Pauline Fetaui leads ACS Labs, home to Brisbane’s River City Labs, Maroochydore’s Ocean City Labs, and a national virtual program connecting entrepreneurs across Australia. Co-Founder of Something Fest and Something Tech., she is passionate about emerging technology and helping people live consciously and fully. A mentor to emerging tech companies and Host of the Perspective X podcast, Pauline draws on two decades in digital transformation, tech strategy, and regulatory change to guide founders in building impactful, purpose-driven innovation.

Claire Marshall is an award-winning futurist exploring how stories shape the futures we imagine. She leads the national Futures Initiative at the Australian Centre for Social Innovation, working with communities and organisations to see the stories that govern their thinking and to write better ones. An experienced keynote speaker and facilitator, Claire blends art and storytelling in her practice. A former TV director, her major work Museum of Futures has been exhibited nationally and internationally. She recently completed her doctorate at the University of Technology Sydney, where she also lectures. When not imagining futures, she’s tending a syntropic garden with her two children.

Damian Kassabgi is Chief Executive Officer of the Tech Council of Australia (TCA), where he champions the growth and development of the nation's technology sector. He has a strong background in both the private and public sectors.  

As a senior policy adviser to two former prime ministers Damian provided strategic direction on Australia’s digital economy, critical tech infrastructure and the country’s emerging tech ecosystem. Damian has held senior leadership roles with global tech companies Afterpay, Uber and Google working in Australia, Asia and the United States.  

Damian is passionate about advancing the nation's dynamic tech industry and creating opportunities for Australians from all backgrounds to pursue meaningful careers in tech.

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Dave is co-founder of Kinde, a platform powering the next generation of SaaS companies with auth, billing, and feature flag services. A full-stack developer with a product-first mindset, he leads a global remote team while still writing code himself. Based in Byron Bay with his family, Dave is passionate about simplicity, deep work, and building calm, high-output teams.

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‘Investigative Humourist’ Dan Ilic is one of Australia’s most prolific comedic voices, known for his work across TV, film, radio and stage. Host of the popular podcast and live comedy show ‘A Rational Fear’, Dan brings together industry leaders, journalists, comedians and politicians, to use comedy to explore big issues such as climate change, press freedom and the intersection of culture and the internet. He has sold out shows at the Sydney Opera House, entertained with seasons on ABC Radio National, and performed stand-up under rocket fire in Kandahar. Dan was recognised by the Obama Foundation in 2019 as an Obama Foundation Leader Asia Pacific for his work in satire and climate change activism.

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Hilary Cinis is a human-centred digital transformation consultant with Salesforce ANZ where she works with enterprise business leaders to identify and move forward on AI opportunities. Hilary’s strengths are in design thinking and systems thinking and co-design to deliver easily understood strategies for AI and the data stewardship that underpins it. She is passionate about establishing holistic data cultures, social good and ethical and responsible AI. She is a member of the Salesforce Trusted AI Services Program, was a working member of the National AI Centre Think Tank and a member of the AICD.

Joël Kalmanowicz is a product leader focused on trust and safety in innovation. Joël led the Cloud Developer Platform at Atlassian and drove multiple products at Google across consumer and enterprise, spanning hardware, software, AI/ML, voice, maps, social, and mobile. A two-time startup cofounder, Joël mentors and advises startups and nonprofits, speaks at public and private events, and has supported government teams to innovate in education, safety, and security. Joël’s sweet spot is designing products that advance business goals while building in safety from day one.

Luka Lesson is a poet and rapper of Greek heritage born in Brisbane/Meanjin. His work crosses between the history of his family homeland, the fiercely political and the vulnerably self-reflective. A former Australian Poetry Slam Champion, Luka has performed at the mecca for slam poetry: the Nuyorican Poets' Cafe (NYC), taken the stage with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and made art with the likes of Trevor Hall (USA). Luka has released three collections of poetry independently: The Future Ancients (2013), Antidote (2015) and Agapi & Other Kinds of Love (2022).

Luka's poems and rap verses are being studied on official school curriculums throughout Australia, and unofficially by rebellious educators worldwide. His latest project: Agapi & Other Kinds of Love is a live hip-hop theatre show based on the Ancient Greek words for love. Luka's works are housed within his own creative company The Future Ancients, which stands at the crossroads between the wisdom of the past and the illumination of our futures.

Rami Mukhtar is an inventor, entrepreneur and investor passionate about using AI and data to build products and businesses that make a difference. From founding SaaS companies to designing automated grow systems and piloting high-speed drones, Rami brings technology, nature and purpose together in unexpected ways.

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Mike Nedelko is a product leader and CPO with 15 years in product management, AI research, and startup mentorship. He brings global experience from the Bay Area to Australia, including work with Y Combinator–backed RAGAS.io and other AI-native companies. Mike champions Evaluation-Driven Product Development and Automation-Driven Process Design, helping top startups and FAANG teams turn non-deterministic AI into reliable, scalable products. His focus is on designing systems that scale intelligently, reduce operational drag, and deliver measurable business outcomes; advising founders and product leaders on strategy, evaluation, and go-to-market for AI products.

Nicole Gibson is the founder and CEO of inTruth Technologies, a company building world-first biometric emotion AI to transform emotional health into measurable, actionable insights. Formerly Australia’s youngest Federal Mental Health Commissioner, Nicole has spent over a decade as a globally recognised speaker and advocate for emotional intelligence, ethical technology, and data sovereignty. Her work bridges cutting-edge science with humanity’s most timeless needs, empowering individuals and organisations to make conscious, high-impact decisions. With partnerships spanning Garmin, Neuroscape, and UNSW, Nicole is shaping a future where emotional mastery becomes as integral to wellbeing and performance as physical health.

- Ethical use of biotechnology
- Human vs AI incentive alignment
- Data sovereignty and why it matters

Simon Cant is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Reinventure, a founder-first corporate VC launched in 2013 with $150m under management and Westpac as primary investor. Reinventure has backed 35+ companies across fintech and adjacent sectors. Simon sits on the boards of Valiant, OpenAgent, Kepler Analytics and Forte, and led key investments including Coinbase in 2014, which returned over $500m to Westpac. He founded and served as inaugural President of FinTech Australia and helped shape the federal fintech reform agenda. Earlier, he worked across Social Ventures Australia, Tinshed Angel Group, Ninemsn and AustLII, and began his career at Allens.

Madeleine Eliza is a leadership mentor and C-level executive with over a decade of experience guiding high-growth online companies including TripADeal and Seed & Sprout. She combines operational expertise with neuroscience and somatic practices to help leaders to build resilience, emotional intelligence and self-mastery - essential for navigating complexity and rapid change.

Edo is passionate about transforming lives, empowering individuals and uniting communities.Edo is an award winning singer-songwriter and major label musician. In his early twenties he released several albums and toured internationally with his indie-rock bands Gelbison and Kahn Brothers. His music has featured on radio, film and TV. After a life-changing journey to India in 2004, Edo's path transformed into one of humanitarian service, spiritual music and meditation.Edo is the co-founder of A Sound Life charity, which brings free music, yoga and meditation programs to people in need.The soothing mantra music he created with the late Jo Mall-Kahn as Edo and Jo, has had over 100 million streams and still touches the hearts of hundreds of thousands of monthly listeners world-wide.Edo has recently launched Mantrafy a unique music, mantra, meditation app.www.mantrafy.net

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Founder of Open Sky Wellbeing Centre in Mullumbimby. Trained as a nurse and nutritionist, her path deepened in India through yoga and meditation. For over 13 years she has studied Zen and a holistic approach to Ashtanga with her teacher, Mark, an Ashtanga master and Zen monk. She also shares the art of tea as a simple practice of presence and connection. Guided by Papaji’s invitation to “return home,” her work helps people reconnect with stillness, wellbeing, and community.

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