute Sponsors around the world the identify and measure Category Entry Points and Distinctive Assets. He also conducts R&D to develop our understanding of these important areas.

Since joining the Institute, Bill has worked on commercial projects for a broad range of organisations. He is experienced in measuring Distinctive Assets, copy testing, measuring brand equity, setting advertising budgets, measuring brand performance, improving in-store communications, and programming tools that can be used across a marketing organisation.

Amanda Behre

Amanda is an experienced executive marketing and commercial partnerships leader with almost 20 years’ experience across a diversity of categories from travel and tourism, ecommerce and digital marketplaces. She has led teams for brands such as Gumtree, Wotif, Hireup and Qantas Holidays based in USA and Australia and has managed consumer and B2B marketing, communications, CRM, marketing technology, automation and CX, managing databases of over 7 million consumers. Amanda is also an accredited career and leadership coach, growth advisor, Non Executive Director supporting brands from BIG4 Holiday Parks to Flexischools and is now Founder of Dear Thrive, a platform connecting working professionals to a network of advisory and coaching support. Amanda has been a previous speaker and panellist across events from Mumbrella to The Customer Show.

Ashley Wong

Ashley works with clients and partners, to create innovative digital solutions that forge a better path forward. He’s experienced the evolution of the media and tech landscape over the past two decades, and sees the pivotal role of innovation in achieving meaningful change towards a more sustainable future.

Joanna Robinson

One of Australia’s most accomplished and respected marketers and commercial leaders, Joanna has a passion and proven track record for driving transformation, commercial growth, and customer-centric innovation – in the most complex and fast-paced environments. Recognised twice in the Top 50 CMOs in Australia, the B&T CMO Power 20, the Top 50 People in e-commerce, Top People in Fashion and as a finalist in multiple industry awards, Joanna is celebrated for her strategic vision and authentic leadership.

With nearly 3 decades experience across Australia, Asia, North Africa, the Middle East, and Turkey, Joanna brings deep expertise in retail, e-commerce, and FMCG, working with some of the world’s most high-profile brands. This breadth and depth of experience enables her to bring diverse perspectives and creative solutions to business challenges, making her especially valuable to organisations seeking transformation and growth.

Throughout her career, Joanna has demonstrated strong skills in business strategy, change management, digital transformation, and building and shaping high-performing teams and cultures. She is deeply skilled in stakeholder management and board-level influence, having managed and optimised marketing budgets of up to AU$70 million.
Highly regarded for her innovative approach to marketing, customer, and business strategy, Joanna is a sought-after keynote speaker and contributor on brand building, digital transformation, leadership, and diversity. She is recognised for her commitment to advancing women in leadership and generously mentoring future talent, both professionally and academically as a sessional University lecturer shaping the next generation of leaders. As Chief Marketing Officer at THE ICONIC, Joanna continues to drive customer and marketing excellence, inspiring teams and influencing the industry’s future.

Gonçalo Pinto da Costa

Bio coming soon…

Lucinda Barlow

Lucinda leads Uber’s International Marketing team, overseeing over 60 countries across APAC, EMEA, and LATAM. She drives cross-market synergy while strengthening Uber’s local presence—scaling go-to-market strategies, elevating global marketing capabilities, and fostering bold creativity and innovation. Prior to this, she was Head of Marketing APAC.

Under her leadership, Uber has launched award-winning campaigns, including Tonight I’ll Be Eating, Get Almost Almost Anything, and When You’ve Done Enough.

Before Uber, Lucinda led global consumer and product marketing for YouTube in California, helping grow its user base to two billion daily users. She built YouTube’s product marketing function, launched its ad-supported original content, and scaled YouTube’s Culture & Trends operation worldwide. Prior to that, she spent seven years leading Google’s marketing and communications in Australia and NZ, shaping the brand, supporting businesses online, and spearheading key partnerships.

With 25+ years of experience across tech, media, internet, and mobile across APAC, Lucinda has held leadership roles at Symbian, where she led global marketing and built the company’s first China office. She has also worked in two internet startups and began her career as a mission-critical systems engineer at BHP.

Lucinda holds first-class honors degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and an MBA from INSEAD. She now lives in Bronte Beach, Sydney, with her husband and three children.

Alex McLean

Alex McLean is BMW’s General Manager of Marketing & Product, across Australia & New Zealand. He oversees the brand’s strategic communication direction, spearheading digital and customer transformation initiatives that keep BMW at the forefront across the ANZ market.

He looks forward to sharing insights on how BMW continues to redefine automotive marketing in a rapidly evolving landscape.

Michael Rebelo

In his current role, Michael works with clients on their marketing and business transformation journey by bringing together the best of the Publicis Groupe capabilities and talent to help them solve their transformation challenges in fundamentally new ways by connecting creativity, media, technology and consulting.

Over the past 20 years Michael’s international agency leadership experience has spanned re-building, re-purposing, starting up, acquiring and integrating agencies to deliver growth through creativity. He has helped advise clients, grow businesses and shape agency cultures across the UK, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Michael is the Chair of the Publicis Groupe APAC Creative Transformation Executive Committee, Chair of the Advertising Council Australia, and a Board Member of the Media Federation of Australia. He is also a judge of AFR BOSS magazine’s annual Young Executive of the Year competition.

As a leading global communications company, Publicis Groupe delivers world-class solutions for its clients through the alchemy of creativity, intelligence and technology. The Groupe’s unique position is built on data strategy and platforms, dynamic creativity and digital transformation.

In Australasia, the Groupe employs over 1900 people and owns industry-leading creative, media and digital brands including Leo, Saatchi & Saatchi, Publicis Production, Atomic 212, Spark Foundry, Starcom, Zenith, MBM, Publicis Media Exchange, Publicis Sapient, Mars United Commerce, Digitas, Herd MSL, Influential, Salterbaxter, Razorfish, Publicis Australia, Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness and Publicis Sport & Entertainment.

Jodi Murray-Freedman

As a commercially astute and values-driven Chief Marketing Officer, I specialize in delivering strategic marketing leadership that drives measurable business growth. With extensive experience across retail, QSR, and franchising, I possess a deep understanding of consumer behaviour and market dynamics, enabling the development of innovative campaigns and product launches that maintain brand integrity and deliver impact.

I have a proven record of building and mentoring high-performing creative and digital teams within fast-paced, high-performance cultures. My leadership approach emphasizes collaboration, stakeholder engagement, and leveraging team strengths to achieve exceptional outcomes. Recognized for agility and resilience, I make informed, strategic decisions and adapt quickly to changing circumstances.

Passionate about fostering creativity and continuous improvement, I actively encourage fresh ideas and empower teams to excel. Known for my resourceful, results-oriented mindset, I consistently deliver marketing strategies that resonate with consumers and create sustainable value for the business.

Mat Baxter

Mat Baxter is an Australian marketing leader who spent more than twenty years running major media and creative agencies in Australia and New York, working with global brands and leading teams across multiple regions.

He is the founder of SKINGRAPHICA, a company creating a new category in luxury skincare for tattooed skin, and the co-founder of TMRW, an AI-driven health diagnostics business disrupting traditional healthcare models.

He now applies the skills and perspective gained from decades in the agency world to building and scaling his own ventures.

Mel Hopkins

Melissa Hopkins is one of Australia’s most dynamic brand and marketing leaders, known for reinventing legacy businesses, building high-performing teams and turning bold ideas into commercial results. 

With global experience across telco, media and technology, she has shaped some of the most loved brands, championing data-led creativity, customer obsession and modern marketing systems that drive real growth. 

A straight-talking, culture-first leader, Melissa is passionate about elevating the craft of marketing and pushing the industry forward. She now brings this energy into the tech start-up world, helping build the next wave of marketing innovation. 

Paul Nunnari

Paul Nunnari is an accomplished Australian Paralympic athlete, disability advocate, performer, and business leader. As a wheelchair athlete, he represented Australia in three consecutive Paralympic Games – Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, and Athens 2004.

Known as “The Other Superman,” he later gained national recognition as a wheelchair aerialist on Australia’s Got Talent, performing internationally and appearing in films. His unique perspective as both a Paralympic athlete and performer has informed his advocacy for authentic disability representation in media and entertainment.

During his career in the New South Wales government, Nunnari championed accessibility initiatives, notably contributing to making the Sydney Harbour Bridge wheelchair accessible. His work on major events like the 2018 Invictus Games and Sydney New Year’s Eve celebrations earned him the Public Service Medal (PSM) in 2022 for outstanding public service in access and inclusion.

Paul is currently the CEO of Inclusively Made, transforming the film, TV and advertising industries’ approach to disability inclusion.

Fraser McNaughton

Fraser has spent 30 years helping organisations tell their stories and build lasting client relationships. From early days in insurance and financial markets to leading digital-first initiatives, Fraser has always been driven by curiosity and a belief that marketing and sales is about people as much as it is about numbers. Today, as Chief Marketing Officer at Grant Thornton, Fraser leads a talented team across revenue operations, marketing operations, brand, and client experience — bringing together diverse skills to create growth and impact. 

Colleagues know Fraser for a collaborative leadership style, a knack for spotting opportunities in change, and a genuine passion for digital transformation in marketing and sales. Whether guiding a team through complex challenges or exploring new ways to connect with clients, Fraser is energised by the chance to make business more human, more innovative, and more rewarding for everyone involved. Beyond his role at Grant Thornton, Fraser is a member of the ‘AI Pioneer’ group at ACAM, the Australian Centre for AI in Marketing.  

Outside of work, Fraser enjoys playing and coaching football and spending time with his family which mostly involves driving here, there, and everywhere supporting his two daughters sporting endeavours.  

Julie Dormand

Julie is a commercial business leader with a proven track record building company growth and leading transformation.

With over thirty years’ experience in Marketing, CRM/CX, Advertising and Business Development, Julie has built and led top agencies. As CEO of Australia’s first CX Agency, MercerBell (now part of Publicis) and Managing Director of The Works, part of Capgemini, she helped blue-chip brands like Qantas, Amex and Purina unlock their customer potential.

Julie’s people-first leadership makes her a proven culture creator. At The Works, she achieved a 93NPS and 4th best place to work in Australia (WRK+ Awards), winning the 2024 Mumbrella Culture Agency Award.

Her leadership has been recognized industry-wide, winning the ADMA AC&E Jon Clark Outstanding Contribution Award and the Mumbrella Business Leader of the Year 2019. She was also finalist in the Women in Media Awards for Business Leader and Glass Ceiling awards in 2023 and Mentor in 2025.

Julie now runs her own Business and Culture Consultancy, ‘Dormand’. She is founder of The Friday Lunch Club connecting senior leaders and business founders across 7 locations, Chair of the Advisory Board for Ellipsis Loyalty, and a mentor for Mentor Walks Australia and The Marketing Academy.

Jules brings a mix of business mind and empathetic nature. She believes in Daring Leadership, the value of Human Connections and making business fun.

Katie Dally

Katie Dally is a visionary marketing leader with 20 years’ experience building brands from the inside out across ASX-listed companies and international award-winning creative agencies. She has a proven track record of using creativity to drive commercial results and leading large teams to produce the best work of their careers. In 2024, she was the founding client that enabled the launch of Plus Also Studios, a creative technology company that leveraged AI and automation to accelerate brand efficiency and effectiveness for Endeavour Group. Katie is the founder of advisory practice, The Growth Multiplier, board advisor to Manifest and has most recently joined Metcash as Head of Marketing.

Katie is also a Marketing Academy Scholar (2022) and council member, where she supports alumni navigating redundancy and is helping shift the industry conversation through various Redundancy Unmasked initiatives including this one at M360.

Asier Carazo

With over a decade of strategic leadership across media, creative and communications agencies, Asier Carazo spearheads the strategy function at one Australia’s fastest growing media agencies, Atomic 212°. A global strategist at heart, his career spans Spain, France, the USA and now Australia, bringing a rare mix of international perspective and hands-on execution. 

Asier began his career as a media and communications strategist working on complex, data-driven businesses such as Air France and the US Army. He then moved into global strategy roles including at Havas Media, where he led media strategies for major brands like Danone, LVMH and AXA across Latin America and Europe. 

Now at Atomic 212°, Asier leads a growing strategic team focused on bridging research, media and business outcomes. He has been instrumental in developing the agency’s proprietary research and insights product, Sonar, which breaks silos between research and media strategy to deliver actionable audience insight. 

Asier is passionate about embedding diversity, equity and inclusion into media planning, and has spoken publicly on how accessibility and inclusive communications must become core to strategy and not just nice add-ons. 

In his role, Asier oversees strategy across Atomic 212°’s national footprint and global-mindset client base, with the aim of ensuring media investment is smarter, faster and accountable. He believes that effective communications arise when content, context and message are seamlessly aligned and when strategic plans are as clear for the CFO as they are for a creative team. 

Cara Richardson

Cara Richardson is the founder of Cycle Positive and a leading voice in the emerging field of cyclical leadership. With 25 years of experience in branding, strategy and creative direction, she brings a sharp understanding of human behaviour, communication and performance to her work with leaders and organisations.

As the ECD and founder of Tuckshop Agency, Cara built a successful independent consultancy shaping some of Australia’s most recognisable Better-for-You brands. During this time she began exploring how cyclical intelligence could inform creative leadership and team culture. This included encouraging her team to work with their natural cycles of focus and capacity, and to take restorative days when needed. The experience revealed both the potential and the complexity of applying cycle-aware leadership in real creative environments. These early explorations evolved into Cycle Positive, a leadership performance modality that draws on menstrual cycle awareness and broader human cycles to support leaders of all genders.

Cara speaks on cyclical leadership, regenerative performance culture and the shift beyond hustle culture toward more sustainable, intelligent and human ways of working. She is currently expanding Cycle Positive’s corporate programs, research pathways and thought-leadership work across Australia and internationally.

Patrick Guerrera

Patrick is a transformation-focused brand and marketing leader who moves confidently between the C-suite, the design studio and the boardroom. Across more than two decades in global brand consulting, design and advertising, he has helped reshape some of Australia’s most recognisable organisations—commercially, culturally and reputationally—while building creative businesses that operate on a global stage. 

He is best known for founding and leading Re, the design and experience business within the M&C Saatchi Group, where he grew the company from a local branding studio into a multi-market design business. Under his leadership, Re partnered with major brands across finance, telco, tech and the public sector. His long-running partnership with Optus is a signature example—helping the business evolve from a traditional telco into a modern, customer-led brand system, including the creation of Yes Agency as an in-house capability aligned to growth, innovation and experience. 

Today, as founder of Rebellion Consulting and a fractional Chief Growth & Marketing Officer, Patrick partners with CEOs and executive teams who want more than incremental gains. He designs customer-led growth systems, modern marketing operations and internal agency models that combine creativity, data and AI—especially in complex, regulated environments like financial services, fintech, telco and member-based organisations. As a member of the D&AD Global Advisory Board and a regular keynote speaker on creative leadership and the future of marketing, he continues to champion one core belief: the most powerful brands are built by creating the conditions for people to do the best work of their lives. 

Erin McBean

Erin grew up on a long, dusty road bordered by a dairy farm, an abattoir and a highway with 3 sisters, an overactive imagination and a penchant for telling stories. Through a series of unforeseeable events, she found herself living in Germany, where she lived and worked for 10 years. She has worked across documentary, advertising, music and film production on everything from a documentary about the sex life of a solo mum by choice to a nature series on dinosaurs in the Arctic. She loves humour, telling a good story, surfing tiny waves and hot chips. And alongside making commercials every day, she is developing a range of both documentary and fiction projects.

Rose Herceg

Rose Herceg has built a career as one of Australia’s most respected business leaders, today leading the world’s largest marketing services company, WPP, in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

Rose established herself as a futurist with the 1999 launch of her first business, Pophouse, where she became known for her social forecasting, innovation and business strategy. The business went on to be sold to STW Group, which later became part of WPP. Prior to being appointed as President of WPP in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, Rose was Chief Strategy Officer.

Never one to not have her finger on society’s pulse, Rose today supports the world’s leading brands with their communications and business strategy. Born to a Croatian migrant family, Rose drives DEI through her leadership of over 3,000 people – a team made up of over 108 nationalities.

Under her leadership, WPP was named as Australia’s only inclusive employer in the advertising industry, SXSW Sydney’s official partner, as well as one of the Australia Museum’s key sponsors in the creation of the Burra Learning Space – a state-of-the-art education space on Gadigal Country to help children and families learn to care for country.

She is a regular industry contributor, having spoken at SXSW Sydney, Cannes in Cairns, Asia Tech x Singapore, on BBC’s Asia Business Report among others, and written for numerous titles including The Australian’s Growth Agenda. In 2024, Rose was the Cannes Lions Creative Data Jury President. She also sits on the board of the Advertising Council of Australia, the Australian Association of National Advertisers and the UNStereotype Alliance.

Rose has written three books – her latest ‘The Power Book’ has been translated into several languages and is selling in Europe, Asia & the Middle East and is now launched in the US market.

Rose received the Small Businesswoman of the Year Award from Prime Minister John Howard in 2002.

Nick Garrett

Nick Garrett is CEO of Omnicom Oceania, appointed to the role in July 2025. He leads Omnicom’s operations across Australia and New Zealand, overseeing the group’s creative, media, PR, performance marketing, and production businesses under a unified regional structure. Prior to his appointment, Garrett spent four years at Deloitte Digital, where he joined as Brand and Creative Partner and later became Global Chief Marketing Officer, working across strategy, creativity, technology, and transformation. Garrett has previously held senior leadership roles within Omnicom, including CEO positions at Clemenger BBDO Melbourne and Colenso BBDO New Zealand, and earlier roles at TBWA in Sydney and Los Angeles. He has outlined a vision for Omnicom Oceania as a marketing and customer transformation business, bringing creativity, data, technology, and customer experience closer together to support CMOs and CCOs in driving growth and innovation in business.

Daniel Reisinger

Daniel’s a visual director who mines comedy from pathos. He’s Australian (which is his parent’s fault). His work has had 100s of millions of views, winning awards including Cannes Lions, the Grand Effie and D&AD pencils. He’s shot FILM and TV in the UK, US and Australia with OSCAR, GOLDEN GLOBE, BAFTA and EMMY winners. Including Jason Sudeikis (aka Ted Lasso) and Dame Harriet Walter (aka the Mum from Succession).

His British feature dramedy ANDMRS (Universal/ Netflix) received critical acclaim with THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER calling it, “a masterclass in comedy”, with, “a stellar ensemble”, and THE GUARDIAN, “a cathartic romcom”, that, “rides an emotional crescendo”.

His series SIDESWIPED (which he co-created, EPed and Directed) has more than 55 million views and great reviews and has jist been re released by ITV

Dan started out in news and documentaries at the ABC. His advertising work has seen him punk US congressmen and try to get an outback KFC a Michelin star. These campaigns won at all the big awards including the Grand Effie and 7 Cannes Lions while receiving over a 1,000,000,000 media impressions (that’s not a typo). His work has received press from Vanity Fair, CNBC, ABC, Variety, Wired, Deadline, Fox News, Le Monde, Deadline, Indiewire and Ain’t It Cool News – who called him; “a force to be reckoned with.”

Maddy MacRae

Maddy MacRae is an actor, content creator, and comedian who has taken social media by storm. Unfiltered, hilarious, and refreshingly relatable, Maddy dives into dating, sex, adulting, and the beautiful chaos of being a hot mess – earning the attention of over 3.5 million followers across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. Known for her unique comedic voice, Maddy brings everyday struggles to life – from personifying body parts to the dramatic inner workings of the stomach (IYKYK).

Maddy’s reach goes beyond social media. She’s an in-demand host, having partnered with TikTok for major events and serving as Warner Brothers’ go-to red carpet host, where she’s interviewed stars like Jason Momoa, Margot Robbie, and Greta Gerwig.

Whether she’s delivering a hot take, a life tip, or an honest overshare, Maddy keeps it real with her audience. For a daily dose of laughter and a comedic take on life’s messier moments, follow Maddy MacRae on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

Dave Jansen

Dave is an Effie & Emmy Awarded Creative Leader with over 20 years of experience across digital, entertainment, advertising and production. He is the Founding Partner of Connecting Plots Group which includes Connecting Plots, Infinity Squared, a.glo, and CP-PR. He’s part time Creative Director, part time Executive Producer, and full time Chief Energy Officer.  He has an unwavering passion for entertaining creativity that puts the audience first, and has led major campaigns for Tourism Australia, Fantastic Furniture, XXXX, McDonald’s and Lendlease. He is also the founder of Infinity Squared, an award winning production company, who won an International Emmy Award for #7 Days Later, the world’s first crowdsourced TV show.

Lee Wolahan

Lee Wolahan, one of Australia’s most experienced police negotiators will break down how to read body language and stress signals, build trust quickly with hostile or resistant counterparts, and de-escalate conflict without losing authority. Translating life-or-death techniques into commercial and leadership contexts, the session offers practical tools for navigating confrontations, deadlocks and critical conversations, when emotions are high, time is limited and control is slipping.

Britt Wickes

Britt Wickes is a creative and commercially minded marketing leader with nearly two decades of experience building brands that connect emotionally, culturally and commercially. Across an 18 year career spanning Australia and the UK, she has worked with some of the world’s most recognised brands across sport, retail, finance and entertainment.

Currently Head of Event Brand Marketing at Tennis Australia, Britt leads the brand and marketing strategy behind the Australian Open and the broader Summer of Tennis. Her work focuses on how major sporting events show up in culture, combining audience insight with bold, idea led campaigns to drive both fandom and commercial growth.

Passionate about long term brand building, Britt specialises in evolving global brands into cultural platforms, using creativity, partnerships and experience led thinking to unlock new value for fans, partners and the sport itself.

Jessie Hughes

Jessie Hughes is an internationally-recognised new media artist, technologist, scholar and screenwriter, her works having exhibited most notably at Sundance, SXSW, Cannes and the Tate Modern. She’s collaborated with the likes of Meta, Oculus and Adobe, in a decade of leading imaginative emerging technologies. Jessie Hughes is the Senior Creative Technologist at generative AI leader Leonardo.Ai (Canva Company), pioneering creativity community of 55 Million users. She is an awarder early-adopter of new technologies.

Lucio Ribeiro

Lucio Ribeiro is Chief AI & Innovation Officer at TBWA\Australia. Previously, he held senior leadership roles at Optus, Nine and Seven, with a track record of commercialising new technology and delivering measurable business impact. He has founded three tech ventures. Lucio is a Forbes Australia technology columnist, a LinkedIn Top Voice in AI, and a global keynote speaker on AI, innovation and creative strategy. He is a lecturer at RMIT, holds executive certifications in AI and innovation from MIT Sloan, and is an AICD graduate and a Marketing Academy alumnus.

Lauren Dawber

Lauren is a senior media and marketing leader with deep expertise in operational marketing excellence, agency stewardship and high‑performance team leadership. Over the past five years, she has held two executive roles: first as Managing Director at Carat Australia, where she led agency and client strategic transformation, and currently as Senior Director, Media, Operations & Performance at Optus.

At Optus, Lauren plays a pivotal role in shaping media efficiency and effectiveness through future‑ready marketing operations, including leading the agency partnership ecosystem; an approach widely recognised for its strategic discipline and forward‑looking design, alongside driving marketing led transformation to deliver efficiency, enhancing and automating the end-to-end operating process.

When she’s not working, Lauren can be found chasing after her two little hurricanes, Oscar and Belle, who keep life joyful, unpredictable, and very well‑grounded!

Rob Harvey

Rob Harvey is the Chief Executive Officer of dentsu ANZ. Rob joined dentsu in 2011 and has been leading the Aotearoa business since 2013. In August 2025, he expanded his remit to lead the entire organisation across the ANZ market.

Under his leadership, the New Zealand business has more than tripled in size, grown its client portfolio, and evolved into a modern, integrated marketing group delivering Creative, Media, and Customer Experience solutions. With over two decades of experience, Rob has worked with some of New Zealand’s most iconic brands delivering work recognised at local and international awards shows. He’s passionate about growing an inclusive, purpose-led culture and driving long-term impact for clients and society.

Rob has been a Commercial Communications Council Board Member since 2016, serving as President for the past three years where he advocates for the advancement and recognition of the advertising and communications industry, and is committed to driving meaningful progress in diversity & inclusion and sustainability.

Yasmina Pinto

Yasmina Pinto is a senior brand leader and educator with 20 years’ experience shaping some of Australia’s most recognised brands. As Head of Brand at AGL for seven years, she has led major brand and marketing projects during AGL’s transformation, including repositioning AGL for the energy transition, launching a telecommunications brand extension, and numerous content and social media programs. Previously Head of Brand at HCF, she oversaw an award‑winning brand transformation nation-wide. Yasmina has also lectured in postgraduate Brand Management at UNSW and published a brand transformation case study globally.

Aimee Dixon

A seasoned marketing executive with a robust foundation in commercial outcomes, data, insights, and AI. Aimee brings a unique blend of analytical and strategic skills to her creative remit.

Her career, which has spanned financial and strategic roles before transitioning to marketing, has allowed her to leverage her commercial acumen to drive impactful campaigns, foster brand growth, and enhance customer’s experience.

Known for her innovative approach and ability to navigate complex market dynamics, Aimee excels in creating value-driven strategies that align with business objectives and prioritize customer needs.
Her leadership and vision continue to inspire teams and deliver exceptional results.

Bridget Cleary

Bridget Cleary is Co-Founder and CEO of BRX where we help the world’s leading marketers accelerate their growth at scale. Bridget has extensive experience in marketing, advertising, and tech to drive growth for major businesses. She is passionate about leveraging technology to achieve better outcomes, and simplifying the complex in brand science, data, tech, team building, and life.

Marty Hungerford

Marty Hungerford is Chief Innovation Officer and founding partner of BRX, where he is redefining how creative agencies deliver value through technology, insight and craft.

With over 25 years of experience building and guiding digital, creative and strategic teams across top-tier multinational networks and independent agencies, Marty has helped some of Australia’s most iconic brands including Optus, Medibank, AGL, Australia Post, HostPlus and Youi generate stronger engagement, measurable outcomes and long-term customer value.

He is focused on transforming both BRX and its clients’ businesses through the practical application of AI, embedding generative tools across strategy, copy, imagery, video, music and voice. These technologies are used not only to elevate creative output, but to drive efficiency, reduce production costs and accelerate time to market.

Marty’s mission is to help build the agency model of the future, one that is agile, intelligent and integrated, designed to help brands compete and thrive in a fast-evolving digital economy.

Karin Du Chenne

Karin leads client and growth initiatives at Kantar Australia, helping organisations harness brand, digital, AI and analytics to unlock sharper insights and turn them into commercial advantage. Her experience spans fintech, FMCG, media and tourism — and her energy lies in pushing brands to think bigger and move faster.

A dynamic leader with more than 25 years’ impact across local and global markets, Karin believes AI is the most powerful accelerator of shared understanding and innovation our industry has ever seen. Her international career includes three years in Istanbul as Chief Client Officer for Kantar MEA, before returning to serve as CEO of Kantar South Africa. She is also a two‑time Insight250 global winner, recognised for innovation in data‑driven marketing.

Karin holds a BCom in Marketing and Finance and completed Sustainability in Business at Cambridge. A passionate explorer, she brings a bold, global perspective to every stage and conversation

Emma Barbato

Emma is the creator of Australia’s first AI influencer, Bruce Ryder,a cultural wildcard who not only redefined digital identity but also took out the title of Best AI Influencer of 2025 at the Australian AI Festival. The Bruce Ryder biopic went on to become a finalist in Australia’s first AI Film Festival, and together, they became the first human–AI duo to appear live on an Australian stage delivering a keynote address.

A creative strategist and narrative innovator with over 20 years of experience, Emma works across the evolving terrain where media, human behaviour, and emerging technology collide. With a foundation in consumer psychology and brand development, she now pioneers how AI is reshaping storytelling, performance, and content creation with the new medium of hyper-media.

Her work has appeared on prime-time television, in global publications including the first AI edition of the Lurzers Archives, and across award-winning campaigns. As a pioneer of Generation AI storytelling, she leads the conversation on the future of narrative, identity, and interactive story design.

Daren Poole

Daren is a globally recognized expert in advertising effectiveness who has spent over thirty years guiding the world’s leading brands to maximize their creative ROI. Now, as the Creative Excellence Leader for Ipsos in Australia, he helps clients to amplify creative impact through the use of consumer research and AI.

Previously, as the Global Head of Creative at Kantar, Daren led the firm’s creative development solutions. His deep understanding of what makes advertising connect with consumers has been acknowledged through his roles as a sought-after speaker and a juror for both the Cannes Lions awards and the Australian Effie Awards. With extensive work experience across the UK, USA, Asia, and Australia, Daren brings a unique global perspective on the art and science of building powerful, effective brands.

Zannie Abbott

Zannie Abbott is Head of Marketing & Communications at eBay ANZ, leading integrated brand and performance strategy. With two decades across eBay, agency and entrepreneurship, she builds customer journeys and campaigns that drive revenue, strengthen ROMI and deliver sustainable growth. Known for building scalable systems and high-performing teams, Zannie brings strategy, culture and performance together to drive meaningful growth.

Jet Swain

Jet Swain is the founder of The Affection Economy, a values-led framework helping brands and leaders grow without compromise. With more than 35 years across creative strategy, brand, and leadership, she works at the intersection of design research, culture, and customer experience.

Jet translates human behaviour into commercial clarity, helping organisations design the conditions where connection, relevance, and long-term value can emerge. Her frameworks — The Five Acts of The Affection Advantage and the 36 Values of The Affection Economy — are used to shape brand, culture, and CX strategies that move people from awareness to meaningful engagement.

Vinne Schifferstein Vidal

For over two decades, Vinne Schifferstein has built production companies balancing creative ambition with commercial reality. Trained in Marketing, Media Economics, and Law, she’s led businesses across four countries from Publicis and Omnicom to startups. At Monks, she co-founded the ANZ operation and delivered global production for BMW across 29 markets.

Her AI approach is business-focused: after seeing ChatGPT’s client impact, she completed MIT’s AI program and built production capabilities at MADE THIS Clemenger BBDO. A former marketer herself, she translates production complexity into business outcomes.

At MC&V, Vinne leads strategy, partnerships, and delivery ensuring every project is commercially sound and operationally flawless.

Marie-Celine Merret

Marie-Céline Merret identified the commercial potential of AI in production early and has spent the past two years proving it under real agency conditions.

Her career spans experiential design & creative technology at Fake Love NYC (A New York Times Company), delivering global work for Google, Samsung, Lexus and 7Up, co-founding Monks ANZ, and leading AI-native production as Head of Creative Technology & AI at MADE THIS Clemenger BBDO.

With a foundation in creative technology, digital production and experiential design, MC brings rare fluency across code and craft. At MC&V, MC leads creative direction and production, curating specialist AI artists globally to deliver emotionally resonant work that ships on time, on budget, and to brand and business objectives.

Bianca Meek

Bianca is a seasoned business leader, strategist and innovation specialist that helps companies get unstuck, fast. With 20+ years’ experience, she’s helped 100+ brands grow, guided private equity on value creation, and led innovation programs across four continents. Known for her clarity, commerciality and straight-talking style, Bianca brings energy and substance to every stage, from boardroom to conference hall.

Genevieve Reynolds

Gen is a Partner and commercial strategist who helps organisations drive growth by using brand and customer strategy as levers of enterprise value. Having worked as both a practitioner and advisor, she ensures bold ambition stands up to operational and commercial reality. Promoted to Partner within eight years, Gen exemplifies modern leadership — commercially rigorous, customer-obsessed, and a trusted people leader known for empathy, clarity and results.

Brigid Delaney

Brigid Delaney is the author of five books. She was previously a speechwriter in the Albanese Government and has also worked as a lawyer and a journalist for some of the world’s leading publications. She was also the co-creator of the Netflix hit Wellmania. Brigid is based in Sydney.

Nicole Velik

Nicole Velik is a leading creativity and innovation speaker, facilitator and trainer, and the founder of creativity company The Ideas Bodega. A three-time SXSW Sydney speaker, she is also the host of Creativity Unpacked the Podcast and the event series CreativeMornings Sydney. 

Nicole’s mission is to make creativity exciting, accessible and practical for her audiences. She believes creativity is everyone’s job, no matter the role. Audiences leave her sessions with renewed confidence and a sense of creative bravery. 

For 18 years Nicole has worked with organisations across The United States, Australia, Europe, New Zealand, Africa and Asia. Her clients include The United Nations, Nike, Apple, Canva, LEGO, Spotify, Coca-Cola, TikTok and Google. 

In 2021, Nicole launched a podcast ‘Creativity Unpacked’. It debuted at number one for six weeks in the Apple Marketing charts. Nicole interviews brilliant creatives and together they unpack some big ideas. The overarching premise is that creativity is not elusive and it’s a skill we all possess.  

Nicole’s background is in advertising as a brand strategist. She spent most of her time in advertising working at Saatchi & Saatchi in Sydney and KBP in New York City. When Nicole returned to Australia in 2008, she pursued her passion for innovation and developing creative workplace cultures. She founded The Ideas Bodega in 2009 to combine her passions and skill of empowering people, brands and creativity.  

Nicole is a regular speaker on creativity and innovation and has educated, entertained and inspired audiences at global conferences such as SXSW, Vivid Ideas, Ad:Tech, Promax BDA, CreativeMornings, Creative Innovation, GEMA and Emergence Creative. 

A recognised thought leader on creativity and innovation, Nicole has been interviewed and published in the Australian Financial Review, The ABC, CMO Magazine, Media Week and the Collective Magazine. 

For 7 years Nicole has hosted CreativeMornings Sydney – A monthly, global lecture series for the creative industry. Sydney is one of 240 cities around the world to take part. 
 

Sive Buckley

Sive Buckley is the Managing Partner of Born Creators, a global collective of independent agencies spanning creative, content, media, digital, CX, and technology. With over 15 years of experience across Australia, the Middle East, and Europe. Sive has built a career leading integrated marketing solutions that bridge strategy and execution to drive business growth. 

With a background spanning creative development, customer experience, media strategy, and digital performance marketing, Sive’s work has been recognised at major award shows including Cannes Lions, Mumbrella, AWARD Awards, and B&T. 

Throughout her established career, Sive has held senior leadership roles at CHEP, AKQA, and Essence Mediacom, working with leading brands such as Telstra, Flybuys, Commonwealth Bank, and Salesforce, leading high-profile campaigns including ‘Give a Flybuys’. 

Alongside her role at Born Creators, Sive is Head of Operations at The Aunties, the advertising industry’s leading mentoring and support network dedicated to advancing women in the industry. In this role, she helps scale programs and partnerships, supports the community’s mentor network, and drives initiatives that create practical pathways for women to grow their careers, build confidence, and access real sponsorship and opportunity. Sive is passionate about building spaces where generosity and straight-talking guidance can coexist, and where the next generation of leaders are supported to thrive. 

Sive is committed to driving greater diversity, equity, and inclusion within the industry, alongside shaping a more collaborative and future-focused approach to marketing. 

Lauren Thornborough

Lauren Thornborough is a seasoned media professional with 20 years of dedicated client service expertise, spanning key categories including FMCG, Finance, Alcohol, Luxury, Government, and Food. Currently she is employed at Mindshare as a Managing Partner across the Unilever business. 

Outside of her day-to-day role, Lauren has an extensive background in championing causes within the Australian media industry.  This led to her to establishing ‘The Village’ with Lou Wilson in 2024.  An association built to connect, support and advocate for working parents in the Australian Media Industry to have a successful and sustainable careers. To date The Village has 825 members and it services its community via a series of education events and peer to peer mentoring sessions, with much more in the pipeline for 2026. 

Jacquie Alley

Jacquie is the Chief Operating Officer & co-owner of The Media Store and Chairperson of the Independent Media Association of Australia.  

As a second-generation indie agency owner and mother of four boys, you’d think that would keep her busy enough. Yet her passion for our industry to tackle important issues has led her to volunteer extensive time within the IMAA, Experience Advocacy Taskforce and The Village.  

As the 2025 B&T Women in Media Champion of Change winner, and 2025 Global Indie Legend Bronze winner, Jacquie is clearly passionate about people and purpose, wanting to make a tangible difference in the lives of those she is entrusted to lead.  Whether that’s championing women into leadership roles, challenging the ageism biases, or supporting working parents, Jacquie is all in. 

Marilla Akkermans

Marilla Akkermans is the founder and managing director of Equality Media + Marketing, an independent agency proving that people-first business isn’t just possible, it’s powerful. 

Since launching Equality in 2018, Marilla has redefined what leadership in media looks like, balancing care and commercial success in equal measure. In 2025, under her direction, Equality has recorded 447% year-on-year profit growth, expanded its team by 65%, and achieved 85% retention, all while operating a four-day week at full pay. 

Her progressive workplace design, anchored by Equality Time and Equality Care, has made the agency a three-time AFR BOSS Best Place to Work winner. These initiatives include a four-day work week, 19 additional days of inclusive leave for circumstances often overlooked in traditional workplaces, from menopause and miscarriage to gender affirmation and caregiving. 

Marilla’s leadership extends beyond business. Through a long-standing partnership with Women’s Property Initiatives (WPI), she donates 10% of profits and provides pro bono marketing support, helping raise over $705,000 in 24 hours to fund homes for women and children experiencing homelessness. 

Her work has been recognised by Smart50, B&T, AdNews, and Mumbrella for innovation in people and culture, and she has become a leading voice for women in media, culture-first leadership, and values-based entrepreneurship. 

As a speaker, writer, and advocate, Marilla combines pragmatism with purpose, challenging outdated norms and inspiring a new model of leadership built on empathy, equity, and excellence. 

Laura Wilson

Laura Wilson is a former Chief Marketing Officer and senior business leader who has built, reset and scaled marketing functions inside some of Australia’s most complex and demanding organisations, including Deliveroo, NAB, AGL and RACV.

A sought-after advisor to CEOs and executive teams, Laura operates at the nexus of pragmatic strategy and leadership where ambition meets organisational reality. She is known for helping leaders sync their systems: aligning strategy,structure, capability and culture so marketing functions can deliver sustained commercial impact. In 2022, Laura co-founded Wingmaven, a marketing advisory that helps ambitious leaders and businesses build match-fit marketing functions designed for growth. Wingmaven works with scale-ups and enterprise organisations across Australia & New Zealand including Alinta Energy, Kiwibank, REA Group and Xero.

Jenn Ten Seldam

Jenn’s reputation as an inspirational and transformational leader has been built over an executive career of over 20+ years in APAC and Global roles. She has built, re-designed and evolved high-performing teams/divisions in fast-paced, high-growth technology businesses (SEEK, Xero) as well as mature corporate institutions (NAB, Vodafone). Over the years she has been trusted to coach countless senior marketing and business leaders through critical ‘level up’ moments, in successful pursuit of both fulfilment and achievement. This ‘lived experience’ was a unique leverage point upon which she co-founded Wingmaven in 2022 with Laura Wilson. A fast-growing marketing ‘coach-sultancy’,  Wingmaven helps ambitious businesses achieve their boldest goals by building marketing functions that are match-fit for success, from fast-growing scale-ups to corporate clients such as Alinta Energy and Kiwibank. Visit wingmaven.com for more information. 

Joel Vermaas

An insights-slinger with 18 years’ experience, Joel has had the fortune of working with brands at all stages of their lifecycle – from incubator/startups through to 100+ year established multi-nationals. He started his career at Millward Brown / Kanter, before moving to Blue Moon (during the transition to GfK), was Senior Associate Director and Head of Innovation at Nature, had a role as Executive Director at Lewers, before founding Vibrant Insights in 2023. 

With expertise in a range of disciplines (segmentation, choice modelling, brand health, communications, etc.), methods (telephone, online, face-to-face), and sectors (auto to finance, consumer goods to technology, digital services to mental health), Joel is well-versed in helping businesses deeply understand their customers, by whatever means. 

Joel is also proud to give back regularly: from mentoring in the industry, to committee member for The Research Society National Conference, alongside regular pro-bono and volunteer work. 

Joel is the Founder at Vibrant Insights, a boutique market research, insights and strategy agency in Australia. Vibrant Insights operates at the intersection of community and commerciality. Vibrant is proud to deliver research insights and strategy that allows clients to embark on decisions with confidence, allowing their brands to thrive; this work has lead to clear business outcomes, with many of Vibrant’s clients going on to win awards for business impact. At the same time, each project delivered builds Vibrant’s ‘peace chest’ – a commitment to community, donating 10% of profits to charity, alongside engaging in heavily discounted research for not-for-profits, and self-funding commercial research to benefit Vibrant’s clients. He is also Founder and Department Head at The Research Department. 

Matthew Sandwell

Matt is a senior insights and strategy professional with over 20 years’ experience helping clients better understand the culture, category and consumer to navigate their path to sustainable growth.​

Having worked in Australia, New Zealand, and throughout Asia, with global giants to start-ups, he has significant experience across a wide range of sectors and technical areas. ​

Matt utilise best practice methodologies to help better understand the culture, category and consumer, their needs, wants and desires, spanning early phase exploratory research to go to market activation and performance assessment. Equally, this insight is only as good as the decision it informs, applying a commercial lens to help guide clear, confident business decisions.​

Matt is currently Director at The Owl Insights and The Research Department. Prior to this, his most recent roles were as Managing Partner at Hall & Partners, Strategy Director at The Lab Insights and Strategy and Head of Research at Growth Solutions Group. ​

Matt holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons.) from UWA, a Marketing Mini-MBA and is a full member of the Research Society.

Phillip Smith

Over the past 25 years, Phil has been at the forefront of marketing communication services – both client and agency side – building marketing communication businesses that have become market leaders and innovators in their field. 

A passionate believer in the area of “Experience Management”, his focus is channeled into driving customer engagement by integrating strategy, creativity, technology, and media through a direct filter. 

Phil sees the opportunity for marketers to evolve CX from the current Customer Experience mindset and structure to Contextual Experience by using the relevant channels to connect with their audience in real time leveraging data fundamentals to understand behaviour and triggers to optimise value. 

Margy Vary

Margy is CMO of The Conversation, the world’s largest publisher of academic journalism. She has 25 years’ experience in advertising, marketing and consulting. She is an alumnus of the Marketing Academy, has a Mini MBA in brand management, and a full MBA specialising in business for social and environmental impact. She was previously the Marketing Director of Guardian Australia, head of marketing for Virgin Atlantic in Australia, advertising account director at Host, and a Board member at environmental co-operative The Bower. 

Josh Grace

Josh Grace is a commercial executive, board director and former CMO with a 25 year track record leading growth and transformation across global corporates, PE-backed businesses and scaleups. As Founder of Upscale Marketing Function, he partners with CEOs and founders to redesign operating and go-to-market models for accelerated, capital-efficient growth. Previously Chief Customer Officer at Colonial First State and CMO at Samsung Australia, Josh has led multi-billion dollar portfolios, unified complex operating models, and pioneered data-driven, integrated agency structures—including Samsung’s globally piloted “One Agency” model. A former Olympian, Josh brings clarity, discipline and high performance leadership to the evolving CMO–agency equation. 

Tracey Peters

Tracey leads media and agency relations for Opella’s portfolio of brands. She has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and OTC industries, across Australia, Singapore and the US. Tracey also has extensive experience in procurement, giving her a first-hand understanding of marketing’s role within the overall business. She has a passion for sustainability and has contributed significantly to Opella’s carbon reduction efforts across the marketing function.

Henry Smith

Henry Smith is the Founder of Inclusively Made, the industry standard for inclusive production. With a mission to champion the inclusion of people with disability at every stage of production, Henry works with leading brands, agencies and broadcasters to make inclusion BAU.

An award-winning business leader and producer, Henry’s portfolio spans entertainment and commercial production, collaborating with clients such as P&O Cruises, National Geographic, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Sesame Street, ABC, BBC, Unilever, and Google. His innovative approach has earned him a reputation as a pioneer in inclusive storytelling and industry transformation.

Henry’s leadership has redefined standards for disability representation both on-screen and behind the camera, creating new pathways for disabled creatives throughout the arts sector.

Arum Nixon

Arum leads Ad Net Zero in Australia, the industry’s programme to help decarbonise advertising’s supply chain and support more sustainable behaviours. He has extensive experience across media agency functions from strategy to investment, in Australia and the UK.

Julia Vargiu

Julia Vargiu is Director, Australia at SI Global and Founder & MD of New Business Methodology. She helps agency and tech leaders scale, grow and maximise value, ensuring they are fit for scale and fit for sale. Born in Silicon Valley, sharpened in New York, now a proud Sydneysider, Julia brings 25 years’ experience advising creative, marketing and tech businesses across Australia, APAC and the US on strategic growth and exit readiness. 

A sought-after executive advisor, keynote speaker, panel moderator and awards judge, she speaks on agency growth, deal-readiness, scaling with strategy, founder psychology and the shifting buyer landscape. Julia is known for her commercial clarity, fearless thinking and founder-first approach, helping great businesses realise their full value and prepare for sale with confidence, clarity and control. 

Ammaleah Astruc

Ammaleah is an Account Executive at Ogilvy, where she works on bold, insight-led campaigns for KFC alongside some of the industry’s best. Prior to Ogilvy, she served as Internal Marketing Officer at KFC, leading national campaigns and culture initiatives that reached over 65,000 team members across one of Australia’s largest QSR brands. A former NSW Training Awards winner and state finalist, Ammaleah is also an Educational Pathways Program (EPP) Ambassador, regularly speaking at schools across NSW to inspire students to explore diverse career pathways. She is driven by meaningful work, creative impact, and a genuine belief in the power of connection, between brands, people, and communities.

Na’ama Crawford

Currently pursuing a Bachelor of Cybersecurity at UTS, Na’ama balances the rigors of academia with high-impact professional roles, including serving as an Information & Privacy Paralegal at The Cabinet Office NSW. With a background that spans vulnerability assessment and IAM strategy at the Premier’s Department NSW to driving business development at Vertice, Na’ama understands the “noisy” world of tech and data better than most. For Na’ama, tools like AI and data visualisation aren’t just industry buzzwords, they are practical instruments used to reduce anxiety, streamline complexity, and carve out a sense of security in an uncertain landscape.

Kiera Morrissey

I am a communications graduate looking to begin my career in public relations. As a self-proclaimed foodie and amateur runner, I thrive off of living a busy and healthy lifestyle.

Tash Markham

Tash Markham is the Chief of Staff at Anyway, working across strategy, partnerships, brand, and growth as the company expands globally. A self-described career generalist, she took a non-linear path into leadership, experimenting across roles before building a career connecting ideas across operations, marketing, product, and storytelling. Her work focuses on helping young people explore careers in more engaging ways and helping employers & brands connect with the next generation of talent and consumers.

Liz Harley

At Ipsos, Liz is responsible for the Ipsos Media team in Australia and New Zealand. Liz has over 20 years of experience in quantitative and qualitative research across many categories working in London and Australia. Most recently Liz was heading up the Research & Insights team at Mindshare Australia for nearly 10 years. At Ipsos Liz’s role includes leading our advertising tracking and copy testing business, advanced analytics, media research and providing strategic direction in the evolution of Emma [print readership currency]. Liz is QPMR accredited.

Liz has worked with Ipsos for four years now and is currently Managing Director in Australia with specific responsibilities for managing key client partnerships. Liz has over 20 years of experience in quantitative and qualitative research across many categories working in London and Australia. Prior to working at Ipsos Liz was heading up the Research & Insights team at Mindshare Australia (media agency) for nearly 10 years and in fact has spent more than half her career in advertising and media agencies. Liz also worked at Kantar (TNS & Millward Brown) for seven years and a range of boutiques agencies.  Liz specialises in marketing and communications research and is professionally accredited.

Liz is currently Managing Director, Client Partnerships with Ipsos in Australia. Liz has over 25 years of experience in quantitative and qualitative research working in London and Australia. Prior to working at Ipsos Liz was heading up the Research & Insights team at Mindshare Australia for nearly 10 years and in fact has spent about half her career in advertising and media agencies. Liz specialises in strategic brand, marketing and communications research and is professionally awarded and accredited.

Laura Pennycuick

Laura Pennycuick is the Head of Marketing ANZ at the Treasury Collective (TWE), where she leads regional marketing strategy across a portfolio of iconic wine brands, including Pepperjack, 19 Crimes and Squealing Pig. With over 14 years’ experience, Laura has built her career in the alcohol industry, working across some of the most recognisable brands in beer and wine.

Her background spans brand strategy, innovation, culture-led marketing and commercial delivery, including a four-year stint in New York working on Bud Light, as well as playing a key role in the launch of Great Northern – one of Australia’s most successful beer innovations of the past decade. Known for blending strategic thinking with creative instinct, Laura brings a strong commercial lens to bold, attention-earning ideas.

She’s passionate about building brands that genuinely connect with culture, drive growth and stand the test of time.

Phillip van Bruchem

Phil van Bruchem is Creative Director at Splash, Treasury Wine Estates’ in-house agency, where for the past three years he has led award-winning creative work across some of Australia’s most iconic wine brands.

Over his career, Phil has created work of all shapes and sizes – using Snapchat to help find missing teenagers, opening the world’s most remote pizzeria, polishing a (golden) turd, turning 7-Eleven coffee beans into a high-end body scrub and producing a sketch comedy series – while delivering notable, award-winning work for some of Australia’s most-loved brands.

Prior to Splash, he held senior creative leadership roles at McCann, M&C Saatchi and Clemenger Group’s CHEP Network, and was Executive Creative Director of BWM Dentsu Melbourne. Under his leadership, BWM Dentsu became one of the most awarded in the APAC region, earning its first wins at Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show, LIAs, Spikes, Adfest and the Webbys.

Alex Light

Alex Light has worked in youth culture, marketing and media for 20 years, with a speciality in shaping and commercialising creativity and innovative ideas.

Alex is currently the GM of Partnerships at Bolster Group. In this role, he leads the agency’s key client relationships and strategic partnerships, working with major brands such as EA Games, Tourism Australia, William Grant, Treasury Wines; and representing commercial rights holders including Laneway Festival, Carriageworks, Now or Never and RISING Festival.

Prior to Bolster, Alex served as Managing Director of the city guide Concrete Playground and spent nine years at VICE Australia, where he rose to Acting Country Manager and Commercial Director. Across these leadership roles, he oversaw commercial operations and managed key relationships for major clients including AB InBev, Pernod Ricard, Airtasker, and Unilever.

Hannah Nickels

Hannah is the Head of Strategy and Operations at Bolster group. With over a decade experience working across agencies, brands and publishers, Hannah has a knack for taking a complex problem
and making it simple(er).

At Bolster that see’s her helping entertainment, arts and culture businesses connect with their fans and helping brands connect with culture.

Aarron Spinley

Aarron Spinley is a Fellow (and co-founder) at the Field Bell Institute, where he teaches the Mini MBA in Customering to international student cohorts twice annually. An author with Taylor & Francis, the world’s largest educational publisher, his career spans marketing, technology, risk, and customer advisory. He has spoken or lectured on 5 continents.

Harriet Swinburn

Harriet Swinburn is a strategic leader at iProspect with experience driving brand, media, data and creative integration across global and local clients. Currently Hattie works with the eBay business to identify what will drive brand and performance difference, perception and preference and find a bold way forward. Hattie believes change is where the fiction is and this is where communication gets interesting.

James Wright

James Wright is a proud father of four children, Charlie, Grace, Thomas, and Jude.  He is the Group CEO for Havas ANZ, the Global Chairman of the HAVAS PR Network of 1,750+ consultants and Global CEO HAVAS Red, the group’s global PR, social and creator agency that is present in 26 markets.

In 2025 Havas ANZ had its biggest and most successful year to date across a portfolio of ten agencies that span creative, media, performance marketing, digital, public affairs, PR, social, publicity and health.

An issues and crisis management expert, James counsels some of the world’s leading brands and CEOs prepare for, respond to, and recover from unexpected events that could damage their reputation and operations.

James is also Chairman of Gotcha4Life, a mental health charity that works to prevent suicide and build emotional resilience in communities. The charity counts Hollywood superstars, TV, and sports personalities on its advisory board and as ambassadors.

Rowena Millward

Rowena Millward helps leaders answer one of the hardest questions in business today: why do some organisations accelerate through change while others stall?

She is the author of Rapid Reinvention™ and creator of the Rapid Reinvention™ system, an AI first operating model, which helps organisations convert relentless change into repeatable growth.

Rowena works with CEOs and executive teams to make transformation more valuable, and significantly less painful – integrating human capacity, leadership behaviours, business priorities and P&L results.

She also hosts the podcast Uncomfortable Growth® Uncut, exploring the real challenges leaders face behind the scenes of transformation and in life.

Emelie Lundberg

Emelie Lundberg Emelie has over 13 years of experience specialising in social media and has worked across leading media, creative, and social agencies in Sydney. Her experience spans strategy, content ideation, production, and paid media, delivering end-to-end campaigns that connect brands with audiences in a meaningful way. Throughout her career, Emelie has partnered with a diverse portfolio of clients such as Subaru, Destination NSW, Carnival Cruise Line, Zambrero, Clorox, Ferrero, Kimberly-Clark, and 7-Eleven. Known for her collaborative approach, she brings both creative insight and strategic thinking to every project. Emelie thrives on mentoring teams and fostering an environment where impactful, meaningful work can thrive.

Lucila Lannes

Lucila Lannes A creative strategist at heart, Luci lives and breathes social media. Her obsession with digital trends ensures she is always ahead of the curve, possessing a deep understanding of what is happening in culture and the social landscape. Her expertise spans from research and data analysis to trend prediction. Beyond that, Luci has experience across all social departments, from production to influencer marketing, ensuring holistic strategies that optimise performance from every standpoint.

Henry Innis

Henry Innis is the Co-Founder and Global CEO of Mutinex, an AI-powered marketing analytics platform that has become the new standard in marketing mix modeling (MMM), transforming how enterprise brands measure and optimise their investments. With a background in marketing strategy and software engineering, Henry leads the Mutinex product vision and is obsessed with “what’s next” for driving confident marketers and measurement. Henry has earned numerous entrepreneurship and business awards and is known for his candid leadership, relentless focus on innovation, clarity and impact. Since founding Mutinex in 2019, Hen has established the company as the trusted measurement partner for over 90 global brands. In his own words, “I build products that grow businesses – it’s that simple.

Nicky Barton

With over 13 years of experience, Nicky Barton is a seasoned Marketing Science specialist with deep expertise in media and marketing. Currently Head of Marketing Science at Mutinex, Nicky’s background spans the Entertainment, Automotive, FMCG, Banking, and CPG sectors across APAC and EMEA. Nicky excels in translating insights into impactful decisions, leveraging his extensive knowledge of the media landscape.

James Greet

James Greet is one of Australia’s most experienced agency change leaders. During the course of his career he has worked with some of the world’s most progressive agencies (PHD London, Saatchi’s China, BBH London) dividing his time between both media and creative, where strategic and creative thinking has been the definer and driver of their success.

During his 24 years in Australia, James has held the CEO role at OMD, Mindshare (ANZ, Japan and Korea), and Ikon (ANZ,) building a reputation as a pioneer, helping turn under performing companies into both market and global network leaders.

This includes turning OMD from an underperforming lossmaker into Agency of the Decade, and Mindshare from vanilla and forgotten into the purple group’s global office of the year.

As an ocean swimming, trail running, triathlete and nature lover he’s also spent the last 3 years working with leaders across the marketing and media industry to change its negative impact on the environment into a force for positive change.

His most recent venture will see the launch of London’s renowned The Purpose Disruptors here in Australia this April. An organisation committed to a vision where advertising works in harmony with the natural world.

Colleen Ryan

Colleen Ryan is recognized in the international research industry for her notable contributions to innovation in research. Together with Wendy Gordon, she co-founded The Research Business International (TRBI), lauded for its pioneering role in the methodologies of insight gathering and application, and creating the boutique research category in the UK.

Over the last decade, Colleen has played a pivotal role at TRA as a partner, steering thought leadership and innovation strategies within TRA’s operations across Sydney, Melbourne, and Auckland.

Her expertise is extensive and multifaceted, encompassing brand strategy, cultural sociology, cognitive psychology, behavioural science, applying these disciplines to continuous innovation in research and its application to marketing.

Terri Hall

Terri Hall is an insights leader passionate about putting people at the heart of decision making, driving better experiences and commercial success. She believes in using multi-disciplinary approaches to uncover deep, inspiring insights that foster transformative change.

Terri leads the Sydney arm of TRA, a trans-tasman agency that champions cultural insight, behavioural science, brand and creative effectiveness, and innovation.

With extensive experience leading consulting teams in Australia and New Zealand, Terri excels at understanding, representing, and advocating for the voice of people, and translating these insights into tangible directions for brand success.

Laura Sharrad

Laura Sharrad is an Australian chef, restaurateur and media personality, best known for winning MasterChef Australia in 2025 after previously finishing as runner-up in 2014.

Based in Adelaide, she is recognised for her Italian-inspired cooking and refined, produce-driven approach. Beyond the kitchen, Laura is an active presence in food media, with regular television appearances, brand collaborations and recipe content that brings restaurant-quality cooking into the home.

Jocelin Abbey

Jocelin is General Manager of Homes & Lifestyle at Are Media, leading the growth of its homes and lifestyle portfolio including Better Homes and Gardens, The Australian Women’s Weekly, Home Beautiful, Belle, Australian House & Garden and Country Style.

A highly awarded media executive with over 20 years’ experience, she has held senior roles at The Guardian, Yahoo and Nova Entertainment, and previously led audience, growth and marketing functions at Mamamia and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Giorgia Butler

Giorgia brings over 25 years of agency experience in Australia and the US. An award-winning strategist, she has expertise in brand and creative communications, research & insights as well as integrated media strategy. Giorgia joined Innocean as CSO in early 2024, having worked with top agencies like Ogilvy, Y&R, Nunn Media and Houston Group, handling various categories such as FMCG, automotive, Telco, Education and finance. She is passionate about innovative marketing strategies that drive business growth.

Jasmin Bedir

Founder of Fck The Cupcakes, Keynote speaker, occasional Gruen panelist, columnist.
Jas comes with a German/Turkish/Aussie flavour of creative leadership at the helm of Innocean Australia. Known for delivering fearless campaign work for her clients, but also fearless opinions on media, marketing, and its impact on popular culture. Jasmin regularly writes about the media’s responsibility to bring us forward in particular on topics such as feminism and masculinity.

Gareth Leeding

Gareth has spent 18+ years at the intersection of culture, creativity, and code—reshaping how the world’s biggest brands show up in digital, social, and gaming. His work has powered 100+ award-winning campaigns for icons like Nike, Google, adidas, Guinness, Maybelline, and Samsung.

Renowned for fusing innovation with impact, Gareth’s leadership has helped global platforms like Snapchat and agencies like We Are Social earn top honors—including Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Company” and Campaign’s “Most Innovative Agency in EMEA.”

Today, as Chief Strategy Officer at Livewire, he’s building the future of brand engagement inside gaming—the world’s most explosive attention engine. A sought-after global speaker, Gareth brings sharp insights and bold vision to stages like SXSW and AdWeek.

Tim Fung

Tim Fung is the Founder and CEO Airtasker Limited, Australia’s leading online marketplace for local services, connecting people and businesses who need work done with people who want to work.

With a mission to empower people to realise the full value of their skills, Airtasker aims to have a positive impact on the future of work by creating truly flexible opportunities to work and earn income.

In 2025, Airtasker entered the world of Formula One™ through its partnership with the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula One™ Team (VCARB). Since launching in 2012, Airtasker Taskers have completed more than 5 million tasks worldwide and Airtasker has put more than $720 million into the pockets of Australian Taskers (net of Airtasker’s fees)

Tim is also a co-founder and director of Tank Stream Labs Pty Ltd – a co-working space and entrepreneurial community located in Sydney.

Before starting Airtasker, Tim was a founding team member and investor in telco startup Amaysim, playing a key role in strategy and capital raising. He is a founder and director of several web startups, including online custom shirt design business Joe Button, and motorsport event management group Circuit Club.

Tim has worked as a consulting talent agent at Chic Management and before this, spent five years as an investment banking executive at Macquarie Bank. Tim has a B.Commerce (marketing) from UNSW and was a recipient of the 2016 UNSW Young Alumni award and 2017 NSW Pearcey Tech Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Richard Hunwick

Bio coming soon…

Andrew Every

Andrew Every is a specialist in strategy, transformation, and high‑impact commercial partnerships across media and technology. At oOh!media, he leads corporate strategy, strategic growth initiatives, and the expansion of the company’s retail media division, reo.

Before joining oOh!, Andrew served as Executive General Manager of Strategy and Transformation at the NRL, where he oversaw major growth programs and managed partnerships with long‑term broadcast media partners. He has also held senior executive roles within Telstra’s Media business, contributing to the growth of Foxtel, Telstra TV, and Telstra’s live sports and music offerings. Earlier in his career, Andrew spent nearly a decade at PwC specialising in media and technology.

Caroline Hugall

Caroline Hugall is the Chief Strategy Officer at Spark Foundry Australia, leading the agency’s strategic vision. With over 20 years of experience across London, New York, and Sydney, she has shaped brand and marketing strategies for global businesses. Caroline has held leadership roles at IAG, Mondelez International, Ogilvy & Mather, and Naked Communications, where she spearheaded transformative campaigns for iconic brands such as Coca-Cola, IKEA and Oreo. Passionate about driving meaningful connections between brands and audiences, she blends data-driven insights with cultural intelligence to create impactful strategies. 

Joel McKerrow

Joel McKerrow is one of Australia’s leading voices on creativity, storytelling and audience connection. With over fifteen years on global stages, from the Sydney Opera House to conferences around the world, Joel has captivated hundreds of thousands through keynote talks, strategic training and high-energy facilitation.

Australia’s only Certified Applied Narrative Intelligence Specialist, Joel helps brands, marketing teams and leaders understand how story shapes behaviour, culture and decision-making. In an era of AI-generated content and shrinking attention, his work equips organisations to cut through noise by reconnecting with the human heart of creativity.

Named the go-to speaker for Creativity-Driven Transformation, Joel delivered over 300 presentations in 2025 alone.  He is an author with Penguin Random House, Chief Creative Strategist at The School for Creative Development, VIC/TAS President of Professional Speakers Australia and he champions the belief that creativity is far too important to be confined only to creatives.

Luke Nuto

Luke Nuto is a senior creative partner and Director at Glue Society, one of the world’s most awarded and disruptive creative collectives.

With over 20 years of global experience, Luke Nuto has directed countless creatively ambitious campaigns for many of the world’s leading agencies and brands.  His multidisciplinary practice spans across film, experiential and art-led work.