Ben LaBolt just wrapped his tenure as White House Communications Director and Senior Advisor to President Biden. LaBolt is a globally recognized communications and political strategist that has helped lead winning presidential campaigns and Supreme Court confirmations, served in both chambers in Congress and built an award-winning communications and marketing agency.

For two decades, LaBolt has served as a strategist at the city, state, and national level. He was the national press secretary for President Obama’s re-election campaign, press secretary for Sherrod Brown’s ’06 campaign for Senate, communications director for Rahm Emanuel’s ’10 campaign for Mayor and White House spokesman for the efforts to confirm Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. He served as an advisor to the Biden-Harris transition team and the Nomination Advisor for Communications to President Biden for the effort to confirm Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.

Prior to serving in the Biden administration, LaBolt was a partner at Bully Pulpit Interactive (now called Bully Pulpit International), a modern communications and advertising agency for companies, campaigns and causes, where he built and led strategic communications across clients and teams. He previously served as one of two co-founders of The Incite Agency, leading its growth from its launch in 2013 to its acquisition by BPI in 2016. In 2022, he won the Honorable Mention for PR Week’s Outstanding Agency Professional and helped BPI win Public Affairs Agency of the Year both in the U.S. and globally back-to-back in the 2021 and 2022 SABRE awards. He advised political organizations, high growth startups, executive leaders, Fortune 200 companies and major foundations and advocacy organizations.

In 2015, LaBolt was named to PR Week’s 40 Under 40 list of leaders who “get results, never settle and represent the future of communications.”

Sally has over 20 years experience in policy development, strategy, communications and law. She spent 10 years working in the Australian Parliament including serving as Principal Private Secretary (Deputy Chief of Staff) to the 29th Prime Minister between 2015-2018.

Sally has extensive experience in stakeholder management, media and policy advocacy and she thrives when driving change and complex reform.

At an ASX executive level, Sally has lead teams across reputation, investor relations, ESG, regulatory affairs, government relations and customer advocacy.

Viv joined QBE in 2017 and was appointed Group Executive, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability in 2019 and since 2017 has been the Chair for the QBE Global Foundation. She previously held senior investor relations and corporate affairs roles, including Group Head of Corporate Affairs and Investor Relations at Lendlease, Head of Group Internal Communications at Westpac and Group General Manager of Communications at Multiplex Group.

Nicole is a senior executive with global corporate affairs experience in both the corporate and public sector who has a passion for working in highly scrutinised, regulated, and complex organisations.

As the Chief Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Officer at EnergyAustralia Nicole oversees communication, community engagement, government and regulatory affairs, and sustainability. The energy transition is incredibly challenging and complex, and she is currently leading the implementation of the team’s strategic roadmap to address these challenges.

Prior to joining EnergyAustralia, Nicole was at Telstra for over a decade. Here, she led the communications function and played a key role in strengthening Telstra’s reputation and building a high-profile social media presence. She was also chief of staff to the CEO for two years. Previously, Nicole led communications and reputation management functions for the Victorian Police and within the Commonwealth Government.

Nicole spent the early part of her career as a journalist and has worked as a Senior Media Advisor in the national political environment both here and in the UK. While in the UK she also worked for the Mobile Operators Association on the highly contentious UK mobile phone tower deployment.

Nicole has a Masters of Public Administration from Monash University.

Stephanie Belton joined GrainCorp in February 2019.  She leads GrainCorp’s Legal and Company Secretariat, Corporate Affairs, Sustainability and ESG functions.

Stephanie previously held General Counsel and senior management roles at SurfStitch Group Limited, Helloworld Limited, Qantas Airways Limited and The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company.

Prior to Stephanie’s corporate roles, she worked in private practice at Linklaters in London.

Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the University of Strathclyde (Glasgow) and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Oxford.  She is admitted to practice in New South Wales and Scotland and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Peter Filopoulos is a dynamic leader with over 20 years of rich experience in transforming sports and entertainment brands into powerhouses of excellence. His leadership, innovation, and strategic acumen have left indelible marks across an array of professional clubs, national and state sporting associations, major stadiums, advocacy organisations, and major events.

Known for his fearless approach to challenges and his relentless commitment to success, Peter has transformed some of Australia’s most iconic brands, unlocking significant value and creating lasting impacts. His tenure as CEO, C-Suite Leader, and Board Member has seen organisations such as Perth Glory (2015 -2018), Football Victoria (2018 – 2020) and Football Australia (2020 – ) reach their peak potential.

One of Peter’s most notable accomplishments as CEO of Football Victoria is his instrumental role in securing an unprecedented $400M in Government funding for Victorian community grassroots football facilities and infrastructure, including the creation of the $116M “The Home of the Matildas” at La Trobe University, Melbourne – the largest football-specific infrastructure project in Australia’s history.

As Chief Commercial Officer at Swimming Australia (2014 – 2015), Peter’s forward-thinking leadership steered the Australian “Dolphins” Swim Team’s rebranding and as Head of Sales, Marketing and Communications at Marvel Stadium (2007 – 2014), was the drive behind the innovative $20M connected stadium strategy. He has also successfully negotiated multimillion-dollar commercial and sponsorship arrangements across various roles, reflecting his acumen and the breadth of his professional network.

His influence and expertise extend beyond the sporting field. He has served as a board member at Vicsport, and as an ambassador as a Change Our Game Champion with the Office of Women and Sport & Active Recreation. Additionally, he was invited to join Cisco’s prestigious Sports, Media, and Entertainment Global Customer Advisory Board and was selected for the elite FIFA Executive Program in 2022.

Renowned for his passion for innovation, business transformation, customer growth, and operational excellence, Peter consistently delivers ground-breaking results. His reputation for bridging the gap between business, government, and sport, coupled with his extensive industry network, has made him an invaluable asset in the sports and entertainment sector.

Today, as a key member of the executive leadership team at Football Australia, in the role of Chief Customer, Brand and Marketing Officer, Peter continues to inspire teams towards achieving sustainable growth. His unwavering commitment to success and passion for making the impossible possible are testaments to his remarkable leadership.

Peter is more than a successful executive; he is a visionary who is reshaping the future of the sports and entertainment industry.

Megan Whiteside is Vice President of Corporate Affairs & Communications for American Express A/NZ, responsible for leading internal and external corporate communications, public relations, and corporate sustainability across the organization.

Megan has more than 20 years’ experience delivering communications solutions for multimillion dollar brands in travel and financial services. Through her work she regularly demonstrates the value of the corporate affairs function to influence brand perception and business performance.

Megan joined American Express ten years ago from Commonwealth Bank, where she was Senior Manager Communications for the Retail Bank. Prior to this Megan worked in London for Hilton Hotels, managing Brand PR for International.

Megan is a graduate of Griffith University with a Bachelor of Communications. She started her professional career in television news production in regional Australia before moving into public relations to explore her passion for creative writing.

Ryan has led communications teams at Visa since 2022 in Europe and now Oceania, building a modern storytelling approach for the corporate affairs function.

Over 20 years Ryan has worked across the gamut of communications in various roles, in-house and consulting, for Banco Santander in the UK and globally and other financial services and fintech providers.

Lachlan Andrews is the Head of Corporate and Internal Communications at Canva, the global online design platform and one of the world’s most valuable private technology companies. Lachlan leads the teams responsible for Canva’s business, product, financial, executive, employee, and policy communications. He is also an advisor to several startups and a guest lecturer on communications at the University of Western Sydney. Prior to joining Canva, Lachlan began his career in government and education communications. He currently resides in Sydney, Australia.

Chief Executive Officer, Goodman Foundation

Dedicating her career to making a difference through health and humanitarian work, Kris is passionate about creating positive social impact, with a focus on inequality, healthcare, gender equity, social justice and strategic philanthropy. Over the course of her career, she has worked with Federal and State governments, the not-for-profit sector and the business sector. She has consulted to many corporate entities across several industries – pharmaceutical, medical device, biotech, banking, consumer health and governments.

Kris currently leads the Goodman Foundation globally across Australia, New Zealand, Asia Pacific, UK, Europe, North America and Brazil.

Prior to joining Goodman, Kris was Head of Global Community Impact ANZ for Johnson & Johnson and on the leadership team for J&J’s Global Community Impact Alliance. With a background in Corporate and Government Affairs, Kris worked at Janssen ANZ for several years across corporate communications, issues management, market access and patient education programs.

Kris is currently a Non-Executive Director of Odyssey House, NSW, was a Non-Executive Director of Bridging the Gap Foundation to 2023, previous Chair of the Collaboration for Health in Papua New Guinea and member of the Corporate Working Group to develop Australia’s national volunteering strategy 2023 to 2033.

Kris holds a Master of Public Health, a Bachelor of Applied Science, is a Graduate of the Australian Company Directors and was honoured with a Service to the Community award by the ACT Government.

Cara is the Director of Prevention in Action at Our Watch and the Director of Our Watch Institute, the profit for purpose arm working to end violence against women.

Cara oversees specialist expert teams who leads on developing the primary prevention workforce and sector as well as expanding prevention activity in the big reach settings of media, universities and VET education, workplaces and sport.

Cara brings over 15 years of leadership in preventing violence against women, gender equality, women’s rights, and security in Australia and internationally, including several non-executive director roles and advisory roles.

Cara has previously worked at VicHealth and the Australian Government Office for Women and at Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom in Geneva.  Cara has completed a Master of Public Policy and management.

Roger has been responsible for developing and leading the implementation of Bupa’s sustainability, strategic communications and government engagement work across Asia Pacific. He is a strong believer in driving progressive change while ensuring care for our people, planet and communities. He has also held senior leadership roles with the Victorian Government’s Department of Health and Human Services, Treasury Wine Estates, Cadbury and Kraft Foods. Roger’s considerable international experience includes roles for Telefonica Europe and for the British Government as Special Adviser to the Minister for Science, Technology & Innovation, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and the Secretary of State of Culture, Media & Sport. Roger holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Political Studies, and a Master of Political Studies (Hons.), from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. In 2022, Sustainability Magazine named him one of the world’s Top 100 Sustainability Leaders. He has previously held Board positions at Wine Victoria, the Wine Communicators of Australia, and has recently been appointed to the Industry Advisory Board, Faculty of Science at UTS, and the National Board of the Y (formerly YMCA) Australia. Roger is the proud father of two children. He is a passionate supporter of both Manchester City FC and the New Zealand All Blacks. He enjoys film, music, travel and wine.

Misha Zelinsky is a leading expert on the rise of global authoritarianism.

A Fulbright Scholar, economist, lawyer, and author, Misha spent 2022 and 2023 covering Russia’s invasion from inside Ukraine as a war correspondent for The Australian Financial Review. For this work, Misha is personally sanctioned by the Putin regime.

A graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science, he is an expert associate at Australia’s National Security College. Misha is a director of AustralianSuper, an industry superannuation fund with over $300 billion under management. He is currently the Executive General Manager of Corporate Affairs at the National Rugby League.

Thanks to his time leading the Australian Workers’ Union— Australia’s oldest blue-collar trade union — Misha has been a senior political figure with a reputation for expertise in supply chain sovereignty, national security, industrial policy, countering foreign interference, international trade and energy security.

Misha is a regular columnist for The Australian Financial Review, writing on the future of democracy, Australian domestic policy, national security and geopolitics. As a contributor to MSNBC, BBC, and ABC, Misha’s work features in Australian and international print publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, Daily Telegraph, Foreign Policy and The Times.

Misha’s book The Sun Will Rise, detailing the events of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine was released in December 2023.

Ruth Durrant is the General Manager of Corporate Affairs for Energy Queensland, Australia’s largest wholly Government owned electricity company which comprises of a group of distribution, retail and energy services businesses.

Ruth is an accomplished communications professional with more than 20 years’ experience across media, not-for-profit, utilities and energy industries. Her expertise in strategic communications, reputation and stakeholder management, brand positioning, crisis and emergency response is underpinned by a demonstrated interest in social impact and engagement.

Ruth leads a geographically dispersed team of employees who oversee media and communications, spearhead emergency response, liaise with Government and major stakeholders, shape employee communication and engagement, and respond to the needs of more than 2.3 million Queenslander customers.

With a commitment to contemporary governance approaches, Ruth has a Board career that includes roles as a Director on the Board of Queensland Capacity Network (QCN) and the not-for-profit organisation AEIOU Foundation.

As Chief of Corporate Affairs at the Australian Banking Association, Fiona is responsible for leading the media, government relations, research and campaign functions. This involves her having a pivotal role in shaping the Australian banking industry’s reputation.

Fiona was previously Director of Government Relations at the ABA, during which time she helped lead the sector’s response to the Banking Royal Commission recommendations.

Fiona has two decades of professional experience in politics, public policy development and issues campaigning in roles as a consultant, in-house at listed companies and associations as well as within government. She has a deep understanding of the parliamentary process. She has advised Cabinet Ministers, senior corporate leaders and has extensive experience in managing high profile communications campaigns.

Aaron is the Director of Corporate Communications for Cochlear – the world leader in implantable hearing solutions, following the invention of the multichannel cochlear implant in Australia.

Aaron joined Cochlear in 2018. In his role, he oversees global external and internal communications. He is responsible for the long-term enterprise communications strategy for Cochlear, ensuring communications changes stakeholder behaviour, and strengthens Cochlear’s brand reputation. This includes leading the global corporate communications team, and enabling cross-functional headquarters, regional and country teams to communicate effectively.

Prior to Cochlear, Aaron led teams across global communications consultancies in London, New York, and Sydney. He has over 15 years’ experience in communications, marketing, and sales, primarily for pharmaceutical, MedTech, and not-for-profit organisations. He has a BSc (Hons) in Neuroscience and is a Certified Digital Marketing Professional.

Gareth Trickey is Director of Communications, Asia Pacific – Vantive

Gareth joined Baxter in 2016. He has served as head of Government Affairs and Communications for Asia Pacific since 2022. Prior to this role he was Director of Government Affairs and Communications for Australia and New Zealand.

Gareth has more than 15 years of experience in brand management, media relations, government engagement, policy development, reputation management and public relations working in the medical technology, transport and energy sectors for corporations and government. Gareth started his career as a newspaper journalist for Australia’s largest daily newspaper – Herald Sun.

Gareth has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and university Bachelor Degree in International Policy Studies and Communications.

Bill Thomas is General Manager Public Relations at Hyundai Motor Company Australia (HMCA), a position he has held for 12 years. A former Editor of Wheels Magazine in Australia and Associate Editor of BBC Top Gear Magazine in the UK, Bill spent 19 years as an automotive journalist prior to joining Hyundai. He has written for media giants such as The Times in London and Car and Driver in the United States, and over his time as a journalist drove nearly every supercar in creation, including a test of three Bugatti Veyrons in one day alongside Top Gear’s The Stig. Now Bill helps tell the incredible stories of the world’s most ambitious and future-focused car company, Hyundai, based at HMCA’s HQ in Macquarie Park, Sydney.

David leads Meltwater’s business across Asia-Pacific, helping close to 5,000 businesses across Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Greater China, Southeast Asia and India leverage the power of external data to drive better decision making in corporate affairs and marketing. He studied at the University of Sydney and Said Business School at the University of Oxford. David has worked for Meltwater for the last 17 years in various roles, with half that time based in Hong Kong and the rest in Australia.

Russ is one of the leaders in the Asia-Pacific media intelligence industry, with 20 years experience guiding Isentia’s commercial teams across Australia, New Zealand and APAC through considerable change to continuous success.

Russ has a passion for creating strong partnerships with clients by empowering them to achieve their strategic objectives via Isentia’s market defining media and audience intelligence solutions.

A professional focussed on bringing employee experience to the forefront of businesses across ANZ. Adam is a has over 20 years+ experience and 8 years in Employee Engagement & HR Software.

With more than 25 years of experience, Stephen provides executive leadership and subject matter expertise on reputation to the RepTrak Company. He joined the company in 2015. As a catalyst for growth, his responsibilities include being a champion of reputation intelligence, strategic thought leadership, and long-range strategic planning. Prior to RepTrak he was Chief Strategy Officer, purveyor of insight, and practitioner of integrated communications at leading agencies, namely — Leo Burnett, Mullen, Doner, and Saatchi & Saatchi.

Stephen is often cited as a reputation expert — and has been quoted in leading media sources including Harvard Business Review, Forbes, WSJ, CNBC, NPR, Associated Press, NY Times, Adage, PR Week, and FT. Of note, he has contributed to published content including the following books — Chutzpah & Chutzpah, Brand Physics, Reputation Management, Brand Activism, and Activate Brand Purpose. Additionally, he has publicly spoken at key industry events including the Conference Board, Bloomberg, IAAF, Sustainable Brands Conference, ESOMAR, TMRE, and 4A’s Strategy Fest. His academic credentials include an Executive MBA in Management from Stern, NYU (2000).

In his spare time, he continues to actively cultivate his academic interests, in having lectured on the topics of reputation, marketing, branding, sales, and advertising at major universities including Northeastern, USC, NYU, Michigan State, Babson, Rice, and American University. When taking a break from reputation, you’ll find him either playing, coaching, or watching soccer – or otherwise exploring far flung places in the world.

With over 18 years of experience in business strategy, sales growth, and relationship management across media sectors, Amrita is the Managing Director of Medianet, as well as a proud board member of the prestigious global body for communication measurement, AMEC.

In her current role, Amrita leads the business strategy, operations, and commercial performance of Medianet —a leading platform that provides media intelligence, PR, and communications solutions to clients across Australia and New Zealand.

Amrita has significant experience and success as a senior executive leader in technology and digital services enterprises, having served as GM Asia for Tigerspike, a technology agency that builds enterprise-level digital solutions, and as Global Head of Commercial and Partnerships for VMG, a SaaS social media solution.