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1 – 3 November 2023
Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort, Gold Coast
What does it take to be a leader… and a winner?
With a close-on five-decade successful run as a National Rugby League coach with well over 900 matches to his career, Wayne Bennett has accomplished what many would deem unreachable. He is recognised as one of modern-day Rugby League’s most effective coaches.
After playing on the state and international rugby scene, Wayne began coaching in 1976 at club level, and 10 years on became Queensland Director of Coaching. The following year he became a full-time coach with the Canberra Raiders and in his first season co-coached the Raiders to their first-ever Grand Final and awarding him Coach of the Year. A feat he was to repeat in several roles over his coaching career to-date.
Too numerous to mention in a short career overview, Wayne’s rugby accolades kept mounting up with him creating history by becoming the first coach to steer his club, his State and his country to victory in their respective series in 1998.
A sought-after speaker and master motivator, Wayne has co-authored two books, “Don’t Die with the Music in You” and his autobiography, “Wayne Bennett, The Man in the Mirror”.
What does it take to overcome impossible obstacles?
Endurance athlete Lisa Tamati has run over 70,000 kilometres, completing events like the 217-km. Badwater Ultramarathon. Twice.
Training her mind and body to push past limits has given Lisa the strategies she now teaches in her coaching practice, including how to:
Lisa also hosts the podcast “Pushing the Limits”, where she interviews scientists, businesspeople and biohackers on high performance, longevity and human potential.
The first two of Lisa’s bestselling books—”Running Hot” and “Running to Extremes”— recall her adventures while racing in the world’s toughest endurance events in the Sahara, Gobi and Death Valley deserts, as well as the Himalayas, Australia and Europe. For charity, Lisa has run the entire length of New Zealand.
Her latest book, “Relentless-How a Mother and Daughter Defied the Odds”, talks about how Lisa’s mother recovered from an aneurysm at age 74. The Nobel Prize-winning biologist Dr. Bill Andrews calls the book “a fiercely inspiring journey and a powerful example for all of us.”
Dan Gregory is an author and social commentator who wants to “help smart people become people smart.”
Listed among “the top 25 C-Suite Speakers to watch” by Meetings and Conventions USA, Dan is a captivating speaker whose business acumen is matched by his wit and insight into human behaviour, gained during three years on the road working on the U.S. and UK stand-up comedy circuits.
He has put these skills to great use, reaching millions of viewers as a regular on ABC TV Australia’s “Gruen Planet” and Channel 7’s “Masters of Spin”.
Dan is also the co-author of these books:
He has created leadership strategies for global technology firms, performance strategies for sales teams and C-Suite executives, and driven engagement strategies for organisations as diverse as Coca-Cola, Unilever, the Royal Australian Navy and the UN/UN Women in Asia.
Dan is driven to help people read and lead human behaviour.
We’ve all told ourselves or someone else this line: “Everything will be OK.”
When you hear Michael Crossland’s story, this line will mean so much more.
Michael has been a fighter since birth, surviving a rare and life-threatening form of cancer that he was diagnosed with before his first birthday, as well as a cancer drug trial. He has spent nearly a quarter of his life in hospital, yet that is not what defines him.
A businessman (with a successful career in finance), elite sportsman (he has represented Australia in baseball) and a true fighter, Michael is now one of the most in-demand and inspirational speakers in Australia.
He has shared the stage with the likes of Sir Richard Branson and the Dalai Lama, and a video of him speaking in Los Angeles has been viewed by more than 88 million people. His books Kids Don’t Get Cancer (2016) and Everything Will Be OK: A Story of Hope, Love, and Perspective (2020) have moved millions in multiple countries. He has also opened an orphanage and school in Haiti.
Raw, real and deeply reassuring, Michael’s story will renew your sense of awe and perspective in life.
“How many opportunities have already passed you by because you were too swamped with the heaving mass of work that your business throws at you every day?”
David Jenyns believes business owners must give themselves the space and time to “rise above the noise, study the big picture, and spot the big breaks that are in your periphery.”
To do that, you need systems. In 2016, David stepped back from the day-to-day operations of his digital agency, Melbourne SEO Services, hired a CEO, and devoted his energy to SYSTEMology.
Today, his mission is to free business owners from the daily operations of running their business—and from feeling like they’re running an adult daycare centre. He delivers workshops and keynote addresses and hosts a popular podcast—Business Processes Simplified—on this subject.
David also wrote the books “SYSTEMology: Create Time, Reduce Errors, and Scale Your Profits with Proven Business Systems,” published in 2020, and “Authority Content: The Simple System for Building Your Brand, Sales, and Credibility.”
David’s journey as a serial business owner began in his early 20s when he sold Australia’s most beloved sporting venue, the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He has since led franchised retail clothing stores and founded one of Australia’s most trusted digital agencies.
In addition to being a motivational speaker and author, Peter Thurin is a pharmacist, business owner—and a third-dan black belter in Taekwondo.
How he accomplished that boyhood dream of martial arts mastery forms the core of Peter’s simple yet powerful “Easy to do” philosophy.
After building and selling successful businesses for more than 20 years, Peter now devotes his time to helping others find the determination, inspiration, and enthusiasm to go after their biggest goals.
“Big-picture goals can be so daunting that often people don’t have the courage to get into the game. I say it’s OK to feel awkward, it’s OK to feel uncomfortable. But don’t allow those feelings to prevent you from making a start. So, what’s the one thing you need to do to make a start? Let’s go and do that together. Let’s get excited!”
Peter is the author of “The A to Z of Easy to Do: An inspirational guide to help you make the right choices in every aspect of your life and business” and “Be the Best You Can Be” from the Blackbelt in Excellence Series. He lives in Melbourne with his wife Sharon and works globally.
Executive Coach Rob Nankervis guides founders, owners, and chief executive officers so they can overcome performance challenges, drive growth, and build their businesses’ value.
Aside from advising mid-size organisations, Rob also serves on the Global Advisory Board of Scaling Up and mentors other coaches. In his book Propelling Performance: Why Your Business is Stalling and What You Can Do About It, Rob teaches business owners and senior executives how to:
“Rare, unicorn business aside, when you go behind the scenes of great businesses, in most cases you will discover that enduring growth builds up over time,” Rob wrote.
Before he ventured into coaching, Rob was a director at Ernst & Young, an equity partner in a leadership advisory firm, and held other commercial and consulting leadership roles. Rob is a Fellow of CPA Australia, the Institute of Company Directors, and the Governance Institute. He writes the fortnightly Rob’s Insights leadership column and hosts the Propelling Performance podcast.
Let Kat Davidson’s unique storytelling take you on a journey where you’ll be captivated from her first word to very last punchline. Kat’s performances are like catching up with an old friend you never knew you had.
Kat’s background in improvisation, event hosting, coaching, and radio work demonstrates her diverse talents, making her a multi-talented entertainer who excels in various forms of comedy. Having shared the stage with comedy greats and headlined top clubs in Australia and Canada, Kat brings a wealth of expertise and laughter to every stage.
Don’t miss the chance to hear Kat Davidson at TOAcon 2023 – an experience that promises engaging storytelling, versatile humour, and the wisdom of a comedy veteran, all rolled into one.