As the conference agenda continues to develop, there may be changes to the following timings and session descriptions. Sign up HERE for agenda updates.
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09:00
Optional morning tour
Join tour guides from the Committee for Sydney on a walking tour of the Tech Central district, Sydney’s innovation heart. Learn about this thriving ecosystem of world class universities, industry partners, ambitious start-ups and prestigious research institutes, inspired by rich and diverse creative communities and premier hospital and health services. You’ll be given the insider’s perspective on how the ecosystem has been developed, and how the district is delivering for Sydney.
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13:30
Welcome
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13:45
Opening keynote: Aligning government priorities for place-led economic growth
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14:10
Sydney’s global brand: working towards a unifying strategy
- Understanding the reputation risk when the performance of your city is running ahead of perception
- Why a unified brand, focussed on the people of Sydney, will deliver dividends across business events, talent attraction, capital investment, education etc.
- Developing the Our Change Starts Here Agenda – promoting the city’s brilliant minds, high achievers, big thinkers and unique places to differentiate our marketing and deliver more authentic experiences
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14:40
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15:05
Refreshments
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15:35
Round Table discussions
Join groups of your peers in smaller group discussions to address common challenges and opportunities for place-led brand and marketing
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16:25
When the going gets tough: how a place brand contributes to resilience to the place economy
In 2020, Tamaki Makaurau Auckland won the Place Brand of the Year Award in the City Nation Place Awards for the foundational work done to develop a unifying and compelling place brand narrative. Over the past five years, the brand and the team behind it have weathered Covid, a change of government, and a tightening of funding. How has the place brand strategy continued to deliver for the place economy?
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17:00
Close of Day One
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17:30
Drinks reception
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08:30
Registration for Day Two
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08:50
Introduction to Day Two
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09:00
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09:25
Building resilience and strong crisis management into your place brand positioning
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09:50
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10:30
Refreshments
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11:00
Leveraging the private sector and place-led collaboration to deliver successful place making and brand building
- How does Downtown Van, as a Business Improvement Association with private sector funding, fit into the place-led organisational ecosystem of Vancouver?
- How BIA led place making and community engagement is helping drive the city’s economic growth
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11:25
Join your choice of breakout session, led by our expert partners
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11:30
Redefining place brands in a dynamic world: innovative strategies for differentiating your place
- Rethinking brand categories: how destinations can break free from traditional categorisations to create unique market positions
- Learn from analysis of places and organisations that have successfully changed perceptions by altering or thinking “outside the box” about their brand categories
- Methodologies and tools to create your point of difference
- How Port Macquarie has repositioned its destination brand to focus on lifestyle
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11:30
Session TBC
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12:10
Join your choice of breakout session, led by our expert partners
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12:10
Hosted by Cupla Studio
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12:10
Session TBC
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12:45
Lunch
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13:45
What can we learn about creating better places from the opportunity to create a new city from scratch?
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14:15
Panel discussion: Leveraging private sector engagement in place shaping, place reputation and economic development
- How to ensure public and private sector objectives are aligned
- Ensuring a long-term vision for community benefits and place attractiveness is the driver for economically successful development
Panellists include:
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15:00
Refreshments
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15:30
Bringing your brand to life through private sector partnerships: learnings from the New Zealand Story Export Storyteller programme
- What problem was the Export Storyteller programme set up to address and how is it working?
- How is the programme evolving to scale for more impact?
- Next step: Utilising the Brand New Zealand Ambassador Group to connect with exporters
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15:55
Leveraging the nation brand to compete on the world stage
- Understanding international perceptions and why the nation brand is the first level of influence
- Place layering: how can states and cities leverage the nation brand to build an international profile
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16:20
Brisbane rising: Redefining identity, growth and legacy
Our closing keynote will delve into the city of Brisbane’s ascent as a dynamic global destination, focusing on…
- How place branding, collaboration, and strategic development converge
- How the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games are serving as a catalyst for legacy-building and sustainable growth well into the future
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16:50
Key takeaways and close of conference
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Lyn Lewis-Smith is CEO of BESydney and leads a global team of professionals spanning Europe, North America and Asia who are charged with securing global meetings of strategic, economic and social benefit to Sydney, Australia. The organisation works across sectors which include infrastructure, technology, professional services, advanced manufacturing, education and health. Lyn has led transformation globally, passionately advocating for Australian business, scientific and cultural achievements on the world stage and received the Destination International’s Humanitarian Award for her co-authored and published research with UTS: Determining Business Events Legacies beyond the Tourism spend.
An experienced non-executive director, Lyn is a Fellow of the UTS, Adjunct Professor and Co-Chairs the University of Technology Sydney Business School Advisory Board, Director of Destinations International, Committee for Sydney and the Women’s Resilience Centre.
Eamon’s career has spanned the social, economic and urban needs of Sydney.
He started his career working side-by-side with people experiencing long-term homelessness in Penrith and Blacktown to understand their challenges, and undertook the first Homelessness Street Count in the Western Parkland City.
Prior to joining the Committee as CEO, Eamon was the Chief Strategy Officer of the Department of Enterprise, Investment and Trade, sitting on the Executive of the Department and leading strategic projects across the Investment, Industry and Trade, Arts and Culture, Sport, Tourism and Hospitality and Racing sectors.
Before this, Eamon was Deputy CEO and Policy Director at the Committee for Sydney, Director of Policy for Youth Action NSW, the peak body for young people and the services that support them across NSW, and worked in social services including UnitingCare and Marist Youth Care.
As the Committee’s Policy Director, Eamon delivered more than 40 reports, including work on Density Done Well, Benchmarking Sydney’s Performance, the Sandstone Mega-Region and Safety After Dark.
Eamon is also engaged in broader Sydney society as a member of the Monkey Baa Theatre Company board, and previously served as a Board Director of the NSW Council of Social Services (NCOSS), Sydney Community Foundation, and Sydney Alliance.
Todd Babiak is CEO of Brand Tasmania. He made the switch from place branding and economic development consulting, with Story Engine and Places are People, where he had worked with clients in North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Australia. Why did he move to Tasmania, to join his former client as CEO? He had never implemented a strategy before, and he was inspired to understand why people didn’t always take action on his “brilliant advice.”
Now he gets it.
See tasmanian.com.au and toddbabiak.com.
Meaghan Ferrigno is Destination Canada’s Chief Data and Analytics Officer (CDAO), a role which positions Destination Canada as an Insight Driven Organization, curating industry data to optimize both supply- and demand-side decisions.
She leads Destination Canada’s data strategy to help maximize the competitiveness and resilience of the Canadian tourism sector, making good information and analysis broadly available to tourism partners, businesses, local communities and government.
From her past roles, Meaghan brings an exceptional range of expertise in data-enabled competitive strategies and business agility. She is a certified CPA, CMA who holds an MBA in Management Technology from SFU’s Beedie School of Business as well as PMP and agile designations.
One of her most important and current priorities at Destination Canada is to build and launch the Canadian Tourism Data Collective, in partnership with Statistics Canada, other major data providers, and many industry businesses. This national platform harnesses the power of tourism data, to generate a source of long-term collaborative advantage, drive innovation for Canada's hosting economy, empowering decision-makers across public and private sectors.
Meaghan joined as the Crown corporation’s CDAO in August of 2021.
- With Ernst & Young LLP for more than 12 years
- With STB for more than 10 years
- Chartered Accountant by profession
- Certified Train the Trainer
- Responsible to initiate and develop Sabah Rural and Community Based Tourism since 2014
Originally from Adelaide, Australia and now living in Fiji, Brent is a multi-award-winning marketer and leader, and joined Tourism Fiji as CEO in mid-2021 after 6 years at the South Australian Tourism Commission. Brent led the incredible effort to reopen Fiji to the world in December 2021, achieving double the visitor arrivals target in 2022. Brent leads a team based in Nadi, Fiji as well as offices across the world, in pursuit of the goal of $3B in tourism revenue by December 2024 – equating to 38% of Fiji’s economy.
Annabelle defines her careers purpose as leveraging tourism as a force for good. Her diverse tourism experience spans 25 years in wholesale, retail, trade, marketing, and destination development, providing her with a well-rounded industry perspective, gained in different contexts around the world and Australia. During her work for a Destination Marketing Organization in Sydney, Annabelle had a key realization that success in tourism centred on growth and promotion, with little emphasis on managing it sustainably. This insight fuelled her passion for sustainable tourism, which deepened during an 18-month stay on a remote island in the Solomon Islands from 2018. There, she led the development of a tourism master plan for the Central Province Government, while completing a Masters in Sustainable Tourism Management. This pivotal experience reinforced her commitment to fostering tourism that benefits both the environment and local community. Before relocating to Western Australia, Annabelle spearheaded the award-winning rebrand of South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, “Eyre the Wild Side,” which earned gold at the 2023 South Australian Tourism Awards. Since moving to Esperance in early 2024, she has continued to champion sustainable tourism, leading initiatives like the “Esperance. In Your Element” brand and the creation of the “Esperance Promise” to support the thoughtful management of the region’s tourism sector.
Amanda is an accomplished strategist and designer who transforms cities, precincts, and organizations through an innovative 'inside-out' approach. Her work seamlessly integrates strategy, design, and change management to create lasting impact across public and commercial sectors. By drawing on her multidisciplinary expertise, she develops solutions that strengthen organizations internally while enhancing their external presence and influence. This unique methodology has consistently delivered measurable results, whether revitalizing urban districts, reimagining corporate spaces, or fostering positive organizational change. Her deep understanding of both human-centered design and strategic planning enables her to create solutions that resonate at every level - from internal operations to citywide initiatives.
Recognised as a ‘Queensland Great’ in 2013, Anthony is a well-respected and self-confessed sport loving local who is known for the passion and entrepreneurial spirit that he brings to all professional endeavours.
An inspiring leader with a proven track record in delivering strategic business outcomes and strong partnerships, Anthony is responsible for leading BEDA to drive sustainable economic growth for the City.
As Brisbane’s champion, BEDA works with stakeholders to enhance the City’s reputation globally, drive visitation and attract investment and talent, whilst looking ahead at emerging opportunities for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Previously CEO of Youngcare, Anthony pioneered the transformation of the national not-for-profit organisation into an innovative and entrepreneurial company that provides meaningful solutions and choices for young people with high physical care needs.
Callum Wood is an accomplished marketing professional who leads BEDA’s Marketing team and champions the Brisbane destination brand globally.
With a focus on driving economic growth, Callum leads a diverse team of marketing and place activation professionals to develop and execute impactful marketing strategies across diverse sectors and audiences.
From tourism, business and major events, to business growth, trade, and investment, Callum manages the Brisbane destination brand holistically, both domestically and internationally.
Prior to joining BEDA, Callum held several destination and event marketing roles across Melbourne and regional Victoria, including City Marketing Manager for the City of Melbourne. Callum has completed an MBA with a focus on marketing and brand management. He is also admitted as an Australian Lawyer.