Day One | Tuesday 25 November 2025

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8:00

Registration and Morning Refreshments

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8:30

Welcome to Country

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8:40

Women Leaders Institute Welcome Address

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8:50

Chairperson's Opening Address

Carmel Mortell, Board Member, UN Women Australia

STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP IN AN AI-DRIVEN ENVIRONMENT


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9:00

Leading Through AI and Complexity

• What AI means for leadership today and how to stay ahead of the curve

• Navigating tough calls to lead with conviction and clarity in complex environments

• Turning disruption into strategic advantage through clear decision-making

Christelle Young, Managing Director, T2 Tea; AFR Women in Leadership 2025 Category Winner

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9:30

C-Suite Panel: The Leadership Balancing Act

How are c-suite leaders adapting their leadership to meet the moment? This panel brings together senior executives to discuss the top trends keeping them up at night – from AI integration and workforce transformation to global instability and cost constraints.

• What trends are keeping leaders up at night, and where are they placing their boldest bets?

• How AI is reshaping productivity expectations and leadership priorities

• Turning AI anxiety into advantage across your organisation through mindset, clarity and upskilling

• Strategies for managing fatigue, maintaining trust, and building resilience in high-pressure environments to ensure long-term business performance and adaptability

Lisa Chiba, Managing Director, Momentum Energy

Caroline Rawlinson, Chief Financial and Operational Officer, Culture Amp

Giles Thompson, Chief Executive Officer, VicRoads

Ryan Baker, Chief Operating Officer, Bunnings

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10:15

Lightning Address: Enough Is a Full Sentence

Christine Khor, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Peeplcoach

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10:30

Networking Activity: Get to know your fellow attendees

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10:45

Morning Tea

LEADING THROUGH ADVERSITY & DISRUPTION

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11:15

CEO Panel: Making the Call When There’s No Playbook

Join CEO leaders as they share their lessons from navigating major crises, restructures, or controversies, and what grounded their leadership during these difficult moments.

• How to lead decisively when visibility is low and pressure is high

• Balancing stakeholder demands, values, and performance under fire

• Reflections on what they’d do differently and what they stand by

Angela Nolan, Group Chief Executive Officer, Mercy Health

Professor Muriel Bamblett AM, Chief Executive Officer, Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency Cooperative

Jill Gallagher, Chief Executive Officer, Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO)

BUILDING GENERATIONAL RESILIENCE


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12:00

Women Growing in Circles: Developing Leadership Through Mentorship 

Discover how mentoring circles create powerful spaces for connection, shared learning and leadership growth. This interactive session explores how to design and lead your own circle to foster confidence, capability and continuous development while supporting the next generation of leaders.

Teeshal Bal, General Manager Planning and Integration, Metro Trains Melbourne

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12:15

Networking Lunch

Join a live mentoring circle over lunch. Connect with like-minded women for a meaningful discussion on a relevant leadership challenge, and exchange real-time insights, ideas, and support in a relaxed setting.

STRENGTHENING LEADERSHIP CAPABILITY

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1:15

Leading with Purpose, Resilience and Strength

With a career spanning media, hospitality, and storytelling, Melissa Leong knows what it takes to thrive under pressure. Melissa will unpack how adaptability, courage, and staying grounded in your values are key to resilient leadership.

Melissa Leong, TV Week Gold Logie-nominated Television Personality, Freelance Writer, and Food Critic

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1:55

Conversation Starter: What’s one leadership strategy that’s helped you stay focused during periods of uncertainty?

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2:00

UN Women in Conversation Keynote

Session will be live streamed from Sydney 🎥

Moderator: Georgina Williams, Board Chair, UN Women Australia

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2:50

Afternoon Tea

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3:20

Introduction to Mini Leadership Labs


Step into a focused 45-minute session which are designed to help you deepen key leadership capabilities. Each lab offers a chance to explore real-world challenges, exchange ideas with peers, and walk away with tools to accelerate your impact.

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3:25

Mini Leadership Labs

Lab A: Resilience in High-Pressure Environments
The rules keep changing. Priorities shift. Teams are stretched thin. Learn how to lead decisively through ambiguity, protect momentum when others are burning out, and stay anchored when the pressure builds.

Fiona Schutt, Executive General Manager, Corporate Services, Melbourne Water

Lab B: Building Executive Presence and Self-Belief
Develop your leadership confidence by understanding how to back yourself, speak with authority, and position yourself for progression.

Fleur Katsmartin, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, The Royal Melbourne Hospital

Lab C: Building Strategic Influence
Learn how to manage up, shape decisions, and shift thinking to drive outcomes across your organisation.

Ally Nitschke, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Made for More

Lab D: Leading High-Performing, Inclusive Teams
Unpack what it really takes to build and sustain a team that consistently delivers results. This lab focuses on the behaviours, systems and leadership practices that drive accountability, trust and performance for long-term success – even in the face of conflict, underperformance, or team dysfunction – to support long-term success.

Elizabeth Kim, Head of Customer Experience, Product and Marketing, Transurban

SUCCESSION PLANNING

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4:10

Keynote Panel: From Pipeline to Performance

• How boards and executive teams are building sustainable leadership continuity and future-ready leadership pipelines in a volatile landscape

• Where the biggest risks and gaps lie — and what’s being done to address them

• Rethinking succession: From names on a list to building capability, adaptability and leadership depth

• Strategies for making succession a leadership priority, not a background process

Jacqui Walters, Non Executive Director, Port of Brisbane; Chair, UNIQ You

Fiona Notley, Chief Operating Officer and Vice-President, RMIT University

Meaghan Telford, Group Executive - Policy, Advocacy and Reputation | Co-Chair, Diversity & Inclusion Council, Medibank

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4:50

Chairperson's Closing Address

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4:55

Networking Drinks and End of Summit Day One