Leadership in the Age of Innovation

Robert is a Professor and Fellow at AGSM @ UNSW Business School. He has held senior academic appointments at top institutions across Australia and the globe, including Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Western Australia and Visiting Professor at the Kellogg School (North Western University). Robert has a wealth of experience in designing and delivering leadership programs and consulting to senior management teams at large organisations. Robert holds the position of Director, Centre for Ethical Leadership, at The University of Melbourne, and he is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences - Australia, the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management, the American Psychological Association (Division 14) and the International Association of Applied Psychologists. He has previously served on the Executive Boards of the Academy of Social Sciences Australia and the International Association of Applied Psychology.

Why inclusiveness is key for workplace diversity

Listen: Unconscious bias in this next phase of leadership

Veena is an ARC Laureate Fellow and founding Director of the Sustainable Materials Research & Technology (SMaRT) Centre at UNSW Australia. As one of the world's leading innovators in the field of sustainable materials use and an international award-winning scientist and engineer, she is passionate about mining the mountains of rubbish and waste materials produced by modern society and re-using them in industrial processes or to create new goods. Her research – integrated with core industry partner OneSteel – has resulted in a world-first, patented, environmentally-friendly process called Polymer Injection Technology. This technology is for recycling end-of-life plastics/rubber in electric arc furnace steelmaking, resulting in the production of ‘Green Steel’. This work is making a contribution towards creating innovative, green manufacturing, science and technology for the building and construction industries as well as consumer products.

TEDxSydney: Reviving Waste

Listen: The role of sustainability and materials in the new innovation economy

Jeffrey is an accomplished strategist, with years of commercial and business experience. Jeffrey works with organisations to improve customer experience and increase revenue growth by transforming the way they do business. He is a thought leader on innovation and collaboration, and his work is being applied in some of the world's largest corporations and governments around the globe. Jeffrey’s career has spanned the worlds of academia, big and small business, government and research. In each environment his leadership, clarity of thought, creativity and drive have generated cutting edge advances and successes far beyond expectation. He brings this wealth of experience to his teaching, on both postgraduate and executive education programs. Jeffrey studied at UNSW Australia, gaining First Class Honours and the University Medal and a PhD in Computer Science.

From Lucky Country to Startup Nation

Listen: Why we really have to get comfortable about being uncomfortable in a world of disruptive innovation

Tim is the co-founder of Airtasker, a services marketplace allowing people to outsource chores and errands to people in their local neighbourhood community. Tim has experience in early stage web startups, mobile telecommunications (MVNOs), corporate advisory, capital raising and sports/talent representation. Tim is a mentor at Founders Institute Sydney and was named in SmartCompany's Hot 30 Entrepreneurs under 30 and Shoe String Startup's Young and Influential List in 2012. He is also a co-founder of Sydney CBD based tech co-working space Tank Stream Labs.

Melanie is the General Manager, Service Revolution & Transformation at Westpac. She is responsible for the creation and delivery of improved customer and banker experiences. Prior to this role, Melanie was Head of Home Ownership where she was accountable for the Group's $350b mortgage portfolio. Before joining Westpac, Melanie was Head of Superannuation and Platforms at BT Financial Group. In this role she was responsible for a business portfolio spanning Corporate Super, Retail Super & Investments, BT Super for Life as well as the Asgard & BT Wrap Platforms. At BT, she also worked in several senior roles including Head of Brand and Head of Group Marketing. Melanie is also an Independent Director and sits on the Board of Surf Life Saving Australia.

Julien is a Non-Executive Director and CEO. He has managed businesses and worked with Boards and CEOs to plan and implement strategy, corporate transactions and organisational change, including startups, IPO's, M&A's, capital management, tech, innovation, governance, C-suite and REM practices. He has worked across a range of industries looking for original solutions that create positive outcomes. He believes in using diversity of thinking and breadth of experience to resolve complex problems and deliver social and economic value. Increasingly his work involves opportunities from new business models and technologies such as digital, Omni-channel retail, AR/VR, machine learning and robotics. Julien has chaired boards and sub-committees in finance, audit/risk and REM. He is well versed in reporting and compliance in highly regulated markets.

Samantha is a full-time AGSM MBA candidate. She has 8 years’ experience as a business television anchor and correspondent with business new channel CNBC. Working for CNBC Asia, based out of Hong Kong and Singapore, Samantha reported on Chinese financial markets and economic and political news. She was also a regular fill-in anchor for prime CNBC shows Street Smart and Capital Connection. From 2008-2013, Samantha was based in South Africa anchoring flagship show Closing Bell Africa, covering South African and global financial news. She also hosted other business shows including Wealth Quest and Top Trader and covered global events, WEF China, 2012 and The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) 2012. She was the South African recipient of the prestigious Citi Journalistic Excellence Award in 2012.