John Rostron is the Chief Executive of the Association of Independent Festivals, the UK's festival representative body. AIF membership has grown rapidly in recent years and now supports around 150 of the leading independent music festivals in the UK. Amongst other things John also Chairs the LIVE Expert Group for festivals and sits on the Advisory Board for Vision For Sustainable events supporting a more sustainable outdoor events sector. 

In 2023 John was appointed to the Board of Creative Wales - the Welsh Govt department for the Creative Industries. He advises on the Music Sector in Wales.

Greg joined the Apex Club of Gympie in 1999. During his time in the club, he held numerous positions on the Muster organising committee and contributed countless volunteer hours to the event. In 2016 Greg joined the board of GML and took up the position of Chair. In April 2023 when he was appointed CEO.

The Gympie Music Muster, a highlight on the Australian festival calendar. The iconic festival has been running for 42 years and to sum it up, “It’s so much more than great music”.

Set amongst the spectacular Australian bush, in the Amamoor State Forest and camping festival as much as a music festival. The Muster has its roots in country music which continues to be the dominant genre but also includes a great line-up in Blues, Rock, Folk, Bluegrass and many more. There is a wide range of entertainment to augment the music; favourites such as musical workshops, dancing and bush poets are regulars but there is always elements of surprise and novel curation each year.

The event is run by the Gympie Muster Limited (GML) on behalf of the Apex Club of Gympie with the assistance of over 30 community groups and service clubs. The Muster has raised over 21m since its inception for the community and multiple national charities.

The Hon. John Graham MLC was elected in 2016 to serve the people of NSW and appointed his Ministerial portfolios in 2023.

As NSW Minister for the Arts, Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy, Minister for Jobs and Tourism, Minister for Roads, Special Minister of State and Deputy Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council, the Hon. John Graham MLC is working at the intersection of culture, technology & entrepreneurship.

He is committed to supporting vibrant and inclusive cultural industries, creative cities, and the creative economy.

Jason Holmes is a specialist in insurance for festivals, major events, entertainment, film, conference and exhibition industries. He began his insurance career with an international broker back in 1995, and over the last 27 years, has looked after insurance for all facets of the entertainment industry. In 2007, he founded H2 Insurance Solutions.

With a portfolio of national and international clients, including TEG, Frontier Touring, Regional Touring, Zaccaria Concerts & Touring, The Untitled Group, Chugg Entertainment, Bluesfest, Live Nation, Nitro Circus and many more, Jason has all the tools and experience to best represent his clients to insurers.

Jason is always looking for areas of improvement and prides himself on understanding the unique needs of his clients, to ensure their specifications are met and expectations are exceeded. Whether it be a local community event or a large festival or national/international tour, a local TV production or an international feature film, H2 Insurance Solutions have an experienced team throughout Australia and New Zealand and across the globe who are ready to provide insurance advice and solutions with service and integrity.

Alana Hay is the Founder and Managing Director of Milestone Creative Australia - a multi award-winning event marketing, digital, social and creative agency. Alana is an experienced marketing professional with 20+ years’ experience in operations and marketing for major events and festivals, business events, venues, hospitality, music, entertainment and tourism. She has previously served as a director of Meetings & Events Australia.

Alana has led hundreds of national and global event marketing campaigns and strategies for festivals and major events. Examples include SailGP, Bondi Festival, Very Short Film Festival, Naidoc Week celebrations, Pride and Joy Sydney, Cheeky Food Events, Park Sounds, and many more!

Travis is a highly experienced technical strategist with over 23 years of expertise in the music, entertainment and event industries. In his role at Aggreko, Travis specializes in crafting innovative strategies to help brands optimize their energy solutions at events.

He began his career in Darwin as a local sound engineer and rigger, before joining core production teams for major events such as Soundwave, Stereosonic, and Splendour in the Grass. His career then expanded globally as a technical production specialist.

Since 2018, Travis has focused on event electrical delivery, contributing to high-profile events like the 2018 Commonwealth Games, the 2020/21 Tokyo Olympics, and the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

His mission is to inspire others and support companies in embracing the energy transition for a more sustainable future.

Badi, along with his sister Shabnam, founded Casual Hands with the ambition to support the community, workforce and to drive change for good in the industry. Badi is a recognised expert in the field, having been involved in projects across all of Australia and across the globe. Badi has developed a proprietary owned staff management and reporting software – a recognised game changer within the events industry. He has also developed an integrated network of companies that provide a one-stop, full-service solution to meet all his client’s needs and objectives.

Badi’s focus is to work with his clients to develop innovative solutions that benefit their business and providing them with the most experienced, friendly and dedicated staff. His passion for sustainability has also seen him build a team whose focus is to work with clients to find ways that helps them meet their sustainability targets and reduce their carbon footprint without the need for significant capital injection.

Casual Hands is a nationally recognised event staffing and labour hire solutions provider, which services both private and public sector clients. It provides clients with staff in the areas of hospitality, events, cleaning, security, customer service, as well as kitchen and culinary support. The company manages the recruitment, training and onboarding of all staff. Some of Casual Hands’ most prominent clients include AGB Events, Vivid Sydney, City of Sydney and SXSW to name just a few.

Roderick started his career in the performing arts in 1976. He worked with major Dutch companies before starting a career in production management and lighting design. In that position, Roderick oversaw national and international tours. In 1990 he was offered the position of Production Manager for Sydney Dance Company. Roderick was appointed Technical Manager for Playbill Venue Management in 1998.

From 2005, Roderick focussed on providing risk management and WHS advice for the entertainment industry through his company, Stage Safety.

He holds a Level 5 Diploma in Crowd Science and applies this knowledge to public, corporate, music and festival events.

Jake Challenor is an experienced publisher and journalist, turned future-focussed storyteller. He is the CEO and Co-Founder of Sound Story, a strategic PR and communications agency for ambitious brands disrupting the global entertainment industry, offering corporate and crisis communications, media relations and publicity, stakeholder engagement, executive profile building, and more. The agency’s clients include media companies, music and live entertainment groups, and start-ups transforming the future.

He is also currently the Print Editor of Rolling Stone AU/NZ magazine.

Jake was the founding editor of Variety Australia. He also held the position of Publisher for respected trade media brands, The Music Network and Radio Today, for over five years.

Caitlin is Patternmakers’ Manager, Research and Insights. She leads a team of analysts to deliver high quality insights. Caitlin has managed qualitative and quantitative research and evaluation projects with clients such as Sydney Opera House, Sydney Theatre Company, ACMI and The Australian Ballet, as well as collaborating on the Audience Outlook Monitor.

Caitlin has extensive experience in arts management in the festival sector across audience development, fundraising, data analysis and ticketing, having worked for arts festivals such as Melbourne Fringe, Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

She brings a strong understanding from the frontline of how data can help strengthen the culture and community sectors.

Sally Porteous is Managing Director of event production company Red Lanyard, where she produces festivals, conferences, events and meetings.

She is also the creator of the Event Planners Workshop, a series of training, coaching and mentoring products to bridge the gap between accredited education and learn-by-doing.

Sally coordinates and facilitates The Event Managers Network, a membership organisation that connects, supports and networks suppliers and event managers. She also leads the EMN Collective - a three day conference that brings together, connects, trains and supports experienced event managers, one off planners and industry suppliers in a unique, vibrant and memorable event.

Lisa Dowsett has worked in the mass participation events industry for 20+ years, and has worked across the private sector, peak bodies and State and Local Government.

Currently heading up the Event & Partnership Team at Northern Beaches Council, Lisa looks after a portfolio of over 50+ events including Taste of Manly, Sun Run, Picnic in the Park, Manly Jazz and World Food Markets.

Her strength of modelling events for growth and meeting community needs has seen her work in Australian and New Zealand on a number of portfolios including sport, food, business, arts and parenting. Delivering events such as City2Surf, Good Food Month and the Night Noodle Markets, Australian Running Festival, AFR Business Summitt, Round the Bays and Open Air Cinema.

Lisa was a founding Board Member of the Australian Mass Participation Sporting Events Alliance (AMPSEA) – formed during COVID-19 to provide a united voice for Australian companies who deliver events to ensure they could survive the crisis.

Shannon holds the position of Senior Manager of Business Development at Sydney Showground (SS), the venue and event operations department of the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RAS). With more than 17 years of experience in business development, event planning & operations, Shannon is a seasoned professional in the venue and event industry. Her reputation for creative problem-solving, customer and stakeholder engagement, and improving client satisfaction precedes her.

Shannon started with SS in October 2005 in the event operations team and quickly discovered her passion for the festival side of the business. Shannon has contributed to some of Australia’s most renowned festivals and major events, including Big Day Out, Stereosonic and Soundwave.

After spending a decade in event operations, Shannon shifted her focus to business development, where she excelled at building client relationships and raising the profile of Sydney Showground as a premier venue for music events. Her efforts led to the successful acquisition of key events such as RNB Fridays Live, Festival X, and St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, as well as the growth of Sydney Showground.

Shannon’s experience and skills extend beyond Sydney, where between 2015 – 2019, she was part of the event operations & licensing team at Glastonbury Festival, the largest festival in the UK. Shannon provided support for the event control centre, crowd management, and security compliance.

In addition to her professional achievements, Shannon is also an active volunteer for the Sydney St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Festival. There, she provides event logistics and stakeholder management support, while embracing her Irish heritage and supporting the Irish community in Sydney.

Liz Martin is the CEO of Accessible Arts and an award-winning musician with over 20 years’ experience in contributing to an arts sector that is authentically representative, diverse, and accessible.

As the peak arts and disability organisation in NSW, Accessible Arts strives to advance opportunities for people with disability or who are d/Deaf to develop professional careers and have equitable access to arts and culture across NSW.

As a leading disability, access and inclusion training provider for the Arts and Culture sector, Accessible Arts works closely with diverse arts and cultural organisations including Sydney Festival, Sydney Writers’ Festival, Sydney Film Festival, Queer Screen and VIVID Sydney.

Ability Fest is a joint venture between The Dylan Alcott Foundation and the Untitled Group. A non-for-profit event, Ability Fest is proudly Australia’s first all accessible music festival and has raised just shy of $500,000 for the Dylan Alcott Foundation. Every ticket purchased contributes to the cause. The funds raised have already helped young Australians living with a disability fulfil their potential through the foundation being able to purchase much-needed sporting equipment and providing scholarships at leading education institutions, or mentoring programs with industry trailblazers.

In 2022, Ashleigh joined the team at Untitled Group as the Event Manager of Grapevine Gathering Tour, For The Love, Wildlands and Ability Fest. She also manages a number of single day venue shows throughout the year.

Prior to Untitled Group, Ashleigh worked at the City of Melbourne, evaluating event plans for some of Melbourne’s major events and festivals, such as the Australian Open, Christmas Festival and Run for the Kids.

Jessica works across policy areas covering food and organic waste, single-use plastics, events waste management and packaging, to align policy outcomes to support strategic objectives for resource recovery, and promoting the circular economy in South Australia.

Jessica led the development of the 2022 Guidelines for Waste and Recycling at Events and Venues to support event and facilities managers to implement systems to reduce material impacts of South Australian events.

Andrew Macarthur is an Australian entrepreneur and the founder of Clean Vibes and City Return and Earn. Both companies provide sustainable event cleaning and waste management across Australia, as well as the City Earn and Return depot in Mascot.

Andrew has extensive experience in the events industry and has worked with some of Australia’s most prominent festivals and major events, such as Australian Fashion Festival, Lost Paradise, Oktoberfest Adelaide, The Sun Herald City2Surf Sydney, GABS Craft Beer and Cider Festival Brisbane, Ultra Music Festival Melbourne, plus many more across the country!

He is passionate about providing high-quality cleaning and sustainable event waste management services that are both eco-friendly and affordable. 

Andrew has worked his way up the ranks from a general cleaner to managing large retail commercial contracts with the world’s largest cleaning company. After noticing a gap in the market, Andrew conceived the idea of moving into the sustainable event market of the cleaning industry and thus Clean Vibes was born.

Under his leadership, Clean Vibes has grown to become one of the most reputable cleaning and waste management companies in Australia. Clean Vibes now has multi-year contracts in every state and territory across the country. Recently the company signed a multi-year contract with Northern Territory Major Events Company, along with a significant partnership with Major Events Gold Coast. 

Andrew’s commitment to excellence and sustainability has earned him a reputation as a leader in the event industry.

Jeremy Fleming is an award-winning leader, entrepreneur, and founder of Stagekings, Australia's premier designer and fabricator of temporary event structures. Boasting over 28 years’ experience in scaffolding, Jeremy is renowned for expanding the horizons of temporary structures with Stagekings. 

In 2020, Jeremy navigated Stagekings through the challenging COVID landscape, establishing it as one of Australia's most remarkable pivot success stories. This transition projected the company onto the global stage and paved the way for the business to expand its reach and build upon its solid reputation for pioneering designs and creativity. 

Luke Trickett is the founder of the public equities fund, Blue Stamp Company, which he has led and managed for more than 13 years. Luke has also founded two other fintech startups, Marmalade and Backpocket. Backpocket is the first payment service in the world that allows customers to checkout and instantly share the cost. Group Organisers are able to book tickets without footing the bill and share a unique payment link instantly with other payers to settle up within a week. Since launch in late 2022, Backpocket has helped thousands of Aussies pay for group experiences and receives consistently strong customer reviews.

Andrew Stone is a veteran in the world of festivals and major events! With over 20 years of invaluable experience, Andrew has had the pleasure of working with renowned Global organisations such as SFX Sports Group, IMG, Supercars, and eps Australia.

With an impressive background in event management, his knowledge runs deep. Andrew’s professional attention now focuses on insights gathered from analysing consumer engagement and behaviour inside live event spaces, shining a spotlight on the transformative power of passive data collection.

Get ready as Andrew takes us on a journey into the future of event experiences and how passive, non first party data can shape them

Rob leads the Olinga Group of companies which includes Bold Futures and a leading event labour hire firm Casual Hands. For more than 20 years Rob has worked with large technology organisations aligning best of breed technology and innovative services to create outcomes for public sector customers.

Rob's primary focus is applying Olinga capability to common customer challenges in alignment with their operational and financial constraints.

Bold Futures' core business includes ESG strategy and competitive advantage; climate change, circular economy business models; traceability and transparency across the value chain; executing, embedding, and scaling complex sustainability transformation programs; and harnessing digital technologies and analytics to enable sustainability.

Dr Elmualim is a passionate sustainability leader with proven track record in architecture, engineering and construction for Sustainable Built Environment with acumen, drive and tenacity in project management, CSR and stakeholder engagement and management. Worked globally and travelled extensively with cultural sensitivity and diversity celebration resolve. Wide higher education and industrial experience, globally and in UK, Australia and the UAE. Thorough understanding of the sustainability trajectories driving the construction and built environment industries – across the supply chain – including sustainable facilities management and the Circular Economy.  Thorough understanding of current and future trends that impact the provision of education, training and employment such as sustainability, globalisation, and the gig-economy.