Early Bird Rates End In
The details
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28 - 31 July, 2026 Sydney
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Sydney Masonic Centre, Banquet Hall Room, 66 Goulburn street, Sydney, NSW, 2000
Leadership and Adaptation in the Age of AI
AI Is Reshaping Business
Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how organisations operate, make decisions, manage risk, and deliver value. Across every sector, leaders are under pressure to move beyond experimentation and into real world AI implementation.
The challenge is no longer whether AI matters. It is how organisations adapt fast enough while maintaining workforce capability, operational resilience, trust, and responsible governance.
Practical Lessons From Organisations Leading Change
AI Innovation Summit 2026 brings together senior executives, transformation leaders, and innovators leading AI-driven change across some of Australia and New Zealand’s most recognised organisations. Across two practical days, delegates will explore workforce transformation and AI adoption, operational resilience and organisational adaptation, AI governance and leadership decision-making, productivity, trust, and workforce pressure, as well as strategies for scaling innovation beyond experimentation.
Through practical case studies and real world leadership insights, this summit will examine how organisations are adapting to one of the biggest shifts in modern business.
Because in the age of AI, innovation alone is not enough. The organisations that succeed will be the ones that adapt fastest.
YOUR AMAZING SPEAKER LINE-UP FOR 2026!
GHD
PACCAR
Toll Group
Starlight Children’s Foundation Australia
Augmentation of Human Intelligence
Mater
AMP
The Warehouse Group
The Leadership Institute
Innovator's Playbook
Aurecon
Agenda
Pre-Conference Workshop - 28th July
Pre-Conference Workshop - 28th July
BUILDING ADAPTABLE ORGANISATIONS DURING AI DISRUPTION
Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping how organisations operate, make decisions, and manage workforces. As disruption accelerates, leaders are under pressure to adapt faster while maintaining workforce capability, operational resilience, trust, and performance.
This practical masterclass explores how organisations can strengthen adaptability during periods of rapid technological and organisational change. Delegates will examine how leading organisations are responding to AI disruption by building resilient teams, redesigning workforce capability, and creating cultures that can respond effectively to uncertainty.
Key Learning Outcomes:
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Build adaptable teams and organisational capability during change
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Strengthen workforce resilience during transformation and uncertainty
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Balance innovation, performance, and workforce trust
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Improve decision making during rapid disruption
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Identify barriers slowing organisational adaptation
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Explore practical approaches to leading AI driven transformation
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Build cultures that support continuous learning and adaptability
Daniel San Martin is an experienced facilitator, speaker, and consultant in the fields of strategy, transformation, and human-centric innovation.
He has a background in engineering and design thinking and has worked with numerous clients to help them gain clarity, confidence, and control over the design and execution of their transformation and growth strategies.
His dynamic presentations are known for inspiring and engaging audiences while also providing practical tools to help them turn motivation into implementation.
Daniel is passionate about empowering individuals and teams to reach their full potential through strategic thinking, effective communication, and collaborative problem-solving.
Summit Day 1 - 29th July
Summit Day 1
9:00 AM: Welcome to Country
9:05 AM: Opening Remarks from Chair
She is a staunch advocate of equality for women in business and believes women should be helping other women every chance they get.
Dana established Konnect Learning in 2013 and the Leadership Institute in 2017. Since then she has advocated for equality for women in all aspects of her entrepreneurial and professional life – in particular by chairing and assisting the production team in the development of TLI’s Women in Leadership line of events.
SESSION 1
9:10 AM: Opening Keynote: Making AI Work Beyond the Hype
AI is no longer a future concept or experimental technology. Organisations are now under pressure to turn AI ambition into practical operational outcomes.
In this opening keynote, Jon Whittle explores how leaders can move beyond hype, fear, and buzzwords to implement AI in ways that strengthen organisational capability, workforce trust, and long term performance. Drawing on real world examples and leadership insights, this session examines how organisations can align AI adoption with purpose, governance, and human impact while avoiding the common mistakes slowing transformation efforts across industries.
10:00 AM: IT’S TIME FOR NETWORKING!
10:30 AM: Morning Tea
SESSION 2
11:10 AM: Resilience Over Hype. Building Technology That Survives Disruption
Cyber incidents, supply chain shocks, extreme weather events, and geopolitical instability have exposed how vulnerable organisations can become during periods of rapid disruption. As AI accelerates organisational complexity, resilience has become a leadership imperative.
In this session, Damian Beltrami shares how Toll Group is strengthening its digital foundations to operate through uncertainty while modernising legacy systems and enabling innovation. This session explores practical approaches to building safer, simpler, and more resilient systems capable of supporting long term organisational adaptation.
SESSION 3
11:50 AM: International Keynote: Leading Human Capability in an AI Enabled Workforce
As AI transforms how organisations operate, the challenge for leaders is no longer just technology adoption. It is preparing people to adapt, learn, and thrive in rapidly changing environments.
This session explores how organisations can strengthen workforce capability, leadership confidence, and organisational resilience in an AI enabled world. Viktor Jinman shares lessons on balancing digital transformation with human adaptability, ensuring people remain at the centre of innovation and organisational performance.
12:40 PM Lunch
SESSION 4
1:40 PM: Case Study: Making Digital Transformation Work for People and Performance
Digital transformation often fails when organisations focus too heavily on systems and not enough on people. Sustainable innovation requires workforce trust, adaptability, and cultural alignment.
In this session, Paul Murphy explores how organisations can balance innovation with human impact while navigating transformation at scale. Through practical case studies and operational insights, this session examines how leaders can build cultures where employees feel supported, engaged, and capable of adapting to change.
SESSION 5
2:30 PM: Exclusive Keynote: Why Human Leadership Still Matters in the Age of AI
As organisations rapidly adopt AI technologies, uniquely human capabilities are becoming even more valuable. Leadership judgement, creativity, adaptability, communication, and emotional intelligence remain critical differentiators during periods of disruption.
Drawing on his experience leading one of Australia’s most digitally advanced organisations, Viktor Dominello explores how leaders can embrace innovation while maintaining human connection, organisational trust, and workforce confidence. This session examines how organisations can adapt successfully without losing the human capability that drives long term success.
3:30 PM Afternoon Tea
SESSION 6
4:00 PM: Closing Keynote: Simplifying at Speed. Building Safer Systems That Scale
As digital transformation accelerates, organisations face growing pressure to move quickly while maintaining trust, governance, and operational stability.
In this closing keynote, Kavita Mistry explores how AMP is simplifying complex systems, improving governance, and enabling safer decision making during periods of rapid technological change. This session examines how organisations can reduce operational friction, strengthen resilience, and scale innovation without increasing organisational risk.
4:50 PM Close of Conference
Summit Day 2 - 30th July
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30th July 2026
Summit Day 2
9:00 AM: Welcome to Country
SESSION 1
9:10 AM: Leading Digital Transformation Without Losing Trust
As organisations accelerate digital transformation, leaders face growing pressure to balance innovation with workforce trust, governance, and community expectations.
In this session, Louise Baxter explores how organisations can lead responsible digital change while maintaining transparency, accountability, and human impact. Drawing on practical examples from the not for profit sector, this session examines how leaders can navigate rapid technological change without losing organisational trust or mission alignment.
SESSION 2: SESSION 2: LEADERSHIP IN TRANSITION
9:10 AM: Leading Digital Transformation Without Losing Trust
As AI moves from pilots into core organisational operations, leaders are under pressure to make practical decisions around implementation, governance, workforce adaptation, and organisational risk.
In this session, Ankit Gupta explores what successful AI execution actually looks like inside large organisations. Moving beyond experimentation and hype, this session examines how leaders can make better strategic decisions while balancing speed, accountability, workforce confidence, and operational complexity.
10:50 AM: Morning Tea
SESSION 3
11:50 AM: Why Human Judgement Still Matters in an AI Powered World
AI can process information faster than ever before, but organisations still depend on human judgement to navigate uncertainty, ethics, culture, trust, and leadership complexity.
Drawing on decades of research into human intelligence and leadership adaptation, Dr Alan Thompson explores why human capability remains critical during AI transformation. This session examines how organisations can strengthen leadership thinking, workforce adaptability, and decision making in environments where technology is rapidly reshaping work.
SESSION 4: CASE STUDY. PEOPLE FIRST TRANSFORMATION
11:50 AM Making AI Transformation Work Across Your Organisation
Many organisations struggle to move from AI ambition to workforce adoption. Real transformation requires more than technology implementation. It requires trust, engagement, and organisational alignment.
In this session, Gary Ding explores how leaders can build workforce confidence during periods of technological disruption while ensuring innovation delivers practical business value. This session examines how organisations can bring employees with them through change rather than creating resistance, confusion, or transformation fatigue.
1:00 PM Lunch
SESSION 5
2:10 PM: When Failure Is Not an Option. Leading Digital Transformation in High Stakes Environments
In industries where operational mistakes can have serious human consequences, leaders face immense pressure to modernise systems while maintaining safety, accountability, and trust.
Drawing on experiences from healthcare transformation, Alistair Shearman explores how leaders can navigate complex digital change in high pressure environments where the cost of failure is significant. This session examines governance, operational resilience, workforce adaptation, and leadership accountability during critical transformation programs.
SESSION 6: EXCLUSIVE KEYNOTE
3:50 PM: Adapting Faster Than Change. Leading Organisations Through AI Disruption
As AI continues reshaping industries, organisations must learn to adapt continuously rather than treat transformation as a one off initiative.
This closing keynote explores how leaders can build adaptable organisations capable of navigating uncertainty, workforce disruption, rapid technological change, and evolving customer expectations. The session examines what separates organisations that successfully adapt from those that struggle to keep pace in the age of AI.
4:40 PM End of Conference
Post-Conference Workshops - 31st July
Post-Conference Workshops - 31st July
HUMAN LEADERSHIP IN THE AGE OF AI
As artificial intelligence reshapes the workplace, human capability is becoming more important, not less. Organisations are rapidly adopting AI to improve efficiency, automate processes, and accelerate decision making, but leadership, creativity, communication, and human judgement remain critical to long term success.
This practical workshop explores how leaders can strengthen the human capabilities that organisations need most during periods of rapid technological change. Delegates will examine how to build adaptable, collaborative, and high trust teams while navigating uncertainty, workforce disruption, and evolving ways of working.
Key Learning Outcomes
- Understand the future of AI in your workplace and beyond
- Take away the psyche of innovations that have changed the world
- Harness leadership skills for adaptability and driving mindset change
- Appreciate what truly innovative company cultures do differently
- Lead and grow innovation in your company culture
- Make innovation your default leadership mindset
- Foster the collaboration which seeds innovation
- Commercialise good ideas and change the innovation landscape of your company
Who should attend?
- Chief Executive and Board
- Chief Innovation Officers
- Executive Leadership teams in:
- IT and Technology
- Strategy and Transformation
- Product
Fuel the Momentum!
“Join us at the Women in Leadership Summit 2024, a dynamic platform for connection, inspiration, and empowerment.
This summit is not just about discussing change; it’s an active force in creating it. Tailored for both emerging leaders and established executives, the summit features a range of exclusive keynote sessions, engaging panel discussions, and interactive Q&A segments, all designed to provide actionable insights for your leadership journey.
With a lineup of distinguished speakers from Australia and around the globe, each session is a fountain of knowledge and inspiration. Immerse yourself in the wisdom of trailblazing women from diverse backgrounds who have overcome challenges, shattered barriers, and crafted legacies. Gain invaluable insights from these pioneers who share not only their successes but also the obstacles and lessons learned along the way.
Seize this unique opportunity to network with professionals and be part of a community driving the future of leadership. Whether you are advancing in your career or steering organisational change, this summit serves as the catalyst for your personal and professional development.”
Dana Lightbody
Director, The Leadership Institute
Your Keynote Speakers
Leadership potential is within everyone, let us unlock the leader in you.
Tennis Commentator & Former World #4 Tennis Champion
Tennis Commentator & Former World #4 Tennis Champion
Tennis Commentator & Former World #4 Tennis Champion
Tennis Commentator & Former World #4 Tennis Champion
Your Keynote Speakers
Leadership potential is within everyone, let us unlock the leader in you.
Tennis Commentator & Former World #4 Tennis Champion
Tennis Commentator & Former World #4 Tennis Champion
Tennis Commentator & Former World #4 Tennis Champion
Tennis Commentator & Former World #4 Tennis Champion
Tennis Commentator & Former World #4 Tennis Champion
Tennis Commentator & Former World #4 Tennis Champion
Tennis Commentator & Former World #4 Tennis Champion
Tennis Commentator & Former World #4 Tennis Champion
Tennis Commentator & Former World #4 Tennis Champion
Value Event Partners
F-magazine
F-magazine celebrates Australian female success across ages, industries, and lifestyles.
Launched on International Women’s Day 2018, the online magazine – www.f-magazine.online – is supported by a weekly e-newsletter, emailed to 26,000 plus readers each Monday. F-magazine is published by Queensland Magazines, which has three print plus online publications, INDULGE eat. live. play, The West End Magazine, HIGHLIFE Downs Living and The Prestige Property Magazine online.
F-magazine
F-magazine celebrates Australian female success across ages, industries, and lifestyles.
Launched on International Women’s Day 2018, the online magazine – www.f-magazine.online – is supported by a weekly e-newsletter, emailed to 26,000 plus readers each Monday. F-magazine is published by Queensland Magazines, which has three print plus online publications, INDULGE eat. live. play, The West End Magazine, HIGHLIFE Downs Living and The Prestige Property Magazine online.
F-magazine
F-magazine celebrates Australian female success across ages, industries, and lifestyles.
Launched on International Women’s Day 2018, the online magazine – www.f-magazine.online – is supported by a weekly e-newsletter, emailed to 26,000 plus readers each Monday. F-magazine is published by Queensland Magazines, which has three print plus online publications, INDULGE eat. live. play, The West End Magazine, HIGHLIFE Downs Living and The Prestige Property Magazine online.
F-magazine
F-magazine celebrates Australian female success across ages, industries, and lifestyles.
Launched on International Women’s Day 2018, the online magazine – www.f-magazine.online – is supported by a weekly e-newsletter, emailed to 26,000 plus readers each Monday. F-magazine is published by Queensland Magazines, which has three print plus online publications, INDULGE eat. live. play, The West End Magazine, HIGHLIFE Downs Living and The Prestige Property Magazine online.
F-magazine
F-magazine celebrates Australian female success across ages, industries, and lifestyles.
Launched on International Women’s Day 2018, the online magazine – www.f-magazine.online – is supported by a weekly e-newsletter, emailed to 26,000 plus readers each Monday. F-magazine is published by Queensland Magazines, which has three print plus online publications, INDULGE eat. live. play, The West End Magazine, HIGHLIFE Downs Living and The Prestige Property Magazine online.
Past Event Highlights
MEDIA PARTNER
InnovationAus.com is an independent publisher of high-quality journalism. Our reporting covers the state and federal policies and programs that help underpin the commercial development of Australia’s tech industry.
We focus on the opportunities that align with the Australian Government’s strategic industry priorities – from advanced manufacturing to critical minerals and renewable energy, and AgriTech to cybersecurity and Defence.
Online and in person, InnovationAus.com builds high-value audiences that drive conversations and influence across government policymakers, business leaders, and top tier researchers.
ALTA fosters Australian innovation at the intersection of law and technology. We provide a community to Australian legal technology companies for information sharing, collaboration and building the presence of Australian legal technology on the global stage.
With a clear vision to be a global centre of excellence by facilitating the building of higher performing, ethical and compliant businesses through RegTech innovation and investment. Founded in 2017, the association brings together government, regulators, regulated entities, professional services and founder-led RegTech companies to ensure collaboration between all of the parties, promoting the industry as widely as possible, resulting in action in the uptake of RegTech proof of concepts and deployed RegTech solutions across the eco-system.
F-magazine
F-magazine celebrates Australian female success across ages, industries, and lifestyles.
Launched on International Women’s Day 2018, the online magazine – www.f-magazine.online – is supported by a weekly e-newsletter, emailed to 26,000 plus readers each Monday. F-magazine is published by Queensland Magazines, which has three print plus online publications, INDULGE eat. live. play, The West End Magazine, HIGHLIFE Downs Living and The Prestige Property Magazine online.
The Women Leaders Magazine will be the voice of the leaders who have fought against all odds and made it to their respective designations, and we will be the platform that will present their stories that are bound to influence not only women but everyone worldwide. https://thewomenleaders.com/ wants to become the go-to source for all women executives for inspiration, views, opinion pieces, or discussing the latest industry trends the technological influence.
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Feedback from past events
2023 Delegate
IPC Health
Brilliant info
November 2023
2023 Delegate
JAS-ANZ
Loved hearing about the innovations they are working on
November 2023
2023 Delegate
Allens
Loved all the models
November 2023
2023 Delegate
ACT GOVERNMENT
Engaging, broadly relevant to all and really useful. Excellent
November 2023
2023 Delegate
Newcastle Grammar School
I was very interested in the concept of platforms and platform strategy; useful discussion of AI in decision-making
November 2023
JAS-ANZ
Loved hearing about the innovations they are working on
September 2023
Newcastle Grammar School
I was very interested in the concept of platforms and platform strategy; useful discussion of AI in decision-making
September 2023
IPC Health
Such great presentation
September 2023
2021 delegate
Cancer Australia
Fantastic events with engaging, high profile speakers and thought-provoking agenda. I really enjoyed attending and found content very relevant for my role. Well-organised by a very friendly and professional team, thank you Dana and the Leadership Institute!
January 2023
2021 delegate
Australian Border Force
Interesting and really considered the current environment, showcasing the innovative opportunities that are ahead of us. Good variety of speakers and strong presentations.
January 2023
2021 delegate
Avis Budget Group
Fantastic and very talented speakers. This event really demonstrated the voice of women well. Very thought provoking and inspiring to say the least.
January 2023
2022 delegate
hipages Group
The quality of your speakers was excellent. I appreciated the broad range of perspectives and topics covered. Overall, I found the conference to be inspiring and made me feel genuine hope that the change in female representation in our country is well on the way. This is an exciting time to be a woman in Australia!
January 2023
2021 delegate
PwC
Very good workshop and speakers.
January 2023
2022 delegate
Deloitte
An inspiring, authentic and transformational conference. The speakers were of the highest quality, each sharing their own leadership and life journey, providing different perspectives and gems that I will be able to reflect and draw on as I move through my own leadership journey. Thank you so much!
January 2023
2022 delegate
hipages Group
The quality of your speakers was excellent. I appreciated the broad range of perspectives and topics covered. Overall, I found the conference to be inspiring and made me feel genuine hope that the change in female representation in our country is well on the way. This is an exciting time to be a woman in Australia!
January 2023
2022 delegate
Toyota Finance
Fantastic and thoughtful presentations across the board. I’m mind blown by the engaging presenters with extremely relevant messages. Would highly recommend!
January 2023
2022 delegate
Rio Tinto
The breadth of topics covered, and the presenters selected were a real treat. Thank you for a valuable, insightful, and though-provoking two days.
January 2023
WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP SUMMIT 2025 MELBOURNE
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28 - 31 May, 2025
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Marvel Stadium, 740 Bourke St, Docklands VIC, 3008
