Peter Alexander

Peter Alexander

Creative Director, Peter Alexander

Peter Alexander is an inspirational entrepreneur who has spent over 30 years building his successful brand. Peter is the founder of Peter Alexander Sleepwear, a brand that has grown enormously and developed into a multi channel business with over 25 retail stores! A believer, an inspiration, and a humble person, Peter shares his journey of success.

Over the last 34 years, Peter Alexander Sleepwear has grown with leaps and bounds from a pure catalogue based business to a multi-channel business with over 140 retail stores across Australia and New Zealand.

Peter Alexander remains the Creative Director of the brand.

Believing in the importance of setting high goals, Peter says people with high goals have far more chance of achieving them, than people with lower goals or no goals at all.

Steve Sammartino

Steve Sammartino

Futurist

Futurist Steve Sammartino is a tour de force in the field of technology. His energy and humour on stage have made him sought-after speaker around the globe. An expert in AI’s profound implications for business and society, Steve has been immersed in Computational Intelligence systems from the tender age of 10.

Steve goes beyond theory and brings lessons from his own tech ventures. His latest Macro3D, a ground-breaking AI and robotics company – which 3D prints houses. Since co-founding the company his year he has managed to 3D print a house, and is now embarking on building the world’s first home built entirely by AI.

An accomplished author, Steve has written three best-selling books on the subject of technology and its future. As a testament to his compelling insights, he has given a TED talk and is the host of the popular national Technology and Business TV show on Channel 9, "The Rebound" – now in it’s 4th Season.

Steve's takes the complex and makes it simple, and human. This sentiment is captured in his viral videos, which boast over 100 million views - his drivable Lego Car being a prime example. As a respected media commentator, his views are widely sought after, making him an authoritative voice in the tech industry. Steve Sammartino doesn't just predict the future of technology, he's literally building it, and his speeches are an unmissable opportunity to get a glimpse into that future.

Ojay McDonald

Ojay McDonald

Chief Executive, Association of Town & City Management

Ojay McDonald is the Chief Executive of the Association of Town & City Management. He works with government ministers, parliamentarians, UK Cabinet Office, economic development professionals, business leaders and place managers across the UK and Ireland to support town and city centres.

He works on a range of policy issues including the UK's withdrawal from the EU, tax reform, local government finance, transport, housing, planning, retail, urban regeneration, COVID recovery and the climate emergency.

Ojay is co-chair of the Sector Leaders Group on the High Streets Task Force, a ministerial-led programme supporting town centre regeneration in England. He is a board member of the International Downtown Association, an organisation based in Washington D.C that represents urban place management globally. He coordinates the secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Town Centres in the UK. And, he is part of the global Urban Climate Change Research Network to understand the links between climate change and the built environment.

Steve de Niese

Steve de Niese

Creative Director, Assemblo

Steve de Niese is the Creative Director of Assemblo, a full-service marketing agency based in Melbourne, Australia.

Driven to enact stronger change and help like-minded people achieve success, Steve co-founded Assemblo in 2010 when he saw an opportunity for a marketing agency that could effectively help retailers, placemakers and main streets meld traditional marketing with evolving digital technology.

Through his agency Assemblo, Steve has helped small businesses, main streets, local and state governments to generate real, measurable results from marketing campaigns, craft effective online and offline experiences, and build lasting brands that connect with their customers.

Blending strategic marketing with traditional advertising, Assemblo offers a strategy-first approach to marketing to help businesses and organisations grow and reach their business objectives faster.

Prof Michele Acuto

Prof Michele Acuto

Professor of Global Urban Politics, Architecture, Building and Planning

Prof Michele Acuto is Director of the Melbourne Centre for Cities at the University of Melbourne, where he is also Professor in the Melbourne School of Design and Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning.

He is a recognised voice in international politics and urban governance, with specific expertise on questions surrounding the future of cities and their relation to global challenges, not least after dark. Michele is  currently a member of the City of Melbourne’s Night-time Economy Advisory Committee, the Australian Government’s National Urban Policy Advisory Network, and UN-Habitat’s Stakeholder Advisory Group. Before joining the University of Melbourne, Michele was Professor at University College London (UCL), and at the University of Oxford before that.

Outside academia, Michele has worked at the World Bank, European Commission, and the World Health Organization. He is author, amongst others, of Managing Cities at Night and How to Build a Global City, and co-host of the Cities After Dark podcast miniseries.

Joyce Watts

Joyce Watts

MC

Joyce is passionate about the role of main streets to create economic opportunities, foster community connectedness and build resilience.

She has had a varied career as an intellectual property lawyer, an ecommerce store owner, and creative event producer. She currently publishes Melbourne & Regional Victoria’s biggest family travel site, TOT: HOT OR NOT. Every year it inspires 1+ million readers to explore Victoria with their families and promotes local tourism.

Through her consultancy, Bright Smart, she helps business owners to tell their stories and build emotional connections through copywriting, photography and videography. She helps business owners to share their stories, communicate their value and create impact through SEO, email marketing, and social media.

Sam Choudhury

Sam Choudhury

MC

Samantha Choudhury has over 15 years' experience in Australia and the USA as a passionate urbanist whose interest lies in creating prosperous places that matter and that people can connect to.

She has worked on a range of urban scales, including city-wide urban renewal, place planning and activation, co-designing with stakeholders and community, providing urban design advice, facilitating urban development and providing strategic research for all sectors including retail, housing, mixed-use and commercial environments.

Across the globe, Samantha has used her urban planning and international development expertise to deliver places that make people prosper. She has extensive experience working throughout Australia and around the globe and has sought-after knowledge related to people-focussed placemaking.

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