Speakers
Business leaders who bring deep, real-world experience to the stage. Focused on practical insights over theory, they share case studies, lessons learned, and candid reflections from inside today’s most ambitious companies. You’ll hear directly from those shaping and executing strategy at scale, with a sharp focus on what works, what doesn’t, and what’s next.
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Ningning Lyons
Chief Strategy Officer
CareSuper
Ningning Lyons is the Chief Strategy Officer at CareSuper, where she oversees enterprise strategy, growth, corporate affairs, mergers, and major transformation initiatives. A Chartered Accountant with 15+ years’ experience across superannuation, financial services and the NFP sectors. Ningning is also passionate about advancing women’s economic participation, is a graduate of the AICD and member of Chief Executive Women, and serves on the Board of Dress for Success Tasmania and an independent girls’ school in Hobart.
Angad Soin
Global Chief Strategy Officer
Xero
Angad Soin is the Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand and Global Chief Strategy Officer at global small business platform Xero. In his dual role, Angad is responsible for revenue, partner and customer engagement, and strategy across the ANZ region, which continues to be a driving force for the company's growth. Angad also leads the development and execution of Xero’s global strategy and drives operational excellence across the business.
Angad joined Xero in 2021 after a 13-year career at Deloitte, where he was most recently a Partner in the Strategy and Transformation Office. He brings a wealth of experience in pricing, transformation, and go-to-market execution.
Ruhul Amin
Chief Strategy Officer
Robi Axiata
Ruhul is a CPA Australia–qualified finance and strategy leader with over 23 years of experience across telecommunications, technology, and digital innovation. As Chief Strategy Officer at Robi Axiata Limited, he leads enterprise-wide transformation, AI-driven strategy, and customer experience innovation, playing a key role in Robi’s evolution into a next-generation TechCo.
Avantha Seresinghe
Chief Financial Officer
Belong by Telstra
Avantha is Chief Financial Officer at Belong, a fully owned subsidiary of Telstra, where he leads the finance, commercial, strategy, risk, planning, delivery, PMO, vendor management, and employee/workplace operations portfolios. Based in Melbourne, he brings a broad, enterprise-wide perspective to driving performance and operational effectiveness.​
Cassandra Allars
GM, Strategy & Planning
News Corp
Cassandra Allars is a high-performing strategic leader with over 20 years of experience in the digital media industry, specialising in driving large-scale digital delivery and operational change. She is currently serving as the General Manager, Strategic Planning for Technology, Digital & Data (TDD) at News Corp Australia, where she is responsible for the oversight and execution of strategic program scoping, the Vendor Management Office (VMO), enterprise analytics, and the strategic planning function. Her career is defined by the ability to combine strategic vision and commercial focus with practical, collaborative execution, positioning organisations for scalable and sustainable growth in disruptive markets.
Michael Bill
Head of Strategy & Operations
Google
Michael is the Head of GTM Strategy & Operations for Google Cloud AUNZ. In this role he is responsible for shaping the strategic direction of the business, translating strategy into a go-to-market execution to deliver core business objectives and he drives cross functional leadership alignment across the AUNZ Cloud business.
Prior to leading the Strategy function at Google Cloud AUNZ, Michael performed various roles at NTT Data Ltd, including Deal Commercial Manager, National Field Sales Operations Manager, and Commercial Finance Manager. Michael has breadth of experience from GTM Strategy & Operational Leadership, to complex deal pursuits and negotiations along with a strong foundational experience in business finance. Earlier in Michael's career he held Management Accounting based roles across ASG, Macquarie Bank and AMP and is a qualified Chartered Accountant
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Arabella Vescio
GM, Strategy
Australian Retirement Trust
Arabella is General Manager of Strategy at Australian Retirement Trust, with over 13 years’ experience across financial services and banking in strategy and transformation roles. She has led strategic planning processes for major ASX-listed organisations, developing customer-centric, innovative, and commercially disciplined strategies. Arabella is also highly experienced in strategy execution, overseeing enterprise investment portfolios and evaluating transformation, divestment, and acquisition opportunities, and is passionate about building and leading high-performing teams.
Skye Nicholls
GM, Customer Services & Operations
Canon
Skye is General Manager of Transformation & Operations at Canon, where he leads strategic planning, process design, operations, and supply chain governance. An experienced business executive with a strong ethical foundation, he focuses on driving continuous improvement through process optimisation, technology adoption, and M&A activity. Skye brings a proven ability to operate across diverse cultures and complex business environments, and is known for fostering initiative, collaboration, and high performance.
Akansha Sahu
Head of Strategy
GrainCorp
Akansha is Head of Strategy at GrainCorp, a results-oriented strategy and operations leader with a strong people-focused approach. She brings deep expertise in driving digital transformation, growth, and operational efficiency across industries in the APAC region. Akansha has a proven track record executing complex strategies, delivering multi-million-dollar growth initiatives, and building strategic partnerships globally. She works closely with C-suite executives and boards to enable industry-leading strategic design and execution. She is passionate about creating high performance environments where teams and individuals realise their potential whilst delivering meaningful impact.
Joe Muessig
VP, Strategy, Programs & Enablement
Salesforce
As Vice President of Strategy, Programs & Enablement at Salesforce ANZ, Joe Muessig leads the design and activation of the growth strategy driving productivity and transformation across the go-to-market organisation. A strategic operator and culture builder, he shapes Salesforce’s operating model for the agentic and AI-powered era — uniting strategy, enablement, and execution to unlock potential and accelerate performance.
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Catherine Mah
Head of Strategy
Bupa
Catherine is a senior strategy executive with a consumer sector focus, currently serving as Bupa Asia Pacific’s Head of Strategy, Planning and Performance. She has wide ranging strategy experience with leading companies including Vodafone / TPG Telecom, Coca-Cola and Woolworths and external consulting experience with Port Jackson Partners. She covers corporate planning and development, market intelligence and forecasting, business unit strategy and execution, M&A and integration, transformation and change, communications and investor relations, performance reporting, governance, risk and PMO. Catherine holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws with first class honours (Accounting and Finance majors) from The University of Western Australia and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD).
Shiva Storer
GM, Strategy, M&A, Data & Enterprise Services
TAL
Shiva is General Manager of Data, Strategy, M&A and Enterprise Services at TAL Australia. An experienced financial services executive, he brings a strong track record of transformation and delivery across banking, insurance, and wealth management. Shiva has led complex portfolios spanning corporate strategy, data, M&A, corporate venture capital, P&L and balance sheet management, risk, and large-scale transformation. A passionate people leader, he is focused on building high-performance cultures that support purposeful strategy and sustained outcomes.
Laura Cohalan
Head of Strategy & Growth
PetSure
Laura is currently the Head of Strategy at PetSure Australia, and in this role she is responsible for shaping and driving the long-term strategic direction of the business, solving the businesses complex problems and operationalising strategic and growth initiatives to drive sustainable growth and commercial outcomes.
Prior to leading the strategy team at PetSure, Laura performed various roles at The a2 Milk Company in Australia and the US including the Director of Business Development role
Laura began her career as an Auditor at KPMG (and is a qualified Chartered Accountant), before moving to Bain and Company in Sydney and London. Laura holds a Bachelor of Business (Finance) from Queensland University of Technology.
Charlie Newark-French
Chief Executive Officer
Cascade
Charlie Newark-French is a seasoned enterprise software CEO with a track record of scaling and transforming high-growth companies, including Sharpen, Hyperscience, and Fuze. He specializes in building, selling, and deploying next-generation technology—particularly AI-powered solutions—for large and mid-sized enterprises.
Charlie brings deep expertise across both SaaS and on-premise models, with a customer-centric leadership style and a strong command of go-to-market strategy, operational scaling, and enterprise adoption.
He began his career in strategy consulting with McKinsey & Company in London and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in Economics and Management from the University of Oxford.
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Nuno Moreira da Cruz
Head of Commercial Strategy
Virgin
Nuno is Head of Strategy at Virgin, with over 15 years’ experience designing and delivering strategy initiatives and large-scale transformations. He leads a function that has been instrumental in Virgin Australia’s transformation following its administration in 2020, helping reposition the business from financial distress into the success story it is today.
Known for applying data and analytics to solve complex business and customer problems, Nuno has driven improvements in product profitability, customer satisfaction, and enterprise-wide decision-making. With extensive global experience across multiple industries and geographies, he brings a highly adaptable, people-centred leadership style, focused on building high-performing teams and translating ambitious strategy into execution.
Trevor Lowder
Head of Transformation
Primo Foods
Trevor leads enterprise-wide change programs that unite strategy, culture, and execution. With a career spanning marketing, innovation, and Transformation, Trevor has built a reputation for turning complex strategic ambitions into clear, human-centred transformation roadmaps that teams can actually deliver. Beyond his corporate work, Trevor is also the founder of Craft Beer Coopery, a social enterprise that uses beer as a catalyst for conversations around men’s mental health — a project that has informed his belief that meaningful transformation is always driven by people, not processes.
Trevor brings a unique blend of strategic clarity, empathy, and practical leadership, helping organisations navigate ambiguity while building cultures capable of sustained change. He speaks regularly on transformation, behavioural adoption, and the intersection of purpose and performance
Philippa Spark
Head of Transformation, Strategy & Planning
Transurban
Philippa Spark is a seasoned strategy and transformation leader with extensive experience shaping enterprise-wide change and future-focused growth. As Head of Transformation, Strategy & Planning at Transurban, she leads strategic direction and planning for a multi-year transformation program, aligning operations and investments with evolving customer needs and long-term business objectives.
Philippa’s career spans corporate strategy, commercial leadership, and asset acquisitions and integrations across complex, regulated industries. She has played a pivotal role in designing strategic planning frameworks and driving organisational alignment during periods of significant change. Her work increasingly focuses on the future of mobility and transport, exploring how emerging technologies, shifting customer expectations, and new business models are redefining the customer landscape and creating opportunities for sustainable growth.
Wilson Applegrath
Director, Commercial Strategy
Warner Bros.
Wilson is Director of Commercial Strategy, ANZ Content Licensing at Warner Bros. Discovery. He leads commercial strategy, business planning and analysis, new business development, and research and reporting across the Content Licensing division in ANZ, supporting growth and long-term value creation across the portfolio.
Eloise Liley
Chief Strategy Officer
TBWA
Eloise leads the strategic output at TBWA\Melbourne, bringing a sharp mix of psychology and integrated campaign thinking to every project or problem. She’s helped brands grow across Australia, Europe, and the UK, spanning just about every industry - from finance and insurance to automotive, tourism, FMCG, Fed and State Government, Health, Education and not for profit.
Along the way, her work has earned recognition for both effectiveness and creativity—proof that big ideas can drive real results.
Chris Petzoldt
Founder & Partner
Pretian Squared
Chris is the founder of Pretian Squared and a global leader in monetization strategy, growth consulting, and go-to-market execution. An expert in portfolio design, pricing, and the application and monetization of AI, he has spent 25 years enabling clients across sectors, sizes, and more than 20 countries to achieve exponential growth. In 2010, he moved to Australia establishing the office of a global consultancy and growing it into a successful practice. Today, Chris is also a Venture Partner with an Australian VC firm and an angel investor. Educated in Germany, Sweden, he is in addition a Harvard Business School and IE alumnus. Chris is regularly featured in The Australian Financial Review and other leading business publications, as well as a sought-after keynote speaker at major conferences in Australia and internationally.
Chris Harvey
Head of Consumer Mobile
Optus
Chris manages a P&L exceeding $2 billion, with end-to-end accountability across pricing strategy, product development, customer offers, distribution, and growth investments. He plays a key leadership role in driving commercial performance and market expansion through data-driven decision-making and cross-functional execution.
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Tim Carroll
Co-Founder
325 Consulting
Tim Co-Founded 325 Consulting in 2011, where he leads the Interim Consulting and Professional Services practices. Upon graduating from the University of Southampton with a Bachelor of Science in Business Economics, he spent seven years recruiting in London before emigrating to Australia in 2003. In Sydney, Tim spent eight years with established search firms before co-founding 325 Consulting. Having spent over 20+ years delivering permanent and interim assignments, he is still energised by advancing the careers of management consultants.
Richard Kelly
Director & Founder
Team Strategic Thinking
Richard Kelly helps organisations across the Asia Pacific strengthen profitability and performance by building strategic leadership and business acumen. He specialises in using business simulations to embed value-creating behaviours that align strategy and culture, enabling leaders to drive transformation. With experience spanning industries from finance and insurance to energy, manufacturing and telecommunications, Richard is recognised as a thought leader in strategic leadership and culture alignment. He is associate faculty with Melbourne Business School and Duke Corporate Education, and lectures in strategy on the University of Sydney MBA program.
