Rocco joined Amazon in early 2006 and held a variety of positions at the company before becoming the first Country Manager for Amazon Australia, ahead of the launch of amazon.com.au in December 2017. Since then, he has built and now leads a team focusing on growing the offering for Australian customers and businesses that sell on the Amazon marketplace, including launching products and services such as Prime, Alexa-enabled Echo Devices, Global Store, and Fulfilment By Amazon. Prior to his role in Australia, Rocco led the German Consumables team at Amazon which included responsibilities for FMCG product lines as well as programs such as Prime Family, Subscribe & Save, EU Prime Pantry and EU Dash. He also supported the India team subsequent to their launch.

Terry Lundgren served for 14 years as CEO of Macy’s, Inc., operator of Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Bluemercury and one of the largest retail ecommerce businesses in America. He retired from Macy’s, Inc. in January 2018 after serving for 10 months as the company’s Executive Chairman. Prior to becoming CEO of the company in February 2003 and Chairman and CEO in January 2004, Lundgren had been President and Chief Merchandising Officer since May 1997. (The company’s name changed to Macy’s, Inc. from Federated Department Stores, Inc. in 2007.) As CEO, Lundgren led Federated’s acquisition of The May Department Stores Company in August 2005, nearly doubling the size of the company. One year later, he changed the name of more than 400 regional department stores across the country to the Macy’s name, creating a nationwide brand and the largest fashion retail company in America. In fiscal 2016, the final years of Lundgren’s tenure as CEO, Macy’s, Inc. sales approached $26 billion, with approximately 140,000 employees. The company operated approximately 575 department stores under the nameplates Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, and approximately 150 specialty stores that include Bluemercury, Bloomingdale’s The Outlet and Macy’s Backstage, in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico, as well as macys.com, bloomingdales.com and bluemercury.com. Bloomingdale’s has store locations in the Middle East in partnership with the Al Tayer Group and Macy’s has an on-line presence in China on Alibaba’s TMall global e-commerce platform. Prior to joining Federated, Lundgren was Chairman, CEO of Neiman Marcus. Lundgren is a native of Long Beach, CA, a graduate of The University of Arizona, and an active supporter of The Terry J. Lundgren Center for Retailing at The University of Arizona. He has honorary doctorate degrees from The University of Arizona and Suffolk University, and serves as an Executive In Residence at Columbia Business School. Lundgren currently serves on the boards of The Procter & Gamble Company, Carnegie Hall and is chairman of the Economic Club of New York. He is a former board member of Kraft Foods Inc., the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and has participated in numerous charitable and civic efforts and has received numerous awards and recognitions for his leadership in the Fashion Retail industries as well as for his civic and charitable contributions. He has served as co-chairman of the Partnership for New York City and the American Heart Association CEO Roundtable, and chairman of the National Retail Federation (twice), National Minority Supplier Development Council, and the American Society of Corporate Executives.

Simon is the Chief Product Officer for Ocado Solutions, accountable for the vision and development of the Ocado Smart Platform, now powering a number of the worlds leading grocery brands. He is also a Non-Executive Director of Royal Mail PLC in the UK, and a founder member of the Digital Advisory Board for Coca Cola Enterprises in Europe. Simon’s background covers many categories and countries with leadership roles at Apple, Honda, HSBC, lastminute.com, Motorola & Wm Morrisons PLC. He was formerly educated in Computer Science and born in the North East of England.

Launa Inman is a Non-Executive Director of the Super Retail Group, where she is Chair of the Remuneration Committee, and a Board Member of Precinct, a New Zealand commercial property group. Launa also serves on two Not For Profit boards, The Alannah Madeline Foundation and the Virgin Melbourne Fashion Festival.

Launa’s previous Board experience includes 7 years as a Non-Executive Director on the Commonwealth Bank board. While serving on the Commonwealth Bank Board, Launa was additionally part of the Risk, Remuneration and Audit Committee.

Launa has served as Managing Director/CEO of Officeworks, Target Australia and Billabong International, where she was one of only six Woman CEOs in the ASX 200.

Launa’s experience is recognised internationally as a leader of large corporations, multi-brand wholesale and retail, e-commerce, strategic planning, marketing and corporate restructuring. Launa is passionate about customer experience and using technology as an enabler of innovation.

In recognition of her contribution to business Launa was awarded Telstra Australian Businesswoman of the Year and Victoria Businesswoman of the Year in 2003. In 2015 the Australian Marketing Institute awarded her the prestigious Sir Charles McGrath Award for her significant contribution to the field of marketing and wider industry achievements.

After reading Archaeology and Ancient History Mark started his career at the John Lewis partnership as a graduate trainee in 1982 progressing to become Branch manager in High Wycombe and Cheadle. In 2005 he joined the John Lewis Partnership Board taking on responsibility for strategy and IT as Development Director. In April 2007 he was appointed as Managing Director of Waitrose. At the time Waitrose had 183 stores but had increased to 346 when he retired in 2016 after 10 fulfilling years in the role.

In 2013 in addition to his position at Waitrose Mark became Deputy Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership.

He was Chairman of Business in the Community from 2011-2015 and The Prince’s Countryside Fund from 2010–2016. He also sat on the Board of Directors of Channel 4 TV latterly as Deputy Chairman from 2013-16.

He was appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in the 2014 New Year’s Honours for his work with Business in the Community and The Prince’s Countryside Fund. He is also Life Patron of GroceryAid.

In February 2016 Lord Price was appointed the United Kingdom Minister of State for Trade and Investment and was made a life peer.

He left the Government in September 2017 to pursue his writing and business interests and remains a member of the House of Lords. To date he has published 5 books on business, food and for children.

Dr Keyu Jin is a tenured professor of Economics at the London school of Economics. She is from Beijing, China, and holds a B.A., M.A. and Phd from Harvard University. Her research focuses on international macroeconomics and the Chinese economy. Multiple academic works have been published in the top academic journals in Economics. Outside academia, she serves as a non-executive director to Richemont Group, the second largest luxury conglomerate. She also serves on the working committee for China Banking Regulatory Committee on Fintech. In recent years, she has focused on technology investments in China. A columnist for Project Syndicate and Caixin Magazine, the main economics and finance magazine in China, she writes widely about the Chinese economy and global finance, and have made multiple op-ed contributions to the Financial Times. She has had prior experience at the IMF, the World Bank, the New York Fed, Goldman Sachs, as well as other financial institutions. She was named Young global leader by the World Economic Forum in 2014.

Henrik Amsinck is the CIO in the LEGO Group and are leading an ever-increasing deployment of technology in the company. He has held this position since 2007, though he has extended his technology domain substantially, as the company went on a 10 year long double-digit growth journey. He strategically oversees consumer facing digital technologies in marketing and commerce. In LEGO Corporate Management, Henrik has been tasked to head up the “Leverage digitalization” strategic priority and has be instrumental in several digital initiatives. Henrik has transformed IT into a product organization, named Business Technology, and is currently driving a huge companywide transition into an agile delivery model. Henrik has been awarded CIO of the year more than once, and he holds a number of Board positions in private and public companies. Together with two renowned professors, Henrik won the prestigious SIM paper competition prize, where he introduces the “Digital Engagement Platform” and the four digital vectors, that LEGO uses to navigate the portfolio of digital initiatives. Henrik has held CIO positions in TDC and AAK before joining the LEGO Group, but started his career in Finance in Banking. He holds a Master in Economics from Aarhus University and added several leadership courses since then. Henrik is member of the global CIO Network, Enterprise 50 and the Danish network for CIOs from the largest companies in the country.

Gwen’s career has been devoted to helping companies create growth through more meaningful customer engagement.   While working at creative agencies such as Young and Rubicam, she identified the gap between brand imagery delivered through advertising and the presentation of products at retail. This led her to specialize in retail brand strategy.  Gwen spent several years at an award winning interior architecture firm working to create branded environments and experiences. She then launched a retail design unit at a Chicago-based agency where she worked on global brands such as Nike, Nestle, Coca-Cola, and McDonald’s.

At The Store, Gwen is responsible for extending WPP’s thought leadership and capabilities across retail innovation, shopper marketing and insights. A key focus is how data and technology are impacting the ways consumers experience brands.  Her team delivers curated content to WPP’s agencies and clients in the form of presentations, conferences, webinars, and reports.

Gwen has led global industry research in emerging markets and has written for business publications such as HBR and Brandweek.  Gwen serves on the editorial board of Journal of Brand Strategy and has contributed articles focused on sustainability and purpose-led marketing. She is a frequent speaker at international conferences including National Retail Federation, CES, and Retail Leaders Forum in Sydney. She is a guest lecturer at Northwestern University, University of Chicago, and University of Arizona. Gwen also serves on the Advisory Board of Fashion Group International. She launched an iTunes channel for The Store-WPP with podcasts from leading experts on topics ranging from how IoT and AI are transforming the retail landscape to women in tech.

Gwen contributes time to Endeavor entrepreneurs around the globe to support high-impact start-ups in the retail and marketing innovation space.  She is an avid skier and enjoys sailboat racing.

Sean Coxall is President of Supply Chain Solutions. He leads the Branded Fashion and Sportswear Group that provides global brands and specialty fashion retailers with innovative supply chain solutions. His team is at the forefront of innovation and together they pioneer the use of digital technology and new ways of working.

Sean has more than 35 years of experience working in retail, buying and worldwide sourcing. Previously, Sean was the Executive Director of Authentic Brands Group and oversaw the European Apparel Group from 2010 to 2016.

Sean began his career with Marks & Spencer’s management scheme in London in 1981 and then worked across store management and senior selector roles spanning product categories from men’s casualwear, leisurewear and knitwear, and underwear and nightwear to men’s tailoring.

Prior to joining Li & Fung in 2001, he was the Design Director at Warnaco where he was responsible for product development for their key brands, including Calvin Klein Jeans, Calvin Klein Underwear and Chaps Ralph Lauren.

Holly Kramer is the Deputy Chairman of Australia Post and a Non-Executive Director on the Boards of Woolworths and recently, Abacus Property Group. She also sits on the boards of Western Sydney University, the GO (Goodes-O’Loughlin) Foundation, community-owned telco Southern Phones and ASIC External Advisory Panel. Holly’s previous boards include AMP Limited, Nine Entertainment and 2XU. In her executive career, Holly was the CEO of apparel retailer Best & Less, where she was responsible for transforming the business and returning it to growth and profitability. In that role, she was responsible for approximately 200 stores and 4300 employees across Australia. Prior to Best & Less, she was an executive at Pacific Brands, running the Workwear and Homewares Divisions, and Telstra, where she held the roles of Group Managing Director- Product Management and Chief of Marketing. She has also held management positions at ecorp Ltd and Ford Motor Company (in Australia and the US.) Holly has a BA with Honours in Economics and Political Science from Yale University and an MBA from Georgetown University. She is a member of Chief Executive Women and was the recipient of the 2016 AMI’s Sir Charles McGrath award for Marketing.

Jack Gance, qualified as a Pharmacist some 50 years ago, now the Chief Executive Officer of the Chemist Warehouse Group.

The origins of the Chemist Warehouse Group can be traced to a single Pharmacy in the suburbs of Melbourne and a disruptive sunglasses distribution business.

The Gance brothers unearthed Le Specs at the back of French tradeshow and began a cosmetics journey that would gather unreal momentum and fund a Pharmacy empire.

In partnership with Mario Verrocchi, Jack created My Chemist, a customer centric Pharmacy chain inspired by consumer convenience. In 2000 Jack decided that to maximise the potential of his business he needed scale.

In Australia Jack has seen a huge same store growth.  He attributes this to a phenomenal growth in consumer loyalty and market share gains from other Pharmacies and supermarkets. Chemist Warehouse was opened on a discount model, supported by massive inventories that overhauled the Australian market.

Today the group has sales over A&4.5 billion, employs some 16000 staff and is the 8^th biggest retailer icon in Australia.

Debra Singh is the Group CEO Household Goods, overseeing Fantastic Furniture, Plush, OMF and Freedom, while continuing to lead the Fantastic Furniture brand as CEO.

Debra has over 30 years of extensive experience in General Management, Retail Operations, Organisational Design, Human Resources and Change Management.

For over 11 years, Debra’s portfolio consisted of a variety of roles within the Woolworths group, across Supermarkets, Operations and Consumer Electronics. Debra was the first female appointed to lead a trading division. In 2007, she established the Woolworths Wholesale Division providing Buying, Supply Chain and Operations consulting to the Tata Group joint venture in India. On her return from India in 2009, she was appointed GM of Dick Smith, ANZ and India. Debra played a key role in facilitating the sale of Dick Smith in 2012 and then progressed to Fantastic Holdings Group as a consultant.

Debra was appointed COO for FHL in 2013 and then CEO for Fantastic Furniture in August 2014, at which time she set about transforming and repositioning the business, whilst building a fun and engaged people culture. In 2016 Debra was appointed as Group CEO for Fantastic Holdings Group.

In 2017, Steinhoff Asia Pacific acquired FHL, Debra continued in her role as Group CEO and was appointed as an Executive Director to the Steinhoff Asia Pacific Board. In 2018, Debra was appointed Group CEO Household Goods, adding the Freedom brand to her portfolio.

Debra is also a Non-Executive Director on The Kids’ Cancer Project Board.

Alice Barbery joined Universal Store in 2009 as the COO and was promoted to CEO in 2017. She believes the necessary improvements in technological advancement must be balanced with advancement in team culture. Without a vibrant healthy culture, you cannot sustain a healthy balance sheet.  Retail is a service industry and customer interactions, be they digital or personal are driven by the level of engagement the internal team experience.

Working in youth fashion it is all too clear that today’s employees demand more from the workplace than ever before and the traditional leadership paradigm just doesn’t achieve the connects required to achieve long-term success in the modern workplace.

Trained in educational psychology, Alice has a unique 25-year background in a variety of leadership roles in the USA, UK and Australia ranging from Retail to Aviation. As the CEO of Universal Store, Alice has had the ability to craft a culture from the ground up. We acknowledge that all decisions have an impact and leave an emotional wake that leaders ignore at their peril. In our business we know that you haven’t got time to ignore the impact on people because that is the single resource that will achieve positive outcomes in record time or cost millions.

In the digital age there can be a race to the bottom on delivering the cheapest price in the most efficient manner possible.  However, biology dictates that we are social animals and the technological advancements made have greater impact when balanced with significant gains in human connection.

Akash has 20 Years of experience in Retail Store Design & Construction Management. He has worked for leading global brands in Luxury & Premium Apparel Category apart from Food & Beverage Brands as well. He has spent half of his professional life with Levi Strauss &Co before working with Brands like Gucci ,Jimmy Choo, Pizza Hut ,KFC etc. Akash is well versed in creating Strategies for Design and Rolling out of Brands in vast geographies in Asia Pacific, Middle East & African markets. Akash currently manages a team of 16 Architects and Project Managers who create roll out Levi’s® and Dockers® Brands across different regions. Akash holds a Bachelors in Civil Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, India.

Dominic Perrottet is the NSW Treasurer and Minister for Industrial Relations. He was appointed Treasurer in January 2017 having served as the Minister for Finance, Services and Property under Premier Mike Baird. As Treasurer, Dominic is driven by the belief that responsible financial and economic management are the essential foundation for improving services and investing in infrastructure, while lowering the tax and regulatory burden. His budgets have been characterised by strong surpluses and spending restraint, and he has overseen tax cuts of more than $2 billion, while maintaining NSW’s coveted triple-A credit rating. As Treasurer, Dominic has also focused on supporting the aspirational low- and middle-income families who are the heart of NSW’s success, working to ease cost of living pressures and increase economic opportunity. He is a firm believer in governments making better use of public assets, and has overseen the final stages of NSW Government’s highly successful “Rebuilding NSW” asset recycling program, generating almost AU$30 billion in proceeds for investment into new productive infrastructure across NSW. He is an outspoken advocate for reform, and has led the rollout of Service NSW and the establishment of icare, and instituted the state’s first ever Productivity Commission and Chief Economist to drive a new economic agenda for NSW. Mindful of the pressing intergenerational challenges NSW faces, in 2018 Dominic established the NSW Generations fund to offset future public debt and secure NSW’s financial strength for generations to come.

Guy was appointed the Director of BWS in August 2014. BWS is Australia’s largest liquor retailer with 1,320 stores and 7,500 employees. BWS is part of the Endeavour Drinks Group which is owned by Woolworths limited. Before this role Guy was the General Manager of Pinnacle Drinks, the internal supply group for Endeavour Drinks which he was responsible for setting up in July 2012.

Wai has more than 30 years of working experience in the retail and wholesale manufacturing industries. She has held senior executive roles with some iconic organisations like the Just Group Ltd, Pacific Dunlop (Pacific Brands), Bowater plc (then Carter Holt Harvey) and IBM Consulting Group
(management services).

After resigning from her dual tenure as the Group Operations Director and CEO for Peter Alexander Sleepwear within the Just Group in June 2009, she continues to share her knowledge and experience in the capacity of non-executive directors for both ASX200 companies and privately own retail companies. In addition to her non-executive director roles, she has successfully launched two retail start-ups between 2009 and 2015. In 2011, she launched a specialty retail concept in confectionery called Happy Lab with 7 retail stores and an online channel. She has then sold the business to her
business partner in 2013 to focus on her non-executive director roles. The second start-up she has helped launch in 2015 is a high-end luxury fashion lifestyle brand called White Story. After getting the business up and running with Fiona Myer, Wai’s participation in White Story is of advisory nature as she does for other retailers such as Coles, Myer, Mecca Cosmetica, Sussan Group, AWPL (travel retail) and et al on demand basis.

Wai currently holds non-executive director position for Vicinity Centres Ltd (VCX), an ASX30 company, number 2 REIT after SCenter and a top10 REIT worldwide with a market capitalisation of $10B. Some of the iconic assets held by VCX are Chadstone Shopping Center, The Emporium and
Chatswood Chase. She is a member of the Audit Committee as well as Risk & Compliance Committee. In September 2015, she joined the JB Hi Fi Ltd (JBH) board serving as a non-executive director. JBH is a consumer electronics; technology and home appliance retailer with over 300 stores owned and
operating across Australia and New Zealand. The JB Hi Fi Group (consists of JB HiFi and The Good Guys) is an ASX100 company with a market capitalisation of approximately $3bn and revenue in excess of $6.5B. She is a member of the Audit & Risk committee and Remuneration Committee.
October 2017, Wai was appointed to the PMP Ltd board as a non-executive director. PMP is the largest commercial printer in Australia and New Zealand, producing catalogues, magazine and books. In addition to printing, its principal activities also include digital pre-media, distribution services for
catalogues and magazine. After its merger with IPMG in March 2017, PMP forecast annual revenue is in excess of $1B and has a market capitalisation of $150M. Being a Melbournian, she is also actively involves in the arena of performing Arts through her board membership at the Melbourne Festival Ltd. Her appointment to the Festival’s board was by the Minister of Creative Industries (Arts Victoria). She is also on the Board of Visit Victoria representing the retail industry in growing the tourism economy for Victoria. Visit Victoria, is an initiative by the Victorian Ministry of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources by amalgamating Melbourne Major Events, Tourism Victoria and Melbourne Bureau of Conventions.

Wai’s previous non-executive director roles include Specialty Fashion Group Ltd, Melbourne Fashion Festival Ltd and BBRC (Brett Blundy Retail Capital) and she has just resigned from the Board of Kikki.K Pty Ltd effective from November 2017. Wai holds a Bachelor of Science from RMIT, a MBA from Melbourne University and a deferred degree in Master of Science. She also holds a graduate diploma in Australian Company Directors (GAICD).

David Smith is the Managing Director of Diageo Australasia, encompassing the Diageo Australia, New Zealand and SPI businesses, having joined in 2015.

Prior to joining Diageo Australasia, David spent 4 years as Country Director of Diageo Ireland, sitting on the European Executive Committee.

He started his career 28 years ago as a marketing executive for Guinness and then Cadbury Ltd before becoming Marketing Director of Guinness in GB. He then spent 9 years in senior commercial roles including 5 years as Diageo’s Commercial Director for Great Britain

David is passionate about growing brands, businesses & people; together with building great partnerships with customers and other stakeholders.

In Ireland, David held the role of Chair of the Irish Brewers Association and is currently Chair of Spirits & Cocktails Australia, the country’s peak body for the spirits industry.  David also sits on the boards of Drinkwise (a not for profit social aspects organisation with the aim of educating Australian’s to drink responsibly), Alcohol Beverages Australia and Retail Drinks Australia (Australia’s peak body representing packaged liquor stores).

Originally from Leicester, England, David lives in Sydney with his wife and two sons.

Jacquie is an expert and thought leader in corporate sustainability, responsible brands and innovation. Over the past 20 years she has delivered award-winning sustainability, business development and strategic communications programs for some of the world’s best-known organisations and brands that have created business growth, built reputation and trust, brand equity and share, reduced risk and engaged customers, consumers and corporate stakeholders.
She is a former global executive for personal care company, Kimberly-Clark Corporation where she held a variety of senior leadership roles with responsibility spanning North and South America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Whilst on the Executive Leadership Team of Kimberly-Clark Australia, she led the business to win Leading Large Organisation in the Banksia Sustainability Awards, and a raft of other awards.
Jacquie has recently setup her own management consultancy firm called Sustainovate. Sustainovate has been established to satisfy the growing demand from organisations and brands for expert consulting and advisory services on strategy development, innovation, leading change and communication on social and environmental issues to enhance growth, long-term value creation and prosperity.
Jacquie wrote the MBA subject, Corporate Responsibility and Accountability and teaches it at the University of New South Wales AGSM. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is immediate past Chairman of the Business Council for Sustainable Development and is a current Board Director. She is an Advisory Board Member for the Climate Media Centre, a professional member of the Australasian Transformation and Turnaround Association and was involved in the Australian Food & Grocery Council for many years and helped set-up the Retailer Supplier Roundtable on Sustainability.

Michael Ford was appointed CEO of Steinhoff Asia Pacific Group Holdings in August 2017. Michael has over 25 years of international retail experience and is highly skilled in all facets of retail, with a particular passion for business innovation and transformation. He has held CEO roles with iconic retail brands such as The Good Guys, Country Road, Esprit and Jag Clothing.

As Chief Executive Officer of The Good Guys between 2004 and 2016, Michael lead a team of over 4,400 employees across Australia to deliver the organisation’s mission of delighting customers and ‘doing good’ through a lens of remarkable retail, in order to become the most successful and admired electrical appliance retailer in Australia. He led The Good Guys into a new age of prosperity and growth, doubling the company’s annual turnover and achieving the number one market share and number one preference to shop for large and small appliances in Australia.

Michael’s leadership helped The Good Guys flourish in an industry that was undergoing rapid structural transformation and consolidation, and which was impacted by significant price deflation as well as the emergence of new players. He did this by identifying and utilising industry trends, seeking out World’s best practice, investing in best-of-breed systems and infrastructure, and adapting working practices to accommodate rapidly changing consumer needs.

Nicole is a highly accomplished senior executive with extensive experience in the media, marketing and digital industries.  With an intrinsic understanding of the Australian consumer, Nicole is accountable for delivering seamless experiences across the key customer channels including Australia’s largest retail network, with over 4,300 post offices, the customer contact centre and digital channels. She is also responsible for brand, marketing, community and corporate social responsibility.

Prior to joining Australia Post in August 2018, Nicole held a number of influential leadership roles in print, broadcast and digital media. Most recently, she was the Chief Digital Officer for News Corp Australia, responsible for the company’s digital revenue growth and strategy, audience and subscription growth, content optimisation and marketing. She was instrumental in driving transformation across its digital products and technology platforms in light of changing customer needs.

Before that she was the Chief Executive of NewsLifeMedia, leading the lifestyle publishing division, known for well-loved brands such news.com.au, Taste.com.au, Vogue, Donna Hay and Country Style.  Her career also spans roles in broadcast media, publishing and telecommunications.

Nicole is a regular speaker and commentator on business, media and women’s issues, is a Director of Chief Executive Women (CEW) and held the role of Chair of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Australia Board.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Law from Macquarie University and a Masters of Business from the University of Technology Sydney.

Chris Garlick has been CEO of Starbucks Australia since 2014. Chris’ appointment to the role was part of the acquisition of Starbucks Australia by the Withers Group. It was also the beginning of the transformation of the business, after it had failed to gain traction since the brand entered Australia in 2000. Under Chris’ leadership, the transformation of Starbucks Australia has been characterised by a deep understanding of the economics of the local market, as well as an unrelenting focus on delighting customers with exceptional experiences in stores, consistent delivery of high quality beverages, and the physical and digital engagement of customers in a way that has strong resonance with target groups. By the end of 2018, Starbucks Australia will have reached 44 stores; beyond that, there is an exciting pipeline of future stores in locations exposed to high customer traffic flows. Prior to Starbucks, Chris was General Manager of the Non-Food business at Coles Supermarkets for 2.5 years. This role provided the opportunity for Chris to be a prominent leader and active contributor to the remarkable performance trajectory of that business during that period of time. All of this was after Chris “grew up” within BP over 16 years. Over his time in BP, Chris moved from a graduate intake in the very early stages of his career, to running the Retail business in Australia. Notable highlights were his 6 years in Senior Marketing and Sales roles in BP America based in Chicago, including 4 years as Vice President of Product & Offer Development; and leading the Australian Petrol & Convenience Business to deliver material profit growth through a highly engaged team. Chris has an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM), and has spent time at Kellogg Graduate School of Management undertaking various Sales & Marketing programs. His undergraduate degree is a Bachelor of Arts, with Honours in Politics.

Susie Sugden is Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Marketing Officer at Temple & Webster, Australia’s largest online retailer of furniture and homewares, where she is responsible for retail merchandising, website management and marketing. Prior to Temple & Webster, Susie led a number of eCommerce and marketing businesses in Indonesia, including as co-founder of Lazada Indonesia, Indonesia’s biggest e-commerce site (acquired by Alibaba in 2016) and Paraplou.com, a leading online fashion retailer. She commenced her career in retail at the Boston Consulting Group. Susie has been recognised for her impact on the eCommerce industry in both Australia and Southeast Asia. She was the first foreign entrepreneur selected for Endeavor Indonesia and she has been recognised by Advance Australia as a young leader in technology.

Steve Cox is a highly accomplished retail leader with over 25 years experience in retail management across leading brands in Australia and the United Kingdom.

Today Steve is Managing Director of Dymocks Retail, Wholesale & Tutoring; a position he has held for over 6 years. Taking on the challenges of the book retailing industry, Steve has direct experience in managing change through a disruptive retail environment. He has successfully steered Dymocks to sales and profit growth, delivering a strategy which has transformed direct customer communications and significantly increased customer loyalty to the 139 year old iconic brand. He continues to seek innovation in the operation of the locally owned network of stores, and delivers on the company mission of ‘inspiring more book lovers’.

As part of the Dymocks Retail growth strategy, in November 2015 Steve managed the acquisition of stationery and lifestyle gift supplier Telegram Co., including online retailer milligram.com. Today this business, as part of Dymocks Retail, is enjoying strong growth across both the wholesale and retail verticals.

In 2018 Steve oversaw the launch of the new tutoring business Potentia. This expansion into the education market is part of Dymocks long-term strategy to innovate the business, extend the brand’s core educational values and complement its existing retail arms.

Steve is also on the Board of Dymocks Children’s Charities, a not for profit organisation specialising in literacy support for disadvantaged children in priority areas across Australia. In the last financial year, Dymocks Children’s Charities programs delivered over $640,633 worth of books to 27,739 students in 165 schools across Australia, delivering on its vision to “change kids’ lives, one book at a time”.

An avid reader, cyclist, family man and Sydney Swans supporter, Steve holds a Master of Business Administration from the Macquarie Graduate School of Management.

Tim is the Chair and Director of NRMA, a Director of Platinum Asset Management Limited and Advisor to Quantium, Australia’s leading data and analytics company, and holds interests in several private high growth innovative companies. He is an authority on how to use information and technology to drive innovation, for corporate strategy and for a better society. His core interest relates to the role of directors to create good governance, for the service of customers and the community. Tim is an experienced chair, non-executive director, former CEO, and advisor for high-performance global and Australian companies. His career has spanned diverse categories including artificial intelligence and machine learning, big data, digital transformation, mobility and transport, financial services and media. Along with fellow directors and Chairman Hon. R J Hawke, Tim helped to establish The Bestest Foundation. This charity has raised over $4,000,000 for disadvantaged Australian children.

Anna is the COO for Australia & NZ’s leading online fashion and sports retailer, THE ICONIC. She joined in 2014 as CFO, a role she held for three years. Anna started her career journey over 24 years ago and has since paved a successful career. From ‘Big 4’ to high-growth corporate environments across Australia, NZ and APAC, Anna has focussed on building best practice finance and operational functions by establishing, leading and developing high performing teams. Anna has sat on Executive teams for over 16 years managing broad remits including Supply Chain, Customer Service, Finance, People & Culture, Legal, Risk and Compliance, IT and Office Management functions.

Anna was the finalist for the Thomson Reuters Accounting Excellence Awards for both CFO of the Year and Finance Team of the Year in 2015. She contributes to the industry as brand ambassador for causes for which she is passionate including the CA (Chartered Accountants) Program and Dress for Success. She is a mentor as part of the CA ANZ Mentor Exchange Program, and the NORA Talent Network.

Jane Kelly joined Super Retail Group in July 2016 as Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) from BT Financial Group, where she served as Human Resources and Corporate Affairs Director. Previously, she served in a number of senior roles in large, complex organisations, including Head of Reward for St. George Bank and Head of HR Australian Financial Services at Westpac. Jane holds a Masters of Commerce and Employee Relations with honours from the University of Melbourne, and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales. As CHRO, Jane is responsible for advancing Super Retail Group’s strong focus on team engagement, culture and capability development.

James Spenceley is an Australian VC investor, award-winning entrepreneur and company director. He is the Chairman of Airtasker and CEO and co-founder of MHOR asset management, a specialist small capital investment fund.

In 2007 James founded Vocus Communications and went on to become the youngest Australian to create and lead an ASX100 company. When he stepped down as CEO in February 2016, the company had annual revenue of $1.8billion, a market cap of $5billion and 1,500 staff. His achievements at Vocus saw him feature three times on the BRW young rich list and two-times as a EY Entrepreneur of the Year winner.

Following his success with Vocus, James has established himself as a leading Australian VC investor, mentor and philanthropist, and spent a number of years as co-owner and Chair of the Illawarra Hawks NBL team.

Alongside Airtasker, James holds a number of ASX-listed board positions including, Chairman of Silver Heritage Group and non-executive director of Indoor Sky Dive Australia Group.

In 2018 he was inducted into the CommsDay Edison Awards Hall of Fame and recently was announced as the first ambassador for the Women on Boards WOBSX program.

Alexander Meyer is a user-centric and innovation-driven Chief Marketing Officer with an entrepreneurial spirit. He has collected his main experiences in youth culture, brand marketing, digital user experience, strategic planning and leadership. Alex has gained international work experience in global, regional and local business environments, with a steady focus on bridging the intersection between brand, product and sales. Alex has worked for large consumer brands such as adidas and Vans, as well as running his own creative branding agency and working with and in small tech startups. He is a husband and a father of two young boys.

Christine is an accomplished and highly-versatile business leader with extensive experience in delivering strong financial and people outcomes in the retail, eCommerce, and logistics sectors.

She was the former Chief Customer Officer at Australia Post and is currently a Special Advisor for PwC as well as a Non-Executive Director for the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne and sits on the NBL Advisory Board.

Christine has been recognised in the Australian Financial Review and Westpac 100 Women of Influence Awards for 2016 in the Board and Management category.

Consumer Division General Manager, Stijn Demeersseman is a passionate Xennial driven by transforming businesses and organisations to be sharply focused on succeeding in the ever-changing consumer landscape. In addition to working companies to evolve their business model to meet consumer needs, Stijn is dedicated to driving the brands he works for to take a more of sustainable and a socially aware approach towards the communities in which they operate. Stijn has extensive experience in the European Consumer Goods Industry having held roles at both national and regional levels for both Procter & Gamble and across various locations for L’Oréal. Through this experience, he is keenly aware of the need create personal connections with consumers, and prides himself on creating an environment where his team is empowered to curate holistic customer experiences, drive stronger omni-channel retailer partnerships driving day in day success.

Levi Aron is the Australian Country Manager for Deliveroo, the UK founded tech startup that provides an on-demand delivery service for high-quality restaurant meals. Deliveroo has seen phenomenal success since its launch in 2013 and as such is continually growing, and is now available in over 200 cities across 13 countries (including Melbourne, Geelong, Sydney, Wollongong, Penrith, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Perth, Adelaide & Canberra), and has raised over A$1.2 billion to date – a true start up success story. Since joining Deliveroo in July 2015, Levi’s drive for creativity, efficiency and innovation in the business has seen him implement a variety of new tactics in Australia that enabled the company reach higher levels of success. Levi has a very hands-on approach to management, being known for going back to the ‘shop floor’ every fortnight, getting his bike out and doing an evening of deliveries with the other Deliveroo riders. He finds this regular first-hand experience incredibly beneficial as it enables him to gather invaluable insights and feedback, which he can in turn utilise to improve the efficiency of the customer and partner experience. Levi has 18 years’ experience in senior leadership roles. He possesses extensive operations, sales, marketing, and customer engagement experience with a demonstrated track record in building and managing effective teams, capable of scaling to desired business objectives.

CMO for Kraft Heinz Australia, responsible for strategy, creative and execution for all categories for Kraft Heinz in Australia. Prior to that, spent 18 years in Unilever across global, regional and country roles in both marketing and sales. Winner of Cannes Lion, Effie and D&AD awards.

Nicholas Criticos is head of store design for department store, David Jones, Australia. With retailers increasingly challenged by the ‘global bazaar’ customers now have access to, Nicholas is interested in exploring the future role of physical stores and how they can adapt in order to survive, and thrive, in the digital age.

He promotes a lateral response, which involves creating meaningful experiences and connections with customers and immersion through effective design.  He has specialised in retail design, creative direction and design leadership over the last 15 years.

A trained architect, Nicholas leads a team of designers, planners and CAD specialists to deliver new store design concepts for future stores. He is currently working on the ‘store of the future’ for David Jones, as well as holding the role of creative lead for the Elizabeth Street store in Sydney, a $200 million renovation of a heritage-listed David Jones store. He is based in Melbourne.

Nicholas was previously head of store Design for Woolworths South Africa where he was creative lead for the ‘store of the future’ Mall of Africa project. He also pioneered the retailer’s new food market format, the flagship of which was awarded the Grand Prize for Design in the Supermarket/Grocery category awarded by the Association for Retail Environments (ARE).

He holds both a Bachelor of Architecture and Bachelor of Social Science from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Julie Nestor joined eBay Australia in 2018 as the Chief Marketing Officer. She leads teams responsible for brand, loyalty, performance marketing and buyer experience.

Julie has spent the last 20 years in marketing and general management roles across agency, telecommunications, financial services and technology industries.

Prior to joining eBay, Julie was part of the American Express leadership team in Australia for 13 years where she held numerous marketing, partnership and general management positions across Australia and Asia Pacific.

Julie is also an advocate for corporate social responsibility and is an Advisory Board Member for Two Good Co, an organisation that provides food and employment to women escaping domestic violence.

Outside of work, Julie enjoys spending time with her 5 year-old son, Jack, her husband, Tim, and their cavoodle, Freddie, while hunting for undiscovered beaches and& Sydney’s best seafood.

Bernard has spent the last six years leveraging data assets and marketing technology to drive competitive advantage for businesses through insight, customer and loyalty strategy, CRM and digital and media commercialisation.

Bernard is currently an Executive at Quantium, Australia’s leading data science and AI company.

Before joining Quantium, Bernard led Myer’s loyalty program and the development of the company’s CRM program and single-view-of-the-customer as General Manager Loyalty, Data and Myer Media.

Previously he played an instrumental role at Woolworths, as a member of the leadership team of WooliesX and leading the Customer Data Analytics, Media and Commercialisation function within Woolworths Rewards.

Bernard also led the delivery of strategic initiatives and innovation projects at Lion (then Lion Nathan) and has held other senior positions including Vice President in Investment Banking at Credit Suisse where he covered telecommunications, media and technology.

Susan has over 25 years of experience in property investment management primarily in the retail sector, including asset and funds management, property and portfolio acquisitions and developments. She has worked in Australia, the US and Europe.
Prior to joining Mirvac in 2010, Susan was Chief Operating Office of Galileo Funds Management. She was the Fund Manager of Galileo Shopping America Trust (GSA), a listed AREIT, and a Director of the RE prior to its sale in 2007.
Susan has previously worked for AMP, where she was the Managing Director of AMP Shopping Centres and started her career with Lend Lease where she worked for sixteen years. Susan’s last role with Lend Lease was as Asset Management Director (Retail), based in London.
Susan is currently Joint Deputy Chair of The Shopping Centre Council of Australia (SCCA) and the Chair of ULI Australia.

Mark is the Chief Digital Officer of Accent Group Ltd, Australia’s largest footwear retailer with over 440 stores across Australia & New Zealand. Mark has extensive experience in a variety of retail disciplines including Merchandise, Marketing, eCommerce, CRM, and Omni-channel retail. Mark has developed a reputation as a change agent, leading several high-profile change management and strategic projects at Accent Group through digitising the organisation and re-imagining retail. He is responsible for the Group Digital Strategy and execution for 9 retail and wholesale brands including, The Athlete’s Foot, Platypus, HypeDC, Skechers, Vans, Timberland, Merrell, Sperry, Saucony & CAT. Mark holds a Masters of Management and MBA from MGSM, and is a non-executive director of not-for-profit board.

Chris has over 10 years’ experience in Marketing, Digital and Loyalty strategy with his knowledge and expertise spanning markets throughout Asia Pacific. Prior to his current role with AccorHotels, Chris led the mobile strategy for InterContinental Hotels Group across Asia Pacific, and was responsible for driving digital adoption at Westpac. Chris is currently the Director of Loyalty & Digital Commerce at AccorHotels Pacific, the largest hotel operator in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region representing over 300 hotels and resorts. Chris is also a representative on the Global Shadow Comex (Senior Executive Committee) for AccorHotels, a group of 12 individuals nominated from various countries who collaborate on ideas and projects to fuel innovation within the organisation.

Jonathan Reeve writes and advises on retail strategy, digital disruption and e-commerce fulfilment. Jonathan has worked in retail businesses on three continents for over 17 years and was part of the team that developed the operating model for Tesco.com, a global pioneer of online grocery retail. Jonathan is also the author of Retail’s Last Mile: Why Online Shopping Will Exceed Our Wildest Predictions, a book which explores the disruption of store retail by online shopping.

Fiona Murphy is General Manager, Human Resources at Kmart Tyre & Auto Service, part of the Wesfarmers group of companies. Qualified in both Psychology and Law, she has over 20 years of experience in HR both in Australia and the UK and held senior roles in organisations as diverse as Channel 4 Television (UK), Uniting Care, and Study Group. Her retail experience includes Hertz Rent-a-Car (UK), the Just Group, and her current role. She is passionate about building skills via vocational education and mentoring women into leadership roles.

Karen Matthews has over 25yrs experience in leading turnaround, change and growth across Retail, Wholesale and Franchising and summarises her career in 5 distinct but interconnected chapters….

• First stop was Myer, where Karen “cut her teeth” and learnt the art of retail, buying and marketing
• From there, Karen moved into brand management, licensing and product development with the FJ Benjamin Group, working with wonderful brand such as Guess, Ann Taylor and Gucci
• Chapter 3 comprised 10 wonderful years as CEO of skincare company Ella Bache, where she developed and launched Australia’s first skincare franchise and developed her passion and love of change, heart led leadership and the power of culture first
• Karen’s last corporate role was as Retail Director with Freedom Furniture, where she led their 50 stores and 1200 staff in all things retail – another massive change role.
• In 2016, Karen launched, “Karen Matthews – Inspiring Change” – Chapter 5 of her journey where she is now passionate about leveraging her experience and teaching and supporting other businesses and their teams to identify and implement the changes needed in their business to grow.

Karen is recognised in the market as a confident and innovative leader with strong operational and strategic experience and an unwavering commitment to vision, people and results, all delivered through the eyes of her own experience.

She has won a number of awards over her career including 2004 Telstra NSW Business Woman of Year, 2005 PWC NSW Franchise Woman Year and 2007 PWC National Franchise Woman of Year

Last but not least, Karen has 2 gorgeous teenagers, a patient, calm and understanding husband, a to die for beaglier called Maggie and is obsessed with Crossfit – which confirms she actually is also crazy!!!

Susan Grossman is executive vice president, Data & Services at Mastercard. Susan leads the Product Development efforts across business lines including Platforms, Managed Services, Loyalty, and Labs as a Service.

Susan utilizes her deep expertise and understanding of Product Management Excellence to develop value added services that address the varying needs of our diverse and global customers.

Prior to her current role within the company, Susan was the retail and commerce vertical lead, where she focused on solving business challenges for customers across travel and hospitality, retail, restaurants, media and other verticals, drawing on insights, analytics and other capabilities from across the company.

In Susan’s previous position, she led the integration of a strategic acquisition, ensuring continued business success, talent and customer retention and creating new opportunities. Before this, Susan built the media solutions business at Mastercard, where she globally led efforts to help advertisers, media properties and others in the advertising ecosystem drive and improve their ROI.

Susan came to Mastercard with a background in data, analytics and software. She spent 18 years with Information Resources Inc., where she held a variety of analytic, sales and general management positions focusing on industry verticals including retailers, media consumer packaged goods and healthcare. She was responsible for building a software as a service analytics business leveraging proprietary data, models and technology to provide real-time, predictive business solutions for consumer packaged goods manufacturers. Prior to Information Resources Inc. she held a number of sales and marketing roles in retail and consumer packaged goods.

Susan holds a Master of Business Administration in Marketing from Northeastern University and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Boston College.

Doug’s primary role with Infor is to provide strategic advice to the Research & Development team on the business functions of the existing and future applications in order to ensure their relevance to the retail industry across Infor’s enterprise retail solution set in order to keep Infor’s software current and relevant for today’s fast paced changes flowing into retail.

As input to this process, Doug meets with retailers, retail analysts and business partners around the world to tease out global business and technical trends, as well as Doug drawing on his +20 years of retail experience as a merchant and operations lead with May Department Stores and Academy Sports (where Doug also led a companywide ERP transformation project).

Doug’s primary role with Infor is to provide strategic advice to the Research & Development team on the business functions of the existing and future applications in order to ensure their relevance to the retail industry across Infor’s enterprise retail solution set in order to keep Infor’s software current and relevant for today’s fast paced changes flowing into retail.

As input to this process, Doug meets with retailers, retail analysts and business partners around the world to tease out global business and technical trends, as well as Doug drawing on his +20 years of retail experience as a merchant and operations lead with May Department Stores and Academy Sports (where Doug also led a companywide ERP transformation project).

Andrew joined eStar in October 2014 as CEO.  Andrew has 25 years experience in retail, eCommerce, and consulting in Australasia, Asia and the UK.

Prior to joining eStar, he was CEO Multichannel (and CEO Torpedo 7 Group) at The Warehouse Group (TWG) leading their digital expansion across 14 retail and wholesale brands, a mix of omnichannel and pureplay businesses, and a mix of existing, acquired and newly launched brands. Prior to TWG, he founded, then led a new category management business to over $20m in sales in 2 years which was successfully sold in 2012.

Andrew has also held executive level roles in IT, merchandise, sourcing, strategy and supply chain in retail, as well as senior consulting roles both independently and with KPMG in Asia and Australasia.

Angus is co-founder of Sonder, the global authority on owned media, which has unlocked over $4 billion in owned media value for the likes of Telstra, Coles, American Express, KFC, Virgin, Commonwealth Bank, Myer and Stockland.

Having worked in the UK in both domestic and international media and led some of the largest media buying agencies in Australia, Angus knows the true value of media. With his unique insight, he is helping retailers leverage owned media to increase revenue, improve customer relationships and reduce costs.

In the connection economy, where trust and relationships rule supreme, Angus believes retailers are best placed to be the media owners of the future.

Ronan Gilhawley is a Partner with Oliver Wyman, leading their Retail & Consumer Goods practice in Australia & New Zealand.

Ronan has worked across Europe, Asia and Australia with organisationRonan Gilhawley is a Partner with Oliver Wyman, leading their Retail & Consumer Goods practice in Australia & New Zealand.  Ronan has worked across Europe, Asia and Australia with organisations on topics including strategy, digital , pricing, marketing, store operations, and cost”

Since starting his career in TV sales at Network Ten, Daniel King has amassed over 25 years of experience in the Australian advertising industry – seeing in the arrival of Digital, Pay TV & Digital TV respectively.

After 16 years spent climbing the ranks from Sales Assistant to Sales Director at Ten, Daniel joined MediaCom’s GroupM to spearhead investment and planning for the world’s biggest advertiser – Procter & Gamble. In that time, he oversaw the complete digitalization of the brands’ advertising activities.

This led to Daniel’s current appointment at Facebook – first as Head of Strategy & Media Planning, and now as Head of Strategy for the Retail & Restaurant industries specifically. Passionate about finding innovative solutions in an ever-evolving digital world, Dan helps all kind of advertisers understand the valuable role of Facebook in their business.

As the co-founder of Axonify and SVP of Strategic Initiatives, Christine manages the company’s International Business—both direct and through reseller partners. She also oversees Axonify’s strategic deals in North America. With over 25 years of sales and sales management experience in the high-tech industry, Christine has worked in a variety of market sectors including finance, banking, healthcare, manufacturing, distribution, transportation and logistics and retail. Prior to Axonify, Christine assisted tech start-ups in building and executing their sales and go-to-market strategies. Previous roles include VP of Sales at Covarity, and a variety of sales and sales management roles at Descartes Systems Group. Christine holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Wilfrid Laurier University.

David Gordon is an ex-PwC National Practice Leader with 30 years of experience running successful retail businesses.

Over the years, David has held executive and operational roles in large and medium sized retail companies and consumer goods businesses across the supply chain including Liquorland, General Pants, Optus, Mitre 10 and Country Road.

In addition to that, he has extensive experience assisting start up IT and Consumer Goods businesses through their commercialisation phase. He has also help support business owners with their succession planning and has experience as a non-executive director and mentor.

The common denominator has been an environment where change and improvement have been central to strategy.

David Mah is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Kepler Analytics. Kepler combines proprietary in-store customer behaviour and traffic sensors, comprehensive business-wide data integration and advanced machine learning models to deliver effective real-time recommendations and reporting for retail managers to act on.

David has an extensive background in digital, data science and hardware engineering, and is the inventor of Kepler Analytics’ primary technologies. David’s system has helped retailers in 10 countries increase sales, improve customer satisfaction and decrease operating cost across 87%+ of their store network within 12 months. As of January 2019, Kepler is helping 2,000 stores every day to boost store productivity and grow sales.

David is a fellow of the prestigious Melbourne Accelerator Program and continues to mentor its participants. Having created several successful tech-centric start-ups and raised substantial venture capital, David has a wealth of experience and passion for building exciting products to transform industries.

Charles DeWitt Managing Director, Kronos, Australia, New Zealand and South-East Asia (ANZSEA)

Charles has been with Kronos at Boston HQ in the United States as Vice President of Business Development for 15 years.

In this role he was instrumental in driving Kronos strategy as a $1 billion global enterprise software leader, culminating in the company reporting record breaking financial results, with $1.4 billion revenue in its 2018 fiscal year.

As Kronos seeks to strengthen and expand its footprint in the ANZSEA markets, Charles made the move down under in 2018 to take up the role of MD ANZSEA in Kronos’ regional headquarters in Sydney.

A lot of organisations talk about people being important, but Charles goes further to say that employees are a company’s strongest source of competitive advantage. While a lot of businesses talk the talk, Charles’ vision for Kronos in the region is to help businesses walk the talk.

Kronos Australia itself has been voted one of the top 20 places to work in the nation, and Charles says continuing to keep eagle eyed focus on customers and people will be its recipe for success under his watch.

Not only equipped with a savvy business mind, Charles is known in the business for his technical thinking, which he applies to both innovation and functionality of Kronos systems. He holds a degree in science from the University of Maine and a Masters of Science in management and chemical engineering from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

As Global Head of the Retail Industry Business Unit, Achim Schneider drives SAP’s global strategy and solutions across all Retail segments. Leading a global team of retail and technology experts, Achim is responsible for strategic solution investments, key partner relationships, and go-to-market strategy. With over 20 years of retail industry leadership and expertise, Achim effectively combines visionary leadership with execution bias in helping retailers apply technology to create value and realize business outcomes while delighting their customers.

During his long-standing career at SAP, Achim has held leadership roles in consulting, solution management, training, and managed tier 1 co-innovation projects some of SAP’s most strategic customers. He is a global thought leader and solution expert in SAP’s Retail Portfolio with a core focus on Sourcing & Buying, Customer Demand Driven Supply Chain and Vertical Fashion – globally across the different Regions and Market Units. Additionally, Achim has been a driving force in APJ and Greater China, working as a retail thought leader and member of the Global Integrated Consumer Industries Leadership team in this region. As trusted field advisor, Achim has developed excellent customer relationships, influenced board-level stakeholders, forged strong relationships with strategic partners and driven process improvement at the world’s largest and best-run brands.

Previous to SAP, Achim studied at the University of Trier where he achieved his master’s degree in economics. He resides with his family in Rheinland Pfalz (Rhineland Plalatinate), south of Germany‘s oldest city Trier. Achim is active in voluntary service supporting the Lego team – the GymSAP Robo Guards – of the local Secondary School, where SAP is the primary sponsor of the first Lego League and has also coached one team in the World Robot Olympics in the World Finals in Doha (Qatar). In his spare time, Achim is an avid cyclist and runner who looks forward to spending his time outdoors. He is a talented pianist who leads and mentors a number of choral and musical groups within his community.

Mats is a recognised thought leader in the unified retail space and preparing specialty retailers for the future. Working from a philosophy of unified retail, he knows that successful loyalty programs rely on a seamless merging of the digital and physical retail worlds – across the entire supply chain. As CEO and founder of GOC Retail, one of Australia’s leading Retail consultancies, he guides iconic retailers such as R.M. Williams, and GANT in global expansions across multiple continents. Mats applies his passion for innovation, deep retail experience, and outstanding business and technical knowledge to deliver exceptional results for retailers.

Jeremy Francis is the Chief Operating Officer of Marketplacer, a company that owns and provides a global software platform to create and run all types of online marketplaces, ranging from products and services through to events and travel.

Within the Marketplacer group, Jeremy founded 3SIXTY1 with the intention of helping businesses harness the power of internal and external data, to form meaningful and actionable insights, that can be utilised to improve commercial performance.

Prior to his position with Marketplacer, Jeremy oversaw Marketing at Virgin Australia, focusing on Trade Marketing, Sponsorship and Media. Throughout his 15+ year career, Jeremy has worked in a variety of senior Marketing and corporate strategy roles within a diverse number of high profile global organisations including Virgin Australia, Nestle, Lion Nathan and Mondelez (Kraft).

Jeremy has also worked as a strategic consultant across a group of blue-chip clients including Nike, Toyota, Coca-Cola, Lexus and MLC to develop and execute integrated marketing strategies, specifically within the sports and entertainment arena.

Further from his corporate

Jeremy Francis is the Chief Operating Officer of Marketplacer, a company that owns and provides a global software platform to create and run all types of online marketplaces, ranging from products and services through to events and travel.

Within the Marketplacer group, Jeremy founded 3SIXTY1 with the intention of helping businesses harness the power of internal and external data, to form meaningful and actionable insights, that can be utilised to improve commercial performance.

Prior to his position with Marketplacer, Jeremy oversaw Marketing at Virgin Australia, focusing on Trade Marketing, Sponsorship and Media. Throughout his 15+ year career, Jeremy has worked in a variety of senior Marketing and corporate strategy roles within a diverse number of high profile global organisations including Virgin Australia, Nestle, Lion Nathan and Mondelez (Kraft).

Jeremy has also worked as a strategic consultant across a group of blue-chip clients including Nike, Toyota, Coca-Cola, Lexus and MLC to develop and execute integrated marketing strategies, specifically within the sports and entertainment arena.

Further from his corporate strategy and marketing industry experience, Jeremy has also worked as a consultant on major international sporting events including the 2006 Commonwealth Games, the 2007 Asian Games and several FINA Swimming World Championships.

An alumni of the well-regarded RMIT Business Bachelorette, Jeremy holds a Masters of Marketing, having completed his thesis in 2010 surrounding ‘Community Sport Sponsorship and its application in Brand Marketing Strategy.

Outside of his business interest, Jeremy is an active sports enthusiast and former high- level rower and triathlete.

strategy and marketing industry experience, Jeremy has also worked as a consultant on major international sporting events including the 2006 Commonwealth Games, the 2007 Asian Games and several FINA Swimming World Championships.

An alumni of the well-regarded RMIT Business Bachelorette, Jeremy holds a Masters of Marketing, having completed his thesis in 2010 surrounding ‘Community Sport Sponsorship and its application in Brand Marketing Strategy.

Outside of his business interest, Jeremy is an active sports enthusiast and former high- level rower and triathlete.

Renee Gamble is Google’s Industry Leader of Retail, Technology, Telecommunications and Energy where her responsibilities include growing and stewarding Google’s customer relationships with CxOs of some of the largest organizations in ANZ.  Renee joined Google in 2015 to head up the ANZ Google Cloud business, before taking on her current role in 2017.

Renee brings an extensive track record of technology and business innovation leadership.  Before joining Google she spent over 10 years at Microsoft in Singapore and Australia in various sales and business leadership roles. She previously worked as an industry analyst and business leader with IT & Telecommunications research advisory firm International Data Corporation (IDC) across Hong Kong, Beijing and Singapore. Earlier experience included IP start-ups and software firms.

Renee has a Bachelor of Arts (Social Science) from the University of Technology Sydney and a Masters of Commerce (Electronic Commerce) from Curtin University, Australia. Away from the office, Renee enjoys family life with her husband and two daughters and escaping for short breaks to travel and explore.

Damian Madden is an award-winning global executive with close to twenty-years of experience in digital transformation, emerging technologies, operations and marketing. A recognised expert in empowering innovation, Madden is regularly sought as a keynote speaker and has spoken around the world on the topic as well as how to prepare your business for the customer of tomorrow. He regularly donates his time within the creative sector to help artists, museums and galleries to better engage with their patrons and integrate technology into their practice.

Phillip Parsons is a qualified logistician and manager with experience working for a variety of ASX 100 companies within the FMCG, media, retail, construction and 3PL sectors. He presents a strong focus on cost management and service delivery while being passionate about safety and building collaborative safety systems for everybody’s benefit.