She is a staunch advocate of equality for women in business and believes women should be helping other women every chance they get.

Dana established Konnect Learning in 2013 and the Leadership Institute in 2017. Since then she has advocated for equality for women in all aspects of her entrepreneurial and professional life – in particular by chairing and assisting the production team in the development of TLI’s Women in Leadership line of events

Artificial intelligence is moving rapidly from experimentation into everyday business operations. Yet many organisations are discovering that successful AI adoption is not defined by the latest technology, but by its ability to solve real business problems and deliver measurable value.

Drawing on his experience leading enterprise AI, data and technology strategy across one of New Zealand's largest retail organisations, Ankit Gupta shares what it takes to make AI earn its place within a modern organisation.

This practical session explores why many AI initiatives fail to reach production, the critical role of leadership judgement, governance and data readiness, and how organisations can move beyond isolated pilots to embed AI into core business operations. Through real world examples, Ankit will examine how leaders can align AI with business priorities, build organisational readiness, and bring people with them as transformation accelerates.

Attendees will leave with practical insights into turning AI ambition into lasting organisational capability, creating measurable business outcomes, and building the foundations for AI that delivers value at scale.

Organisations across every sector are investing in AI, yet many are still struggling to turn pilots, tools and experimentation into measurable business value.

In this opening keynote, Jon Whittle draws on three decades in AI, his leadership of CSIRO’s Data61, and the practical frameworks from his new book AI for Business. A Guide to AI Adoption to explore what separates successful AI adoption from costly distraction.

Jon will examine where AI is creating real value, why some initiatives fail to move beyond proof of concept, and what leaders need to get right before scaling AI across the organisation. From choosing the right use cases to building responsible governance, managing risk, improving productivity and aligning AI with organisational purpose, this session gives leaders a clear, practical foundation for making AI work in the real world.

Artificial intelligence is no longer an emerging technology. For many organisations, the challenge is no longer whether to invest in AI, but how to turn that investment into measurable business outcomes.

Drawing on his experience leading enterprise transformation and innovation initiatives across complex organisations, Ketan Chowhan explores why many AI projects struggle to move beyond experimentation and what leaders can do differently.

This session examines the foundations required for successful AI adoption, from identifying high value use cases and aligning technology with business priorities to managing organisational complexity, scaling innovation, and delivering measurable operational improvements.

Attendees will gain practical insights into how organisations can move beyond pilots and proof of concepts to create sustainable business value through AI enabled transformation.

Artificial intelligence is capturing the attention of every organisation, yet many leaders are still grappling with the challenge of moving beyond curiosity and isolated use cases to create lasting enterprise capability. Successful AI transformation is not achieved through technology alone. It requires a clear strategy, workforce confidence, trusted governance, and a culture that embraces continuous learning and innovation.

Drawing on her experience leading AI transformation across Australia and the Asia Pacific, Charmaine Zets explores how organisations can build the foundations for sustainable AI adoption at scale. This session examines how leading organisations are developing AI capability across their workforce, embedding responsible AI practices, and aligning technology investments with long term business priorities.

Attendees will gain practical insights into creating organisation wide readiness, building trust and confidence in AI, enabling leaders and teams to adopt new ways of working, and transforming AI from an emerging technology into a core organisational capability that delivers measurable business value.

Investment in AI keeps growing, yet many organisations still chase technology before clarifying the problem it solves, leaving strategies stalled in pilots and inconsistent results.

Fahim Khondaker, Partner, Data and AI at BDO, draws on 17 years advising executive teams and boards on turning complex data and AI initiatives into defensible, commercially grounded decisions. This session unpacks why so many AI strategies stall, and the disciplined focus on outcomes over technology that separates organisations scaling AI successfully from those stuck in experimentation.

Attendees will leave with practical approaches for building organisational confidence in AI, sharpening commercial decision-making, and creating conditions for AI strategies that deliver.

As artificial intelligence becomes embedded in everyday business operations, leaders are increasingly relying on AI to inform decisions that shape strategy, operations, customer outcomes and organisational performance. The challenge is no longer whether to use AI, but how to ensure it supports better judgement, builds trust, and delivers decisions that are transparent, accountable and aligned with business objectives.

Drawing on his experience advising executives and leading responsible AI innovation across Australia and New Zealand, Jonathan Butow explores how organisations can use AI to strengthen decision making without losing the critical role of human judgement. This session examines the importance of AI governance, decision intelligence, executive oversight and responsible implementation, while exploring how organisations can confidently scale AI in increasingly complex and regulated environments.

Attendees will gain practical insights into building trust in AI enabled decision making, balancing innovation with governance, establishing the foundations for responsible and scalable AI adoption, and empowering leaders to make faster, smarter and more confident decisions in an AI driven world.

Dana Lightbody is the CEO of The Leadership Institute. She is a staunch advocate of equality for women in business and believes women should be helping other women every chance they get.

Dana established Konnect Learning in 2013 and the Leadership Institute in 2017. Since then she has advocated for equality for women in all aspects of her entrepreneurial and professional life – in particular by chairing and assisting the production team in the development of TLI’s Women in Leadership line of events.

AI is moving faster than most leaders can process, and pattern-matching against yesterday's playbook no longer works. The organisations pulling ahead aren't the ones with the best technology — they're the ones with a repeatable way to watch for signals, adapt with purpose, verify what's real, and bring their people with them.

Drawing on 15 years advising Fortune 500 leadership teams and the WAVE framework from his latest book, Now What? How to Ride the Tsunami of Change, Dr Mark van Rijmenam — ranked the world's #1 futurist by Global Gurus — shows leaders how to move from reacting to AI disruption to leading through it with intent.

Ahead of the session, delegates will complete Mark's Intelligence Age Scorecard, a short AI-readiness diagnostic, so the keynote speaks directly to where the room sits. Attendees will leave with a practical framework for leading through constant technological change, and a personalised 90-day action plan for their own organisation.

Digital transformation often fails when organisations focus too heavily on systems and not enough on people. Sustainable innovation requires workforce trust, adaptability, and cultural alignment.

In this session, Paul Murphy explores how organisations can balance innovation with human impact while navigating transformation at scale. Through practical case studies and operational insights, this session examines how leaders can build cultures where employees feel supported, engaged, and capable of adapting to change.

Artificial intelligence is reshaping customer expectations, moving organisations beyond traditional personalisation towards intelligent, predictive experiences that anticipate customer needs, simplify decision making, and deliver more meaningful interactions. The challenge for leaders is no longer whether to adopt AI, but how to apply it in ways that create genuine value for customers while building trust and long-term loyalty.

Drawing on his experience leading Product, Customer Experience and AI at one of Australia's leading digital travel businesses, Samuel Drown explores how AI is transforming the way organisations design products, personalise customer journeys, and deliver seamless digital experiences at scale. This session examines how leading organisations are using AI to better understand customer behaviour, improve search and recommendations, optimise customer engagement, and create products that continuously learn and evolve.

Attendees will gain practical insights into embedding AI across the customer experience, balancing innovation with customer trust, identifying high-impact opportunities for AI driven personalisation, and building products that create measurable value for both customers and the organisation.

Many organisations have embraced AI experimentation, yet only a small number successfully transition promising ideas into scalable, enterprise-wide solutions. The challenge is no longer generating AI use cases. It is identifying the right opportunities, validating business value, and delivering AI solutions that become trusted, measurable parts of everyday operations.

Drawing on his experience leading enterprise AI transformation and large-scale deployment programs, Amit Agarwala explores what it takes to move beyond proof of concept and successfully embed AI across complex organisations. This session examines the practical steps required to prioritise high-value use cases, modernise data foundations, rapidly test and refine AI solutions, and scale successful initiatives into production with confidence.

Attendees will gain practical insights into building an enterprise AI roadmap, accelerating deployment through pragmatic experimentation, avoiding the common barriers that prevent AI initiatives from scaling, and creating AI solutions that deliver measurable productivity, operational efficiency and long-term business impact.

In environments where mistakes carry real human consequences, adopting AI isn't optional, but it demands uncompromising rigour around safety, accountability, and trust.

Mike Moroney, Executive Director of the Defence AI Centre, draws on 23 years in the Royal Australian Air Force and his work embedding Responsible AI into Defence capability, sustainment, and operations, including deployment on Operation ASTUTE, to explore how leaders adopt AI in high-consequence settings without cutting corners on governance or safety.

Attendees will gain practical insights into building trust in AI-enabled systems, embedding responsible AI practices from the outset, and leading workforce adaptation when the cost of getting it wrong is measured in more than dollars.

Frameworks for scaling AI are everywhere. Harder to find is a candid account of what it takes, including what goes wrong.

Arvind Bhatt, senior technology executive and Chicago Booth MBA, has spent 20+ years leading high-stakes data and AI transformation for global companies, with expertise building AI at every scale, from global enterprise to nonprofit to start-up.

Arvind closes the summit with the honest version of the AI story: four companies (Fortune 500, global tech, US nonprofit, Australian start-up), two continents, twenty years, and one pattern that decides who wins the next decade.

Attendees will close the summit with a practical, honest playbook for building lasting capability, not just proving a concept.