Mr Barrie Cassidy

Barrie is host of the ABC political discussion program Insiders. His career has involved working as senior press secretary and political adviser to Bob Hawke as well as stints as an overseas correspondent, and a  political correspondent. He is the author of three books. 

Mr Jeffrey Julian

Jeffrey Julian is the Director of Creative Innovation at the University of Newcastle, Australia. 
Jeff is a renowned designer and creative-futurist who works with a global team of researchers, innovators and educational institutions to nurture creativity. He is highly regarded in the design, film and advertising industries and has received multiple awards, including 6 Gold CLIO'S and a V.E.S. (Visual Effects Society) Award for Best Art Direction. Jeff has registered numerous patents for products as diverse as prosthetic limbs to eyewear.
Jeff’s career began working with various high profile companies including BMW / Designworks, Gucci, Rover, Rolls-Royce and Siemens. A highly successful appointment at Oakley resulted in several notable patents.
Jeff’s visionary work quickly attracted the attention of Hollywood, notably Steven Spielberg who invited Jeff to be a part of a team of futurists for the film “The Minority Report”. This provided a springboard for the next ten years to work as a concept designer and art director with Hollywood’s 'A-List' including Ridley Scott, the Wachowski brothers, David Fincher, Brian Singer, Warner Brothers, Dreamworks SKG, Digital Domain, Paramount Studios, Universal, Sony and George Lucas’s Industrial Light and Magic.
In addition to his film work, Jeff is equally recognised for developing content and intellectual property for numerous clients including Apple, American Express, Adidas, Nike, BMW, Rolls Royce, Audi, Ford, and Ogilvy & Mather.
In recent years, Jeff has provided consulting services and travelled the world as a keynote speaker and panelist for organisations as diverse as NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, British Aerospace, Samsung, Hyundai and Disney on topics ranging from Research and Innovation, the Environment, Medicine, Technology, Defense and Strategy. He is a co-founder of several innovative and disruptive start-ups in Australia.

Mr Hugh Mackay

Hugh Mackay is a social researcher and the author of sixteen books, including the 2013 bestseller, The Good Life. His latest book, The Art of Belonging, uses a mixture of social analysis and storytelling to explore the ways community engagement enriches us, and the reasons why communities break down.
In recognition of his pioneering work in social research, Hugh has been elected a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society and awarded honorary doctorates by Charles Sturt, Macquarie, NSW and Western Sydney universities. He was appointed an Officer (AO) in the Order of Australia in 2015.
Hugh was a newspaper columnist for over 25 years and is currently a patron of the Asylum Seekers Centre. Among other appointments, he has been deputy chairman of the Australia Council, chairman of trustees of Sydney Grammar School, and the inaugural chairman of the ACT government’s Community Inclusion Board.

Mr Sean McDermott

Sean McDermott is a specialist in Risk Management and Mitigation at Everest Risk Group (Corporate Authorised Representatives of Insurance Advisernet - AFSL 240549).  Sean combines 10 years of insurance skills with his prior roles in enforcement and logistics.  He has written course materials for a number of learning institutes, focussing on key areas of Insurance and Risk Management. 
Currently a Senior Associate of the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF), Mr McDermott will be starting the path to his Degree and eventual Doctorate late in 2015/Early 2016. 
Having been the lead Account Manager for the AMSA Insurance Scheme over the majority of the last four years, Sean has garnered intimate knowledge of the unique risks faced at Men’s Sheds around the country. 
With his unique ability to inject humour, and to break difficult subjects down into their most basic parts, he was well received at the 5th AMSA conference and is a most welcome addition to our speaking panel this year.

Mr John Peacock

John Peacock, General Manager of Associations Forum Pty Ltd, is one of Australia’s most experienced advisors to associations and charities and is a thought leader for the not-for-profit sector. John, with a BCom (University of NSW), has senior management and Directorship experience in a variety of not-for-profit organisations.
John commenced his career as a professional association manager in 1989 at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia and became CEO of a medium sized legal association within 10 years.
Since 2000, John has trained and consulted to hundreds of associations and charities, large and small, on strategic, governance, board effectiveness, operations, restructuring and financial issues. As well as engagement on specific projects, John’s business undertakes whole-of-organisation reviews of associations and charities.
John’s operational specialisation is developing plans that can be translated into actions, budgets and job descriptions. His change specialisation is in the field of mergers of associations.
In 2008, John responded to the Australian Senate Inquiry into NFP Regulation, in 2009 he wrote submissions to the Productivity Commission regarding their Inquiry into the Not-for-Profit sector and in 2012 he wrote submissions to Australian Treasury on the proposed Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission. In 2014, he drafted a submission in the Royal Commission on Trade Unions.
John has led the expansion of Associations Forum beyond Australia with conferences, training and consulting. Since 2009, he has spoken at association training events in New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, The Philippines, India, USA, South Africa and China.
John Peacock strongly believes that the freedom to associate is a core foundation of democracy. Strong and well-governed associations and charities support their members or their cause, are independent of government and bureaucracy, plus generate jobs for employees and income for suppliers. John welcomes the opportunity to discuss how associations & charities are improving the world – and how to run your organisation to meet its potential.

Mr Craig Rispin

Craig Rispin is a business futurist and innovation expert. His expertise is in emerging businesses, people and technology trends – and how companies can profit from them.
Craig has over 20 years experience working where the future has been created – with some of the most innovative companies in the world in the IT, consumer electronics, internet and broadcasting industries. In fact, Craig got his start much earlier than that – teaching adults about technology and trends from the age of 10 (really)!
He has addressed audiences up to 3,000 on 5 continents and has consulted with CEOs of leading companies worldwide. Some of his clients include: BHP Billiton, Canon, Colonial First State, IBM, Mallesons, NRMA, Sensis, Sportscraft, Symantec, Toyota, the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and countless professional industry associations.
Now a keynote speaker, author and innovation consultant Craig shows his clients how to ‘Know First, Be First and Profit First’.