Program

Dom Thurbon is an internationally engaged speaker and facilitator who helps organisations unlock value by telling the truth. He has over 17 years’ experience helping leaders and their businesses ‘do’ behaviour change as a seasoned senior executive, successful entrepreneur, and researcher, writer and speaker.

Dom spent over five years as a Partner at EY, one of the world’s largest professional services Firms. He has authored and researched best-sellers published in over 15 countries on subjects as diverse as generational and behavioural change, business strategy, purpose-driven leadership, the future of work and education, and disruption.

Mark Pesce is a futurist, inventor, writer, entrepreneur, educator and podcaster.

In 1994 Pesce co-invented VRML, a 3D interface to the Web.

Pesce was a judge on the ABC hit series The New Inventors, celebrating Australia’s newest inventions, and writes an award-winning column for the global tech publication The Register.

Pesce brings his skills as a futurist to diverse sectors of the economy, including financial institutions ranging from Westpac, World Bank, HSBC and SWIFT, and regularly facilitates and mentors hackathons on topics as diverse as fintech, blockchain, virtual reality, and education.

Pesce hosts two podcasts: This Week in Startups Australia – exploring tech startups; and The Next Billion Seconds – winner of the Best Technical and Scientific Podcast of 2018 – connecting the work of today’s brightest thinkers with the world of tomorrow.

Pesce has 11 books, including Augmented Reality: Unboxing Tech’s Next Big Thing and Getting Started with ChatGPT.

Pesce founded graduate programs at both the University of Southern California and the Australian Film, Radio and Television School, holding appointments as Honorary Associate at the University of Sydney, and Honorary Adjunct at UTS.

Sally is a leading figure in advertising research world-wide. She co-founded Luma (formerly Advertising Development Solutions), a specialist brand, advertising and communications research agency in 1991. Sally has worked with some of the largest global brands and has spoken at many conferences and seminars, sharing her experience and passion for developing great brands. She is a fellow of the AMSRS and currently the Australian Representative for esomar.

“The macroeconomy is to business what the ocean is to a sailor. One eye must be on prevailing conditions and the other on the horizon to reach the desired destination in the smoothest possible way.”

Mother of teen twins. Economist. Peddler of my profession, especially to women and girls.

Cherelle helps clients to understand and interpret the economic backdrop. She uses her commercial acumen, public sector experience and analytical skills to see through the noise and help identify risks and opportunities that the changing phases of the business cycle bring.

Prior to EY, Cherelle was Chief Economist at Austrade, helping guide Australian Government policy in trade, foreign investment and tourism. Cherelle also spent 15 years at ANZ Bank, having started her career as an economic research analyst at the Reserve Bank of Australia. She also worked as a journalist for the Australian Financial Review.

Cherelle holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) from Curtin University and a Master of Population Studies from Australian National University. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and a member of Chief Executive Women.

How Cherelle is building a better working world

“My job is to filter and analyse the economic and markets data, pay attention to new sources of information and overlay it with EY’s observations about where we are in the business cycle, to give our clients timely insights that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to access in their busy working days.”

James Callender brings over 15 years of expertise in financial services, with a strong focus on driving innovation in workplace wellbeing. His recent work has centred on consulting in mentally healthy workplaces, psychosocial safety education, and proactive Employee Assistance Programs, showcasing his commitment to fostering healthier and more productive organisational environments.

As the leader of Gallagher’s Corporate Benefits team, James is dedicated to challenging traditional approaches to employee wellbeing. He specialises in designing holistic, forward-thinking solutions that integrate talent management, financial wellbeing, and employee benefits into tailored programs that align with each organisation’s unique needs.

James is passionate about creating impactful strategies that not only enhance workplace culture but also deliver measurable outcomes for businesses and their people.

Karlee Scott‑Murphy believes AI only delivers value when people trust it, understand it, and choose to use it. She focuses on practical progress over hype, human judgement over blind automation, and executive clarity in moments of technological change. Her work centres on helping leaders make confident decisions that balance innovation with culture, capability, and care.

Karlee is the Founder of Lumeneer Solutions and a former Microsoft domain leader in employee experience and AI readiness. She advises organisations on how to turn AI investment into real business impact by aligning strategy, skills, and change. Known for her direct, human‑centered approach, Karlee translates complex technology into clear actions leaders can take now.

A Prosci-certified change practitioner with over a decade in people technology consulting, Karlee bridges worlds—speaking the language of technology to CIOs and the language of people to HR leaders—ensuring AI adoption is both technically sound and culturally embraced.

Dom Thurbon is an internationally engaged speaker and facilitator who helps organisations unlock value by telling the truth. He has over 17 years’ experience helping leaders and their businesses ‘do’ behaviour change as a seasoned senior executive, successful entrepreneur, and researcher, writer and speaker.

Dom spent over five years as a Partner at EY, one of the world’s largest professional services Firms. He has authored and researched best-sellers published in over 15 countries on subjects as diverse as generational and behavioural change, business strategy, purpose-driven leadership, the future of work and education, and disruption.

At just 23, he was founder and Chief Creative Officer at Karrikins Group, a behaviour change agency he grew to over 150 staff across Australia, New Zealand and North America (acquired by EY in 2019). He was also founder and director at EI, an AI-enabled technology company providing on-demand teacher quality and student wellbeing solutions (acquired by Qoria in 2022).

Dom has been architect of multiple-award winning behaviour change programs that have reached over 500,000 people per year. Over his career, Dom has spoken to a combined audience numbering in the tens of thousands across Australasia, Europe and North America, with clients spanning financial and professional services, technology, FMCG, pharmaceutical and automotive industries, as well as working extensively in education, Government and not-for-profit sectors.

His publications include (as an author) Matter: Rising Above the Competition to Become the Obvious Choice, Purpose-Driven Leadership, and Talent Magnets: Attracting Top Staff; (as lead researcher) Flip: How counter-intuitive thinking is changing everything and Game On: How video games change work.

His next book, The Truthful Leader, is due for release in April 2026.

Dom is also a previous world top 10 debater, Tottenham Hotspur tragic, and hasn’t quite given up the dream of becoming a rockstar with his band The Glorious Fourth.

Liz has more than 15 years’ experience in complex, issues-rich organisations, working both in-house and as an external consultant, specialising in corporate communications, reputational and issues management, and regulatory and policy matters. In this capacity, she has established extensive media relationships, provided trusted communications advice to executive leadership teams across ASX-listed and private companies, public sector, sporting and not-for-profit organisations; and developed a deep understanding of Australia’s media, financial, political and regulatory landscape.

Previous roles include Executive Director Public Affairs for the NSW Police and General Manager Corporate Affairs for News Corp Australia. She has been a senior adviser at strategic communications firm Cato & Clive Partners since 2021. 

Prior to moving into corporate affairs, she has worked at the most senior levels of the Australian media, as an editor and journalist.

A testament to the power of human spirit, Kath Koschel is a survivor who has overcome incredible odds and unimaginable tragedy to inspire ordinary people to do extraordinary things. A former cricketer and Ironman competitor, Kath is an internationally sought after speaker and author of best-selling book Kindness.

She partners with the biggest and most well-known companies and brands across the world to help them achieve perspective, resilience, good culture, wellbeing and of course, kindness.

Through her company Kind Group™ Kath has built and designed programs and tools that inspire organisations and individuals to capture and understand their personal and collective strengths, allowing for bespoke workplace programs and individual coaching. Her work has been celebrated globally, most recently being named the 2025 NSW Australian of the Year and recipient of the Australia Medal for courage in overcoming extreme adversity.

Dom Thurbon is an internationally engaged speaker and facilitator who helps organisations unlock value by telling the truth. He has over 17 years’ experience helping leaders and their businesses ‘do’ behaviour change as a seasoned senior executive, successful entrepreneur, and researcher, writer and speaker.

Dom spent over five years as a Partner at EY, one of the world’s largest professional services Firms. He has authored and researched best-sellers published in over 15 countries on subjects as diverse as generational and behavioural change, business strategy, purpose-driven leadership, the future of work and education, and disruption.

At just 23, he was founder and Chief Creative Officer at Karrikins Group, a behaviour change agency he grew to over 150 staff across Australia, New Zealand and North America (acquired by EY in 2019). He was also founder and director at EI, an AI-enabled technology company providing on-demand teacher quality and student wellbeing solutions (acquired by Qoria in 2022).

Dom has been architect of multiple-award winning behaviour change programs that have reached over 500,000 people per year. Over his career, Dom has spoken to a combined audience numbering in the tens of thousands across Australasia, Europe and North America, with clients spanning financial and professional services, technology, FMCG, pharmaceutical and automotive industries, as well as working extensively in education, Government and not-for-profit sectors.

His publications include (as an author) Matter: Rising Above the Competition to Become the Obvious Choice, Purpose-Driven Leadership, and Talent Magnets: Attracting Top Staff; (as lead researcher) Flip: How counter-intuitive thinking is changing everything and Game On: How video games change work.

His next book, The Truthful Leader, is due for release in April 2026.

Dom is also a previous world top 10 debater, Tottenham Hotspur tragic, and hasn’t quite given up the dream of becoming a rockstar with his band The Glorious Fourth..