Leading Innovation Summit 2025

Pre-Conference Workshop - 25th March

09:00 INNOVATION FOR GROWTH MASTERCLASS

If growth is the outcome, transformation is the process, and strategy is the methodology... Where does innovation come into play?

In the mindset and approaches that unlock differentiated strategies, effective transformations, and sustainable growth. Leading innovation means successfully accelerating the rate at which your company (i.e. your people) can:

- productively absorb, respond, and anticipate changes in the operational environment,
- generate, test, and validate hypotheses for internal and external value creation in light of those changes, and
- continue to achieve the financial results needed to sustain future operations.

This one-day masterclass will explore innovation as a customer-centric, creative, and experimentation-driven approach to transformation and growth. This course will enhance your skills in driving a culture of innovation and apply the process to real world business and organisational challenges.

Key Learning Outcomes

• Reposition innovation as a key growth engine for business model sustainability.
• Align innovation, business model design, and experimentation to your organisation’s success.
• Amplify a cultural environment conducive to innovation.
• Apply creative thinking to generate and lead new solutions
• Identify winning ideas and implement them effectively
• Prototyping to think and learn fast and test prototypes with customers
• Develop structured approach and skills to build and run experiments
• Make decisions and operate efficiently in chaos with insufficient data

Summit Day 1 - 26th March

08:45 Opening remarks from the Chair

08:50 Welcome to Country

09:20 The Future of Machine Learning and Workforce Participation

Join Jon Whittle, Director od CSIRO’s of Data61, at the Leading AI Summit for an illuminating session on the future of AI integration in business in Australia. Jon will explore the current state of AI adoption, share future trends, and discuss the challenges and opportunities businesses face. He will also cover ethical and regulatory considerations and highlight Data61’s role in driving AI innovation.

This session will provide valuable insights into building AI competence and strategies for overcoming integration challenges, making it a must-attend for those looking to leverage AI for business transformation.

10:10 NETWORKING SESSION

11:00 The Future of Machine Learning and Workforce Participation

Join Scientia Professor Toby Walsh, a leading expert in artificial intelligence and computer science at UNSW, as he explores the transformative impact of machine learning on workforce participation by 2060.

This session will delve into the future landscape of employment, examining the evolution of job roles, skill requirements, and the ethical considerations necessary to ensure a positive societal impact. Discover how AI advancements can create a more inclusive and productive workforce, and gain insights into the profound changes that lie ahead in our rapidly evolving technological world.

12:00 How HBF Used Collaboration and Innovation to Deliver Transformation

Join HBF as they share insights from a recently completed, multi-year transformation program that delivered five key assets to enhance member, provider, and employee experiences in health insurance. Through partnerships with Salesforce, Deloitte, Mantel Group, and Civica, this initiative tackled industry challenges with innovative solutions.
HBF will discuss the program’s outcomes, lessons learned, and the critical role of evolving technology in driving positive change across the healthcare landscape.

12:50 Lunch

14:30 Staying Ahead of the Curve Through Leading Innovation Practices

Join Noel as he reveals how to keep your organization at the forefront through cutting-edge innovation practices. In this session, Noel will share key strategies for building a proactive, agile approach that anticipates market shifts and integrates sustainability into core business growth.

Gain insights into transforming challenges into opportunities, fostering a culture of forward- thinking, and ensuring your team remains ready to adapt and lead in a rapidly evolving landscape.

10:00 2:50 PM

In this session, Emma will dive into the transformative role diversity plays in innovation. Through insights and real-world examples, Emma will explore how inclusive teams with varied perspectives can drive groundbreaking ideas and solutions. She will share best practices for building collaborative environments that harness the power of diverse backgrounds, skills, and experiences to fuel innovation.
Attendees will gain valuable strategies for creating an innovation ecosystem where collaboration thrives, ultimately leading to more impactful and sustainable growth.

15:20 AFTERNOON TEA

15:40 Collaboration and Innovation: Harnessing the Power of Diverse Teams

In this session, Emma will dive into the transformative role diversity plays in innovation. Through insights and real-world examples, Emma will explore how inclusive teams with varied perspectives can drive groundbreaking ideas and solutions. She will share best practices for building collaborative environments that harness the power of diverse backgrounds, skills, and experiences to fuel innovation.
Attendees will gain valuable strategies for creating an innovation ecosystem where collaboration thrives, ultimately leading to more impactful and sustainable growth.

16:00 Designing and Implementing an Innovation Strategy

In this session, leaders will gain insights into crafting a forward-thinking roadmap that drives sustainable growth. This session explores key elements of effective innovation strategies, from setting clear objectives and aligning with organisational goals to fostering a culture of experimentation and continuous improvement.
Participants will learn practical approaches for integrating innovation into daily operations and measuring success, empowering their teams to turn bold ideas into tangible results and stay competitive in a rapidly evolving landscape.

Summit Day 2 - 27th March

09:00 OPENING REMARKS FROM THE CHAIR

09:10 Equipping All Employees with Critical Thinking Skills to Drive Innovation

This session dives into the essential role of critical thinking in fostering innovation across every level of an organisation. By embedding a culture of inquiry and open-mindedness, companies can enhance decision-making, improve problem-solving, and inspire creative solutions from all staff— not just leadership.

Attendees will learn practical strategies to cultivate critical-thinking skills within their teams, helping to drive adaptability and resilience. Featuring insights from successful organisations, this session provides actionable approaches to promote critical thinking as a core competency that fuels innovation and growth.

10:00 Equipping Employees with AI Literacy and a Mindset of Continuous Improvement to Drive Innovation

In this session, Hanlie introduces the transformative role of AI literacy and a mindset of continuous improvement across every level of the organization. Hanlie emphasizes that, by embedding AI-driven thinking and a culture of curiosity, companies can enhance decision-making, streamline problem solving, and spark innovation from all employees—not just the leadership team.

Attendees will gain insights into how Essential Energy is fostering AI understanding and critical thinking, helping teams adapt, innovate, and tackle complex challenges with confidence. Through practical strategies and examples, Hanlie shares actionable approaches for cultivating AI literacy and continuous improvement as core competencies, enabling a future-ready workforce that fuels lasting growth and success.

10:50 MORNING TEA

11:20 Designing and Implementing an Innovation Strategy

In this session, leaders will gain insights into crafting a forward-thinking roadmap that drives sustainable growth. This session explores key elements of effective innovation strategies, from setting clear objectives and aligning with organisational goals to fostering a culture of experimentation and continuous improvement.
Participants will learn practical approaches for integrating innovation into daily operations and measuring success, empowering their teams to turn bold ideas into tangible results and stay competitive in a rapidly evolving landscape.

12:10 The Future of AI: Navigating the Intersection of Innovation and Ethics

Join Alan D. Thompson, a leading AI researcher and consultant, for an enlightening session on the transformative potential of artificial intelligence and the ethical considerations crucial to its development. Alan will explore the latest advancements in AI technology, address the ethical challenges posed by rapid AI evolution, and discuss the importance of robust AI policies and public education.

Attendees will gain insights into future AI trends and learn how to navigate the intersection of innovation and ethics to prepare for an AI-driven future

13:10 Lunch

14:10 Equipping All Employees with Critical Thinking Skills to Drive Innovation

This session dives into the essential role of critical thinking in fostering innovation across every level of an organisation. By embedding a culture of inquiry and open-mindedness, companies can enhance decision-making, improve problem-solving, and inspire creative solutions from all staff—not just leadership.
Attendees will learn practical strategies to cultivate critical-thinking skills within their teams, helping to drive adaptability and resilience. Featuring insights from successful organisations, this session provides actionable approaches to promote critical thinking as a core competency that fuels innovation and growth.

15:10 Afternoon tea

15:30 Delving Into What It Takes to Drive Innovation at the World’s Most Innovative Company

Join Brian Solis, Head of Global Innovation at ServiceNow, as he unveils what it takes to drive innovation at the world’s most innovative company, according to Forbes. Brian will share how ServiceNow’s unique culture of creativity and agility fuels groundbreaking ideas and sets a high standard for industry leadership.
Through real-world examples, he’ll reveal key strategies for fostering a mindset of continuous innovation and offer actionable insights for leaders looking to push boundaries and transform their organizations.

Post-Conference Workshops - 28th March

09:30 UNLEASHING CREATIVITY IN YOUR TEAMS AND WORKSHOPS

Ideas are the currency of any customer experience, innovation, technology, people or transformation program, yet most organisations and teams aren’t purposely set up to encourage creativity to flourish. In fact, often the way they are set up has the opposite effect and unintentionally kills creativity.

The masterclass provides a deep dive into the key barriers to individual and team creativity and how to overcome them. Plus, how to design and facilitate the ideation phase and workshops,
generate breakthrough ideas, harvest ideas for potential and turn these into experimentation briefs. Participants get lots of opportunities to practice and receive plenty of feedback and coaching.
In this interactive and experiential workshop, Nathan Baird shares his 20+ years of practicing, refining, honing, leading and training creative thinking and ideation on 100s of design and innovation projects and 1000s of workshops across multiple industries and continents.

We’ll provide you a learn by doing experience of:

• A demystification of creativity, ideation and innovation and how they help organisations succeed
• An understanding of the barriers to individual and team creativity and how to overcome them
• How to think creatively to generate new solutions and lead this in others
• A practical tool-kit, mindset, language and framework for creative problem-solving
• An increased energy and confidence around creativity and ideation
• The ability and confidence to lead creative thinking in any situation
• Comprehensive understanding of the crucial elements of creative mastery: beliefs, behaviours, lateral thinking, state, and space
• How to pick the winners, harvest ideas for potential and craft experimentation briefs
• Lots of practice doing and facilitating ideation
• How to create the right environment to lead and practice creativity on an every day basis
• Fun, engaging and good networking!