Mentor List

We have the distinct honour of hosting Mike Smith, the illustrious former CEO of ANZ Banking Group and the esteemed Group Chair of Mentor List. Today, Mike will be unveiling the secrets behind the winner's mindset and imparting invaluable insights on how to harness and unlock this potent mental fortitude. Join your co-hosts; David Lewis, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Mentor List, and Alexander Smith, Account and Sales Executive at Mentor List. Together, they engage in riveting dialogues with Australia's most brilliant and influential minds. 04:03 - How Mike Became the CEO of ANZ 09:00 - Burning Ambition and its Importance 19:30 - How Responsibility Fuels Personal Triumph 30:27 - The Current Economic Environment 32:05 - Don't Run Your Business Looking in the Rearview Mirror 32:30 - Mike Smith's Key Strategy for Today's Businesses 42:04 - Mike Smith on His Role in Creating Billionaires 57:13 - The Importance of Living by Your Values Mentor List - Website: http://mentorlist.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mentorlistpodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-mentor-list/ Follow Your Hosts - David Lewis | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidlewiscv Alexander Smith | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-smith-758bb6257 Follow Your Guest - Mike Smith | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikesmithanz Produced by Pivotal Conversations Edited by Pivotal Conversations

Learn how Marcelle's background in occupational therapy has enriched her current role at KMart Group, before becoming privy to some of her core findings in diversity and inclusion. We discuss shifts she has observed in flexibility and accessibility over the past few years, and why it is important to admit that you don't know everything. Marcelle explores the power of making changes within systems to change attitudes and behaviour. She has seen increasing demands and expectations around inclusivity and highlights some key things you can do to push the agenda even further. Marcelle also gives us some practical examples of what KMart, Target and Catch have done to implement the principle of inclusivity for their customers, and we discuss mentorship and role models in the workplace.

An organisation that practices diversity and inclusion has not just checked a box but set itself up to flourish. This is because a team defined by different voices and an atmosphere of safety does not just have happy members but has a far better chance of being truly innovative. Joseph Ghaly shares what he has learned about D&I during his professional experience that has spanned five continents. During his career, Joe has worked as State Relationship Manager of CSIRO, and Incumbent Director of Mobile Internet with Ericsson Telecommunications during the .com era. He also started the professional network, Brilliant Women Global. Joe covers the state of D&I as he has witnessed it in his experience in the tech sector across the globe. We talk about the need to break the traditional gender roles and what people can do in the workplace to take steps toward this aim. Joe talks about what led him to start his organisation, how D&I is approached at Brilliant Women Global, and all the amazing women who have joined the group. Our conversation also covers the impact of COVID on D&I in Australia and what the future holds!

Not only is Fujitsu paving the way of the future through the technological services and equipment it provides, but also through its commitment to diversity and inclusion, environmental sustainability, and social impacts. These three spheres intersect in the space that Fujitsu has called the Office of Purpose, and today's guest, Nicole Forrester, sits at its helm. Nicole's 30-year career has consisted of many different roles in many different organizations, but the connecting thread through all of them has been her drive to bring together principles from Western science and traditional knowledge to create meaningful change across multiple domains. In today's episode you'll gain an understanding of why an Office of Purpose is so important in a corporate setting, hear examples of how Fujitsu is putting its principles into action, and how Nicole plans to expand on these in the future. Nicole also shares some valuable advice around decision making, finding balance, being brave, and embracing every kind of mentor who comes your way!

Tania is a senior executive with 15 years of experience in leading Remuneration & Benefits functions, HR systems and talent management. She has a significant technical depth and breadth in reward strategy including executive compensation, incentive designs, benefits offering, recognition and global mobility. Tania is an advisor to a board and senior executives with a passion for leading HR transformation through the application of contemporary HR strategies and large-scale projects. She has a mix of consulting and corporate experience in large ASX listed organisations with significant international presence.

Jennifer Rebeiro is the Chief Information Officer at Greater Western Water. Jennifer has led teams across a wide range of industries and functions, challenging and transforming each one to respond to the evolving business environment and changing community expectations. Jennifer was named as one of the Top 50 CIO's in Australia in 2020. Jennifer has managed a number of operational areas and projects ranging across a wide set of industries, from Banking and Finance, Transport, Manufacturing, Property Services, Telecommunications and Government. She has over 20 years across diverse industries where she has gained excellence in transformation, project management and change management. Jennifer has a Master of IT Management, Master of Business Administration, a Bachelor of Business, is a Graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has a range of ICT and project management industry accreditation's. Jennifer sits on IWN Executive Group, SWAN Global Council and Wyndham Tech School Committee. Jennifer's core strengths are her people focus, business mindset and having the courage to bring bold ideas to life through determination, influence, cross organisational collaboration and hard work. Continually learning from her own successes and challenges and those of her team's and with over 10 years' experience in the public sector, Jennifer demonstrates her unwavering commitment to living the values of the public sector every day.

Lee Anne Harris - Women In Leadership Series by The Mentor List

Dr Catherine Lopes - Women In Leadership Series by The Mentor List

Helen Souness by The Mentor List

Claire Rogers: Return to Work Mums — A Fresh Perspective Chief Executive Officer of World Vision Australia, Head of Digital Banking, Strategy and Innovation at ANZ and Director of Melbourne Business School are just some of the many impressive titles that you can see on Claire Rogers' resume. On top of that, Claire is also a mother of two. In line with Mentor List Talent's diverse initiatives to support women in leadership, women in technology and return-to-work mums, Sharon Daly, our own Managing Director, chatted to Claire about her experience as a mum returning to work. We talk about how societal challenges, discrimination, and even our own mindsets can become obstacles to a woman's desire to return to work after having a child. Claire shares valuable advice from her own experiences on how to overcome ‘mummy guilt', manage your expectations for yourself, and establish boundaries with your employer. She also discusses how to maintain balance in your life and how to ask for what you need. Finally, we talk about some of the ways Mentor List Talent can support you if you are a return-to-work mum, and some of the exclusive key offerings and opportunities we offer. Be sure to tune in!

Jacob Varghese is Chief Executive Officer at Maurice Blackburn. An experienced litigator, he leads Australia's number one plaintiff law firm from its Melbourne office. Since becoming CEO in 2017 Jacob has led the development and implementation of a new strategy to strengthen the firm's financial and business foundations. Together with an experienced and highly skilled leadership team, he has built a “one firm” organisational structure and culture around a shared ambition to widen access to justice on a scale with no precedent in Australia. Jacob started his legal career in the medical negligence team at Maurice Blackburn in 2002. Leaving the firm a few years later to work as a political adviser and parliamentary researcher, he returned in 2006 to its pioneering class actions team. Jacob established himself as one of the country's top class actions lawyers and has run some of the firm's biggest cases. Becoming a principal of the firm in 2011, his achievements include working on four shareholder class actions which each achieved settlements in excess of $100 million for shareholders, and leading the team that achieved Australia's largest food safety class action settlement. Prior to taking up the CEO role, he established Maurice Blackburn's Australian litigation funding business, which focuses on providing funding to parties involved in commercial disputes. He also led the firm's social justice practice, where he contributed to important victories for the rights of some of the most vulnerable in our society, including acting for 109 babies of asylum seekers which resulted in the babies and their families being given visas and released from detention. Jacob chairs the Board of Per Capita, one of Australia's leading policy think-tanks.

James is a strategic leader with an impressive track record taking local Australian business through significant growth and expansion into international markets. He was the Managing Director and CEO of Incitec Pivot (IPL). Over his 14 year tenure, first as CFO and then as CEO, the company increased in size 6-fold to an enterprise value of $8bn. Other significant highlights during his time at IPL included overseeing construction of two new $1bn world scale manufacturing plants (one at Moranbah, Australia and the other at Louisiana, USA), successfully integrating the $3.6bn Dyno-Nobel acquisition (which took IPL global) and restructuring the group to become a global industrial chemical company with operations in 13 countries around the world. James is also Vice-Chancellor's Fellow at La Trobe University and in this capacity provides advice to the Vice-Chancellor and Senior Management on strategy, culture and operational excellence. James is also an Adjunct Professor at La Trobe Business School specialising in management, international business and digital. James passionately believes in diversity and is a member of the Melbourne Male Champions of Change group. With deep expertise in driving strategic growth in multiple industries, James holds the position of Non-Executive Director to Australia Pipeline Limited; an ASX 50 company that owns and operates circa $21bn of energy assets in Australia, Rabobank Australia Limited; the world's leading specialist food and agribusiness bank, Tassal Group Limited; Australia's leading seafood producer. James is currently the Chairman of Osteon Medical, a leading digital health business; and Manufacturing Australia, a CEO-led coalition of Australia's largest manufacturers who work with all sides of government, business and community to help the sector realise its full potential.

Mike Foster - ex CEO Fujitsu by The Mentor List

Joe Barr - CEO John Holland Group by The Mentor List

Shanyn Payne - Diversity Matters Leaders in Conversation Mini Series by The Mentor List

Anna Leibel is UniSuper's Chief Delivery and IT Officer responsible for delivering strategic projects, member administration operations, developing and implementing the IT strategy, and information security management. Since 2017 Anna has been leading the fund through transformational change to deliver better value and experience to members through digitisation of the business. As a highly accomplished senior executive and corporate adviser, Anna is renowned for her ability to blend customer-focused strategy development and transformational change across technology, business practices and growth culture. Anna's cross-industry career spans more than two decades in transformation programs, IT advisory and technology start-ups with organisations including PwC, Telstra, seek and NAB. She is a board member with Ambulance Victoria and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Anna has participated in two senior executive programs at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT): Succeeding in a Digital Economy, and Driving Strategic Innovation. Anna is co-author of The Secure Board which will be published in early 2021

Ana Marinkovic is a senior executive whose career spans more than 15 years in financial services. Her current role is Executive General Manager, Business Direct and Small Business at National Australia Bank, where her team looks after the financial needs of over five hundred thousand businesses across Australia, through a suite of products and services to support every stage of a business' journey. Throughout Ana's career in financial services, she has held senior roles across consumer and commercial banking, portfolio management, stratgey, digitisation and technology. These roles have seen her lead the delivery of enterprise wide transformations, complex technology programs and large-scale end to end businesses. Ana is a passionate advocate for diversity, inclusion and equality of opportunity and believes in hard work, broad engagement and integrity as foundations to authentic leadership. She is an advisory Board Member for the Brilliant Women Global organisation, advocating for diversity and inclusion in Australia and internationally.

Sarah Adam-Gedge is an experienced leader in the digital and technology industry, as well as being a Non-executive Director. Sarah is currently the Managing Director of Publicis Sapient Australia. Publicis.Sapient is the digital business transformation hub of Publicis Groupe, and helps clients drive growth and efficiency and evolve the ways they work, in a world where consumer behavior and technology are catalyzing social and commercial change at an unprecedented pace. With 19,000 people and over 100 offices around the globe, our expertise spanning technology, data sciences, consulting and creative enables us to deliver on complex transformation initiatives that accelerate our clients' businesses through creating the products and services their customers expect. Sarah is also a Non-executive Director of Austal Ltd. Austal is 'The Australian Shipbuilder', defence prime contractor and maritime technology partner of choice; designing, constructing and supporting revolutionary defence and commercial vessels for the world's leading operators. Sarah is also Chair of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, and member of the Audit and Risk Committee. Previously Sarah was a non-executive Director of Ovarian Cancer Australia, and continues to support this important charity as a member of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee. Prior to Publicis.Sapient Sarah was Managing Director of Avanade, and has held executive roles at IBM, PwC, and Andersen across Australia/NZ, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East and Africa. She is a graduate of the AICD, Chartered Accountant, member of ACS and on the ACS Diversity Council.

Div Pillay is the CEO & Co-Founder of MindTribes and social enterprise, Culturally Diverse Workforces (CDW). Both businesses focus on cultural inclusion delivering a business impact. MindTribes and CDW work with ANZ and global executive leaders, offshore staff, multicultural employees and customers to ensure that big brands extract the economic and business benefit of cultural diversity. They are concerned with the current & future customer and work and how this is optimised. Under Div's leadership MindTribes has won several industry awards, the latest being recognised by Westpac as one of the 200 Businesses of Tomorrow, 2018. In addition, Div was named by the Australian Financial Review and Qantas as one of the 100 Women of Influence in the Diversity and Inclusion category, 2018.  High socially minded, she is on the Board of STREAT focussing on youth homelessness and a Plan International Ambassador giving 10% of MindTribes revenue to empowering girls globally.  Div is also National Chair of the America Chamber of Commerce's Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Rasha Abbas is a business transformation senior executive with strong track record of delivering outcomes. Delivered enterprise wide transformations, led complex technology programs and managed large scale operations and budgets (~$1.4B strategic project portfolio over 4 years). She is recognised for delivering outstanding results, transforming business operations, translating strategy into actions, executing complex projects and building high performing agile teams. Innovative, values driven and high paced change leader. A connector that builds strong relationships based on trust. Lifelong learner that enjoys the pursuit of knowledge. Experienced across Financial Services, Technology, Contact Centre, Operations, Distribution, Frontline Leadership and Complex Regulatory Business.

A board director and senior executive skilled in strategy, technology leadership, fast paced customer centric environments. Claudine has a demonstrated ability to build high performance teams and cultures, also leveraging her experience in the Australian Olympic Sailing Development Team. Claudine has led innovation and transformations through technology leadership roles for the Jetstar Group of Airlines, Ridley Corporation. Strategy, consulting at KPMG, and strong career foundations in Sales, Marketing and Product Management. Claudine was awarded Top CIO50 in Australia in 2016. She is a 2015 graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD), and boasts a wealth of international experience through Jetstar's Branded Airlines (Singapore, Japan, Vietnam), Ridley's Thai operations, work with KPMG in China and other international leadership roles. She has a Bachelor of Business from the University of Technology Sydney, Australia (B.Bus) and a Diploma of Business Management from the Ecole Supérieur de Commerce Reims, France (Dip.Mgnt). Coach and mentor to talented young aspiring leaders from a variety of industries and a former Australian Sailing Development team member, experienced in high performance environments, leadership effectiveness.

Michelle Redfern is a woman who like to #GetS*tDone for equality and inclusion. Michelle is also an AFR 💯 Women of Influence, a Melbourne B3000 Female Entrepreneur of the Year, workplace gender equality consultant, advisor, researcher into #WomenInSport, Womens Leadership expert and Non-Executive Director. She loves what she does and is committed to helping businesses around the world create better workplaces for people of all genders, from all walks of life. Michelle takes action and influence in 3 ways. 1. Advise: She advises Board and CEO's about how to take action to attract, engage and develop commercially viable, sustainable relationships with women. Whether they are athletes, employees, volunteers, corporate partners, suppliers, clients, members or supporters. 2. Facilitate: Michelle is an action oriented warrior for women's advancement. She advises, facilitate & mentor women how to navigate a system that is not yet fixed. 3. Speak: She is not just a talking head. She takes action by designing and delivering really smashing events that engage the audience. She'd provided this service for AFL clubs, ASX listed & privately held companies, Universities & of course my own Professional Women's Network that has more than 3600 female members and now, a co-host of A Career that Soars! an online community for ambitious women who want their best career and best life. WHAT ELSE? * Michelle is a co-founder of social enterprise, CDW (Culturally Diverse Women & Workforce) * Michelle is a founder of Womens network “Women Who Get It” * Michelle is a independent member of the Steering Committee for Wayfinder - Women in Supply Chain & Logistics initiative

As Managing Director, Steven Worrall is responsible for Microsoft's overall business in Australia. He ensures the company meets the needs of its customers and the more than 11,000 partners and independent software vendors that sell or build on the Microsoft platform. Steven joined Microsoft in March 2014 as Director, Enterprise and Partner Group, responsible for driving business growth and building strong customer and partner relationships in the Australian Commercial and Public Sector markets. In this role, Steven worked with organisations to drive innovation and business improvement through the application of technology in many areas, including productivity solutions, mobility and cloud services. Previously Steven worked for IBM for 22 years and held a number of marketing, sales and general management roles in the services, software and financing segments of the organisation. Most recently, he led IBM's software business in Asia Pacific region where he built organisational capability in diverse markets across the region and drove the business towards more cloud delivered services. Steven holds an Honours degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master's in Business Administration. He is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and lives in Sydney with his wife and three children.

Melissa Lewis is the secret sauce behind credible female business women. Her fascination began as a little girl when she spent many hours in her grandfather's couture boutique watching him style high-end clientele. She saw the emergence of confident women glowing from the inside out.An entrepreneur in retail, commercial property and the corporate world, Melissa, aged just 18, worked full time while studying at night (BA Business - Property, RMIT) 22 years later she mentors driven talented women, working in male- dominated environments, commercialise their talents for greater impact and career advancement. It's about bridging the gap between what they know and what they're known for.

Dr Demartini is considered one of the world's leading authorities on human behaviour and personal development. He is the founder of the Demartini Institute, a private research and education organisation with a curriculum of over 72 different courses covering multiple aspects of human development. His trademarked methodologies, the Demartini Method and the Demartini Value Determination, are the culmination of 44 years of cross-disciplinary research and study. His work has been  incorporated into  human development industries across the world. Dr Demartini travels 360 days a year to countries all over the globe,  sharing his research and findings in all markets and sectors. He is the author of 40 books published in over 29 different languages. He has produced over 60 CDs and DVDs covering subjects such as development in relationships, wealth, education and business. Each program is designed to assist people to activate leadership and empower themselves in all seven areas of their lives: Financial, physical, mental, vocational, spiritual, family and social.

For over 20 years, Darrell Hardidge has specialised in supporting high-performing businesses with the strategy and implementation of their customer experience and team culture. He has worked with billion-dollar companies down to the privately-owned operations. Darrell has the ability to engage a diverse range of teams, from board level to the front line, ensuring everyone is on the same page. His team workshops are highly engaging and effective in causing permanent change and improvement. His company has designed the very powerful metric of client appreciation which sets a business beyond the reaches of their competition who mainly measure client satisfaction with flawed and outdated systems. Darrell's profound knowledge of what creates a market-leading service culture has been delivered to thousands of people and has inspired the behavioural change in many winning teams. A published author, Darrell's passion for service excellence sets him apart and his experience based upon his own company's IP enables him to authentically engage and connect with any level of an organisation.

Richard Elstone is a Partner with boutique executive search firm Foley Durham. He has more than 20 years' experience acting as a trusted advisor to boards CEOs and their executive teams in their search for hiring the very best talent across ASX listed, Private Equity backed and Private companies across Australia. Through his experience, Richard has reviewed and assessed hundreds and thousands of resumes, conducted thousands of interviews and has successfully appointed countless executives across the country. His new initiative, Executive Interview Coaching distils this knowledge into a series of confidential one-on-one sessions designed to give you the edge in your executive job search

Tom Griffith co-founded Emma & Tom's in 2004 with his childhood friend Emma Welsh. Both share a passion for healthy choices, active life and everyday, balanced nutrition and saw a need for an Australian healthy, great tasting snack and juice alternative to sugary, preservative-riddled, over-processed options out there already. Based on the simple and powerful philosophy ‘Look After Yourself', Emma & Tom's has grown to become one of Australia's greatest startup business success stories and an internationally recognised brand. Boasting a range of whole fruit, naturally good for you products now available in over 5000 retail outlets nationwide, the business has expanded distribution to global markets and new consumer categories and continues to deliver their wholesome brand promise to thousands of people every day. Tom's background includes a diverse portfolio of business, finance, investment banking and innovation roles within Australia and internationally. Tom also holds a Bachelor of Commerce from The University of Melbourne, is a Chartered Accountant and has a Fellowship of Finance. “We believe people are happier when they are healthier. We believe if you eat well, you stay well. We help people look after themselves.” Tom is regularly sought after as a speaker on entrepreneurship, the business of startups, building brand and the secret to successful partnerships. Tom is also a passionate and outstanding community leader who contributes many pro bono hours to local social justice initiatives, sits on the board of multiple charity organisations and Emma & Tom's contributes $100,000 annually to local Not For Profit organisations who seek to alleviate poverty, boost economic empowerment, and initiate education and health projects Australia-wide. Tom also co-founded The Unite Project with the Cotton On Group whose mission is to fight youth homelessness across Australia.

"Brent Valle is a born speaker, entrepreneur, passionate surfer, snowboarder and all round adventurer known for pushing boundaries and building big business! He is a multi award award winning business person who has been recognised by CRN for growing Australia's fastest growing tech company in 2013 (2nd 2014, 9th 2015, 10th 2016 and All Star Category in 2017), and the countries 5th fastest growing company across all industries in the BRW Fast 100 2015. He was the co-founder of award winning technology company NGage Technology with close friend Jarrod Bloomfield. The team grew the company from $0 - $27 Million in just 5 short years and it continues to be a key leader in the IT space. In early 2017, Brent decided to parts ways with NGage Technology to follow his passions of assisting, inspiring and working with others and founded The Future Phase. Fortunately for Brent, within weeks after coming to the realisation that he wanted to follow his passions, an ASX tech-company expressed interest in NGage and within 6 months the business was sold in a multi-million dollar deal. The Future Phase is a cause that Brent hopes to use his visionary business acumen, unbridled enthusiasm and love for adventure to inspire others to achieve their own best selves, make an impact on a grander scale and leave the world a better place. It is a cause that facilitates growth, transformation and adventure of busy individuals, entrepreneurs and corporations to exceed themselves above and beyond. He has developed the first of it's kind leadership program called Future X - The Worlds First Leadership and Mentoring Program Where Business Meets Adventure which is designed for medium to large enterprise corporates, and is also growing a community of entrepreneurs and business owners that want to take on the world called the GameChangers with an exciting product being launched in the next month. Since founding The Future Phase in early 2017, Brent continues to seek out more opportunities and recently acquired Bells Surf Wax™, a business he is extremely passionate about. Since acquiring in September 2017, Brent has since turned the business around, something he has a knack in doing and has gone onto successfully launch with amazing success at the 2018 Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach. He is often referred to as courageous and a go-getter with limitless determination by his peers and continues to inspire and empower them to push through their boundaries both in life and business. But also knows where his strengths lie, a real entrepreneur and business dude, passionate surfer, snowboarder and adventurer and the thing he takes most pride in is being an awesome Dad to his 2 kids. Brent is extremely passionate about sharing his personal and business journey to inspire others to live a happy, healthy, successful and purposeful life with strong relationships. A born speaker, Brent has an amazing ability to keep his audience members engaged, allowing them to walk away inspired, motivated and having learnt something new. His personal story is really quite phenomenal and counts his blessings every day because he realises just how lucky he is to be here, even though there were shocking and traumatic circumstances involved. He is determined to give back to the planet and to youth and to date has contributed over $50,000 across 4 charities and has personally volunteered over 40 hours of work. He is a proud member of 1% For The Planet. Brent Valle is a force of nature with a passion for life and making the world a better place in every way he can. As a highly successful entrepreneur, rugged outdoor sportsman and a true humanitarian, he's not content to just forge his own business and life successes, he earnestly works to bring others along for the ride. And aims to encourage you to join him."

Nathanial Bibby - Fall in Love with your Customer by The Mentor List

Jamie Pride is a serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist & author on a mission to make entrepreneurs, executives and enterprises failure proof. As an entrepreneur, Jamie sold his first startup, Velteo, to New York–based System Integrator Bluewolf, and has founded over six technology startups. As an investor, he has raised more than $16 million in funding for startups via private and public markets, including completing an IPO on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2015. He has more than 20 years' experience with international technology and digital media organisations, including leading realestate.com.au and senior positions with Deloitte Digital, salesforce.com, Red Hat, Veritas, and Cisco Systems. Jamie is also a sought-after public speaker and regularly comments on building resilience, overcoming failure, how to be successful at startups & small business, disruptive innovation and design thinking. He is the Managing Partner at Phi Digital Ventures, an early-stage, social impact venture fund that seeks to invest in Australian companies looking to change the world. He is also the co-founder of The Founder Lab, an educational institution for entrepreneurs that seeks to build and support better founders. Jamie is the author of Unicorn Tears: Why Startups Fail & How To Avoid It - published by Wiley, February 2018

Mr Stuart Ellis AM, is Chief Executive Officer of the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC). AFAC is the National Council for fire and emergency services across Australia and New Zealand, and is the facilitator and custodian of contemporary knowledge and practice, for the benefit of our members and through them, the community. There are 288,000 volunteers and career staff engaged across AFAC agencies providing fire and emergency services. Through a collaborative approach AFAC assists the emergency services sector to identify and achieve strategic and operational priorities. Mr Ellis is an experienced leader in the emergency management industry. Following a distinguished 22 year career in the Australian Army, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer/Chief Officer of the South Australian Country Fire Service for five years. In 2002, Mr Ellis established a consultancy company and has been involved in over 20 operational reviews, including the Canberra Bushfires, the Victorian Bushfire Royal Commission and the Christchurch Earthquake. In 2012, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Australasian Fire & Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC), the National Council for fire and emergency services in Australasia. He is passionate about improving the professional standing of fire and emergency personnel and has a focus on progressing an industry wide, integrated approach to emergency management.

Dr Amy Silver ClinPsyD MPhil MA BSc(Hons) DipCAT MAPS. Amy is a a psychologist, speaker, author and mentor on building cultures of courageous collaboration for remarkable growth. Her background includes working as a Clinical Psychologist and Academic Tutor for Oxford University (in the UK). She has spent three decades developing IP on how fear and habit restrict our growth and achievement. She now works mainly in Professional Services and Public Services, particularly with those who are embracing the move towards a more connected, agile workforce.  She is obsessed with the ripples that our behaviours have and passionate about people feeling safe enough to be the very best of themselves. Amy regularly publishes on growth, trust and collaboration in her ‘Silverlinings' blog (www.DrAmySilver.com/Silverlinings). Her book Conversations Create Growth shows managers how to lead performance conversations that drive engagement and achievement. She is currently working on her new book The Safe Space: For courageous collaboration which will be the essential guide for team and cultural success in our agile future. Amy has a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, Masters in Forensic Psychiatry, Masters in Performance and a BSc Hons in Psychology. She worked as a practicing Clinical Psychologist and an Academic Tutor and researcher at Oxford University, UK.  After her career in Clinical Psychology she has worked in corporate for 15 years using psychological knowledge, trust and collaboration to improve growth (after a short stint as a professional actress).

Founder of Australian early-stage technology venture capital firm, Adventure Capital, whose amazing team has the privilege to work with Australia's talented entrepreneurs by providing equity, debt, and real-world experience to accelerate growth, and enable them realise their potential - globally. Architect of an entrepreneurial ecosystem and open innovation platform bringing together Fortune1000 / ASX200 corporations, leading academic and most importantly startups, upstarts and entrepreneurial communities. Co-founder of YBF Ventures (York Butter Factory), globally leading property technology and services business, EQUiEM, and Hoist which creates and curates high-impact innovation precincts. Founding investor of breakout audio media technology OmnyStudio, leading FinTech's Clover.com.au and PayActiv (AU), revolutionary electric motor technology, Axiflux, and leading safety management platform, Donesafe. Advisor, Board Member and Mentor to numerous entrepreneurs intent on changing the world and their early-stage technology businesses. Graduate of the distinguished Stanford Executive Program (SEP'09), Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA'99), and holds Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering (UNSW), Master of Management/Engineering Science (UNSW), and completed Executive MBA studies with MGSM. Stuart became a Fellow of the University of Melbourne in 2015, was recognised #20 in the Business Insider Tech100 in 2016, and is privileged to inspire the next generation as one of the Van Heusen Mentors. Prior to founding Adventure Capital, Stuart worked extensively across the Defence and Intelligence industry leading the development, delivery of high-stakes and complex projects and capability, and the associated operations.

Dermot Crowley is the Director and founder of Adapt Productivity, a Sydney based training company founded in 2002. Dermot is one of Australia's foremost thought-leaders on productivity.  He is the author of Smart Work and the soon to be released Smart Teams, and the founder of Adapt Productivity. Building on many years of experience in the productivity training industry, he created Adapt in 2002 with a vision of helping management and staff in Australia's leading organisations to manage their time, priorities and emails more effectively using tools like MS Outlook and mobile technology. Dermot has a highly inspiring yet practical approach to productivity in the modern workplace. His passion is creating real behavioural change, and he has developed a system for working productively that is applicable to anyone working in today's busy, email driven workplace. While remaining heavily involved in the training activities of the business, much of Dermot's time is spent working with senior leaders and leadership teams on their productivity, and their ability to lead productivity in their teams. His pragmatic approach and wealth of experience ensure that he brings relevant strategies to the table for the leadership level. His focus on productivity technology ensures that executives are getting the most from the tools at their fingertips.

You are a leader in your organisation and you have a message you need to convey. You may be a consultant leading a project, an architect going to tender, a creative preparing for that all-important pitch, or a political leader advocating for change. Chloé helps you be heard. Chloé Oestreich is a coach, facilitator, and speaker. She works with leading organisations and coaches CEO's and senior executives internationally to help individuals present with conviction and become aware of the habitual patterns that undermine their authority during business interactions. Growing up bilingual in Switzerland, Germany and England, Chloé grew to understand the true importance of presence to both personal and business success. As a trained actor and journalist, her area of expertise lies in dissecting what array of information our bodies project when presenting. By making her clients aware of their individual habits, which may hold them back from presenting with confidence, Chloé develops a tailored strategy that enables leaders to be mindful of their presence. Whether focusing on storytelling, body language or developing a resonant voice, Chloé helps individuals make an impact and leave positive long lasting impressions. Currently splitting her time between London and Melbourne, Chloé helps people achieve greater confidence and clarity in business environments through leading development programs, delivering keynotes and coaching CEO's and senior executives at global businesses including Macquarie Bank, KPMG, Pacific Brands, Arney Fender Katsalidis and McCANN.

Nicholas “Nick”  Stone is a native of Melbourne Australia who moved to New York City in 2010. He is the Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Bluestone Lane, an Australian-influenced lifestyle and hospitality brand based in New York, NY. Nick envisioned Bluestone Lane whilst attending Business School in New York, with the idea of providing a premium coffee/cafe experience that is readily found in his former hometown of Melbourne Australia (but not readily available in New York). Since opening its first location in July 2013, Bluestone Lane has become the fastest-growing premium coffee and café having opened 27 stores open now across 6 markets being New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Philadelphia and New Jersey and a flagship coffee roastery and production facility within its first 4.5 years of operations. Nick joined Bluestone Lane as its full-time Chief Executive Officer in June 2016, having spent 10 years as a Corporate Finance Director with ANZ Banking Group Limited and UBS Investment Bank, advising and financing some of the world's largest multinational corporations in the United States, Europe and in Asia Pacific. Prior to banking, Nick was a professional Australian Rules Football (AFL) player for 6 seasons, having been selected in the 1999 AFL National Draft from Wesley College, Australia (High School). Nick played for the Collingwood, Hawthorn and the St Kilda Football Clubs. Bluestone Lane it set to have more than 40 locations by the end of 2018, across 6 United States core-markets, including New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Washington DC, San Francisco and Los Angeles. So lucky to catch Nick on one of his quick trips home to Melbourne..

Michael Smith was the CEO of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ) from 2007 to 2015 following his retirement he remained an Adviser to the Board until July 2017.  He is the Chair of York Butter Factory (YBF) established in 2011.  YBF is the “destination point for innovation in Australia”.  He also holds the position of Senior Adviser Asia Practice at PwC. Prior to this he was President and Chief Executive Officer, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited; Chairman, Hang Seng Bank Limited; Global Head of Commercial Banking for the HSBC Group; and Chairman, HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad. He graduated with honours in Economic Sciences from City University London and in 2015 was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science from City University London.  In 2013 he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Monash University, Melbourne. He is a Senior Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia and an immediate past Member of the Australian Bankers' Association and Business Council of Australia.  He is a Member of the Chongqing Mayor's International Economic Advisory Council, having previously served at its Executive Chairman, and a Fellow of The Hong Kong Management Association.  He was formerly a Director of the Institute of International Finance, the International Monetary Conference and Member of the Shanghai Mayor's International Financial Advisory Council.  He is a Life Member of the Financial Markets Foundation for Children. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2000 and a Chevalier de l'Ordre du Merite Agricole in 2007.

Adam founded Kegstar in December 2012 and has extensive experience in the beverage industry having also co-founded McLaren Vale Beer Company and being a Founding Director of Australia's Independent Brewers Association. McLaren Vale Beer Company was one of the fastest growing beer companies in Australia during 2009 to 2011 under Adam's leadership. It was during this period, when continually falling short on beer supply due to keg shortages, Adam identified the opportunity for the Kegstar keg-pooling model. Having sold McLaren Vale Beer Company to investors in December 2011, Adam embarked on the project to bring Kegstar to life. Kegstar is an asset pooling business specialising in stainless steel kegs used to transport beverages, principally beer and cider. Under its pooling model, Kegstar owns and manages a growing pool of over 300,000 kegs. Each Kegstar keg is uniquely identified and tracked when the keg moves through the supply chain. Kegstar was sold to global supply-chain logistics company Brambles Limited in December 2015 and currently operates in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Ireland, and launched in the USA in April 2017. As a professional Adam has a background in corporate finance, corporate development and M&A with Ernst & Young, Diageo, easyGroup, Rinker Materials and APN News & Media. As an entrepreneur, Adam was a co-founder of easyCar.com in London in 2000, co-founder of McLaren Vale Beer Company in 2008, co-founder of the Independent Brewers Association in 2011, founder of Kegstar in 2012 and founder of The Balmain Ball in 2014. Adam holds an MBA from Melbourne Business School and in 2011 Adam was an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist. Adam has lived in Adelaide, McLaren Vale, London, Tianjin, and Sydney.

Ben Chan is the Chief Commercial Officer of Envato, where he is head of a 140 person group, responsible for growing Envato's revenue and customer base. His group comprises of 6 functions: product, engineering, marketing, customer analytics, customer support and UX & Design. Envato is ranked in the top 100 most visited websites in the world, and is the world's leading online ecosystem for digital content and creatives, where millions of people come everyday to purchase files, hire freelancers, and learn the skills needed to build websites, videos, graphics and more. Ben is Acting CEO of Envato (350 people) whenever the Founder CEO is on leave. Prior to Envato, Ben was a Senior Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, working throughout Asia, Europe and Australia. Ben was also a Foreign Exchange Trader for Goldman Sachs in New York where he traded on Wall Street during the financial crisis. Ben has Bachelor degrees in Engineering and Actuarial Mathematics from Melbourne University where graduated top of his class in both degrees. Ben also has an MBA from Stanford University where he graduated in the top 10% of his class.

Mark Ritson is Adjunct Professor of Marketing at Melbourne Business School and a Visiting Professor at Singapore Management University. He has a PhD in Marketing from Lancaster University and has been a faculty member at some of the world's leading business schools teaching on the MBA programs at London Business School, MIT Sloan, and the University of Minnesota. He is widely acknowledged as one of the world's best marketing instructors and has been the recipient of MBA teaching awards at LBS, MIT, SMU and MBS. Mark has worked globally as a private marketing consultant on projects ranging from brand strategy, market research, segmentation, CRM, marketing communications, brand acquisition, brand valuation and brand extension. His clients have included Baxter, Loewe, McKinsey, PepsiCo, Subaru, Eli Lilly, Donna Karan, Johnson & Johnson, De Beers, Sephora, Benefit, Amgen, Ericsson, Jurlique, Cloudy Bay, Unilever, KPMG and WD40. For thirteen years - from 2002 to 2015 - he served as in-house professor for LVMH - the world's largest luxury group - working with senior executives from brands like Louis Vuitton, Dom Perignon, Fendi, Tag Heuer, Dior and Hennessy. He has written a weekly column on branding for Marketing Week for over a decade. On 3 occasions he has been judged the Business Columnist of the Year at the PPA Press Awards, the highest award for magazine journalism in the UK. He is also a columnist for The Australian newspaper. His more scholarly publications include articles published in Sloan Management Review, Harvard Business Review, the Journal of Advertising, and the Journal of Consumer Research. He was the recipient of the Ferber Award in 2000, one of the most prestigious prizes in Marketing, for his doctoral thesis. In 2001. His co-authored research on pricing was cited by George Akerlof during his Nobel Prize acceptance speech. He is a Tasmanian by marriage and lives somewhere between there and the "mainland".

For more than 20 years Scott Harris has been coaching, mentoring & speaking to individuals, businesses & large audiences to help them create great success; financially, physically & emotionally. Having dedicated his entire adult life to growth, change, and inspiration, Scott now delivers profound powerful training, coaching & mentoring programs around the world to facilitate life-changing positive influences. He's worked with many of the World's most influential forces such as Tony Robbins and Robert Kiyosaki just to name a few. Scott is uniquely qualified to be “The Ultimate Coach”. Scott is deeply committed to COACHING as a powerful tool for creating lasting results and causing massive shifts in people; as well as training and mentoring individuals to speak, present and coach through his training programs which leverage on his own versatile experiences along with proprietary techniques. He's spoken to audiences as large as 12,000 and in more than 15 countries around the world, impacting how they live each day, and now he's here to share with you.

Elaine Bensted is Chief Executive, Zoos South Australia commencing 3rd September 2012.  Since being in the role Elaine has led an improvement in the financial position of this conservation charity and an increase in Zoos SA membership base from 26,000 to over 43,000. She also led the work that culminated in the release of a 20 year Master Plan for both Adelaide and Monarto Zoos in early 2015. Prior to being appointed as Chief Executive, Zoos South Australia Elaine held the position of Chief Executive, Office of TAFE SA. Elaine has previously held senior positions in State and Local Government, and the private sector in the finance industry. Elaine's qualifications include an MBA and a Masters in Public Policy and Management as well as qualifications in finance. She has experience in both the private and public sector in management, marketing and community engagement. Elaine was the recipient of the 2014 Australian Institute of Management Not for Profit Manager Award. Elaine is the recipient of the Telstra South Australian Business Woman of the Year Award for Purpose and Social Enterprise 2017. Elaine is also a Board member of Nature Play SA, Zoos & Aquarium Association (ZAA), Children's University Advisory Board, the Uni SA Business School Program Advisory Board, The Australian Rhino Project Board, International Koala Centre of Excellence Advisory Board and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) Finance Committee.

Martine is an experienced executive within non-profit and international policy sectors, providing high-level expertise in public policy development, formulation and promotion both in Australia and internationally. Martine joined the Committee in March 2016, after serving as Chief Executive Officer of the Australia China Business Council (ACBC), where she led the development of the organisation's national strategy. Prior to her role at the ACBC, Martine was Deputy Director of the Lowy Institute for International Policy, where she led the organisation's business and organisational development. As Secretary-General of the Australian Red Cross (ARC) from 2001-2004, based at its national headquarters in Melbourne, she worked on a national transformation strategy to help the ARC improve its delivery of community and relief services across Australia and globally. Martine was a senior Australian diplomat for 17 years and an advisor to Foreign Minister Evans from 1992 to 1994. She served on the Australian National University Council from 2004-2014 and is a member of the Australian Volunteers International board. Martine speaks French, German and Spanish.

Dave is a  senior international executive and entrepreneur with a proven track record in global brand, digital & product marketing, brand communications and management.  A thought leader, passionate about all aspects of integrated marketing, digital and social innovation and the application of emerging technologies in nurturing and growing brands. 20+ years experience in Australian, UK and International brand marketing with expertise in entertainment media and technology Digital marketing strategy. Planning and delivering consumer focussed and integrated campaigns across all digital channels; social, web, mobile, direct. Proven track record in building and driving brands to success. Leader with experience curating successful, passionate local and international teams. Dave's other passions include startups, futurism and ultra marathon running.

Brooke Miller is BP's VP Sales & Marketing Australia, leading the company's retail business in a highly competitive fuels market. Brooke is focused on delivering a high quality, differentiated offer at 1,400 BP-branded sites and successful partnerships with some of Australia's largest commercial customers. Prior to being appointed to this role in April 2016, Brooke was BP's CFO Fuels AsPac. Over four years, she brought focus and rigour to the financial performance and strategy of the business during a time of significant change. Brooke first joined BP after receiving an MBA from Melbourne Business School. Brooke has held roles including: General Manager for Elite Customer Solutions, a team of 500 employees providing finance, sales and marketing, and logistics services; Regional Director for BP Solar Australasia, involving the deployment of the solar photovoltaics in the Asia Pacific; and General Manager of BP Bitumen Australia, a national manufacturing and sales operation. Brooke's career started in landscape architecture and town planning, and she holds a Bachelor of Planning & Design and a Master of Landscape Architecture. For nearly 10 years, she helped to design and construct commercial-scale projects.

Rachael led the Australian expedition to Davis Station, Antarctica - the second female to lead a team at the Station and the youngest ever leader. She managed a team of 18 people through the long, dark, Antarctic winter and through trial and error built a resilient and highly successful team based on the foundation that ‘respect trumps harmony'. Since returning Rachael has completed her MBA, written a best-selling book, Leading on the Edge, and has presented at over 1000 events around the world.

Brendan Maher is the CEO of R U OK? – an organisation most well known for R U OK?Day, a national day of action committed to encouraging and equipping everyone to regularly and meaningfully ask “are you ok?”, of anyone who might be struggling with life. Since the inaugural R U OK?Day in 2009, R U OK? has become a household name. In 2016, an estimated 72% of Australians were aware of R U OK?Day, with one in four of those people taking part. To help make real, lasting change in Australia, R U OK? has broadened their reach beyond a national day of action. Campaigns such as R U OK? at Work, R U OK? at School and R U OK? Afield (targeting FIFO/DIDO workers), are providing effective platforms to promote regular, meaningful conversations all year round. Brendan is a passionate advocate for suicide prevention, and a former member of Lifeline Australia's senior leadership team, where he spent seven years before stepping into his current role at R U OK? in 2013. Brendan leads a small, responsive, and dynamic team who are experts in community activation, social media and integrated marketing campaigns.

Whether an audience of 1 or 1000, we need to be able to quickly and effectively build rapport. Jon Yeo helps executives and brands design a meaningful and compelling brand story that connects and engages audiences. Jon is the Curator of TEDxMelbourne and Chapter President of Professional Speakers Australia

Michael Gill is counsellor with Dragoman, an international advisory firm. He is chairman of Newbe Global, a digital media venture, and of Sustainable Skills Ltd, which advises governments on vocational education systems. From 1998 to 2011 he was CEO and editor in chief of the Financial Review Group and was chairman of AAP Ltd.

Malcolm is the Chief Executive of the SA Fire and Emergency Services Commission and Chair of the SAFECOM Board, to which the State Emergency Service, Metropolitan Fire Service and Country Fire Service report. He is tasked with providing strategic leadership and direction to the South Australian emergency services sector and has direct responsibility and accountability for championing and leading sector modernisation and the change management processes. Born and educated in New Zealand, Malcolm has a BSc in Pure Mathematics and a BCom in Accounting from Auckland University. He spent his early career as an officer in the Royal New Zealand Navy, retiring as a Lieutenant Commander, before joining the staffing services and recruitment industry in 1984. He worked in a variety of senior roles in New Zealand, Australia and North America as well as spending time in Asia and Europe. From 1996 he was CEO of Manpower Australia and New Zealand. He joined the publicly listed Coates Hire in 2003 as CEO, and oversaw a period of rapid and sustained growth as the company consolidated its position in the Australian equipment rental market as well as rationalising their overseas operations. In early 2008 Coates was acquired by a consortium comprising Carlyle and National Hire. Malcolm was appointed to lead the merged group which ranks as a global leader in the equipment rental sector and managed the integration before stepping down in July 2008. In September 2008 he was appointed as the CEO of Futuris Corporation which changed its name to Elders Limited in April 2009. During his tenure he initiated a significant business restructure and change in strategic direction, focussing the group operations on its core agribusinesses. This was achieved despite the company being under significant pressure with an over-geared balance sheet and constrained working capital. He stepped down from the role of Chief Executive of Elders Limited in late 2013. In late August 2014 Malcolm returned to Adelaide to become Chief Executive of Defence SA. Defence SA is South Australia's lead government agency for all defence matters and the nation's only stand-alone state defence organisation. Reporting to the Premier, its mission is clear - growing Defence presence and building a sustainable defence industry for South Australia.