Maven Judges – SMART100 2018

Adam Jacoby

Adam’s start up footprint includes; IMS Sports, LifeLounge.com, Learning from Legends and most recently the global Mummu group of Companies which were 2013 finalists in the Anthill Cool Company Awards (global category), #40 BRW Fast Starter 2015 and Top 10 in Smart Company’s Smart50 Awards 2015.

With deep expertise in fast growth business development, I was the CEO of BRW’s 2010 Fastest Growing Private Company (under $100M), Sportsnet Corporation.

Adam is the Non Executive Chairman of public company eSports Mogul Asia Pacific (ASX:ESH) and is a sought after speaker having spoken at numerous Universities and Conferences around the world including the 2018 World Economic Forum in Davos, 2017 Codex World’s Top 50 Innovators Conference and Stanford University.

Adam has appeared in HuffPost, The Guardian, Fast Company, Australian Financial Review, Financial Times, India Today, Hollywood Reporter, Sky News, Los Angeles Times and numerous other publications, radio programs and podcasts.

Adam is the Founder, Chief Steward & Council Member of global democracy movement MiVote which was a finalist in the 2016 Singularity University Grand Global Challenge Awards and featured in the book Democracy Squared.

In 2001 I was a Young Australian of the Year Victorian Finalist (Career Achievement Category).

Despite his career milestones, Adam’s most important job is that of partner to Mel and father to four wonderful angels; Kennedy, Percie, Avery and Jasper.

Adriana Brusi 

Founded in 2009 – Event Negotiators has positioned themselves as a leading expert in the industry. Across the last 5 years they have hosted events and created amazing experiences for the likes of Sir Richard Branson, Tim Ferriss, Susan Sarandon, Goldie Hawn, Jane Seymour and more.

Since that time he’s worked with cutting edge ​tech projects in machine learning, Ai, ​decentralised networks and public blockchains as either a founder, advisor, speaker, ​writer​ or researcher. Aleksandar is the founder of the Blockchain Training Institute, Chairman @ Fabric.ac, a financial data & identity passport powering the fintech revolution, and CEO @ AMBER; Australia’s first micro-investment digital currency exchange & wallet – where users can get started with digital currencies from as little as 50c / day.

He founded the business in early 2013 with the aim to change and transform social selling on LinkedIn and help build the next generation of influencers.

In a little, over 3 years Linkfluencer has now educated over 20,000 businesses in 35 countries across 60 industries.

Linkfluencer was recently rated by Anthill Magazine as one of the top 100 most innovative companies and also won the
people’s choice awards.

He is a regular writer for Huffington Post, Hubspot, and Entrepreneur magazine and his work has been featured in over 60 media publications.

Antony Harrowell An accomplished and motivated executive leader with over 25 years’ experience in establishing and leading Australian and international corporations across various industry sectors.

Not one to accept the “Status Quo” a business improvement and transformation expert, always leading product and service improvement, resulting in the highest levels of Customer Satisfaction and delivering Business Results.A media commentator, columnist for various publications and trusted advisor, Antony has forged himself a career that sees him as one of Australia’s leading authorities in Business Solutions and Technology.

Angela founded Digital White Space (DWS) in 2015, enabling national and international businesses and brands to unlock their true B2B and B2C brand excellence through savvy digital marketing design, which translates into gaining an increase in market share and sales.

Using her palette of leadership and motivational qualities that underpins a successful career in business, Angela excels at promoting people and creative collaborations to bring out the distinctive best in every brand. This mirrors her striking background in retail, financial services, real estate, technology, and mobile and media creative, as well within her Board Roles.

Angela is a leading advocate and voice for Business Women and Women in Digital, in Australia and internationally. Angela empowers Women (and Men) across industry, keeping them at the forefront of the digital revolution and supporting growth and diversity in technology.

In 2016, Angela co-founded the Digital Women’s Network, holding monthly events, talks and discussions, to share her influential words, inspiration and business know how. A year later, Angela was recognised as the 5th Top Ranking Agency Influencer of 2017 for LinkedIn, and has since gone on to increase the Network to over 30,000 Women and Men from all over the world, along side writing articles and Speaking at events for for companies like Envato, Australian Business Executive Magazine and Young Professional Women Australia. 

In 2004, Bec opened Australia’s first female-focused ad agency, Venus Comms where she has worked with the likes of the Just Group, the Federal Government, the Heat Group and more recently led the creative launch of AFLW. Bec has continued to expand and inspire change with the opening of her full-service consulting practice where she speaks globally, consults businesses and shares her disruptive methodology on how we can all better serve women everywhere.

Bec Brideson is married to an ad-man, and has two girls whom she hopes to serve a better and brighter future. She was most recently chosen as a global juror representing Australian at the Cannes Lions 2017 and is also the author of Blind Spots – her debut business book on the rise of the female economy.

 Ben

Co-Founding Real Response Ben strives for excellence by pushing the boundaries of what is possible and keeping to the companies mission of ‘preparing people for the realities of emergency situations’.

He currently resides in Sydney and works as a Paramedic while fulfilling the role as Director of Training at Real Response.

 

Brendan started angel investing after his ecommerce startup was acquired in 2016. He loves investing because it’s one of the most intellectually stimulating things you can do because you’re constantly learning about new ideas, technologies and gaining a surface level education in many areas. He’s invested in awesome startups from markets including Blockchain, Data, Renewable Energy and Space (the final frontier).

Brendan also adds value to these startups by using his background in growth marketing and leveraging his business connections in Australia to help them grow.

Since founding her personal blog in 2008, Candice went on to solidify her reputation in the digital marketing and eCommerce space, working with numerous national and international brands including Mercedes Benz, Samsung and Loreal. Her multi-award winning work has taken out top honours including Best Fashion Blog Asia Pacific Region 2009, Most Influential Fashion Blog 2012, and The Australian Writers Center Voices of 2015

She continues to speak worldwide on the art of building a successful building digital business including appearances on CNN Asia, The Morning Show, ABC TV and Qantas Business Radio

As a speaker and educator, Candice presents at ProBlogger, PRIA, General Assembly and international content marketing forums. As a lifelong entrepreneur, Candice is always looking to uncover new ideas and opportunities for growth in the digital community.

His core strengths stem from his 10 years BA experience in niche roles developing complex solutions to the building industry and automotive aftermarket fields, including process analysis, business improvement, planning, strategy, stakeholder management, workshop facilitation and training delivery.

The founder of three start-up businesses; Designfab Industries, CJ Projects Pty Ltd and My Ultimate 4wd Pty Ltd. All of them requiring him to be highly organised and great at communicating with decision makers in a number of different organisations. His strongest value being his ability to quickly build rapport and engage key individuals on a project or team.

Characterised by his previous employers and clients as friendly, organised, detail oriented yet flexible, self-motivated and passionate, Chris is a professional who thrives on helping people get results. His latest venture into the StartUp space revolves around utilizing augmented reality to create a more customer focused user experience when modifying the family car, in this case a four wheel drive.

Chris Gilbey is CEO and Executive Chairman of Imagine Intelligent Materials Limited, one of the global leaders in commercialising graphene for industrial use. He is an entrepreneur focused on IP based businesses.

He was CEO of digital signal processing company, Lake Technology (ASX).

He sold Lake to Dolby and became their global consumer strategy advisor. He then co-founded internet video metrics company, Vquence, which he sold in 2013.

He was Entrepreneur in Residence at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Electromaterials Science where he spun out Aquahydrex, a water splitting company.

He is Honorary Principal Fellow at the Sydney Business School. His speciality is licensing business models. 

Christine Satchell is the head of Research and Innovation at Blue Chip Vision, which is contributing to the flourishing blockchain space through the design and deployment of a digital ecosystem which spans centralized and decentralized technologies.

Christine works extensively in the hybrid industry/academic space including projects for Sony Computer Science Labs in Paris, Nokia Research Labs, Novell, The Red Cross and Xbox.

She is the Inventor of the ‘System and Methods for Communicating’ patent portfolio. As a leading commentator on issues relating to technology, her research is regularly disseminated in the media and Keynote Addresses such as the Urban Design Conference, Smart Cities and the ACBC Cryptocurrency Conf.

In 2015, she co-founded Swarm Systems. A startup building mobile phone platforms for those of us bumbling through the complexities of life in the digital age whose prototypes have featured in New Scientist, Wired and won numerous design awards. She has over 87 peer reviewed publications in international Tier A conferences and journals including CHI, SIGGRAPH, CSCW and Ubicomp and is the co-editor and author of the book, ‘From Social Butterfly to Urban Citizen:

The Evolution of the Mobile Phone User’, published by MIT Press. In 2014 the Acting Prime Minister presented her with a prestigious three-year Discovery Research Grant to found the ‘HCI After Dark’ project which develops new technology for personal safety in the city.

Christine has strong ties to the international design community. Roles include Associate Chair of Design for CHI 2013 – 2015; Technical Program Co-Chair for Communities and Technology in Munich; Technical Program Co-Chair for Horizon CSCW in China; and Video Co-Chair for Ubicomp Tokyo.

Christine is a Board Member for the Committee of the National Capital Authority in Canberra and an Advisor for the Australian Communications and Media Authority on their Digital Identity and The Internet Policy.

Clifford

He has believed, for many years, that the business sector can, and will, lead the charge in making such an impact.

Clifford established his first creative agency in Auckland in 1997 and parted ways with his team in Melbourne in 2006 having had enough of helping clients sell more stuff for the sake of selling more stuff.

He established Good Business Matters in 2013 with a view to catalyse responsible business and finance the development of an online marketing platform for smaller, socially responsible businesses to make it easier for them to reach consumers with conscientious products and services.

Dan Ahchow 

Recently, I’ve been helping revive a historic winery in Regional Victoria whilst secretly building the next generation of software for service businesses.

Daniela Cavalletti is an accomplished copywriter, editor and ghostwriter who heads the international tribe of wordsmiths at Cavalletti Communications (‘CavaCom’). They help business owners, authors and brands find their unique voice, boldly stand out and become leaders in their marketplace.

A bookworm since the tender age of three, Daniela feels lucky to have spent most of her life as a creative content and communications addict who connects people and makes words work.

Darren

IDM Australia (Institute of Digital Marketing Pty Ltd) is a specialist online and vocational training organisation with a clear mission – benchmark, up skill, and standardise the level of training and competence of digital marketing professionals in Australia. Darren and Idm Australia is building the digital economy… one person at a time.

In 2008 Darren indulged his passion using the web, developing the world’s first aggregated wine and food video site www.wineandfoodtube.com to afford the world an opportunity to experience the best of international wine and food video content. A year later he has launched www.winefoodhotel.com to include the hotel industry.

Wine.Food.Hotel partnered with Sony Australia to launch a dedicated internet TV channel on its IPTV platform Bravia Internet Video.

The Wine.Food.Hotel IPTV channel features videos from celebrity chefs, winemakers and hoteliers as well as new travel destinations in Australia, New Zealand and across the globe.

As the Founder at Truly Deeply, Dave has advised and continues to work with many of Australia’s leading public and private organizations on the creation of brand and communications that positions those enterprises for market growth and leadership.

Dave has served as President of the Melbourne Chapter of EO, the global network of entrepreneurs and is a graduate of the Entrepreneurial Masters Program run by EO at MIT.

Dave has judged a host of design awards and regularly speaks in Australia and Internationally on the subject of branding. Dave has lectured in design studies at the Swinburne National School of Design and written on the subject of brand and design for marketing publications around the world.

In 2010 Dave’s research report; ‘Global Trends in the Visual Language of Brands’ was re-published extensively across North America, Europe and Asia.

David

He has thousands of ideas and is always creating new ways of looking at the ordinary to make it better. His capacity to think quickly through options and synthesise outcomes makes him a powerhouse in any conversation. With a generosity of mind and heart, his eye is always on creating ways to help those in his community.

As a tech entrepreneur, he founded 3 businesses in IT&T and co-founded 2 others, with 2 exits and 1 dismal failure.

He is a founder and director of several not-for-profits within the Jewish community, focusing on innovation, engaging the next generation, and education.

David has written a book on intergenerational wealth transfer, and his next book is about the impact of social media on society. He writes articles on several platforms.

Specialties: leadership, strategic thinking, telco analysis and pricing, telco marketing, subscription billing, intergenerational wealth and business transfer.

David Bennett 

Founding member and Treasurer of Melbourne Angels.

Favorite question: what customer problem do you solve?

Dean

I have worked with many cultures in many parts of the world and therefore have the ability to seek opportunities which provide win win situations for all stake holders. I have the experience and ability to lead by example and provide successful outcomes.

But most importantly I value my personal integrity in business for the long term, where my clients and peers can count on my integrity and ability to deliver on my commitments in a timely, professional manner.

Career milestones achieved have included – Setting up my current business structures at the age of 23. Establishing operations in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia by the age of 24. Establishing direct supply contracts with automotive manufacturers such as Honda, Ford and Mitsubishi by the age of 25.

Setting up IntelliTrac as a recognised global leader in GPS telematics technology.

Leading a startup to become a BRW Fast 100 organisation for 2 consecutive years.

Rolling out the largest GPS personal tracking contract in the southern hemisphere in 2006 and 2007. 

Developing and partnering in the first Telematics based ‘Pay How You Drive’ Car Insurance launched in Australia by QBE Insurance 2013 and winner of a Canstar innovation award

Developing www.autotradeonly.com.au Australia’s first comprehensive automotive dealer B2B trading portal.

Everyday is an exciting day when you love what you do.
I have never worked a day in my life!

Deb

Achievements: PetCloud is partnered with the 2 largest Vet & Pet Organisations in Asia Pacific – Greencross Ltd and RSPCA across most States in Australia. PetCloud was judged as Finalist for the Lord Mayor’s High-Growth Business Start-Up Award, and finalist for the Lord Mayor’s ISPT award for Digital Strategy award. Deb was also listed as finalist in Business News Australia’s 40 Under 40: Top Young Entrepreneurs.

Deb has a consulting background and has worked on a range of web and mobile app projects over the years, from online strategy for organisations in Australia and blue chip companies throughout Europe, to large enterprise-level transactional and collaborative web applications. She was Product Owner of the award-winning Virgin Australia website (a $4B revenue-generating website).

She has had social media posts gone viral, reaching into the millions and is an avid networker.

Delyth

She works with senior executive teams to help them work on their business rather than in it, helping sort out current issues and putting in place strategic roadmaps and plans to navigate change and manage growth.Prior to this, Delyth was a key member of the senior leadership of the University of Melbourne’s commercial company, supporting significant change and growth from $3 to $45 million annual revenue from commercial services over a 12 year.

As Deputy CEO, she led the company through its transition into a new central University Services Division; and as General Manager of UoM Commercial’s largest business division, she directly led and managed significant growth in the delivery of commercial education services and implemented a large efficiency and change program.

Delyth has a strong focus on strategy and organisational performance and is co-author of the “First XI: Winning Organisations in Australia”, a best-selling management book that identifies the drivers of organisational performance in successful and enduring Australian companies.

She has authored several other published industry case studies and reports and teaches Strategy and Leadership to postgraduate students at RMIT University. Delyth has been a judge for the Telstra Business Women’s Awards for the past 3 years, is a former judge of the Melbourne University Entrepreneurs Challenge and a former member of several boards and committees, including the Cooperative Research Centres Committee.

She is currently a member of the Governing Board of the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ) and Secretary of the local tennis Club.

Desmond

Experienced entrepreneur especially within the digital industry with experience ranging across from corporate through to high growth startups.

Yes, you can create a great place to work that is profitable and delivers a positive impact to society and the planet. She is a member of Conscious Capitalism Australia & New Zealand and a WeValue Certified Facilitator. 

He currently runs a digital marketing and technology consultancy called Medium Marketing and works with some of the latest technologies globally. His clients range from Real Estate Agents and Printing businesses to large enterprises like News Corp and The Guardian.

Dinesh is a Kiwi living in Melbourne and is a staunch supporter of Liverpool Football Club.

Dominic Holland 

Dominic also sits on the policy advisory board of CCIQ.

Dominic is a seasoned tech entrepreneur and was named the 2015 Brisbane young entrepreneur (retail and services).

Tow is Australia’s first and only national towing company. In 2016, Tow.com.au topped the Deloitte Tech Fast 50 fast starters list, as well as winning the national new business category for the Telstra Business Awards, and took home a Lord Mayor award for digital strategy.

Dominic is also a director of Alicorn Venture’ first portfolio company is Tap Tins, a joint venture with RSPCA Queensland, designed to reinvent the charity collection tins through contactless payment technology.

Evan Shellshear is the chief commercial officer at Ebex. He is a commercialisation and innovation expert who has worked with and delivered cutting edge software solutions to both Forbes 500 companies and SMEs.

Evan has founded or been a part of commercializing more than half a dozen technologies and ideas and is an entrepreneur with innovation, design and product development. Evan is the author of the bestselling book Innovation Tools.

Faith Rees Started SixPivot almost 3 years ago and has created an award winning global company- WIT Entrepreneur of the Year (Startup)2017, ARN Female ICT Entrepreneur of the Year 2016, ARN StartUp of the Year 2016, Anthill Smart 100 2017 and her personal favourite the Anthill Cool Company StartUp of the Year Award 2016 are just a few of her coveted awards.

SixPivot is a cloud first innovator who build products for software product companies and create their own B2B software products such as Cloud Ctrl. SixPivot believe strongly in collaboration and not re-inventing the wheel and as such collaborate with truly innovative companies from around the world such as Black Marble to scale ground breaking technologies such as tuServ.

Faith has worked in the Australian ICT industry for the past 20 years, much of her last 10 years in the industry has been involved in software development. Faith is a strong believer in giving back to the community and volunteers her time across various IT associations and mentoring programs in Australia and globally.

Her latest role is volunteering her time as a Mentor in the Queensland Government’s Mentoring 4 Growth program. She is passionate about challenging the status quo, she is a disruptor, rule breaker and thought leader who is able to work across industries to solve some of the most challenging problems with software. Together with her awesome team she is focused on working in areas that create impact for social good with a belief that people remain at the core of everything they do.

Franziska

In 2013, Franziska was awarded the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award recognising her innovation, creativity and philanthropic involvement. A Swiss-born Australian, she is known for being a true visionary, doing things a bit differently, her irreverence and thought-leadership.

She has a rare combination of being both extremely strategic and creative which makes her a powerful thought leader in the business world.

Franziska is the co-author of international bestsellers Bananas About Marketing and Perception and regularly contributes to various publications including The Huffington Post.

She is regularly featured across the media including INC, Forbes, Business Insider, Virgin Inflight Entertainment, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, SmartCompany, Dynamic Business Magazine, BRW, 2UE, Channel 9.

You can find out more about Franziska and get in touch with her via www.franziskaiseli.com or www.basicbananas.com

Jade McKenzie

Jade specialises in working with thriving entrepreneurs and businesses ranging from start-ups to multi-millionaires who want to create successful and sustainable events. Having created, managed and executed a wide range of small and large scale events, she has worked within Australia’s most well-known venues, worked alongside celebrities and engaged high level corporate partnerships, whilst assisting to raise over a million dollars in charitable donations.

Jade’s work has been enjoyed by thousands of people globally, with her events featuring in national and international media including TV, radio, print and digital platforms. She has taken to the stage delivering presentations and MC’ing in New York, London, Paris and across Australia and regularly presents online.

Her passions include mentoring women in business, developing leadership in the workplace and empowering entrepreneurs to create impactful and sustainable businesses.

James Eling

A new online ordering system is growing at 12% per for for the last 12 months.

James has built the team to 13 people, embedding a Big Data for Small Business approach into the hospitality industry aimed squarely at leveling the playing field for the independent operators.

James also produces the world’s number 1 Restaurant Marketing podcast, Secret Sauce.

James’ other ventures include founding Extreme Networks, an IT company based on the Mornington Peninsula that was featured in the BRW Fast 100 and creating 4x4earth, Australia’s largest free and independent 4 wheel drive website, with over 200,000 visitors per month.

Jamie

Jamie has taught at universities, written for many publications and provided expert commentary for various National media organisations.

He covers legal aspects of all things branding, trade marks, technology, e-commerce, social media and privacy.

You will find Jamie where the worlds of technology and law collide, making his best efforts to stay at the forefront of the law.

Janeece Keller With over 18-years experience in marketing and business transformation roles in multinationals, Janeece now runs two businesses; Bound Round and The Third Floor.

Bound Round is a multi-platform media and consumer engagement business that offers brand marketing, video production, and consulting services to the travel and tourism industry. Bound Round started as a by kids-for-kids travel app and has evolved to become the parent company of the largest, integrated, editorial family travel brand in Asia Pacific, Family Travel.

The Third Floor supports supports businesses to improve their process performance and deliver effective change. The Third floor also, through their 3D offering, creates virtual tours for clients in a range of industries including hospitality, real estate, education and commercial property.

Janine Zappini Prior to specialising myself in designing healthy foods for the past seven years, I was a trusted business analyst for Jan Cameron of Kathmandu fame.

My journey with nutrition and health started with the death of my grandfather in 2000 and the multitude of illnesses my grandmother, mother, and myself, were experiencing. I learned very quickly that food has a significant impact on our health. I then embarked on a long journey learning all about diets, food types, the uniqueness of everyone’s body, its needs and the urgency for simple functional snack solutions that meet multiple dietary requirements.

I left the billion-dollar empire to start Simply Raw in 2011, Australia’s first 100% raw ingredients snack bar. Hitting a million dollars revenue in two short years, Janine ventured out into a few snack food projects, including Bennetto Chocolate. I guided as a Director to deliver 50 tonne of chocolate within 6 months into the waiting mouths of Australians and New Zealander.

I am a passionate entrepreneur at heart, a lover of foods that are not only healthy, but functional, convenient, simple, empowering and of course enjoyable. Because yes; you can have it all!

My most recent journey Gutsii – funKtional snacks was launched earlier this year in Australia with a 6 in 1 functional shake and a sugar free negative carbohydrates prebiotic chocolate range.

I have listened to what health conscious consumers want and founded a new functional food company to help individuals create better health while snacking on guilt-free food. The product range will be distributed throughout the USA by end 2018 and across Europe by 2019.

Janine now is a thought leader in this space. Educating consumers on health and wellbeing with the focus on simplicity, efficiency and cost effective solutions easy to apply to their everyday busy schedules.

Jason

After founding Australia’s largest online mining presence, which was reaching a global audience of over 40 million pairs of eyes a week before being acquired by a training company in 2017

Jason moved on to founding MiiFile, a platform that allows people to create a smart digital document wallet to store and securely share information and documents with employers , recruiters and even organisations in the financial services sector, basically offering convenience and peace of mind

Jason has been very active in the startup scene for several years and is happy to give back, paying forward some of the assistance he’s been offered over years.

Jennifer

Her passion also includes supporting Not For Profits – as COO for the World Memory Championships and Director of the Victorian Scout Heritage Society/Museum she learnt a lot of lessons about Social Entrepreneurship and Leadership.

Jennifer is the co-founder of www.mindwerx.com, alongside Bill Jarrard, and helps organisations, individuals and entrepreneurs to Think, Learn and Innovate.

Jo Scard

Fifty Acres was established in 2010 and works with government agencies, national organisations, not-for-profits and corporates providing communications, government engagement, marketing and public relations services.

In March this year Jo received the 2018 Mumbrella PR Leader of the Year Award, and the B&T Women in Media PR Leader in late 2017. She is currently a 2018 Telstra Business Award finalist.

John Collins is the Co-Founder and VP of Product at Paddl Co.

Paddl’s web platform helps young professionals gather & showcase experience and helps companies discover emerging talent.

In 2 years Paddl has supported over 10,000 young professionals, worked with over 600 companies in 12 countries, and now has 15 staff from 9 countries.

Overseeing strategy, design, development John has grown Paddl and successfully raised $3.5M in grants and investments.

John was a finalist for the 2018 Victorian Young Achiever Awards and is currently continuing his work at Paddl Co. in creating global tools for the modern professional journey.

John Eustace

John’s wide ranging skill set, and the experience he shares enhances the strategic advice and practical marketing assistance he provides. Most importantly, it ensures that what you gain from dealing with his consultancy “Bells and Whistles Marketing” actually aligns with your real-world commercial potential.

Bells and Whistles apply their creative marketing and media knowhow to more clearly defining your aspirations and establishing a differentiated business strategy that will empower you with a competitive business advantage, a higher-profile reputation, and an improved ability to attract and win the BtoB, BtoC and BtoG clients you really want.

In the early days Bells and Whistles specialised in emerging technologies plus the leisure, entertainment and financial industries. Over the ensuing decades the pursuit of ever more challenging marketing briefs has broadened the company’s capabilities to include healthcare, engineering, legal practice, education, media and the trades.

Founder John Eustace’s insight into the needs of small businesses in addition to the aspirations of the corporate and government sectors makes certain that the strategies and tactics he devises and recommends are always affordable and appropriate for your individual circumstances.

The acknowledged reputation and results he has built through, creativity, client service and ethical professionalism has earned his clients multiple industry, national and International business awards, including a Smart 100 award!

John

Early in his career, he was responsible for designing and developing a number of medical products that achieved international market success and grew a small business Panbio into a global enterprise.

John has held numerous roles, including R&D Manager, Quality Manager, Business Development Manager, VP Sales & Marketing and Deputy CEO/CEO. As an innovation consultant for the Australian Institute for Commercialization, John has helped numerous individuals and organizations to successfully bring their innovative ideas to market, contributing to the wealth and prosperity of Australia’s innovation ecosystem.

With a passion for creativity and innovation, he has co-authored a book on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Bio-technology which has achieved international success. Since January 2015, John has been working as the COO for ATP Science, a fast growing nutraceutical company that is achieving global success.

John is also involved in growing international business, developing new IP commercialization opportunities and engaging with the research sector to create strategic collaborative projects.

John is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Queensland, sits on a number of Advisory Boards and lectures part-time at the UQ Business School.

John has been recognized in various roles through a number of awards, including the 1994 Young Achiever Award, 1995 Australian Small Business of the Year, 1996 Australia Day Award, 1997 Australian Quality Award, 1998 Innovative Exporter of the Year, 2000 Top 100 Fastest Growing companies, 2010 Top 40 Global Innovation Bloggers and 2011 Finalist AIM Management Excellence Awards.

More recently, he became the benefactor of the John Kapeleris Medal for Bio-technology which is awarded annually to the best Biotechnology Student at UQ.

John

John is the Founder of Be Business, a team of multi-disciplinary consultants helping businesses with Sales, Marketing, Operations and Finance Management when they want to Start, Grow, Fund or Exit. Each Be Business team member is both a former C-Level manager and also an entrepreneur in their own right.

In 2016, along with his business partner Joven Demonteverde, John Co-Founded Accounts Maven, The world’s first completely outsourced Accounts Department for businesses of all sizes.

John raises capital for and invests into early stage opportunities that have wide market appeal and strong prospects for rapid growth. Past deals have been in biotech, automotive, aerospace and recently Australia’s first Surf Park and the world first surf lake to offer 8 wave types simultaneously at a rate of 2400 rides per hour.

John is also an Ambassador for Opportunity International Australia, a charitable organisation that provides financial services to the poorest people in the world. Opportunity raises money through donations and through it’s partner network delivers micro-finance loans to people in poverty so they can start a business, this empowers people to change their own circumstances and is a hand up rather than a hand out. John assists the organisation by creating awareness, making strategic introductions, raising money and also is a donor.

John is a regular commentator on business and has been published and broadcast by many of Australia’s best known media groups.

Judy Cheung-Wood

SkinB5 is an innovative and nutritional way of fighting acne at its core. Created and developed in Australia, it’s scientifically formulated using Vitamin B5 and other powerful skin health nutrients to stop acne from within rather than treating the symptoms.

It all began with Judy’s grandfather, a chemist and manufacturer of natural skincare in the 1950’s that influenced Judy to develop SkinB5. Suffering from oily skin and breakouts as a young adult, Judy is extremely passionate about natural skincare and nutritional medicines, ones that effectively work without any nasty chemicals or animal products.

Intensive research and experimenting are the foundations of Judy’s innovation and filling the market gap for natural and safe treatment options. SkinB5 is a clinically proven alternative to chemically based skincare treatments.

SkinB5 products are advanced natural acne solution that treats and prevents acne from where it begins within the body. Control, Cleanse, Moisturiser and Maintain are the basis of healthy skin that is acne free.

SkinB5 products not only fight acne, they maintain clear skin and treat the causes that create blemishes. High stress levels, hormonal fluctuations and low immune systems are the 3 main reasons why people get breakouts.

From extreme cases to mild blemishes, SkinB5 is able to cater for all skin types, at the forefront of revolutionising acne treatments. It is the world’s first naturally effective, long term acne solution.

SkinB5 has successfully treated thousands of acne sufferers worldwide and is continuing to do so in over 13 countries, now being used in dermatology clinics, the SkinB5 solution is revolutionising the way skin is treated.

Katrina McCarter

Katrina is highly regarded for her creative growth strategies and her ability to negotiate strategic partnerships, and works with both small and big businesses to increase sales and profits selling to Mums.

She is the author of Marketing to Mums which went #1 on Booktopia’s Business Bestseller list outselling the likes of Simon Sinek, Timothy Ferriss and Sophia Amoruso.

Katrina is a regular contributor to business media including Smallville.com.au and has been featured on Channel 7, ABC and Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Smart Company.

Find out more about Katrina McCarter and Marketing to Mums at www.marketingtomums.com.au

Kelvin

Kelvin is recognized as expert in testing and assurance of software applications across a broad range of industry domains, including e-health, public administration, finance, insurance, retail and telecommunications.

Kelvin is now non-executive Chairman of KJR, and while occasionally undertaking strategic consulting in testing and assurance, he now engages in broader IT and advisory roles, including technology founder in AI start-ups, where he loves to roll up his sleeves and cut some code and deploy changes on unsuspecting customers.

He has broad interests in Machine Learning, which he sees as the dominant technology driver for the next several decades, and is involved in Health, Environment and Tourism.

He is an Associate Adjunct Professor at the Institute for Intelligent and Integrated Systems, Griffith University, and organiser of Gold Coast AI and Machine Learning meetup group, and has held several roles in national technical working groups (NATA and ACS), and held several board positions

Kim Barrett is the founder of Your Social Voice, an online marketing & lead generation agency serving experts and business owners who want to scale online.

Kim got his start in the field of marketing fourteen years ago and has worked inside accounting firms, IT companies and grain trading companies, where he focused on growing the business’ profitability through better marketing strategies.

Using his expertise with Facebook ads and other online lead generation methods, Kim took his agency from zero to $100,000 / month in sales in under a year.

He is an international bestselling author, speaker and trainer and taught marketing around the world in 10 countries and 20 different industries. Kim helped many businesses grow from 6 to 7 and even 8 figures. As a direct result of his consulting and services, Kim added in excess of $10 Million in sales to businesses around the world.

Some of Your Social Voice’s clients have included ASX listed companies, and event marketing for Gary Vaynerchuk, Reese Witherspoon and many other prominent speakers.

Kimon

Specialised with game changing solutions in telecommunications, health care, food processing, HVAC and industrial engineering.

Kimon is driven to help companies to globalise their marketing and communications in order to be stronger and generate greater prosperity. He has been an adjunct professor with RMIT university and currently writes for Hackernoon.

He is also the founder of a new start-up in the blockchain space, Forever Has Fallen.

Lahiru

Having been a natural inventor, he owns and has contributed for in four international and local patents in the tech industry. With ‘Lap’ (as he is referred to) has more than a decade of entrepreneurial and technical experience under his belt throughout the past years.

Leanne O’Sullivan 

EVERY DAY…

After launching her flagship program, The Summit School in February 2016, Leanne spends much of her time driving the development and delivery of her full suite of online learning material designed for today’s savvy small business owner or marketing exec.

As Founder and CEO of Solar Bins Australia – Australia’s first Smart Waste company and Smartsensor Australia – Australia’s first Smart Waste Management platform, Leon has a vision of a “World without Waste” and intends to achieve this by integrating technology into one of the world’s most resource intensive industries, Waste Management.

By using the power of Sensors, Big Data, and Analytics to collect the data and improve operational efficiency, Leon’s companies assist Councils, Contractors and Waste Managers in reducing their Waste Management inefficiencies and environmental impact.

Leon’s ambition is to launch Australia’s Smart Waste Management company powered entirely by Smartsensors and Electric Vehicles.

Lyndell

Lyndell’s passion for questioning what is possible has seen her grow a business from a concept into an organisation that has become the go-to consultancy for organisations who want different. With clients in every Australian State and a team that continues to grow, her passion is on developing our next gen HR leaders – providing a development pathway for up and coming HR professionals and for those seasoned pros who know they have more to offer.

An innovative mindset and eco-system is at the core of how Lyndell operates, seeking out HR tech solutions and creating HR frameworks that deliver measurable outcomes.

Maria

With a multi-disciplinary background across customer experience design, from research and strategy, to product delivery using agile and lean techniques, through to closing the loop with operations and iterative design. I have experience both as a leader of teams and as a leading voice within them.

The scope of my experience covers service and interactive CX design for Finance, FMCG, Retail, Tech, Automotive, Government and Entertainment industries, for organizations ranging from startups through to major multi-national enterprises. I have experience delivering across the full suite of major technologies and platforms.

I have achieved success in these roles by applying a creative but analytical approach to CX, using a data driven approach supported by on the ground research, ensuring I capture the real voice of the customer. Collaborating with cross-functional executive, product, sales, business, development, Q&A environments.

Mark

DRIVENxDESIGN celebrates courage, excellence and diversity through 11 design awards programs. All programs are marketplace centric and offer an opportunity to recognise those that are defining tomorrow.
When I’m not advocating or celebrating design, I work as an adviser to projects on the client side, providing expert input on how to structure projects, develop creative ideas and engage the best of market suppliers to deliver exceptional project outcomes.

At the heart of my work is a focus on experience design. Always with one simple question – are we making something that is Made for People?

Mark Bilton

Mark Bilton is a, “Leadership Advisor” with 20 years Managing Director and CEO experience, leading 6 companies. This included a transformational role as Group Managing Director of Gloria Jean’s Coffees’ global business, leading 40 countries.

Mark has an MBA from Auckland University and is a Fellow of both the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Australian Institute of Management.

Mark has led transformational change in many sectors and is internationally recognized for excellence in ‘Business Transformation’.

In 2011, he was awarded the “Young President’s Organization’s’’ prestigious “Terry Plochman Award” for global “Best of the Best”. In 2014 he received the Michael Page ‘Australian Retail Executive Award’.

Mark has a passion for helping individuals and companies ‘realize their potential’. His mission is to ‘reframe leadership’ and ‘humanize the workplace’.

He fulfills this now as a Leadership Advisor, CEO Mentor, Strategist and Managing Director of Thought Patrol.

Mei Ling Doery 

A seasoned coalition builder, Mei has over 16 years experience with startup ventures including Doctors.net.uk, Appete, 8i.com and the Live Council initiative. In 2014, I was appointed as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in recognition for her contribution to Global Public Health and the doctor-in-residence for digital agency Portable Studios (named in BRW’s Fast 100 for 2013). In 2016, I co-founded SugarByHalf, became innovation advisor to Nightingale Housing and a Board Member to the Chisholm Institute and Chisholm Online.

In 2017, I’ve been appointed a mentor to the Melbourne Accelerator Program and have lead the development of a Market Lead Proposal to establish an international campus and lifestyle destination for entrepreneurs, investors and connectors in Melbourne. This project was recognised as a major grant recipient by LaunchVic – Victoria’s State Innovation Fund.

Mei holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, Bachelor of Medical Science and a Masters of Public Health from the University of Melbourne.

Melissa

As a storytelling coach at muru-D, Australasia’s largest startup accelerator, she helps founders craft their startup story to connect and engage with people who will move their business forward including employees, customers, mentors and investors.

Michael

His work has been featured in BRW, Australian Financial Review and Smart Company, amongst others.

Michael is the Founder and CEO of Transformed, and Vice President of GPM Global. He holds numerous volunteer positions including:

• Director and Board Member – Australian Institute of Project Management
• a member of ISO Technical Committee on project, program and portfolio management

Michael has received over 25 awards, including Telstra Business Award; Australian Business Award’s for project management, innovation and sustainability; four Australian Training Awards for industry collaboration; an ACT Innovation Award; and have listed in the BRW Fast 100 and in the Anthill Smart 100.

I have led two teams that have been recognised with Australian Day Awards.

Michael is a published author, with his most recent book Sustainable Project Management is an Amazon best seller in both project management and sustainability.

Michael is a Fellow of the Australian Computer Society, Australian Institute of Project Management, Australian Institute of Management and Leadership and Governance Institute of Australia.

Michael has also delivered keynote presentations in over 20 countries and regularly present at Universities, professional body conferences and deliver short workshops. In 2016 he was invited to the United Nations Business Leadership Summit to speak with business leaders from around the world.

Michael

Michael’s ongoing passion for the digital space means he is on a constant mission to research the latest marketing and technology trends globally, and how they can best be applied to NOW Digital’s current client portfolio.

Michael

Michael is a social entrepreneur at heart who uses his skills and experience in workforce management and technology to solve community challenges. Such as risk mitigation in the aged care sector workforce; using technology to underpin volunteer organisations; and designing online platforms that connect different industries to compliance and education providers.

Michelle

They say …… do what you love.

Michelle established XCalibre Solutions in 2002 and has created a refreshing, vibrant and dynamic brand. Our success is because of our extreme passion, high energy, honest approach and integrity.

It’s All About the Calibre ✔ Skills + Culture = Calibre ✔ Connecting High Calibre Talent with Progressive Companies

Delivering a personalised approach to both Employers and Job Seekers alike, we see our role as supporting you and your work environment.

Michelle believes in creating and fostering relationships and that giving back is a corner stone of conducting business today. If you need a good listener and some professional advice regarding any current staffing issues or how to attract, employ or retain Talent, “I’m here to help with no obligations and look forward to hearing from you.”

Nathan

He has also authored the eBay Dummies guide to eBay for Australia, is an advisor to NORA (National Online Retailers Association) and a regular speaker on ecommerce.

Nick La

As a young twenty-something student with itchy feet, he jetted off to Hong Kong with just $800 before conquering Asia’s up-scale bar scene. There he oversaw everything from recruitment and staff training to sponsorship and operations for new nightlife venues. Nick soon became one of Asia’s most sought-after talents in hospitality taking home the Youngest Barman in Asia Award at 21 as well as being featured in Conde Naste Traveller and Food & Wine magazine.

After returning to Melbourne, Nick launched a premium vocational training and recruitment service in 2012. With his team of 25 employees, the company successfully up-skilled over a thousand new recruits placing candidates in venues all across Melbourne.

Throughout his career in recruitment, he has seen firsthand the need for a major overhaul in the way we look at hiring making him a key visionary in the Weploy team.

Nick Busietta

Liminal is about to launch a neuroscience based VR platform to empower people to consciously choose how they want to feel and perform through the transformative power of virtual reality.

Starting with calming and energising experiences, the platform will expand to target other categories of emotional and cognitive outcome, such as pain relief and awe.

Liminal’s team includes virtual reality developers, neuroscientists and psychologists who have spent years researching how best to design VR experiences as an entertainment medium to achieve targeted psychological outcomes.

They share this research with a global network of partners who are creating experiences for the Liminal Platform.

Nick

After founding and growing DIVVY Parking into a true innovator in the Smart City space, I am now working on a number of other technology ventures in a co-founder capacity, in addition to investing and mentoring for various accelerator hubs.

Nicole

Ready, Aim… Fun!

Nicole is a story-teller, entrepreneur, and a Mum to two kids. Author of “Right on Target” she is the Chief Fun Officer of Laser Tag in a Box (https://www.lasertag.com.au) & co-Founder of Battlefield Sports (https://www.BattlefieldSports.com).

She rents laser tag equipment Australia-wide and manufactures that equipment and sells it all over the world. She has sold into 54 countries.

Nicole has grown the live gaming business from a niche hobby to a thriving international company.
Nicole loves innovation, a former SMART100 winner her company has just launched her latest game mode: Battle Royale LIVE.

Owen

From emerging technology and industry innovation online, software, IT, media, film, big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain and crypto-currency to engineering, renewables and manufacturing. He has one of the larger HNW networks in Australia and works closely with a select group of private families on their portfolio strategies.

Patrick Barrett is Founder & CEO at ECAL, a world-leading calendar communications, marketing and data platform.

Patrick developed the first-ever communications platform specifically for the calendar. ECAL’s smart and dynamic ‘sync to calendar’ technology enables brands to deliver ‘rich’ event-based messaging directly into the personal calendar of consumers, to achieve some exceptional outcomes.

Headquartered in Melbourne, ECAL services many millions of users, and works with hundreds of major brands and partners globally, across a range of industries including sports, ticketing, entertainment, banking and payments.

Patrick is an internationally recognised innovator in technology and marketing communications, a category expert in calendar marketing, speaker, and ‘Big Pitch’ winner (2014).

Paul

He is a registered psychologist with a keen interest in organizational psychology. Outside of his NORA role, Paul holds a portfolio of advisory and investment roles, including in dynamic retail tech businesses like Afterpay.

Paul Higgins is the founder and community owner of Build Live Give. He has a hugely successful podcast, is a successful angel investor and mentor to small business owners across the globe.
Paul was once a Director of Coca-Cola until he escaped to run his own business.

He believes you can have your cake and eat it too! Lifestyle independence , financial security and time to give back. Outside of work he loves spending time with his family, working in his local community and playing tennis and golf.

Pauline

The strategy is known by several names, some call it Joint Ventures, others Partnership Marketing or Strategic Partnerships/Alliances or even a Joint Marketing Collaboration…no matter what you call it Pauline Martin-Brooks is the expert and has been doing it for nearly 15 years!

If you are looking to scale your business then you need to be rolling out this strategy in 2018.

Pete

Pete has also developed and executed social media and brand strategies for clients like Mercedes-Benz, Sabco, GMHBA, Blue Diamond Almond Breeze, Nexvet and Habitat for Humanity.

Pete has co-founded an award winning start up with a focus on personalisation of meal planning for Australians with chronic diseases and is also Victorian Entrepreneur of the year nominee, EU-Australia Emerging Leader, World Economic Forum Advisory Council member and Australian of the Year nominee.

Pete

A Southern Region Finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Program, a Small Business ICON (Best-in-Class) Recipient, and an Australian Business Award Winner for Marketing Excellence, he is the co-founder of numerous businesses across varying industries—from telecommunications services to e-commerce.

Having been referred to as “Australia’s Richard Branson” in media publications, Pete first made a name for himself when, at age twenty-one, he sold Australia’s version of Yankee Stadium, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, for under $500.

Pete’s companies include Infiniti Telecommunications, SimplyHeadsets.com.au, SpringCom Telecommunications, and Preneur Group (www.PreneurGroup.com), an advisory-consulting firm that guides business owners through the process of increasing profits, margins and other key indicators by using the 7 Levers approach to business growth.

Peter

– Acquisition & Disposal of businesses
– Business Structures
– Shareholder Agreements
-Buy/Sell Agreements
-Commercial Property Acquisition and Disposal
-Commercial Leasing
-Company and Trust advice
-Employment Issues
-Franchising Law
-Liquor Licensing
-Intellectual Property including Trade Marks
-Joint Ventures
– Wills & Estate Planning
– Residential Property and much more.

Peter has recently returned to practice in Australia from an extended period in Malaysia.

Peter

Specifically, Peter is a Marketing, Sales, and Innovation professional with the following experience;

Masters in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Winning Pitches and raising capital, Company start-up, brand development, customer engagement, lead generation, social media strategy, marketing/sales integration, B2B, B2C, business model innovation, marketing automation, customer based marketing, web development & ecommerce, customer acquisition, SEO, loyalty programs, email marketing, award winning graphic design and leading large cross functional teams.

After bringing to market many innovative programs and products, he left the corporate to enter the world of start-ups in web to print, social media and sales and marketing consulting to large and small businesses.

Peter has a particular interest in corporate entrepreneurship and innovation and he has learnt first hand how to fail and how to succeed at start-ups in a corporate environment and on his own.

Through his marketing services business, Kannekt he is also known for helping deliver marketing executions for clients and helping them innovate in their business.

Phil is also a business advisor who helps people take a concept to commercialization or companies grow revenue to 7 figures.

Phil Ore

My other roles include Pitch Mentor for Startup Victoria, Global Ambassador for Inspiring Rare Birds and regular panelist/judge/MC/speaker for events.

Before starting my own ventures, I held a number of international leadership roles within Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks. With over 25 years experience in strategy, technology, marketing and building businesses.

I help organisations define problems, enable groups of people to achieve great results and ensure everyone enjoys the ride.

Phil

As the founder and managing director of Retail Global, a big part of my day is spent recruiting smart, talented speakers. I hear 100+ speakers each year and love finding people who can convey critical information to our industry in powerful ways that inspire audiences.

I also spend significant time working with leaders in the retail world—helping them identify the big and small trends that will make the biggest impact. In addition to running the day-to-day responsibilities that come with hosting two conferences on different continents, I also manage a small team of incredibly dedicated conference organizers. I place a lot of trust in my team. I’m a firm believer that greatness comes from going against the grain, and I make sure my team isn’t afraid to innovate.

Rad

It takes passion, instinct and brains to innovate and it takes guts to follow that vision right into the market place to fulfil an unmet or unrecognised need.

Persistence beats resistance and innovators are definitely persistent!

As creative strategic partnerships professional, with direct marketing roots, my world has been a haven of innovation over the last decade.

It’s impossible to keep up, but I try!

Being innovative means that you are also a consumer of a lot of material.

I find I am constantly reading about new products, services, new ideas, talking to a lot of people about developments and probably drinking too much coffee in the process! I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of Australia’s most innovative companies, mainly operating in highly regulated industries,that encouraged me to challenge the status quo.

From large companies like Origin Energy, Specsavers, iPrimus and Australia Post through to medium sized organisations

Lumo Energy, GMHBA and my own business, Rad White Marketing.

And recently, I’ve been creative in the not for profit sector working with The Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Fitted for Work and my own fundraiser, The NICU Beard Club, supporting The Royal Women’s Hospital Foundation.

And peer to peer fundraising is definitely the future in that space!

So congratulations to all nominees reaching this year’s SMART 100 Awards. It’s quite an achievement.

Out of the many thousands of choices, you are the best of the best, well done!

Richard Webb

In the same year he also co-founded Startmesh to globally commercialise technology companies with tested and validated offerings and in 2015 he co-founded Badalya to globally commercialise innovative food companies. He is passionate about helping the planet re-skill for an incredible renaissance.

Richard

Richard has been involved in the technology industry since the eighties, helping the Bulletin Board community connect Perth pre-Internet, and then doubling down when mobile phones became business tools in the early nineties.

Since then Richard has helped launch two startups, authored two books, and now helps dozens of Australian enterprises transform their business by building mobile digital products.

Richard Meredith I am an experienced communication (media & marketing) consultant and executive with high level writing and production skills.

I am also a creative project developer, working collaboratively to design great projects through teamwork.

I have worked previously (and in some cases still do) as a media & communication consultant, not for profit company director and executive, corporate affairs executive, journalist and editor, mentor and coach, theatre director, educator and small business owner.

Rob

Awe removes the friction from AR & VR. Tap on a single link and it just works – right inside your web browser. #NoInstalls #NoAppStores #NoPlugins #WebAR #WebVR #WebXR

awe champions web-based Mixed Reality, and shifts the way you think about how you create & view AR/VR. awe removes the friction so people can experience your creations instantly, on any device and without any app installs needed.

Rob is the original evangelist for Mixed/Extended Reality (AR & VR) using open web standards. He’s an invited expert with the W3C, the Khronos group and the ISO. He’s been involved in Mixed Reality research and development for the last 12 years. Rob believes the creation of immersive experiences should be democratized and available to everyone.

Rod North

Mr. North has been working with the financial press since the early 1980s and has run a successful broad based communications business, Northwood Communications.

This Company is the communications arm of the corporate consultancy business Northwood Enterprises, now in its 17th year of operation.

He is Chairman of Northwood Enterprises and has founded and established Bourse Communications Pty Ltd in 2005. Bourse Communications assists ASX listed small, medium and developing companies by managing their relationships with the investment community.

Mr. North is the author of three books; the bestselling, ‘Understanding the Investment Clock-Your Road to Recovery’ and two books produced in conjunction with his financial services clients, ‘Wealth at Your Doorstep’ and ‘Wealth Be In It’.

In March 2012, Mr. North was awarded the Golden Chariot for ‘The Popularization of the Transport Industry in the Mass Media’ at the 8th Annual International Transport Industry Awards, held in Dubai UAE.

Mr. North is a regular business and investment commentator on radio and the ABC’s News Breakfast Show, 6am-9am weekdays, Sky Business News and Switzer TV, as well as a quarterly contributor to the ASX Investor Newsletter. He is currently the Non-Executive Director of a range of public and private companies.

Rod North

Mr. North has been working with the financial press since the early 1980s and has run a successful broad based communications business, Northwood Communications.

This Company is the communications arm of the corporate consultancy business Northwood Enterprises, now in its 17th year of operation.

He is Chairman of Northwood Enterprises and has founded and established Bourse Communications Pty Ltd in 2005. Bourse Communications assists ASX listed small, medium and developing companies by managing their relationships with the investment community.

Mr. North is the author of three books; the bestselling, ‘Understanding the Investment Clock-Your Road to Recovery’ and two books produced in conjunction with his financial services clients, ‘Wealth at Your Doorstep’ and ‘Wealth Be In It’.

In March 2012, Mr. North was awarded the Golden Chariot for ‘The Popularization of the Transport Industry in the Mass Media’ at the 8th Annual International Transport Industry Awards, held in Dubai UAE.

Mr. North is a regular business and investment commentator on radio and the ABC’s News Breakfast Show, 6am-9am weekdays, Sky Business News and Switzer TV, as well as a quarterly contributor to the ASX Investor Newsletter. He is currently the Non-Executive Director of a range of public and private companies.

Roux

With over 15 years in the industry, Roux has worked on many large-scale, enterprise technology implementation projects for clients in banking, government, health, mining and telecommunications industries across Australia, the United Kingdom, and South Africa.

His thought leadership and innovation in this space has earned him speaking slots at many industry events, including Ignite (TechEd) Australia, Share Conference South Africa, Microsoft’s roadshows, SharePoint Saturdays, User Groups, Web Accessibility and Privacy Seminars.

Ryan

Ryan teaches people how to sell, ethically. Using their one of a kind digital sales training program, SWISH, Selling With Integrity & Selling Honestly.

Ryan is an engineer turned award-winning sales & business coach, who openly admits he didn’t want to be in ‘sales’.

As a businessman, strategic advisor, investor, speaker and confidence coach, Ryan is considered the go-to expert for anyone looking to understand negotiation and influencing with integrity by inspiring people to take action, fast.

Having studied extensively the true art and psychology of sales, behavioural sciences, emotional intelligence, neuro-linguistic programming & body language, Ryan has consulted to 1000’s of people individually and 100’s of businesses from 1 person to multi-million dollar corporations over the years.

Ryan’s success culminated in being awarded the Gold Coast Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the social influence he has had in 2017, alongside the Mayors Innovation Award for the digital application of his businesses services in sales training & recruitment.
He has also been named in the Top 40 under 40 entrepreneurs in both 2016 & 2017 and made the finals of Gold Coast Citizen of the Year 2018 losing respectably to Olympic gold medalist, Sally Pearson.

With multiple businesses in his portfolio, including a real estate investment company & a hair & beauty salon with his wife, Alisha, Ryan’s key attributes would be an ability to motivate, empower and educate.

With a keen eye for fashion, attention to detail and life invaluable experience from travelling all corners of the globe, Ryan’s ability to train and impart knowledge to all walks of life ensures anyone that comes under his guidance will prosper both personally and professionally.

Sam Elam

Sam could go and on about how many mega years she has been in the PR business as well as the amazing front pages, great blogger coverage, influential backlinks and cool headlines and stories on TV she has nailed.

But she thinks what really matters is that she totally understands how powerful earned and owned media can be for startups, entrepreneurs, authors and small business generally.

Sam loves today’s media opportunities because there are SO many of them between producing your own and having other people talk about you in theirs.

Plus, it doesn’t cost much. She reckons it’s a no brainer!

Samantha

Today, she helps thought leaders and experts become more visible and get their message out in a bigger way to maximize their impact.

Sarah

Sarah was awarded the prestigious Telstra Business Women’s Award in the start-up category for South Australia in October 2015. Sarah’s first book “How to Avoid a Fall from Grace: Legal Lessons for Directors” was ranked as a #1 best seller on Amazon after its release in 2015.

In May 2016 Sarah spoke at TEDx in the Whitsundays about Possibilizing, a philosophy that enables people to take make something which seems impossible a reality.

In October 2016 Sarah released her second book, “Kingpin: Legal Lessons from the Underworld”, which explores the crucial legal lessons mainstream businesses can learn from the inherently risky and volatile Underworld inhabited by the most infamous Kingpins in history. During the same month, she was also awarded the Thought Leader of the Year in the Lawyers Weekly Women in Law Awards.

Sarah’s third book, “Growing a Medical Practice: From Frustration to a High Performance Business” was launched in June 2018 and is the perfect handbook for medical professionals who are finding the running of their Practice has become stressful and time-consuming.

The book provides practical and effective solutions for compliance issues so that doctors can focus on patient care.

Sarah is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post and CEO Magazine. She Chairs the Board of the Catalyst Foundation Inc. and she serves on the South Australian Government’s Education Standards Board in South Australia. Sarah is a mentor at the University of Adelaide’s ThincLab.

Sarah

Sarah is a speaker, blogger and author of Get Rich Slow, appearing on TV and writing for many popular publications. She has also held board positions on several not-for-profit organisations including Project Futures, Entrepreneurs Organisation, the Association of Financial Advisers and the Institute for Global Women Leaders.

Recognised as the IFA Thought Leader of the Year, Sarah was also named as one of Melbourne’s Top 100 most influential, inspiring and creative citizens by The Age, and listed in the Top 50 Female Entrepreneurs under 40 by Shoestring. She has completed the Entrepreneurial Master Program at MIT, holds a Bachelor of Business (Financial Planning) and several diplomas.

Sarah Seddon

Engaged. Passionate. Committed. Connected.

From a strategic marketing communications background, Sarah Seddon has more than 25 years of experience in the property, hospitality, events and tourism sectors both in Australia and internationally.

Founder of boutique consultancy Sabre Collective who specialize in working with SME’s to realise their full potential through a dynamic and agile strategic approach.

Inquisitive by nature and entrepreneurial in spirit, Sarah is also the founder of lifestyle digital platforms – Be Right Back and Barkers Bazaar.

Sarah serves on a number industry boards including:

• Chairperson and Director of Destination Melbourne Limited (December 2005- present)
• Editorial Advisory board of MICENET magazine ( February 2006- present)

Sarah also has a keen interest in China and is currently learning Mandarin Chinese at Confucious Institute at Melbourne University.

Stephen

Stephen has led online businesses since establishing National Australia Bank’s Online Commerce area in 1995. Stephen’s corporate career includes senior executive roles with ANZ Bank, NAB, CBA, Pinpoint (now part of Mastercard) and SingTel Optus, in Melbourne, New York, Hong Kong and Sydney.

Stephen has been working in mobility since 2015 and been based in Mexico City much of the last year, where mobility, trust management and payments are key issues.

Steve

Steve have developed an industry-first solution helping select companies and individuals enjoy luxury and comfort, flying international First and Business class for less than half-the-price

Leveraging the value of reward points to fly in a strategic way, and preventing SMEs from missing out on reward right under their noses.

He is a numbers man at heart, spending over 18 years solving complex problems in senior finance and accounting roles in corporations including Macquarie Bank (Australia’s largest investment bank).

His favourite saying is “Why fly economy when you can fly first …”

Steve

Steve is the leading expert in the creation of insight-led advertising, communications and brand experience campaigns. He’s tasked with leading brand experience campaigns at Red Agency and Havas Australia.

Steve’s resume includes founding Chieftain Communications (acquired in 2014), leading the Australian office of Making Waves, as well as building DDB’s experiential marketing, sponsorship and events division, which grew significantly under his leadership.

His ongoing passion is to create campaigns that drive consumer engagement through memorable and authentic brand experiences. Steve frequently speaks at government and industry events and has been a judge at numerous industry awards.

Steve has created campaigns for leading brands, including Toyota, Tigerair, Carnival Cruise Lines, Singapore Tourism Board, Hilton, Malaysia Trade Development Corporation, Toursim Whitsundays, AYAM (City of Sydney Chinese New Year 2017), Toyota, Lexus, Nestle, Telstra, Samsung, UBank, RACV, Coca-Cola, Sony, eBay, Real Insurance and Microsoft, to name a few.

Stuart

Extensive experience (30 years) in most forms of information technology and their efficient use in companies varying in size from SME to Fortune 100 organisations. These experiences have led to development and marketing of several successful products sold in Asia, Europe, USA and Australia/NZ.

Stuart currently runs Polonious with Al Steel, enjoying making Australian software push world-wide.

Sudhindra

In this role, he architects Experience framework for clients, mentors design team and shapes strategy for the future of the Experience Design discipline. On the canvas of digital, Sudhindra crafts positive experiences for people armed with insights, empathy and behavioral understanding.

In the field for over 18 years, he has been recognized for his work through more than 14 international awards including ‘Most Innovative Product’ by National Infocomm Awards in Singapore, a ‘Blue Elephant’ at Kyoorius, category best in Interactive Media Awards and Internet Advertising Awards. Previously, he was with SapientNitro as Experience Design Director and established the Experience Design practice.

He is passionate about elevating business conversations through the power of design thinking and human understanding. His interests include designing digital environments that shape behavior and habits and that enhance the quality of everyday life. He believes in the power of design as a choice, a choice to make this world a better place and promotes responsibility of making that choice to create meaningful experiences.

Tim

This is achieved by matching the needs of business and underlying strategy to the opportunities Technology, Digital and Funding provide, all drawn from a background that includes Chief Data Officer, Chief Digital Officer, Head of Digital, Head of Data & Analytics and Head of Research across Agency, Consultancy, Vendor and Client.

Todd

Todd has been helping Small & Family Business online with web development and Serch Engine Optimisation for 12 years.

Todd is a co-founder of www.aussiedigital.io- a new Australian startup designed to level the playing field for Small and Family business. At the very core, we are building an e-Commerce Ecosystem based around an ERC20 Digital Coin that will include a powerful Amazon-like store builder packed with powerful digital marketing tools and B2B Trading Platform that integrates Social Media in unprecedented ways along with other multiple services powered by blockchain technology.

Aussie Digital has recently been invited to take up residence in the Southern Cross University Enterprise Lab.

Tom

Outside of work, Tom is an active father to two young girls and enjoys exercise.

Tom

Tom helps startups and entrepreneurs with driving 100k+ app downloads and 1000s of leads through growth hacking.

Tony

Tony is a tech co-founder, an angel investor, and advisor to VC funds, acting on advisory boards mentoring, supporting and connecting startup and scaling companies with new markets, advisors and capital.

Tony’s current projects include Blockchain/Crypto, Distributed Green Energy Systems, and Flying Cars!

As an active contributor to the tech-ecosystem, Tony is a mentor at River City Labs, UQ iLab, MTAiQ, TechStars Startup Weekends, and Unearthed Hackathon.

Tony is Co-Chair for the Redland City Innovation & Entrepreneurial Advisory Board.

Tony co-founded a SaaS educational and employment analytics company, and was joint winner of the IBM Global Entrepreneurs Program, Peoples’ Choice Award, for ANZ 2013.

As a consultant, Tony specialises in corporate transformation in complex environments, Tony works with Boards and executives of multi-national corporations, state and federal governments, and universities on emergent strategy, leadership, culture, building collaborative innovation ecosystems.

Prior to current activities, Tony was an Aeronautical Engineering Officer in the RAAF.

Troy

As an entrepreneur Troy is active in numerous companies, many of which have won individual awards for innovation.

Walter

I’ve observed that their success is often not from big steps in technology or innovation, rather it is from insights, techniques, diligence, consistency of execution, and reflection. For the entrepreneurs I have worked with, their success has most often been underwritten by ensuring that their business is “last person standing” – because success always takes a lot longer than you imagine.

Currently, I help large enterprises understand how to anchor their customers’ experience in social – through platforms, data, and responsive organisational structures.

Previously I’ve worked with small and very large organisations across strategy, growth options, marketing, international expansion, and IT strategy and as a trusted advisor on ICT to the Vic government. I’ve held roles such as CIO, VP International, GM Strategy and Consulting, Principal Consultant Computational Statistics and worked as an IS Auditor for 3 years.

Zac

– A regular presenter at seminars run by government and business groups on export marketing and technology.

– Supports the industry as one of the local conveners of the global Mobile Mondays organisation, committee member at MobilityVic and board member of ASMEA.

– Tech entrepreneur and investor – current portfolio includes: Healthkit (healthtech), Humense (VR), Fuzo (Blockchain), PulseID(Geolocation), BSI eLearning and Seera (HR tech).

– Helping IoT pioneer LIFX achieve global growth

Zoe Condliffe

She’s A Crowd was listed as number 7 on Smart Company’s Smart30 list in 2018. She is currently a participant of the She Starts accelerator for female founders of global tech companies.

She was named one of the Top 100 most influential, creative and provocative people in Melbourne by The Age when she was 21. She then went on to co-found international development projects, consult in the social enterprise space and gain a Master of Community Cultural Development.

She is a gender equality advocate with a background in international development, project management and building youth-led social change movements. She has worked on building digital solutions for social problems within the international development sphere.

As an artist she creates work that centres around female collective storytelling as healing from gender-based violence.

She is a Young Social Pioneer with the Foundation for Young Australians, a fellow of the Oaktree Leader’s Trust, alumni of the Global Engagement Summit, and the winner of Anthill Magazine’s 30under30 young entrepreneurs award.