We are delighted to announce our speakers for the 2019 Leadership + Complexity Symposium.

This is an exceptional opportunity to hear from a number of local and interstate experts who can accelerate your strategic thinking and capacity as it relates to complexity.

Together we will actively explore the reality that leadership is increasingly influenced by unpredictable, unprecedented speeds of change and therefore creating unique situations requiring us to be adaptive, dynamic collaborators.

The day includes a keynote from Martin Flanagan, a workshop with Polly McGee and a networking event that will invite you to connect with other delegates.

All are welcome.

To book tickets please visit our portal.

Martin Flanagan

Journalist and Author

Martin is a storyteller, journalist, poet, author and public speaker. Described as “a legend of Australian journalism” in TIME magazine in 2003. Martin speaks on Australian sport, culture and politics. Flanagan also writes opinion pieces, some of which are examinations of Australian culture and the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. He will be opening our symposium with his views on the complexities of modern life.

Anya Reading

Professor of Geophysics, University of Tasmania

Anya is a research leader in geophysics and interdisciplinary topics with a computational flavour. Together with her collaborators, she applies tools from mathematics, physics and computing to understanding our planet. A strong advocate for humans and computers working together, Anya has wide interests in progressing new forms of knowledge through innovative workflows, challenging bias through techniques of art-science, and holistic approaches to progress in any sphere through concepts such as complexity.

Rod Smith

Director Continuing Professional Development, Australian Institute of Police Management

Rod is an experienced executive educator and research professional with a demonstrated history of working in the public safety industry. Skilled in leadership development, crisis management, government, emergency management, and conflict resolution. Rod will be joining us to share the skills needed for leaders working within complexity.

Dr. Polly McGee

Author, speaker, business strategist, yogi and good hustler

Polly writes all kinds of things from books to blogs to training programs, with a central theme of how to fully engage with our complex beautiful lives and extract the maximum meaning and benefit from them. Polly will deliver our closing workshop teaching us to dare to lead in complexity with curiosity and vulnerability.

Lisa Ryan

Director at Adaptive Leadership Australia and Principal Consultant at Hecate Consulting

Lisa has been involved in service delivery, capacity building, policy development and leadership development for the past 25 years, and has worked across government, non-government organisations and the community sector. A social worker by training, with a background in health, Lisa believes that change requires both individuals and systems to adapt.

Hilary Burden

Author and Broadcaster

Hilary is an author and occasional ABC broadcaster. Her journalistic life started at Tasmania’s Channel Six, and she went on to work in Sydney and London for some of the world’s leading newspapers and magazines. Hilary will be facilitating our panel of change makers: Bill Lawson AM, Dr Michelle Lucas and Professor Mohamad Abdalla.

Bill Lawson

Founder Beacon Foundation

Bill was the Principal of Sinclair Knight Merz where he was the Manager of the Indigenous Sector and Group Manager of the Company’s global Corporate Social Responsibility Program. He has worked on major projects in Tasmania and the Antarctic. In 2006 he was also awarded an Order of Australia for his development of the national youth assistance initiative, the Beacon Foundation: a high impact organisation tackling complexity head on.

Professor Mohamad Abdalla

Director, Centre for Islamic Thought and Education University of South Australia

Mohamad is one of Australia’s most prominent and respected Muslim leaders, combining the roles of an academic scholar, public intellectual, community leader and commentator. He is recognised as a leader whose work has had positive social impact. No stranger to complexity, Mohamad clearly demonstrated leadership in his role after 9/11 where he led a reconciliation strategy to build bridges of understanding between the Australian Muslim and wider communities.

Dr Michelle Lucas

Executive Director CMm, Social Change

Michelle is the Executive Director of CMM - Social Change and Senior Fellow of the Harwood Institute (U.S.A). As Founder of CMM, Michelle has worked for twenty years designing, implementing and refining a collective approach to address complex social challenges throughout Australia and Asia. At its heart, CMM aims to enable communities and committed stakeholders to learn and grow together to strengthen social capital and to build a connected society.