Zac Bailey is a prominent Adelaide-based technology founder and social impact entrepreneur, known for building award-winning assistive communication technologies that improve inclusion for older people and people living with disability. As Founder and Managing Director of Empathy Studios, Zachary leads the teams behind CareWindow and Konnekt—solutions now used across aged care, home care and NDIS settings in Australia and internationally. With a background in software engineering and human-centred design, Zachary focuses on creating technology that removes barriers rather than adding complexity. His work has been recognised through multiple industry and innovation accolades, reflecting a strong commitment to accessibility, dignity and real-world impact. At SouthStart, Zachary brings a practical perspective to the Remarkable Tech panel, sharing lessons from building inclusive products that serve diverse users—from older Australians to people with sensory, cognitive and mobility challenges—while proving that inclusive design creates better outcomes for everyone.

Whitney Cali is the Group Executive – Product, Technology and Data at LMG, where she specialises in the art of scaling: helping large organisations act with the agility of a startup, and helping startups build the foundations for scale. Throughout her career, Whitney has operated at both ends of the spectrum. At 28 Group, she served as CPTO, nearly tripling the subscriber base in just 24 months and launching four new brands in a single year through high-velocity, low-code strategies. Previously, at REA Group, she led a cross-functional organisation of over 800 people, managing $100M+ in technology investments while successfully transforming product delivery to ensure teams remained lean and fast. Whitney’s leadership is defined by a relentless focus on customer impact and operational speed. She is a firm believer that innovation isn’t a matter of team size, but of mindset.

Having worked in tech his whole career, Troy is passionate about helping Startups and Enterprises harness their own AI Technology for that competitive edge. Owning your own AI stack is more accessible than you might think, and you don't need to live at the mercy of the cloud Hyperscalers - lets build your own AI today!

I’m a multi-exit, award-winning founder with over two decades of experience at the intersection of technology, media, and talent. I've built and sold companies including theright.fit, #Gifted, Wink Models, The Influencers Agency & Online Model Academy, raised venture capital both in Australia and internationally, and helped over 50 founders scale, raise, and exit. My current portfolio spans SaaS, marketplaces, DTC, ecomm, traditional agency models, and education. I sit on the boards of Australia’s leading start up hub Fishburners, think tank Next25, and cultural festival Sydney Fringe, and am a Graduate of the AICD (GAICD) and a Harvard alum, having completed the Competing in the Age of AI programme. I’ve worked as a strategic advisor to VC-backed startups, PE groups, global brands, and government bodies - helping drive commercial strategy, brand growth, and digital transformation. I bring a systems- thinking lens, real-world execution experience, and an unmatched ability to connect people and opportunities.

From enterprise to startup, Symon Madry has shaped communications that has launched and elevated brands, shifted products, distinguished individuals, and spread ideas. Symon was a senior communicator at McKinsey & Company and Edelman, and Head of Technology and Business at Red Havas. He now works with clients to underpin communications discipline with perception science, to create faster and deeper connections, and impactful change.

Head of Operations at an Australian construction tech startup, ProcurePro - Managing People, Finance and Operations - scaling the company across AU, NZ, UK, Ireland, Middle East and helping grow revenue by 3,233% (8 figure revenue) since joining during their seed stage. ProcurePro has consistently been an AFR Fast Starter and LinkedIn Top 10 Startups in Australia. Shilpa is also an active member of the startup community, mentor and angel investor for emerging startups/founders: curator for TEDxSydney, Mentor & Advisor for Startmate, organiser of a micro community for startup operators, advisor for AirTree’s pioneers community, an Airtree Explorer and advisor for SXSW Sydney. Prior to joining the tech world 4 years ago, Shilpa was a national award winning Interior Designer.

Sharon has more than 25 years of broad international experience leading strategic growth initiatives including mergers, sales, acquisitions, private equity and strategic partnerships. Sharon is the Executive Chair and majority shareholder of InterFinancial; has been a partner of Clairfield International for 19 years and was appointed to the global board of Clairfield in 2022. Her local and international experience extends across many sectors, including engineering, mining services, technology, healthcare and financial services. Clients consistently value her ability to think creatively and solve complex problems in transactions, and her genuine interest in, and proven ability to create, more value for both parties in a transaction. Prior to joining InterFinancial, Sharon was General Counsel, and then Vice President of Strategic Planning and Integration at Mincom Limited, a global enterprise software company. Sharon started her career as a corporate lawyer with Allens. Sharon is also a non-executive director on Technology One (ASX50) and Auto & General Insurance Company (Budget Direct).

Experienced entrepreneur, startup coach and venture investor. Co-founder of Redwood, a private community for high-growth founders. Venture Partner at Black Nova Venture Capital. Executive coach to startup founders looking for an experienced sounding board. Previously co-founded and grew Startup Victoria, a non-profit aimed at helping Melbourne develop into a world class startup ecosystem.

Scarlett McDermott is the founder of Longitude Advisory, an independent tech advisory firm serving organisations across Australia. With over a decade of experience, she specialises in helping boards and executives of growth companies leverage technology to enhance operations and drive growth. Scarlett has experience as a Chief Technology Officer, software developer, and at industry level, having worked at the Tech Council of Australia and contributed to major industry initiatives. An ongoing focus on the diversity and capability of Australia's technology workforce drives her volunteer work on various committees and groups, including as a board director at the Australian Information Security Association.

S-J Kurtini is the founder of PitchSlap.me, a spicy AI tool that roasts your business story, then rewrites it so it slaps, not flops. Before PitchSlap, she co-founded Tinybeans (ASX:TNY), once dubbed "the most loving space on the internet" by New York Magazine, and became one of the few female founders to take a tech company public on the ASX. With years of experience turning "hard to explain" ideas into stories that stick, S-J now helps founders cut through the noise with clear, compelling positioning that wins over investors, customers, and teams alike.

I help consultants (actually) stop doing $5 tasks at $200/hr with AI

Rod is a dad, husband and brother. He’s a below-average mountain biker, an enthusiastic homebrewer, and excels at driving his kids to basketball games. He loves building teams and products that solve worthwhile problems. Rod is a Co-founder and a Board Director at Culture Amp, where he spent over 12 years as Chief Product Officer, leading the creation of its Employee Experience platform—now used by more than 7,000 companies to improve working lives. As a Venture Partner at Rampersand, he helps some of Australia’s most ambitious tech startups navigate product and people challenges. Rod is also a Co-founder Easy Hello, a venture making it radically easier for people to build meaningful, local, face-to-face connections in their communities. He’s a coach, investor, advisor, and volunteer.

Reuben works closely with the ARIIA staff, Board, partners and stakeholders to deliver on our mission to grow the capability of the aged care sector in order to improve care through innovation. He brings expertise and experience in strategy, executive management, business development, stakeholder engagement, commercialisation, operations and research working in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.

Rebecca is a heart-centred, sound therapist and vibrational alchemist who gently invites you to explore your inner world with loving awareness. During her sound baths, she guides participants towards deeply restorative states of peace, clarity and joyful connection. Feel yourself opening from within as you soften, awaken to inspired possibilities and ground into a new way of being. In addition to sound baths, Rebecca offers transformative one to one sessions featuring a specialised blend of modalities that support emotional wellbeing, mindset and alignment. She also creates soul-resonant art, encoded with healing energy.

Pete Horsley is dedicated to harnessing technology to elevate all human potential. As the Founder of Remarkable, the global startup venture arm of Cerebral Palsy Alliance, he is investing in and accelerating the next generation of Disability Tech solutions that build better technologies, break down barriers and drive equity. With over 20 years in the disability sector, Pete has led global collaborations across industry, NGO, and academia, to foster systemic change. As a co-founder of the +N Inclusive Innovation Network, he brings together global technology leaders to scale impact.

Paz has dedicated her life to building impactful communities. As the Co-Founder of The Community Collective, she accidentally started a company that went viral in 2021 in Melbourne during the pandemic. Afterwards, she quit her job and turned a 17-person meetup into a global movement with a 17.8k+ audience & 700+ community across 18 countries. She believes in the power of community, having trained 320+ businesses to master community building including Google, Canva, MYOB, Notion and Founders Factory Africa. She's a renowned International Speaker having appeared on stages worldwide from London, to SXSW Sydney to San Francisco, as well as landed interviews with global icons including Seth Godin, Derek Sivers & Steph Claire-Smith. Based in a 5000-person surf town in Australia, Paz loves wearing orange, speaking Spanish (and French!), drinking chai and composing relaxation music for her personal music brand Paz Sounds, which has touched the lives of over 10 million+ people.

"Patrycja Slawuta is an Australia-based, NYC-educated and Poland-born behavioural scientist, successful entrepreneur, and life-long learner. After spending 10+ years in academia, Patrycja founded SelfHackathon, a NYC-based global boutique behavioural consultancy of scientists that applies evidence-based research to help organizations and enterprises navigate the complexities of human nature in the face of disruption, change and uncertainty. After being chosen specifically by the Australian Government to migrate to Australia in March 2020 as a part of its Global Talent Program, Patrycja founded Unlab, a Sydney-based company whose mission is to take behavioural science out of the laboratory and into life through in-depth research initiatives, immersive learning programs and evidence-based consultations. Patrycja believes the human mind is the world’s most untapped natural resource. As such, her mission is to give people and organizations clear frameworks and practical tools to meaningfully and efficiently mine their own minds in order to find purpose, clarity and alignment. In her free time she runs marathons (32 so far), reads (audiobooks) and meditates. In that particular order."

After 20 years as a founder, building, scaling, and exiting two companies, including a high seven-figure exit, Mike Scott realised something most entrepreneurs never say out loud: You can build a thriving business but still feel completely depleted in life. That insight led him to co-found The Intentional Leaders Network (ILN), a curated community for established business owners who want to build ambitious companies without losing themselves in the process. ILN brings leaders together in high-trust circles to sharpen strategy, accelerate growth, and level up both business and life performance through world-class facilitation, tools and accountability. Mike also works as a growth coach and facilitator, partnering 1:1 with founders and leadership teams (typically $1M–$50M revenue) to create clarity, align teams, and execute with confidence. He is the first Certified Bloom Growth™ Coach in Australia. Alongside this, Mike is an Investor & APAC Director at Warp Development, a 120-person software and AI consultancy that helps companies build scalable technology and high-performing software teams. He hosts the podcast 'How to Be Moderately Successful'. He has two beautiful young kids and won the lottery with his wife and they live together in the Adelaide Hills.

Mike Kelly is a poet, meditation teacher, and contemplative guide whose work bridges inner transformation with the changing landscape of modern life and technology. Formerly immersed in the tech and innovation world, he now brings this creaitve lens to ancient contemplative traditions, exploring how mindfulness, Dharma, and somatic awareness can support individuals navigating complexity, creativity, and uncertainty. He has completed mindfulness and meditation teacher training with the Greater Good Institute (UC Berkeley) and is currently completing a four-year Insight Dharma Teacher Training. Mike’s writing and teaching emphasise presence, spaciousness, and the art of living well - inviting people into deeper connection with themselves, each other, and the wider systems we inhabit."

Award-winning actress Marta Dusseldorp has worked extensively in theatre, film and television for over 30 years and is one of Australia’s most recognised performers. She is also a producer, having founded Archipelago Productions in lutruwita/Tasmania with Ben Winspear. The company creates distinctive theatre and screen projects, including BAY OF FIRES Seasons One and Two, co-created, produced by and starring Dusseldorp. Season One was the ABC’s #1 most-watched drama in 2023, Season Two is now on ABC iview, and the series has exceeded 6 million streams on ITVX in the UK, with sales to multiple territories. Marta has received numerous nominations and awards, including the AACTA Award for Best Lead Actress in a TV Drama for Janet King, in which she also served as Associate Producer. She starred in A Place to Call Home, Jack Irish, Wentworth, Stateless, and Foxtel’s The Twelve. Bay of Fires was nominated for the AACTA Award for Best Drama. On stage, she has been a member of Sydney Theatre Company’s Actors Company and won a Helpmann Award for War of the Roses. She has worked with major theatre companies nationwide, earning acclaim for A Doll’s House Part 2, The Deep Blue Sea, Gloria (Sydney Theatre Award), and Archipelago’s The Bleeding Tree, The Maids, and Women of Troy. Her film credits include Paul Cox’s Innocence, Praise, Paradise Road, Ellie & Abbie, With or Without You (Netflix), and the upcoming NZ feature Caterpillar.

Mark is the founder of Forever Projects, a non-profit enabling Tanzanian women to create income, nourish their babies and keep families together.

Manon is an Investment Manager at Gandel Invest, a Melbourne-based family office investing in early-stage technology companies across Australia. She manages the portfolio of c. 50 startups, including EatClub, Good Pair Days, Pay.com.au, Sapyen and UpCover. With a background in tax and transaction services, Manon brings a commercially grounded approach to investing and is driven by a desire to support ambitious founders building meaningful, scalable businesses.

I’m Chief of Staff at Series B brand tracking company, Tracksuit. A lot of my focus is on turning our CEO’s vision into the narratives we share with our teams and investors, to create clarity that powers execution. I especially love creating the moments and systems that enable our exec team and the whole Track Team to operate with high care and high performance. My path through Industrial Engineering and BizOps taught me I’m endlessly curious about how people work together to build a company.

Leigh McLeod helps companies turn good intentions into meaningful action. As Global Step Two Lead at Canva, she builds programs that create genuine community impact and gives staff a reason to get involved. With experience spanning corporate powerhouses like The Walt Disney Company and grassroots organisations including Habitat for Humanity, Leigh knows what it takes to build purpose-driven cultures that actually work. Leigh holds a Master's in International Development from RMIT and is on a mission to prove that doing good and doing business aren't mutually exclusive.

Lauren has spent the last 10 years working on Gadigal land at the intersection of technology and social impact. She is a Senior Program Manager for Atlassian for Nonprofits, an Atlassian Foundation program providing discounts and support to nonprofits to help them adopt teamwork collaboration tools and practices. Her role involves strategic planning, program delivery and impact evaluation as well as customer and stakeholder engagement. Prior to joining Atlassian, Lauren managed gender equity programs at the University of Technology Sydney and Tata Consultancy Services.

I’m Laura—Chief of Staff by day, podcast host by night. I run Calling Operator, a podcast sharing in-the-trenches stories from the operators who keep tech companies running.

Kelly Jamieson founded Edible Blooms with her sister Abbey, which began as a business start-up in 2005 and has grown to be the most googled gifting brand in Australia. In fact, Edible Blooms & Co deliver a moment of joy faster than every two minutes somewhere in Australia and New Zealand daily. Kelly and her team are also previous National Telstra Business Award winners and have been shortlisted in the AFR Innovation Awards. An advocate for women leading in business, Kelly is an SA Telstra Business Woman of the Year recipient, a member of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Winning Women program and co-founder of the Fearless Female movement and the Fearless Innovator grant program for emerging female founders in SA. In her spare time, Kelly can be found jumping off the Port Elliot jetty fully clothed, challenging her team to how many chocolates they can eat in a day or busting embarrassing disco moves with her husband and two children.

Kayla Johnson is the Managing Director of the Good Trouble Group, a consultancy dedicated to helping businesses with strategy, culture, and leadership. A natural disruptor (the good kind), Kayla challenges organisations to think differently, embrace change, and build workplaces where people want to be. With a fresh, high-energy approach, she helps shape the leaders of tomorrow. Having moved to Australia in 2015, knowing nobody, she has practical experience in finding, creating, and growing welcoming spaces and communities. Combined with her experience leading change in government, navigating complex stakeholders, and creating long-term engaged stakeholders, she's all about building people's networks and community.

Kate is a leader is Australia's tech and innovation sector working across AI, biotech, and energy and public policy. She is the Chair of RNA Australia, and serves on the Boards of Essential Energy, the Powerhouse Museum, Amplify and the Tech Policy Design Institute. She was previously the inaugural CEO of the Tech Council of Australia and led an independent review into the innovation system in NSW. She's also been a Partner of a start-up, a tech policy specialist consulting to a range of leading Australian and global companies, including OpenAI, and a McKinsey consultant.

Judy has more than 25 years' executive and management experience in entrepreneurship and innovation as an inventor, founder, investor, academic and industry professional in the private and public sectors. She has published in academic peer reviewed journals and has been a successful applicant in competitive grant programs as both an academic researcher and as an industry partner. She is an inventor on granted patents and has been involved in raising millions of dollars for multiple start-up companies. She has negotiated multi-million-dollar licensing transactions and collaboration agreements in the development of early-stage technologies. Judy has extensive experience in strategy development and implementation and been a non-executive director of 7 start-up companies and is currently a member of several Advisory Boards.

Always first hand up to help tech founders and the startup ecosystem, Josh is co-founder of Eastend Ventures, an Adelaide-based VC investing in early-stage tech across South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland. He co-founded Southern Angels in 2018 and has facilitated more than $15 million into early-stage companies. 2026 is all about bring more high-quality LPs into Eastend Ventures Fund 1, backing sharp founders with global ambitions, and use disciplined due diligence to attract value-adding co-investors to each round.

In a diverse IT career over the last twenty years, Jon has worked in infrastructure, cloud, managed services, software as a service, and IT education ... across roles in marketing, sales and management. Jon has been a founder, raised capital, navigated successful trade sale exits and has worked for global Tier 1 IT vendors. This diverse experience informs an innovative and outcome focused approach to Jon's marketing practice. Jon has a BA in Economics from University of Michigan, a Masters from University of Technology Sydney, and has three patents to his name. Outside of work, you'll find Jon enjoying sailing on Pittwater with his family, or trying to improve his golf swing.

"Joel McKerrow is the go-to speaker for creativity-driven transformation. He has spent the last fifteen years on global stages, captivating hundreds of thousands of people with his passionate performative style, highly inspiring keynotes and strategic training. The CEO of Village Roadshow lauds Joel as, ‘a true creative genius’ and says of his work with their executive, 'His impact on my team was nothing short of extraordinary.’ Joel is the VIC/TAS President of PSA (Professional Speakers Australia), Director of The School for Creative Development, an author with Penguin-Random House, an award-winning writer of eleven books and Australia’s only certified Applied Narrative Intelligence specialist. A CREATIVITY and STORY expert, Joel passionately believes that both creativity and story are far too important to be confined only to ’the arts.’ He works with visionary professionals in many different industries to bring about creative momentum and see real-world transformation in their work."

Joe Szakacs MP was first elected as the Member for Cheltenham in February 2019, in a by-election. He was appointed Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services in March 2022 after the election of the Malinauskas Government. He currently holds the portfolios of Trade and Investment, Industry, Innovation and Science, Local Government and Veterans’ Affairs. Before entering politics, Joe held leading roles in the trade union movement, practised law, and was a company director in the superannuation and insurance industries. In 2013, Joe was elected Secretary of SA Unions, the peak body for trade unions in South Australia, and lead the organisation for five years. During his tenure he held national positions with the Australian Council of Trade Unions, including the National Executive and National Growth and Campaigns Committee. Joe was a member of the Board of Directors of Statewide Super, and served as Chairman of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee, and on the Investment Committee. He participated in global forums for workers capital and pension funds, including the Global Union’s Committee on Workers’ Capital and the United Nations Principals of Responsible Investment. Joe has also held director roles on the boards of South Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commission and Return to Work SA. Joe was born at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and raised in Royal Park. He attended local primary and secondary schools, and studied law at Flinders University. Joe was a competitive swimmer, holding multiple state titles and representing Australia at the 2002-03 FINA Swimming World Cup. He won swimming scholarships to the South Australian Institute of Sport and the University of Missouri. Joe loves spending plenty of time with wife Hannah and children Patrick and Olivia. He is an avid supporter of the Woodville-West Torrens Eagles and tries to get to games when possible.

"Henry Shukman is a poet, author, mindfulness teacher and Zen master. He has studied meditation for 35 years, principally in the Sanbo Zen lineage and is the Co-Founder of acclaimed meditation app The Way. His most recent books are Original Love and the Zen memoir One Blade of Grass. He has taught at Google, the New York Times, Harvard Business School, and the Institute of American Indian Arts. He has written several award-winning books of poetry and fiction, and his poems have appeared in The New Yorker, Guardian and Sunday Times. He has a degree from Cambridge and an MLitt from St Andrews."

Greg has two successful startup exits, 22 years apart, and held Asia Pacific, COO roles with major global tech players including Siebel Systems, PeopleSoft, Unisys and SAP. His first startup scale to exit journey was in the heart of the dotcom boom in San Francisco - the first databot of its kind, measuring & publically rating the world’s leading internet providers. Then in 2017 he co-Founded Faethm AI, one of Australia's early AI success stories - Faethm helped employers navigate the impact of external forces like tech automation and covid on skills & jobs. Faethm was acquired by Pearson in 2021 after scaling to government and enterprise customers in 21 industries and 26 countries. Today, as co-Founder and Partner at Arena Mars, Greg works with tech start-ups to help them scale, by building Australia's first scale-up ecosystem, by investing directly and via VCs, and by joining startup boards as an NED. Greg's deeply engaged in corporate social responsibility and remains a National Ambassador and advocate for The Australia Indigenous Education Foundation and Young ICT Explorers, a national youth STEM program, encouraging students in grades 3-12 to pursue careers related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

George is a UX designer and entrepreneur who built and exited SmartrMail to Relay Commerce and scaled Bluethumb into Australia's largest online art marketplace. A Computer Science postgraduate with a passion for creative tech, he has guided products from the first line of code to multi-million dollar outcomes. He currently serves as a mentor and investor for early-stage startups at Startmate.

Gavin Artz is a strategic leader with over 20 years of experience building innovation economies at the intersection of government, research and industry. At South Australia's Department for Trade and Investment, he developed a technology investment strategy that secured commitments for over 11,000 tech jobs and $5 billion in economic impact. His career spans from CEO of a national Arts and Science organisation to Director of Critical Technologies in State government and roles at CSIRO's Data61, where he orchestrated technical teams across cybersecurity, AI, quantum technologies and data architecture. Through extensive international trade work, he has developed a deep understanding of the geopolitical dynamics that shape technology ecosystems and cross-border collaborations. He holds an MBA from the University of South Australia.

Fiona Goodsite is the Co-Founder and CEO of Tutbob, an inclusive AI tutor and analytics platform supporting university students with ADHD, dyslexia, anxiety, and other learning differences. What began as Fiona solving her own challenges as a university student has grown into an award-winning startup, now piloted across institutions and engaging with major tech partners. A recognised young founder and student voice in responsible AI, Fiona has contributed to government roundtables and national discussions on ethical AI in education. A graduate of the University of Adelaide's Innovation & Entrepreneurship program, she is driven by the belief that education was not built for everyone, and as AI reshapes learning, she is on a mission to ensure inclusivity is the foundation, not a feature, and that AI in education needs to be built for ALL.

Eloise Hall is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of TABOO Period Products, a social enterprise selling organic cotton period care, established to eradicate period poverty in Australia. She is a passionate social entrepreneur, committed to making long-lasting, structural changes to bridge the inequality that exists in our communities. Eloise has been recognised with various awards including EY's Entrepreneur of the Year, (Impact category, 2023), Westpac 2023 Social Change Fellow, InDaily’s 40 under 40 and The Advertisers Woman of the year Rising Star award. Eloise has double bachelors degrees in Business and International Relations and has sat on various boards including the South Australian Social Enterprise Council and the Robinson Research Institutes Advisory Board. Eloise has most recently been appointed as the Social Enterprise Expert in Residence at Flinders New Venture Institute.

Dr Samantha Pillay OAM is a Polymath Changemaker operating at the vital intersection of medicine, cutting-edge technology, and social advocacy. As a pioneering surgeon, multi-award-winning author, and the Founder of AIFilm4Good, the world's first AI-native film studio dedicated to social impact, she synthesizes the analytical rigor and ethical grounding of the operating room with the disruptive power of AI to accelerate progress for women and girls globally. Dr Pillay is a leading voice on the ethical and high-impact application of technology in advocacy, turning the difficult lessons of her career into a powerful, scalable mission. She is a recipient of the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for her service to urology.

I’m Deputy Editor of InDaily, Adelaide’s independent digital news service, where I oversee coverage of South Australia’s business, technology and cultural landscape. My focus is on stories that matter to the community, from the forces reshaping the economy to the creative industries that give Adelaide its identity. Over my career I’ve built experience across breaking news, long-form features and editorial leadership, developing a knack for finding the local angle in national and global issues. I’m especially interested in how innovation, policy and culture intersect, and how those intersections affect everyday South Australians. At the heart of my work is a belief in the role of independent media: to connect people and hold power to account.

Dave is a certified Flow State and Breathwork facilitator, providing programs to help leaders and teams access greater levels of clarity, creativity and connection. Blending timeless wisdom with modern neuroscience, Dave advises businesses how to access flow state - the optimal state of consciousness for creativity, wellbeing and performance. Dave runs programs for businesses such as Canva, BCG, Blackbird, VaynerMedia, TikTok and SoHo House.

Dan Kurlapski works at the intersection of nervous system regulation, embodied leadership, and human development. With a background in physiotherapy, he spent over a decade working in elite sport at the national level and founded multiple physiotherapy clinics, supporting high-performing individuals across rehabilitation, performance, and long-term capacity. This foundation informs a practical, body-led understanding of stress, recovery, adaptation, and sustainable performance. Dan is an NLP Master Practitioner and is trained in Integral Leadership, Semantic Facilitation, and Facilitated Breath Re-patterning (FBR) Breathwork, integrating physiology, developmental psychology, language, inquiry, and embodiment into his work. He is the founder and co-founder of multiple businesses, including YES& Conscious Leadership and Breathwork Byron, and facilitates 1:1 work, retreats, and leadership immersions globally. His work supports founders and leaders to recalibrate their nervous systems, integrate success, and cultivate long-term healthspan, clarity, and embodied leadership over decades.

Athlete: #1 in Australia and top 10 in the world in 3 different sports: Trampolining, CrossFit and Beach Volleyball. Investor: Managing Director at Techstars Sydney, one of the top global accelerators. Formerly an investor at Blackbird Ventures and Athletic Ventures Speaker: On stages including the Paris Olympics, Superbowl events, TechWeek SF, SXSW Sydney, TEDx, multi-national companies, and Necker Island. Founder: Co-founded FC32, a company that acquired professional football teams globally.

Working with leaders and teams to transform their relationship with stress and build resilience. Helping them master their internal state to maximise energy, impact, and performance — from the inside out. Facilitates meditation, breathwork, and contrast therapy at Melbourne’s leading wellness clubs.

Blair lives in the North Eastern suburbs of Adelaide with his wife and three daughters. He grew up on the family farm in rural South West Victoria, not far from Mount Gambier. He was elected to represent the State electorate of Wright in 2018 and was appointed Minister for Education Training and Skills in March 2022 and Minister for Police in September 2025. Blair is passionate about education and believes that a strong, affordable and accessible public education system is the key to equality.

Antonia is Managing Director, Australia for Pledge 1%, empowering companies to be a force for good. Alongside this role she is CEO of StartGiving, a not-for-profit that encourages tech founders to start and scale their personal giving. Antonia is a director of UNICEF Australia, chairs The Giving Academy at the Centre for Social Impact, and is a director of several charitable foundations.

As a creative entrepreneur, I am motivated by delivering sustainable growth across wholesale and retail markets, locally, nationally and internationally. My formidable practical and astute commercial acumen has provided me with the opportunity to successfully launch my business and continue to grow in a highly competitive market. As a Co-Founder of Fearless Females and the Fearless Innovator Grant Program, I am invested in building and fostering strong business relationships and authentically engaging with all stakeholders to drive transformational business outcomes. Grounded in my values of integrity and trust, I am dedicated to building connections, collaborating and mentoring of startups, enabling them to scale up and this has been further amplified by our Fearless Females Podcast, supported by Westpac.

Amanda is a recently exited founder with a strong background in financial services, project delivery and operational management. With nearly 40 years experience in commercial enterprises, Amanda has delivered projects large and small, turned around under-performing businesses and run day-to-day operational business operations. Before launching her own ventures, Amanda served in senior management roles in banking, working at the forefront of fintech development and integration. Her foundation in financial services and operational excellence informs her strategic approach to building ethical supply chains, which she applies to her current venture, Fair Seafood. As Owner and Co-Founder of Fair Seafood, Amanda has created an innovative market and merchant model that prioritises origin transparency, traceability and ethical practices while supporting Australia's last true hunters—our fishers. Amanda is a conscious consumer and passionate advocate for education. With a long history in tech and financial services, Amanda's unique blend of business acumen, operational expertise and genuine passion for environmental stewardship makes her a compelling voice on these topics as well as sustainable business practices, supply chain transparency, ethical consumption and entrepreneurship with purpose.

A Social Impact Leader, I help companies to build community as they implement their social impact goals as members of Pledge 1%. How do I support organisations achieve their social impact goals? 1. Pledge 1% - as part of the new AU team supporting 2,000 local members to be "companies for good", helping them to bring their commitment to give 1% of Equity, Product, Time or Profit to life; 2. Airwallex - I reconfigured their Volunteering programme, resulting in a 58% uplift in leave use (globally) within 6 months; 3. Atlassian - I built global pathways to work programmes, resulting in more diverse talent pipelines; led the People stream of the first Reconciliation Action Plan at Atlassian, resulting in the rollout of cultural awareness training, the first RAP and the pathway to a second RAP; built their inclusive hiring approach and training for recruiters and hiring managers; 4. IKEA - I designed a refugee work experience programme, which is still running today with a 75% retention rate; 5. Apple - I reconfigured the sales and engineering hiring processes, resulting in 52% female representation of hires.