Workshop & Innovation Hub Speakers

Dr Lena Attebo

Founder and Clinical Director
Oracle Healthcare

Dr Lena Attebo is the founder of Oracle Healthcare with over 30 years of experience as a doctor.

After an initial career in anaesthesia and intensive care, Lena transitioned to general practice, pursuing her passion for preventative medicine, including skin cancer checks.

Over the last 16 years she has worked in corporate and private health assessments, which motivated her to set up her own clinic. Her aim was to use an interdisciplinary approach to create a genuinely collaborative working relationship between practitioners to improve the health and wellbeing of the clients.

David Brudenell

Executive Director
Decidr

David is a seasoned leader in AI, machine learning and high-growth businesses, with executive experience spanning startups to global enterprises. He led Global Solutions & Advanced Research at Appen, driving AI innovation worldwide, and held leadership roles at Pureprofile, Eclipx, and Flare. As co-founder of C2 Investments, he backs cutting-edge startups in market research, e-commerce and greentech. With a track record of scaling companies from Sydney to San Francisco, David thrives at the intersection of technology, strategy and growth.

Steve Corney

Head of Transformation
Learn Awesome

Known as the Batman or Robin Hood of the learning world, Steve is obsessed with empowering L&D teams and practitioners to learn new tools and tech, save time and get the recognition they deserve. Steve challenges the “WAY” things are built and designed and looks for out of the box methods that can be used to creatively solve L&D challenges.

Katia DeKort

Head of People Programs
George Weston Foods

Katia joined George Weston Foods in 2016 and during her time there has held various senior leadership roles. Katia is currently the Head of People Programs, with expertise in leadership coaching, leading transformational change initiatives, and building high-performance teams. Katia is a pragmatic and commercial People and Performance leader with over 15 years of experience in HR. Katia has worked across a variety of industries including services, financial services,
transport/logistics and manufacturing.

Tanya Kelly

Managing Director APAC
Fabric

Tanya is a broadcast and media industry leader with over a decade of senior management experience. Starting in London’s Soho, she worked across film distribution and post production in both technical and sales roles before relocating to Australia. She held key roles at ABC and Fox Sports, where she led studio teams and oversaw a major facility relocation.

In 2016, she launched a consultancy specializing in broadcast technology and resource management automation. Her deep expertise in scheduling systems and workflow optimization led to a partnership with Xytech (now rebranded as Fabric) in 2021, where she now serves as Managing Director, APAC, helping broadcasters streamline operations.

Beyond her professional expertise, Tanya has a personal passion for resilience and well-being. After facing significant physical challenges, a period of disability, and four major surgeries, she sought structured support for her recovery. Six months ago, she completed Oracle Healthcare’s Everest package, equipping her with the tools to navigate her wellness journey. Her experience underscores the importance of workplace support systems for long-term well-being and performance.

Sorrel Kesby

Co-Founder
EvenBetter.ai

Former Head of Global Commercial Operations for GumGum who acquired Playground xyz, where she was Head of Business Operations, HR & Recruitment, in December of 2021.  

Post acquisition, Sorrel oversaw the integration of the businesses across the JAPAC and EMEA regions before moving to the newly established global commercial operations function. 

Prior to joining Playground xyz in 2020, Sorrel was COO of Australian independent publisher Conversant Media before moving to martech start up Audience Republic as VP, Operations & Commercial, where she launched their UK and US offices. 

Sorrel is the chairperson of IAB Australia’s Talent & Careers Working Group, sits on the IAB Australia Tech Executive Council and mentors with the Australian chapter of the Founder Institute on growth, recruitment and investor relations. 

She has worked with businesses in the cleantech, proptech, healthtech and beautytech industries as a board advisor and consultant, focusing on GTM strategy, finance and growth. 

Sorrel graduated from the University of Technology, Sydney (AU) with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications (Journalism) and in International Studies and has an MBA from UTS  with a finance and business law double major. 

Sonya Law

General Manager People and Culture
D&E Air Conditioning

Sonya Law is the General Manager of People & Culture for D&E Air Conditioning. 

With over 35 years of experience, D&E Air Conditioning provides unequalled air conditioning and mechanical services across a wide range of sectors, including large-scale construction projects, commercial, residential, data centres, education, defence, and healthcare industries. 

I am incredibly proud to collaborate with such a talented team in delivering sustainable solutions. Our workforce has grown to over 650 employees across Victoria, Geelong, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney, Perth, and Adelaide. 

Our team is made up of experts in Engineering, Drafting, Estimating, Construction, Service, Project Management, and Professional Services. 

Joshua McKenzie

CTO
ELMO Software

Josh is the CTO at ELMO, leading the technical strategy and delivery of its product suite. With 20 years in technology, primarily in FinTech, he has a track record of driving innovation, efficiency and growth. Before joining ELMO in 2024, he held senior roles at Lendi Group, OFX, ASX and Westpac. Passionate about cutting-edge solutions, Josh excels at aligning technology with business goals to solve complex challenges and push innovation forward.

Hayley Mearing

Manager, People and Culture
CareChoice

With more than 9 years’ experience in generalist HR and recruitment, Hayley has a great passion for enhancing employee experience and developing true partnerships with key stakeholders in relation to positive workplace culture. Since February 2024, She has been employed as Manager, People and Culture with CareChoice, who specialise in 24-hour disability programs for individuals with multiple and complex support needs across Victoria. Since working with CareChoice, Hayley has taken great pleasure in both the execution and delivery of key value-adding organisational people and culture projects – one example including the development of our Performance Development Review Module, Success @ CareChoice.

During her career, she has worked within the aged care, home care, disability, and youth welfare sectors. These experiences have shaped her passion and enabled her to contribute to the workplace by sharing her knowledge of national HR practices and employment regulations, including VIC, NSW, ACT, QLD and WA.

Michael Morgan

CEO
Herrmann Asia

After working closely with Ned Herrmann, Michael founded Herrmann International Asia in 1988 and remains its Chief Executive. 

For over 30 years, the Whole Brain® Model has been his passion and he is one of the region’s leading experts on how the HBDI® can stimulate innovation and creativity in the workplace. 

Over three decades, Michael has worked with some of Australia and Asia Pacific’s largest industrial, pharmaceutical, technological, educational and financial organisations. Through Whole Brain® Thinking, he has helped them develop and harness the true power and potential of their workforces. Using this powerful and scientific instrument, he has helped people at all levels develop a recognition and appreciation of their individual thinking styles. These transformative insights have enabled individuals to become more creative, intuitive, analytical and productive. He has helped teams communicate and collaborate more effectively and better appreciate one another’s vital contribution to achieving their shared goals. 

Michael’s approach is to apply the principles of the Whole Brain® Model to stimulate innovative and problem-solving thinking that will be relevant to the client’s business model and drive bottom line results. 

As well as delivering programs, Michael is a keynote speaker who has addressed professional audiences from a broad range of categories across Asia. He’s also the author of two seminal books – Making Innovation Happen and Creating Workforce Innovation. 

When he’s not working, Michael likes to use all four quadrants of his brain in the relaxing but sometimes challenging past-time of sailing. 

Dr Hayley North

Founder
Understand Your Brain

Dr Hayley North is a neuroscientist, founder of Understand Your Brain, and a research fellow at Neuroscience Research Australia. She is also a conjoint lecturer at UNSW, with a PhD in neuroscience and a passion for improving mental health and wellbeing. Through Understand Your Brain, Hayley has worked with corporate clients to deliver keynotes and workplace mental health and wellbeing programs across diverse sectors including consulting, law, energy, insurance, government, and universities. Her engaging and relatable approach transforms complex neuroscience into actionable strategies, empowering organisations to foster resilience, reduce burnout, and create healthier workplaces. 

Wes O’Donnell

Head of Workplace Relations
Citation Group

Wes O’Donnell is the Head of Workplace Relations at Citation Group, with over 20 years of experience in workplace relations and employment law. He possesses a deep understanding of the issues and current trends affecting key Australian industries and professions, overseeing the delivery of workplace relations and HR services to multiple industry associations and large corporates, while he and his team handle over 100,000 advisory transactions annually.

Anna Pitman

Principal Consultant
ACP Consulting Group

Anna has been a professional coach for nearly a decade and has provided thousands of both individual and group coaching hours across diverse industries, including manufacturing, utilities, mining, engineering, finance, and Aboriginal corporations.

Anna’s coaching philosophy is anchored in the belief that her clients are the true experts of their own lives, and her job is simply to reconnect them to that innate wisdom. Recognised for her capacity to identify and cultivate individuals’ highest potential, she focuses on fostering growth rather than merely addressing current challenges.

Fearless in her approach, Anna challenges the status quo to inspire transformative change, skilfully employing an array of coaching strategies that enable clients to overcome stagnation and achieve lasting progress. Her pragmatic perspective – shaped by her broad real-world leadership experience and deep understanding of the challenges leaders face – allows Anna to navigate the complexities of today’s fast-paced leadership landscape with ease. She creates a nurturing space for growth and her supportive demeanour encourages clients to confront obstacles and engage in meaningful self-reflection.

Anna is accredited in various diagnostic tools, including the Marshall Goldsmith Global Leadership Assessment (GLA360), Human Synergistics Life Styles Inventory (LSI 360), Strengths Profile – CAPP, Talent Identify, MSCEIT (The Mayer-Salovey-CarusoEmotional Intelligence Test), and DISC Advanced. Beyond coaching, Anna is the founder and director of ACP Consulting Group, a leadership development business that integrates neuroscience and psychology with the world of business

Nithya Ramaswamy

Solutions Director, ANZ
LHH

Nithya Ramaswamy is Solutions Director within the LHH Leadership Development practice, for Australia and New Zealand. Nithya brings over twenty years of experience in providing insights, consultancy, client engagement, leadership development design and delivery to leaders across a range of client organisations globally. Having led complex projects that span multiple levels of leadership and across various markets and functional areas, Nithya has a proven track record in partnering with stakeholders to co-create learning architectures and bring to life robust leadership development experiences. Having a career background as both industry leader and consultant, Nithya is a credible and commercial learning professional who brings insightful, practical and innovative approaches in her work. Nithya has diverse global and industry experience spanning banking and financial services, insurance, infrastructure, agribusiness, professional services, telecommunications, public sector, education, and pharmaceuticals. 

Simi Rayat

Global Business Psychologist
Wellbeing Face

Simi Rayat is an award-winning Global Business Psychologist, Executive Psychology Coach and Wiley-published author of Productivity Joy. With 20 years of experience, she helps leaders, business owners and professionals elevate their leadership to be a joy to work with. Her expertise spans leadership, psychology, entrepreneurship, wellbeing and inclusion. On a mission to help 5 million professionals thrive, she works with Fortune 500 companies and scaling enterprises. Founder of SimiRayat.com and former owner of Minds For The Future, Simi is a Forbes contributor, podcast guest and devoted mother of two. She is passionate about creating cultures where joy fuels impact and high performance. 

Steve Reid

Chief People Office
Australian Payments Plus

Steve is a senior executive with a passion for helping people and organisations reach their potential through building exceptional cultures, people practices and ways of working. He is a visionary but pragmatic leader with a track record of building industry leading teams, cultures and businesses over 30+ years. He has worked across diverse industries including consulting, mining, technology, telecommunications, financial services and media in everything from startups to multi-nationals.

He is currently the Chief People Officer for Australian Payments Plus with accountability across People & Culture, Change, Delivery, Process excellence and PMO

Mick Roche

Sales Director
First Advantage

Mick has been in the background screening industry since 2017. Previously, he was leading the Sales for Sterling in APAC and AUNZ. He joined First Advantage through its recent acquisition of Sterling and is responsible for driving business development and growing the business across the Australia and New Zealand region.

Joel Smith

CEO
Affinity

At the helm of Affinity Payroll, Joel’s mission is advancing payroll technology to empower businesses in Australia and New Zealand. As CEO, his leadership champions innovation, compliance, and transformative client experiences. His team’s success is anchored in a client-centric approach, underpinned by real-time, event-driven solutions.

Previously, as Chief Revenue Officer, Joel steered our strategic direction towards profitable revenue generation, overseeing sales and marketing management. His expertise in customer relationship management and people management has been pivotal, fostering an environment where their clients and team members thrive in unison. Affinity is committed to de-risking payroll, ensuring organizations navigate legislative complexities with ease.

Karen Stein

Executive Coach & Author

Karen is an Executive Coach, Keynote Speaker, and Leadership Workshop Facilitator. She is the multi-award-winning author of Be Your Own Leadership Coach and brings over 30 years of experience in professional services, including 24 years as a partner at Deloitte. With more than 2,500 coaching hours, Karen supports leaders in developing self-coaching practices to enhance their leadership impact.  
Passionate about women’s sustainable careers, she designed Deloitte’s Women Partner Coaching Program and co-leads their Managing Menopause in the Workplace Working Group, helping Deloitte become the first Australian company accredited as a Menopause Friendly Employer. Karen has since been appointed as an Independent Panel member assessing organisations for menopause-friendly accreditation. Her joy is providing Menopause Group Coaching to corporate Australia.

Simone Strachan

Founder
Bespoke Talent Solutions

Simone is engaged as a competitive talent solution consultant. Partnering with organisations she helps them achieve their full potential when it comes to talent. Simone’s specialisms include Employer Brand, Employee Value Proposition and Talent Advisory. Offering modularised services enables Simone to craft a truly bespoke offering. First and foremost Simone is a mum to the energetic and excitable Harriett! The second thing you should know is that she loves talking about all things talent and travel! 

 www.bespoketalentsolutions.com.au What I do About Me Having had the chance to work across various industries globally and in different sized organisations, this has enabled Simone to view talent from various angles. With 15+ years in Human Resources and over 10 years within the Talent space leading teams, Simone is accredited in Employer Brand and loves empowering others to have impact whilst building a deep specialism. What people value about Simone is her ability to truly partner, have impact quickly and leave a legacy all whilst having fun along the way. Her aim is to make your life easier 

Maaike Van Dijk

Solutions Consulting Manager APAC
Rippling

Maaike is based out of our Sydney office and leads the APAC Solution Consulting team. She has extensive experience working in the HR tech space both locally and internationally.  

Maaike is passionate about uncovering the challenges customers face with their current tech stack and working with them on a solution that simplifies and automates the experience not only for HR or finance but for all employees. 

Samantha Webster

Principal Consultant
Catalyst Consulting

A curious, compassionate aggregator of people, purpose and performance , influencing systemic, behavioural and culture change. As a trusted advisor to boards, executives, business leaders and teams, Sam respectfully disrupts systems, processes, and behaviours, using intersectional DEI frameworks and the measurement of  DEI/Talent program impact, to build, inclusive and high performing workplace culture. This culminated in winning the Advancing Diversity in Energy Award in 2022, for example. 

Over the past 20+ years in Australia, Sam has worked with some of the largest ASX and Global employers on their People & Culture strategies, DEI action plans, and their  Employee Resource Group strategies and plans, securing executive sponsorship and embedding an inclusive and business aligned employer-employee framework. In addition, as an Executive Committee member of The Inclusion Circle, Sam advocates for change by influencing industry and peers through leading practice in equitable and inclusive policy, practice, and performance at work.  

Utilising thought leadership, people data analytics and diverse lived experience, Sam is adept at speaking, and hosting summits, conferences and forums, to influence change through storytelling, through her “very engaging, insightful, empathetic, and vulnerable speaking style, fostering the trust and collaboration amongst key stakeholder groups”.  

Sam Wilkan

Senior Solutions Consultant
Rippling

Sam Wilkan has been working with Australian HR and Payroll vendors since 2018 for a variety of different industries and customers.

As a Senior Solutions Consultant, Sam’s focus is to work with prospects and customers to understand their requirements, and demonstrate how Rippling helps businesses free smart people to work on hard problems.