Speakers

Bernard Salt AM is widely regarded as one of Australia’s leading social commentators.

He has written six popular best-selling books, hosted a TV show on SkyNEWS Business called “The Next Five Years” and hosted a top-rated podcast called “What

Happens Next”.

Bernard Salt is also one of Australia’s most in-demand corporate speakers.

After a 20-year career as a Partner in a global advisory firm, Bernard founded The Demographics Group to provide advice to business on demographic, social and property trends.

He is best known to the wider community for his penchant for identifying new social behaviours including “the goat’s cheese curtain.”

Bernard has been a columnist with The Australian newspaper for more than 20 years. His column in The Weekend Australian Magazine is highly regarded and widely read.

Bernard was awarded the Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2017 Australia Day honours for his services to the Australian people via demography.

And finally, Bernard is the person responsible for popularising the phrase “smashed avocado” … globally

Amy is an award-winning social enterprise founder, thought leader, and impact collaborator with a passion for applying commercial practices and innovative models to solve complex social challenges. Amy is the co-founder and Managing Director of Collab4Good, a South Australian social enterprise intermediary that works with impact-driven people and organisations to lead, learn, connect and collaborate for good, to leverage the power of enterprise to drive positive social, environmental and economic outcomes for our state and beyond. Amy’s particular areas of passion include women’s economic empowerment, social enterprise, and supporting women caught up in the justice system. Amy is also an Industry Fellow for Monash University, co-authoring and delivering their social enterprise post-graduate course. Amy has an MBA from Flinders University, was a Women in Innovation Award winner in 2017 and was recognised as one of InDaily’s Top 40 Under 40 business leaders in South Australia in 2018.

Brandon is the Chief Operating Officer of The Yoghurt Shop, a proudly South Australian family business known for crafting premium, award-winning yoghurts. As a second-generation leader, he is passionate about innovation, growth, and elevating the profile of South Australian food businesses locally and abroad.

Nick is an engineer, CEO, entrepreneur and proud father of three daughters. As the Founder and CEO for 2XE, Nick has spent 20 years working with over 1000 businesses and governments to help them pursue ESG and net zero emissions with the best possible holistic return on investment. He has worked with clients across almost every major industry and government sector, and currently works with some of Australia's most recognised brands. Nick has spearheaded 2XE's rapid growth as a highly-regarded Australian ESG and net zero consulting firm, with an expanding footprint in New Zealand, Canada, US and Switzerland.

Rebecca Hunter-Harvey is a proud Peramangk and Ngarrindjeri woman and the founder and CEO of Ochre Dawn, a national creative agency specialising in branding and Reconciliation services. With a background spanning IT and community services, Rebecca bridges corporate and for-purpose sectors to amplify First Nations voices through art, culture, and ethical engagement.

A descendant of the Stolen Generations, Rebecca’s deep commitment to Reconciliation is rooted in personal experience and family legacy. Her leadership at Ochre Dawn drives meaningful partnerships, supports First Nations artists and businesses, and champions cultural preservation across Australia.

Rebecca also serves as Chair of Ronald McDonald House Charities SA and sits on the Board of Maxima Group. Her past roles include Chair of Tandanya and a member of SA’s Entrepreneurship Advisory Board. Recognised with multiple awards, including the First Nations Woman in Business Award (SA Woman Awards 2021) and InDaily’s 40 Under 40, Rebecca continues to influence positive change, locally and nationally.

Leah is a trusted partner to organisations seeking to develop leaders and build great workplace cultures. With over 30 years’ experience, she has helped leaders across a range of industries, including hospitality, create positive workplaces and strong, committed teams. Leah brings a practical, people-focused approach to leadership and culture, and is widely recognised for her warm, engaging facilitation style. She has designed and delivered workshops that spark meaningful conversations and drive real change. Whether she’s leading a room of managers or coaching one-on-one, Leah supports leaders to build confidence, strengthen team dynamics, and lead in a way that brings out the best in others.

Deniz Subasi is a multilingual (Fluent: English-German-Turkish), boundary-breaking business leader and strategic innovator with multiple startups and exits making him high performing true-blue entrepreneur.

Deniz’s early age sport career as a competitive athlete and brief military training though him the discipline, consistency, persistence, and importance project management and having processes deployed whatever he does.

Currently spearheading advancements in artificial intelligence as Chief AI Officer at ExpertEaseAI. His focus lies in deploying cutting-edge Autonomous AI Agents, Voice AI, AI Automations, Large Language Models (LLMs), Enterprise RAG Models, Conversational AI, and Edge AI to transform business processes, deployable in many critical sectors.

Deniz's immersion in technology began early with a formative two-year internship at IBM during high school, sparking a lifelong passion. This practical introduction complemented his formal education in Computer Science (Informatics). His early corporate career included roles at SAP and UPS in Europe, providing a strong foundation in global business operations.

Deniz has adapted Lean business principles throughout his life and hence he thinks it plays a big part of his success. He is highly disciplined, consistent and well-planned strategic leader with high emotional and cultural intelligence skills and experience working over 3 decades across different continents.

His entrepreneurial spirit quickly took hold. Deniz founded and led PAG LTD in Hong Kong (2005-2010) as Founder & CEO, building an OEM manufacturing, distribution, and export powerhouse for consumer electronics and promotional merchandise. Utilizing SAP, he scaled this venture into a multi-million-dollar operation servicing over forty countries. Concurrently, he served as Founder & General Manager for SwissPro LTD in Switzerland (2004-2010), managing a sophisticated e-commerce importer/retailer/wholesaler.

Relocating to Adelaide in 2009, Deniz established Genius Business Solutions (2009-2014), leveraging his international expertise to consult, coach, and author resources for SMEs focusing on import/export, e-commerce, and digital technology. His drive for innovation led him to found MerchMiner Trading PTY LTD (2015-2019) as CTO and Big Data Engineer. Here, he designed, developed, and patented the world's first online procurement tool using big data, AI, and

machine learning to identify trending products and trade metrics, leading a team of technologists and researchers.

Throughout this period, Deniz consistently demonstrated his ability to launch, scale, and strategically exit diverse ventures. These included D Kayaks (Founder, 2016-2018), where he built a brand, established multi-state distribution, and exited successfully within 18 months; Nature Australia Fruit Honey (Co-Founder, 2016-2021), involving 18 months of R&D to create a unique, commercially viable, export-focused product (a South Australian Food Industry Awards Finalist); and PW Earth Moving (Founder, 2019-2020), a deliberately created side project to maintain practical startup-to-exit experience, which he sold successfully.

Deniz's strategic acumen is further evidenced by his advisory roles, including Senior Business Advisor at the Polaris Business and Innovation Centre (2019-2023), guiding businesses on digital transformation, AI, governance, and advanced manufacturing, and as Executive Advisor for Advanced Manufacturing Manuka Honey SA (2018-2021), focusing on disruptive strategies, robotics, AI, and grant acquisition.

A lifelong learner and believer in robust frameworks, Deniz holds an MBA from the University of South Australia, a Certificate of Disruptive Innovation from Harvard Business School (under Prof. Clayton Christensen), and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD). He maintains the highest professional standards, adhering to ISO 20700 Guidelines for Management Consultancy Services.

Today, Deniz channels over three decades of deep experience in technology, international business, strategic growth, M&A, and innovation into his leadership at ExpertEaseAI and his ongoing work as a sought-after Lean AI Consultant, Disruption Strategist, Investor, and Executive Advisor.

Ryan is the Director of the Australian Centre for Business Growth at the University of South Australia and the Chairperson of Southern Angels. He has held several CEO, Managing Director and Executive positions across a broad range of sectors including Group CEO of Unlimited, a private equity backed accelerator housing 16 investee companies and CEO of Ster-Kinekor Theatres, the largest cinema chain in Africa with almost 2,000 employees. Ryan has held several Chair and Board roles since 2008, and in addition to Southern Angels, currently serves as a Non-Executive Director at Ster-Kinekor Theatres and is also member of the Advisory Board for MarketEase, a leading digital marketing consultancy based in Adelaide. Ryan is an active angel investor in Australian businesses.

Tyson Gundersen is the co-founder of Bureau, an Australian company using technology, modular booths and furniture to create elastic spaces. Drawing on 12 years experience in consulting in Sydney and London, Tyson launched Bureau with the aim of making working better. Creating spaces in a faster, more functional, more environmentally friendly and more cost effective than traditional single use construction.

Angela is the Program Coordinator for the Business for Good Sector Development Program with the South Australian Social Enterprise Council (SASEC). Angela is a strategic marketer committed to positive impact, specialising in market research, strategic planning, and stakeholder engagement to drive purpose-driven growth. Angela thrives on tackling challenges that enhance lives, protect nature, and build sustainable communities, and by aligning marketing with organisational goals, she ensures that every initiative is data-driven, purposeful, and built for long-term impact. Angela’s mission is to connect needs with solutions, using marketing as a force for good to create lasting change. Angela has a Bachelor Degree in International Business and a post-graduate degree in marketing.

Alison Milisits is the CEO of Vili's Family Bakery, a renowned Australian family business. With a career that spans various roles, Alison began on the factory floor before moving into office and sales. She played a key role in expanding operations into New South Wales and setting up distribution in London. Following the passing of her father, Vili, Alison took on the role of CEO, bringing strategic direction to the business while maintaining its strong family roots.

Paulette Kolarz is recognised as one of Australia’s leading authorities in Human Resource Management and Leadership Development.

Paulette believes “you cannot have good HR without great leaders” and that these areas both go hand and hand.

Paulette helps business owners, boards and CEO’s attract, retain and grow their leaders and build high achieving, engaged teams.

With more than 20 years working in HR, she has significant experience in providing end to end people solutions.

Having been awarded the Telstra Business Women of the Year, The PricewaterhouseCoopers Young Business Women of the Year and the Hudson Private and Corporate Business Women of the Year in South Australia, she has spoken to thousands of people on the topics of effective leadership, building strong cultures, team effectiveness and HR trends to name a few.

Today, Paulette leads the BespokeHR team in the areas of HR Consulting, Recruitment and Training and Development, with a mission of continuing to shape Australia’s greatest places to work.

Jonathon Read is the Engineering Manager at the Australian Institute for Machine Learning (AIML), where he is part of a team delivering cutting edge AI solutions for government, SMB and enterprise clients. With more than a decade of experience in agile software solutions development and scalable system design, Jonathon brings a strategic perspective to developing AI driven technologies that solve complex real world problems.

A Chartered Accountant by training, Jonathon combines technical expertise with deep business consulting and solutions architecture experience. This dual background allows him to translate between commercial objectives and technical requirements, ensuring AI projects deliver measurable business outcomes.

Jonathon is currently helping to overseeing AIML’s Industrial AI SME Grant Program a partnership between the South Australian Government and AIML that connects eligible small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) with AIML’s engineers. Through this program, SMEs can explore how technologies such as chatbots, advanced analytics, supply chain optimisation and automation can address their biggest challenges. Recent figures show that about 40 % of Australian SMEs are adopting AI, yet many still face skills gaps and funding constraints. Jonathon’s work helps close this gap by providing grants and expert guidance to small businesses, empowering them to harness AI responsibly and competitively. He is passionate about fostering collaboration, driving innovation and positioning AIML as a leader in practical, transformative AI solutions.