SPEAKERS
Get Ready to be Inspired by our Speakers!
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Kevin Sheedy AO
Ambassador for AFL
As a player, coach and ambassador, Kevin Sheedy has had one of the most successful careers in Australian sporting history. But there is more to Kevin Sheedy than football. He is a marketer, a thinker, an innovator, the holder of awards for community service and an inspirational speaker, capable of talking about subjects’ way beyond the boundaries of sport.
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As a coach, Sheedy led Essendon for 27 years, achieving four Premierships ('84, '85, '93, '00), and was the inaugural coach of Greater Western Sydney Giants (GWS). Kevin Sheedy was instrumental in developing AFL traineeships and advocating for Indigenous players through initiatives like the Essendon-Richmond Dreamtime match.
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Beyond football, Sheedy established AFL SportsReady and is an ambassador for the Bravery Trust and the Australian Government's Apprenticeships program.
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Sheedy has co-authored nine books, including "Icons of Footy" and "Stand Your Ground”. His accolades include an Order of Australia, the Centenary Medal, the National Service Medal and the Victorian Government Sports Achievement Award. He has been inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame and has reached Legend status in the AFL Hall of Fame. Click here to learn more about Kevin Sheedy.
Keynote Session:
10 September 2025
School of Biological Sciences and School of Chemical Sciences
University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau
Professor Dame Juliet A. Gerrard DNZM HonFRSC FRSNZ
Juliet is currently a Professor at the University of Auckland, having completed six years as the NZ Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor in 2024. In this role, she worked from a base of four founding principles: rigour, inclusivity, transparency, and accessibility and supported the science and science advisor community to provide advice to the PM, ministers, and the public on a wide range of topics, including advice on the Christchurch mosque shootings, the response to the Whakaari | White Island eruption, the Cannabis referendum, rheumatic fever and the Covid-19 pandemic. The Office released a series of major reports on a wide range of topics, which are available at: https://www.pmcsa.ac.nz/what-we-did/publications/
Keynote Session:
11 September 2025
INVITED SPEAKER
Chief Executive Officer
Science & Technology Australia (STA)
Mr Ryan Winn
Ryan Winn is Chief Executive Officer of Science & Technology Australia (STA) – the nation’s peak body for people working in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). He is a distinguished CEO and policy leader with extensive experience in the public service and higher education sectors. He is a passionate advocate for advancing science for the 235,000+ scientists and technologists that STA represents.
Keynote Session:
10 September 2025