"Allys Todd is a founder of VALAI, a globally recognised company that integrates climate action into economic systems through cutting-edge data and digital engagement technologies. In Australia, through Home Efficiency Australia, VALAI incentivise home electrification. A specialist in shared value partnerships and innovative problem-solving, Allys has been honoured with a Prime Minister's Award for Community and Business Partnership. Allys serves as a corporate speaker for the global movement Women in Climate, sharing her insights on sustainability, the role of technology, and the importance of effective communication in driving behavioural change. Allys has collaborated with groups including AWS Innovation, McKinsey & Company, the World Energy Council and the Harvard University Behavioural Science STAR Lab."

Chanelle Le Roux is a vibrant Marketing agency owner and digital marking specialist that proudly boasts 15 years plus of experience across multiple industries. Leaving her corporate job that ‘drained her soul’ in 2017 to pursue her dreams of travelling, Chanelle turned to freelance work but soon found herself quickly growing in demand for her marketing services. With her travel bug (slightly) behind her, Chanelle created Ninki Marketing in 2018 with her agency quickly expanding to multiple team members within 12 months. Known for cutting through noise with content that captivates and connects authentically with customers, Ninki quickly became a go-to leader for businesses looking to grow their online presence. Chanelle is a regular on the speaker circuit, delivering keynote talks and joining in on panels to share her insight and expert knowledge. She is also a popular trainer and workshop facilitator for business-savvy individuals wanting to level up their marketing knowledge and skills.

Dave is the founder of Lightning Products, a leading NoCode Product and AI agency in APAC, and Ocean Greens, an e-commerce brand and seaweed farm focused on sustainable aquaculture. He previously founded a healthcare startup in the US, giving him hands-on experience across tech, sustainability, and entrepreneurship. Dave is one of 12 globally recognized Bubble.io coaches, dedicated to empowering founders with NoCode and AI solutions.

"Dave is a certified breathwork and flow state expert focused on helping founders and teams access greater levels of clarity, creativity and connection. Blending ancient wisdom with modern neuroscience, Dave teaches teams and leaders how to access flow - the optimal state of consciousness for creativity, well-being and performance. Dave has run programs for businesses such as Canva, BCG, TikTok, VaynerMedia, R/GA and SoHo House."

Dickie is passionate about showcasing the best of Australian Tech & Innovation to the world and helping to connect it's Startup ecosystems with other Global Communities. He does this as the Founder of Hype Man Media, a content house which tells stories about the world's most groundbreaking Innovation. And as the Founder of Startup Vagabond, which helps to connects Startup ecosystems across international borders.

Dr. Matt Agnew is a passionate scientist, author, and an engaging Edutainer. His passion for all things science has seen him work as an astrophysicist, an engineer, a data scientist and of course as a scientific communicator across invited science talks, radio and TV. Matt's credentials span the STEM portfolio: a PhD in Astrophysics, a Masters in Artificial Intelligence, a Bachelor of Engineering and a Bachelor of Science majoring in Applied Mathematics.

Joel McKerrow is an expert on creativity-driven transformation. He has spent the last fifteen years on global stages, captivating hundreds of thousands of people with his passionate performative style and highly inspiring keynotes. From the Sydney Opera House, to Nashville's Schermerhorn Symphony Centre, to The Metropolis in Montreal Joel has presented at some of the most iconic venues around the world. He is a Creativity and Innovation Specialist, and is passionate about individuals and businesses learning how to transform stagnation into creative momentum. Joel champions the belief that CREATIVITY and STORY are far too important to be confined to those traditionally labeled as ‘creative’ or ‘story-tellers.’ Instead, they are the very factors that will lead to both professional and personal success. An award-winning writer, keynote speaker, Master of Ceremonies and one of Australia’s most successful performance poets, Joel represented Australia at the Individual World Poetry Slam Championships, is an author with Penguin Random House and is the current VIC/TAS President of PSA (Professional Speakers Australia). Renowned singer Kate Cebrano describes Joel’s work as, ‘completely free, reckless and unbound in his expression.’ whilst 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.

With nearly a decade of experience as a rapid results mindset coach and over 20 years in leadership roles within startups and corporate environments, Julie is a highly sought-after speaker and coach known for delivering transformative results. She specializes in empowering individuals and teams to overcome challenges, break through barriers, and unlock their full potential. By combining practical strategies with a deep understanding of emotional and cultural dynamics, Julie creates tailored solutions that foster collaboration, build confidence, and drive sustainable success. Her innovative approach has helped corporate teams and individuals achieve measurable improvements in performance, communication, and overall wellbeing.

"Based in Sydney, Matt is focused on supporting and championing Rippling's customers and employees across the Asia-Pacific region. He spearheads Rippling’s multi-year investment initiative in the region, assisting businesses in modernising their legacy payroll, HR, IT, and finance systems. Matt brings a wealth of experience from his previous leadership roles at Slack, LinkedIn, and Salesforce, where he successfully launched the companies into Asia-Pacific markets and drove hyper-growth. Matt is also an active advisor and investor to a variety of startups across technology and healthcare."

Michael is an entrepreneur, operator, and advisor focused on recoding the food system. Through his company Recode Ventures, Michael supports AgriFood technology commercialisation, investment, and international market entry. His 15-year entrepreneurial journey began at the age of 21, launching the first of five ventures across a range of industries. A deep curiosity for technology solutions in agriculture led to prior roles as Director for AgriFood Tech at BDO and Managing Director for APAC at SVG Ventures Thrive. Today, he advocates for the AgriFood tech ecosystem as a Committee Member of the Australian AgriTech Association and co-organiser of the South Australian AgriTech Meetup Group. Michael's forward-thinking perspective on redesigning the food system was showcased in his TEDx talk, and recognised as a recipient of an InDaily 40 Under 40 award in 2020.

A curious explorer of our inner and outer world, Mike is a Meditation & Dharma Teacher, Spiritual Guide, Founder of Unmapped Studios & Host of Unmapped with Mike Kelly. Mike teaches Vipassana in a global lineage of Western teachers with roots in the Theravaden Buddhist Forest tradition and includes wisdom from the Zen, Advaitic, Tantric and Taoist traditions into his teachings. The practice of meditation and process of spiritual awakening/enlightenment is simply the art of living a deeply enriched and intimate life and as such, Mike teaches deep spiritual principles in a way that feels applicable to our modern lives. Unmapped is an instrument for exploring the art of living, curating conversations with conscious, curious and compassionate leaders at the frontiers of humanity, edges of civilisation and the convergence of ideas.

With over 20 years as an 'in the trenches' founder, and having gone through two exits (the most recent of which was in the high seven figures), I have developed a deep passion, understanding, and capability in SMB operating systems, management and leadership. This has led me to my current focus as a coach and consultant where I work with founders and CEO's in a 1:1 capacity or with leadership teams in a group setting. I help these founders to be better leaders and more effective in all areas of the their life and I help the leadership teams to run better business and to achieve better results. Together with some of my favourite humans, we built and grew Nona Digital into a globally respected software design and development agency, focusing on FinTech and Blockchain scale-ups. As a result of our deep focus on positioning, Nona was acquired by Yoco in 2022, where I spent just under two years building out the Partnerships Function. My podcast, 'How to be Moderately Successful', is about sharing experiences and tools of what’s worked and what hasn’t... and it seems people like that, as thousands listen to it. I moved to Australia in 2019, and while I do miss Cape Town, I also love it here and am very grateful to be here. Last year I invested in another great software development company - Warp Development and I am actively working with their amazing team of over 120 humans as we scale globally. When I am not working, you’ll find me on my mountain bike, with my family and friends outdoors or doing something that helps me to find comfort in the uncomfortable.

Nicole Dyson is a multi-award-winning educator and entrepreneur, and a global authority on project-based learning and youth entrepreneurship. An experienced former school leader within the public education system in Australia, she is the founder of Future Anything, an award-winning education provider that works with 15000+ young people (and their educators) each year, YouthX, Australia’s only startup accelerator program for school-aged entrepreneurs, and Catapult Cards, a design thinking toolkit for classrooms and corporates that donates 50% of its profits back to providing micro-grants for youth-led startups. Future Anything was the winner of the Xero Outstanding Micro-Business Award at the 2021 Lord Mayor’s Business Awards and was listed as one of only ten initiatives around the globe realizing the employment and entrepreneurship ambitions of young people in the Prince’s Trust Group’s Report (2021) on The Future of Work. Future Anything was also the winner in the 2023 Business Champion Awards for Outstanding Education Services. Nicole was listed in the inaugural 40 Under 40 for Queensland in 2023, as well as winning the ‘Gamechanger Award’, recognizing a person who has “re-written the rules of business to challenge, inspire and spark significant change.” She was also recognized in The Educator’s “Most Influential” list for 2023, acknowledging 45 educators significantly influencing culture and reform within Australia’s education sector, and was the recipient of SBE’s ‘Unsung Hero’ Award in 2022. Nicole passionately believes that youth-led ideas have the power to bend the future and supports educators, schools, and systems to design and deliver future-focused learning that unlocks young people’s passion and potential.

Paola brings 20+ years of experience leading and executing successful marketing strategies across UK, EMEA and APAC for global brands (from big enterprises, to SMB’s and startups), with a specialisation in strategic ABM. She has helped numerous early-stage companies achieve significant growth through strategic ABM programs, and she is passionate about sharing her expertise with the ANZ startup community. Paola currently mentors start-ups for the Techstars accelerator program in Australia, and she is also a post-grad lecturer at the University of the Sunshine Coast and RMIT in international business and digital marketing strategy.

Hi I’m Paz and I’m passionate about the power of community. I’m the Co-Founder of The Community Collective, a community for community builders in the Australian and New Zealand startup space. We help community managers, founders, co-working spaces and startup support organisations build stronger communities. I love helping businesses grow their communities. Previously I managed Startup Victoria’s founder community (Australia's largest startup community with over 60,000 people), grew RMIT Activator’s community from 500 to 5000+ over 3+ years, automated 9 hours of manual onboarding tasks at Happy Spaces co-working and supported an in person migrant women community through entrepreneurship at not-for-profit SisterWorks. I now live along the Surf Coast in VIC, Australia and compose relaxation music for meditation (having played classical Suzuki guitar since I was 4) via www.pazsounds.com. If any of this resonates, I’d love to connect

Phil is a Partner at Main Sequence a venture capital firm founded by Australia's national science agency - CSIRO. There he invests in deep tech founders who are building unimaginable new companies with a strong connection to research. There he has invested in Cauldron, Eden Brew, Samsara Eco, Uluu, v2food, Nourish Ingredients, Every Company, Coviu and Q-CTRL. Before this he was the founder of Australia’s first incubator and venture studio, Pollenizer, where Phil played an instrumental role in developing the startup ecosystem across Asia Pacific and advised some of the world’s biggest organisations on practical ways to deliver new growth and the cultural change that is required to get there.

"Rowan Simpson has been at the heart of New Zealand’s most successful technology companies. As a founding team member at Trade Me and Xero, and later as an investor and advisor to such companies as Vend and Timely, he has witnessed firsthand how great companies are built and helped shape a generation of high-growth businesses. Simpson challenges conventional thinking about startups and startup ecosystems, drawing on two decades of experience. His first book, How To Be Wrong, will be published in February 2025, and delivers a masterclass in embracing uncertainty, recognising patterns and transforming mistakes into fuel for success."

Originally studying Pharmacy in Adelaide, Shilpa Mohan went onto become an award-winning Interior Designer in Sydney, working on small scale to $50m+ projects. Concurrently, her passion for storytelling saw her step onto the stage as a Speaker Curator and Host for TEDxSydney, where her curated talks have amassed $1m+ views. After deciding to pivot to tech, Shilpa joined ProcurePro, a construction tech startup, as their 8th employee in 2022 - an AFR Fast Starter company (2023,2024), ranked 3rd in LinkedIn’s Top Startups 2024. As Head of Operations, she's been instrumental in scaling the business globally with over 50 employees. Shilpa has become a passionate advocate for Australia’s startup ecosystem as a speaker, Startmate Mentor, an Airtree Pioneers Community Advisor, and SXSW Tech/Startups Advisor where she champions for the growth and inclusivity of the tech and startup landscape.

Zac King is a founder, operator and fractional executive who's spent 20+ years building teams and scaling companies. From founding an (wildly unsuccessful) AI-powered healthtech platform to working with the latest wave of generative AI companies, he's been hands-on with AI for over a decade. After launching products and building teams across APAC and the US, he now splits his time between fractional leadership roles and running the Fractional Exec Community - Australia's largest network of experienced operators who work on-demand. His superpower? Taking complex business challenges and turning them into simple, repeatable systems that actually work.