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.

Sue brings more than 25 years’ experience spanning frontline nursing through to executive leadership in public and private health services, and now as Chief Executive of Cabrini Australia, she has first-hand experience of the added pressures that come with balancing quality care, financial sustainability and sector reform in a highly regulated environment. Beginning her career as a trainee nurse and working her way through roles to COO, CEO and company director,  Sue understands how invisible networks, professional credibility and strategic partnerships shape real decisions and opportunities in healthcare leadership.

In this session she will draw on her leadership journey and recent work advancing healthcare models and reforms to unpack how women can build sponsorship and visibility, interpret the informal forces at play and lead with clarity and integrity in sectors where the rules are often unspoken and the impact of decisions reaches well beyond the boardroom.

Stepping into leadership rarely comes with certainty. For many women, growth brings self doubt, heightened visibility, and pressure to prove credibility in environments that often demand perfection. In this candid and empowering session, Dana Lightbody explores what it really takes to lead before you feel ready.

Drawing on real world experience, practical insight, and the patterns she has observed across thousands of women leaders, Dana unpacks why confidence is not a prerequisite for leadership, but a result of action. She challenges common myths around readiness, authority, and self belief, and examines how women can build influence, presence, and trust without waiting for permission. This session is designed to help women reframe imposter syndrome, recognise their existing capability, and step forward with greater clarity and conviction. You will leave with practical ways to own your voice, lead authentically, and back yourself even when it feels uncomfortable. Because leadership does not begin with certainty. It begins with choosing to step forward.

In complex organisations, leadership is not only about influence or intention. It is about understanding how decisions are made, how systems operate, and how to deliver outcomes when priorities compete and accountability is not always clear.

In this session, Jessica will draw on her experience leading enterprise services and transformation across government and public sector environments to explore the realities of getting things done at scale. She will unpack how power operates through structures, processes, and stakeholders, and what it takes to create clarity in environments where ambiguity is the norm.

Through practical insight, Jessica will examine how to navigate competing demands, align teams, and establish accountability to move work forward. This session offers a grounded perspective on leading with discipline, clarity, and impact in complex organisational systems.

This interactive session is designed to help delegates pause, reflect, and connect the morning’s leadership conversations to their own experiences and leadership journeys. Through guided reflection, table discussions, live audience interaction, and Mentimeter participation, attendees will explore the key themes emerging across the summit and identify practical ideas, actions, and insights they can take forward into their work and leadership.

Please keep your phone or device available during this session as audience participation will be encouraged throughout.

In this session Manpreet will share how she has learned to navigate the unseen drivers of decision making and collaboration in complex supply chains, from leading sustainable packaging innovation with major retail partners to championing new approaches in vertical farming and product innovation across Costa’s business. Drawing on her experience bringing diverse stakeholder groups together to drive change and meet evolving customer expectations, Manpreet will explore how women can build influence with clarity and purpose, shape outcomes where the rules are not always written down and lead with confidence in environments that demand flexibility, resilience and systems thinking.

To close day one, Julia Morris joins us for a candid and entertaining fireside chat on confidence, courage, and the freedom that comes from not taking yourself too seriously. As one of Australia’s most loved comedians and television personalities, Julia has spent her career navigating high visibility, public pressure, and constant reinvention.

In this conversation, she will share stories from behind the scenes of a very public life, reflecting on backing yourself, embracing imperfection, and finding confidence when certainty is nowhere to be found. Expect humour, honesty, and sharp insight, alongside moments that resonate long after the laughter fades.

In multinational organisations, the invisible rules do not stay the same. Power, hierarchy, communication and credibility can shift dramatically across functions, markets and cultures. For women leaders, that often means navigating not one set of unspoken expectations, but several at once.

In this session, Alicia O’Donoghue explores what it takes to build influence across culturally diverse, male-dominated environments. Drawing on her leadership experience in strategy roles spanning global firms and industrial businesses across Asia Pacific, she will unpack how women can strengthen credibility, read complex stakeholder dynamics and lead with clarity when the rules are not always visible and rarely consistent. This session will offer practical insight into communicating across cultures, building trust across borders and holding onto your leadership identity while adapting to different environments. For women leading across regions, functions or multinational teams, it is a conversation about influence that is both strategic and deeply practical.

In this session, Angela will share what she has learned about how power really works in large scale environments, how trust and credibility are built across diverse stakeholder groups, and how women can expand their impact by broadening networks, strengthening visibility and navigating the informal dynamics that shape progression.

Grounded in her extensive leadership experience and her commitment to advancing women in operations, this conversation will offer practical insight into leading with clarity, confidence and integrity when the rules are not always written down.

On day two, Samantha Armytage joins us for a powerful session on trust, truth and communication in an age of constant noise. As one of Australia’s most respected journalists and broadcasters, Samantha has spent decades working at the centre of breaking news, public debate, and high pressure conversations.

In this keynote, she will reflect on what journalism has taught her about credibility, clear communication, and staying grounded when emotions run high. Samantha will explore how leaders can build trust, ask better questions, and communicate with clarity and integrity, followed by an extended Q and A to deepen the conversation.

Few leadership journeys move from global investment banks in London to the frontline of Australian in home care. Thea has progressed from business development and relationship management through to Chief Operating Officer, helping scale a premium national care provider in one of the country’s most complex and heavily regulated sectors. In this session, Thea will share what it takes to transfer corporate capability into mission led leadership, how to build commercial confidence as a woman moving across industries, and how to lead growth, teams and transformation without losing sight of impact. For women navigating career shifts, boardroom credibility or sector transitions, this conversation will offer practical insight into backing your experience, reframing your expertise and shaping a leadership path that is both commercially strong and deeply meaningful.

AI is no longer a future concept. It is already reshaping how organisations operate, make decisions, and deliver value. For many leaders, the challenge is not understanding the technology, but finding the right balance between governance and human behaviour to unlock real value—without creating confusion, resistance, or loss of trust.

In this session, Helen Fridell draws on her experience leading transformation across global organisations to explore how AI and data can be turned into meaningful impact for both employees and the business. She will share how leaders can maintain momentum by creating clarity, aligning teams, and embedding accountability where it matters most.

With a strong focus on the human side of change, Helen offers practical insights into leading through ambiguity, breaking down silos, and establishing clear ownership in complex environments.

Designed for leaders navigating change, this session provides a grounded, practical approach to leading with confidence in an AI‑driven world.