INTERNATIONAL SPEAKER (BONUS SESSION)

Rob Smedley

Rob Smedley has over 20 years of experience in the world of motorsport, having spent time at multiple F1 teams including Jordan, as a Race Engineer at Ferrari and most recently as Head of Vehicle Performance at Williams. He is now Director of Data systems at Formula 1 and oversees the AWS/F1 Insights program from a technical data side.

Diana Di Cecco

With over 15 years’ experience across high-profile brands, Diana is a senior marketing professional, currently working in the automotive aftermarket for Genuine Parts Company. Her wide remit has included roles in Retail, FMCG, Marketing and Operations, where her strategic and executional methodologies have been well suited. Passionate about bringing a visionary mindset to business transformation, Diana is a true marketing practitioner who surpasses the realms of digital and traditional marketing, into an integrated approach. Most comfortable in a fast-paced results-driven environment, Diana is firmly focused on customer centricity and omni-channel execution in both B2B and B2C landscapes.

Kurt McGuiness

Former journalist, communications expert and auto industry commentator, Kurt McGuiness has been telling tales his entire career, having worked on iconic media brands including Top Gear and FHM. Now, as Volkswagen Group Australia’s corporate story-teller, McGuiness develops multi-platform content and experiences for the Volkswagen Group’s brands, bringing the ‘World of Volkswagen’ to its legion of fans worldwide.
As the size and influence of traditional media continues to decline, McGuiness has had to rely on his TV and publishing experience to find new, engaging ways to reach customers and fans. Whether it’s racing mountain bikers to afternoon tea in a luxury SUV, trekking with sled dogs to explain how all-wheel-drive works, or using 360-degree technology to take fans on a hot lap with a difference, McGuiness continues to push the envelope for what is possible with owned media, whether the old guard like it or not.

Cecile Thornley

Cecile works with organisations to understand what brings people to their category, how brands can tap into these opportunities and what barriers are limiting their growth.  Cecile is a founder of The Navigators and for 20+ years has provided consumer insights to inspire and guide brand leadership.

Alex McLean

With experience in the marketing and communication industry on both client and agency sides, Alex is currently the key lead for the iconic and well loved MINI brand in Australia and New Zealand

Douglas Toy

Joining DiDi in April 2018, Doug has been part of the launch team that has grown DiDi across Australia. Starting from almost 0% awareness, Doug has helped DiDi grow to be the #1 alternative rideshare platform in Australia, competing in an incredibly competitive market. With full autonomy on brand identity, Doug has localised and launched the brand, aiming to connect emotionally with riders and drivers in its first English speaking, Western market. 

Prior to joining DiDi, Doug worked at Apple where he ran Apple Retail’s European Education and Business marketing programs, and at Citibank where he helped market their consumer credit cards. 

Doug originally graduated from the University of Glasgow (in his home country, Scotland) and ESCP (France) with Masters degrees in both Aeronautical Engineering and European Business. 

Wayde Bull

Wayde is a founder of Principals and for more than 25 years has worked with leaders of corporate, government and startup organisations to help answer what makes them different and to create brand identities and communications programs that build competitive advantage. Wayde has led branding projects for listed businesses such as Brambles, Coca-Cola Amatil, Lend Lease, National Australia Bank, News Corp, QBE and Telstra; national icons such as Austrade, Australia Post, CSIRO and Data61; and ambitious startups like Everlight Radiology, James Squire and the GWS Giants.  In the automotive sector, Wayde is lucky to have worked on branding projects for Audi, Hyundai, Lexus, Subaru and Toyota.

Mikaela Crimmins

Bio coming soon...

Sam McOrist

Sam joined the Destination Group of Companies in 2018 to lead the development of Incentive and Business Insights Programs (IBIP). Having spent the past 15 years working in industries undergoing major disruptive change, Sam has developed a passion for leadership, marketing, innovation and brand positioning in changing environments.
In 2019 Destination’s IBIP programs were recognised by Australian Marketing Institute Awards for Marketing Excellence as national winners in the category Product/Service Revitalisation. By taking an entrepreneurial approach to the traditional model of rewards programs, Destination has been able to transition and position the brand in a rapidly changing market.

Kevin Goult

Bio coming soon...

Mark Harland

Over 20 years of global automotive experience at General Motors with emphasis in Sales, Brand Building and Customer Experience. A track record of success in a range of geographies (North America, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa) bringing new ideas to drive results. Since arriving in Asia 7 years ago, I have led regional Marketing & CX teams for GM based in Shanghai and Singapore. More recently was Executive Director Marketing at Holden. Currently, I’m working at AGL to launch our EV Subscription offer, while I continue to drive electric vehicle adoption in Australia. 

I am a Montreal, Canada native and permanent resident of Australia (my wife /3 young kids love Melbourne, especially the Elwood vibe). I hold an MBA from the New York Institute of Technology. Personal interests include ice hockey, skiing, rugby union, triathlon, cycling, and youth sports.

Tim Washington

Speaker bio coming soon ...

Lucio Ribeiro

Lucio is currently a consultant in Marketing and in Artificial Intelligence with Lucio.AI and co-founder of TikMyDay, Australia and New Zealand first agency dedicated to TikTok. Lucio is Digital Marketing and A.I. Lecturer at RMIT and former lecturer at Deakin university

Michael Higgins

Michael Higgins is Co-founder and Managing Director at Loopit.co, a SaaS platform that powers future mobility services such as car subscription and rideshare fleet management for new and used car dealerships, OEMs and other businesses around Australia.

Before Loopit.co, Michael also founded HelloCars as Australia's first online dealership in 2016 before recognising the opportunity for car subscription to transform car ownership for the better, leading to the launch of HelloCars Subscription - one of Australia's largest retail car subscription providers.

He is passionate about shifting attitudes toward traditional car ownership, by providing drivers with more flexibility, added convenient and better value alternatives to help them get behind the wheel of a new car.

Matt Bowden

With over 18 years’ experience in marketing and advertising, Matt Bowden is an award winning communications strategist with an overactive imagination and a pragmatic approach to solving complex problems.

Matt has worked for tiny start-ups and massive agency groups, across creative, media and technology, giving him a unique insight into what it takes to deliver solutions that delight consumers and move businesses towards their goals.

As Bauer Media Groups head of strategy, Matt is responsible for the growth and monetisation of our multimedia network both Industry and Automotive divisions. In Mat’s two years with Bauer he’s done some remarkable work in positioning strategy, audience research, insight generation and content commercialisation across our websites, socials, print, TV and data.

When he’s not strategising in our Park Street office, Matt might be seen riding his push bike through Sydney’s national parks while trying to avoid as many steep hills as possible.