Jessica Fox OAM

There aren’t many athletes who can lay claim to being the greatest of all time in their sport by the age of 27. If she weren’t so humble, Jess Fox OAM could do just that.

Jess is one of our all-time great Olympians. She now has six individual Olympic medals including three gold, one silver and two bronze, more than any Australian in history.

The most successful paddler (male or female) in history, Jess has a long list of achievements including 51 World Cup gold medals, 10 World Championship titles, and 3 Olympic gold medals (a total of 6 Olympic medals across four Games).

Born in Marseille, France, Jess moved to Australia at age four. With an elite paddling pedigree, her parents, both accomplished paddlers, inspired her passion for the sport. Coached by her mother, Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi, a bronze medallist in K1 at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Jess quickly rose through the ranks, joining the national junior team in 2009. Her early career was marked by four junior World Championship titles, eight under-23 world titles, and a Youth Olympics gold medal.

Jess made her Olympic debut at 18, winning silver in K1 at the London 2012 Olympics. Four years later, she secured a bronze in K1 at the Rio 2016 Olympics. However, it was at the Tokyo 2020 Games where Fox underlined her greatness when she won gold to become the C1 Olympic Champion. Earning the headline ‘Australia’s Golden Girl’ Fox also won the heart of the nation. Her technically flawless performance, without a single-time penalty, led to what was hailed as one of Australia’s greatest Olympic moments.

In July 2024, Jess cemented her legacy at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games leading the Australian Olympic Team as Flagbearer and claiming double Olympic gold. First up was the K1 event. In an exhilarating final, racing in eighth position out of twelve finalists, Jess maintained the fastest time (96.08) as she waited to watch seven athletes proceeding her.

After chasing gold at the previous three Olympic Games, Jess had finally secured that elusive K1 gold in Paris and became the only Australian to win four consecutive medals in the same event. Just days later, she defended her 2020 title, to again become C1 Olympic Champion.

These achievements bring Jess’s tally to a historic six individual Olympic medals, propelling her into the upper echelon of Australia’s most successful athletes of all time. To finish off her most successful Olympic Games, Jess was one of four athletes globally to be elected to the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Athletes’ Commission where she will serve an eight-year term leading into the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games.

In addition to her athletic achievements, Jess has completed a Bachelor’s degree in Social Science Psychology and is currently studying her Master of Business Administration through Griffith University.

Jess is an advocate for women in sport and a firm believer in balance of sport and education, achieving an ATAR of 99.1 while training for the Olympic Games. She is an inspiration to young children and business people around the world.

Julian Arndt

Director
Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors

Julian is a Director at Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors, a workplace and employment law firm that only acts for employers and employer associations.

His expertise focuses on bargaining, union disputes and employee claims, and with his varied experience acting for peak employer associations he has been involved in large scale industrial test cases and, more recently, in consulting with Government regarding legislative change.

Over the past nine years, Julian has acted as the lead employer advocate in a range of prominent test cases including the Family and Domestic Violence Leave Test cases, the Family Friendly (s 65) award test case, the Paid Pandemic Leave case, the Childcare Industry case, the Retail Industry junior rates case, the casual and part-time test case and the Casual review 2021. Julian was also in the team involved in the well-known ‘penalty rates case’.

His experience ranges across a wide variety of industries including aged care, labour hire, horticulture, early childhood education and care, retail, health and transport.

In 2023 he co-authored the first book on Owner-Driver Law in Australia and has been recognized by Doyles as a Rising Star in Employment law.

Bo Manamperi

VP People Enablement ANZ
SUEZ

Bo is currently the VP People Enablement for SUEZ in ANZ. Bo has over 15 years experience in complex global organisations. Bo has been with SUEZ for 6 years and leads a team of HR and IT professionals across Australia and New Zealand. 

During his time at SUEZ, Bo has supported the growth of the business and led through periods of significant change. 

Prior to joining SUEZ, Bo has worked across Australia and the Pacific regions as well as roles in the United Kingdom and Central Europe. 

Ida Pulic

VP, Human Resources, Toll Global Forwarding ANZ
Toll Group

Ida Pulic is an experienced HR professional with over 10 years of expertise in strategic human resources management. With a passion for fostering organizational culture and optimizing talent development, Ida has led HR initiatives in predominately the logistics industry. She specializes in driving employee engagement, performance management, and leadership development, while ensuring alignment between business goals and HR strategies. Known for her collaborative leadership style, Ida excels in building strong, inclusive teams and implementing HR solutions that promote growth, innovation, and employee well-being. 

Laura Durkan

Chief People and Culture Officer
Harris Farm Markets

Laura Durkan is the Chief People and Culture Officer at Harris Farm Markets, where she leads with energy, values and a commitment to placing people at the heart of business success. A dynamic executive, Laura has earned a reputation for fostering high-performance cultures that become a key driver of competitive advantage. 

Before joining Harris Farm Markets, Laura served as Executive Director of People and Culture at the Foxtel Group, where she led cost transformation initiatives, improved employee engagement, and strengthened strategic business partnership capabilities. Prior to that, she spent seven years at Richard Crookes Construction, heading the People & Culture function alongside Corporate Strategy. During her tenure, the company received numerous accolades, including recognition as one of the top 10 Great Places to Work and achieving a top 5 ranking for employee engagement across ANZ. Earlier in her career, Laura held specialised HR roles at Campbell Arnott’s, refining her expertise in talent management and organisational development. 

In addition to her professional accomplishments, Laura is deeply committed to social causes and serves as a Board Director of the Sydney Breast Cancer Foundation. 

Georgia Tsamis

Head of Learning and Leadership (Organisational Capability)
Allianz

Georgia Tsamis is the Head of Learning and Leadership at Allianz, bringing over 15 years of experience in building and driving strategic initiatives across diverse industries. She has successfully led transformative initiatives in both blue and white-collar sectors, driving growth and innovation. Georgia excels in aligning organizational strategies with business goals and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Her expertise spans talent management, leadership development, change management, and capability uplift. 

Bill Sgubin

Digital Design Manager - Retail Training & Development
Specsavers

Bill is a accomplished Digital Design Manager with 20 years of experience driving innovation across diverse industries. For the past 8 years, he has applied his expertise in the Learning and Development space at Specsavers, using his design skills to enhance the capability of retail optics and audiology teams. Bill is also at the forefront of innovation in the XR space, leveraging emerging technologies to create immersive and engaging learning experiences. Passionate about user-centered design, he excels in blending creativity with strategic thinking to deliver impactful digital solutions. A trusted leader, Bill is dedicated to mentoring teams to achieve exceptional results. 

Josh Rozairo

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Leader
IKEA

Growing up in Western Sydney as the son of Sri Lankan migrants, Josh has experienced both the benefits of diversity and the barriers to inclusion. Sparked by this lived experience, Josh has forged a career empowering underrepresented communities including Multicultural and Disability Inclusion Leader at AFL NSW/ ACT, launching programs like Kickability and wheelchair AFL. At IKEA Australia, Josh drives strategic initiatives to embed equality, diversity, and inclusion into business operations, fostering an inclusive culture where co-workers can thrive. His work ensures IKEA Australia contributes to our global ambition to be a leader in equality and inclusion. 

Fiona Murphy

Chief People Officer
mycar

Fiona Murphy is the Chief People Officer at mycar Tyre & Auto. In this role, Fiona is responsible for HR, Safety, Talent, Internal Communications, L&D and Sustainability. Prior to joining mycar, Fiona held senior HR roles across many industries and three continents, including education; community services; not for profit; retail; media; technology; and engineering. With qualifications in psychology and law, Fiona’s expertise spans employee relations, employee engagement, learning and organisational development, and workplace health and safety. She is passionate about building great cultures and ensuring organisations have a people first focus. In addition to her role at mycar, Fiona was Deputy Chair of the Automotive Light Vehicle Industry Reference Council for a number of years, and is now a proud member of AAAAWomen, championing careers for women in the automotive aftermarket.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/fionakellingtonmurphy/

Karen Woods

Head of Health, Wellbeing & Injury Management
BAE Systems

Over her 20-year career, Karen has seen the Health & Safety industry transition from focussing only on physical risks to one that is embracing wellbeing and psychosocial safety.  As a Health & Safety Leader and wellness advocate dedicated to fostering psychosocial wellbeing in both professional and personal spheres, Karen is passionate about collaboration and creating supportive workplace environments that integrate initiatives promoting mental, emotional and physical wellbeing. Karen’s mission is to shape workplaces where employees are supported to thrive at work, leveraging the intersection of leadership, empathy, and proactive wellbeing strategies to deliver effective risk management strategy for the organisation.