Future of Events Summit
6th August 2026
Rydges World Square, Sydney
Event Agenda & Speaker Line Up
The agenda is designed to balance strategic thinking with practical application, addressing both the creative direction and operational realities of delivering high-performing events today. Sessions cover event design, brand experience, sustainable and scalable event strategies, digital performance, AI, and the human impact of event delivery.
Meet the speakers delivering practical insights into event strategy, delivery and performance.
8:00am – 8:30am: Registration
Registration opens. Grab your name badge, settle in and connect with fellow attendees before the Summit begins.
8:30am – 8:45am: Welcome & Opening Remarks
An opening welcome from the Summit team to introduce the day, frame the key themes and set a clear direction for the program ahead. This session will provide attendees with context, priorities and a practical overview of how to navigate the day and where to focus their attention.
This will set the Summit’s direction and prepare attendees for a day of relevant discussion, practical insight, and takeaways.
8:45am - 9.30am: Opening Plenary: The Future of Event Design & Promotion: Designing Moments That Matter
As audiences become more selective with their time and attention, the success of an event is no longer measured solely by presentation, but by the quality of the experience, what people remember and the value it creates long after the event concludes.
Featuring Ricky Colosimo, Andrew Roberts and Chris Toward, this opening plenary brings together perspectives from live event promotion, venue strategy and large-scale event delivery to explore how experience design and promotion must work together to create moments that matter.
Ricky brings insight into building energy, anticipation and audience connection around live experiences, drawing on his work across hospitality and promotions. Andrew contributes deep expertise in venue sales, marketing and commercial strategy developed across major event environments, including Sydney Showground. Chris adds a further layer of experience in delivering large-scale events and managing complex event environments, offering practical insight into how strategy translates into execution on the ground.
From concept and briefing through to delivery, amplification and evaluation, this session will examine how design, venue strategy and promotion must align to create experiences that connect with audiences, cut through competing noise and deliver measurable value.
9:30am – 10:15am: Panel Discussion: Event Hangover – The Burnout No One Talks About
Events demand passion, precision and sustained momentum. But once the adrenaline fades and the lights go down, the impact on the people behind the delivery is rarely acknowledged. While the industry celebrates successful outcomes, far less attention is paid to the recovery, resilience and long-term well-being required to sustain high performance.
This candid panel brings together Craig Sheridan, Iain Morrison and Holly Scully, combining perspectives from major event leadership, event strategy and people and culture. With experience spanning major events and incident management, long-term event industry leadership and burnout advocacy, and award-winning people and culture practice, the panel will examine burnout not as an individual failing, but as a systemic challenge shaped by leadership decisions, organisational culture and operational expectations.
Moving beyond awareness, the discussion will focus on what sustainable performance really looks like in high-pressure event environments. From the realities of responsibility and risk, to the emotional load of delivery and the role of workplace culture in supporting people well, this session will explore practical and realistic approaches to managing pressure, recognising burnout early and creating environments where teams can deliver exceptional work without compromising their wellbeing.
Designed for leaders responsible for teams, outcomes and culture, this session offers valuable insight into how resilience can be built into the way events and experiences are planned, led and delivered over time.
10:15am – 10:40am: Morning Tea & Networking
Take a break, refresh with morning tea and connect with peers in the Innovation Lounge. This session break is designed to give attendees time to reflect on the morning content, continue relevant conversations and build professional connections.
10:40am – 11:20am: Panel Discussion: Corporate Experiences That Cut Through the Noise
Corporate audiences are more time-poor, discerning and distracted than ever, yet expectations of live experiences continue to rise. In an environment where attention is hard to earn and even harder to hold, simply delivering a well-run event is no longer enough.
Featuring Stephanie Cassimatis, Blake Morgan-Monk, Deray Lombardi and Suvi Santhadkarn, this panel brings together expertise from strategy-led event production, venue partnerships, commercial growth and hotel events leadership. Together, the speakers will explore what genuinely makes corporate experiences stand out, and how successful events are intentionally designed to balance audience connection, stakeholder expectations and business value.
Through honest discussion and real-world insight, the session will unpack the elements that drive impact, from early briefing and collaboration through to delivery, evaluation and long-term business value. Attendees will gain practical clarity on what to prioritise, what to challenge and how to create corporate experiences that cut through the noise and deliver meaningful outcomes.
11:20am – 12:15pm: Keynote: Branding Beyond the Logo: How to Make Your Presence Unforgettable
In today’s experience-driven economy, brands are no longer defined by logos, colour palettes or clever taglines alone. They are shaped by how people feel in your presence, what they remember long after the interaction ends, and the stories they share with others. Every touchpoint matters, and every moment leaves a mark.
Your brand is not just what you design. It’s what people experience. In this keynote, international speaker, bestselling author and award-winning entrepreneur Lorraine Murphy unpacks what it truly takes to build a brand that is felt, remembered and talked about. Drawing on her journey from building a multi-million-dollar business from her spare bedroom to speaking on stages around the world, Lorraine brings both strategic depth and human insight to the conversation.
Blending storytelling with practical frameworks, this keynote challenges outdated notions of branding as a purely visual exercise. Lorraine explores how purpose, personality and presence must be embodied at every level, from leadership behaviour and decision-making to events, experiences and everyday interactions. Attendees will be invited to rethink how their brand shows up, not just in campaigns, but in moments that matter.
This session is designed to equip leaders, marketers and event professionals with a stronger understanding of how brand is experienced in practice. Attendees can expect clear thinking, practical insight and a more strategic perspective on how branding shapes perception long after the Summit concludes.
12:15pm – 1:00pm: Networking Lunch & Innovation Lounge Experience
Enjoy a lunch break while engaging with peers and exploring the Innovation Lounge. This session provides an opportunity to continue conversations, connect with partners and reflect on the morning program.
1:00pm – 1:45pm: Breakout Sessions
Room 1: Building Sustainable and Scalable Event Strategies
As events grow in size, frequency and expectation, success is no longer defined by delivering a standout one-off. The real challenge is building event strategies that can be sustained, repeated and scaled without compromising quality, purpose or performance.
In this breakout session, Iain Morrison, Derrin Brown and Katrina De Jersey explore how organisations can move beyond reactive delivery to deliberate, scalable event models. Bringing complementary perspectives from strategy, growth, communications and major event storytelling, they will unpack the frameworks, decision-making principles and strategic thinking required to design event programs that endure change, build audience connection and support long-term value creation.
Rather than focusing on tactical checklists, this session centres on how strategic clarity, audience insight, strong positioning and disciplined planning connect vision with execution. Participants will explore how to design event systems that remain resilient under pressure, evolve with demand and consistently deliver meaningful outcomes over time.
Designed for leaders responsible for growth, performance and sustainability, this session provides practical insight into building event strategies that work not just once, but over time.
1:00pm – 1:45pm: Breakout Sessions
Room 2: Event Industry Myth-Busting, What Really Works
The event industry is full of assumptions — ideas that get repeated because “that’s how it’s always been done”, even when they no longer reflect audience behaviour, budget realities or business priorities.
This candid session brings together senior leaders from across destination strategy, experience design, marketing communications and large-scale event delivery to challenge the myths shaping how events are designed, marketed and measured today. With experience spanning brand experiences, audience engagement and strategic communications, Kate Jones and Samantha Halpern bring valuable perspective to the discussion, helping unpack how events are not only delivered, but also positioned and experienced more broadly.
Focused on practical insight rather than assumption, this session will encourage attendees to question long-held beliefs, rethink default approaches and make more informed decisions about where to invest time, energy and budget.
1:45pm – 2:35pm: Master Classes
Room 1: Digital Strategy for Events
A strong digital strategy can significantly amplify the impact of an event before, during and long after the doors close. This practical masterclass unpacks how to use digital channels strategically to drive attendance, engagement and long-term value, without overcommitting to every new platform or trend.
Digital channels power how audiences discover, engage and decide to attend events. In this master class, digital strategy expert Kate Toon breaks down how to build and implement digital strategies that support event goals from awareness to conversion. Known for her mastery of SEO, analytics and audience-centric content planning, Kate transforms complexity into clear, actionable steps.
Participants will walk through real-world approaches to selecting channels, measuring performance and linking digital outcomes to business impact.
Room 2: Your Leadership Brand: Your Intent, The Reality, and the Truth in Between
In this leadership masterclass, Rebecca Allen will explore the often-overlooked gap between how leaders intend to show up and how they are actually experienced by others. In high-pressure environments, leadership is not defined only by capability or authority, but by how consistently a leader communicates, responds, influences and creates clarity.
Drawing on her work with executives, senior leaders and leadership teams across organisations, including ANZ, Aquila Capital, ANSTO, the Ministry of Defence, AbbVie and UNSW, Rebecca brings a practical and highly relevant perspective on what effective leadership looks like in reality, not just in theory.
This session will help attendees reflect on the signals they send, the environment they create and the impact their leadership style has on trust, performance and alignment. Rebecca will unpack how stronger self-awareness, deliberate communication and clearer intent can help leaders navigate complexity, build credibility and lead with greater confidence. Attendees will leave with practical insight into how leadership brand is formed, where perception can diverge from intention, and what it takes to lead in a way that is both authentic and effective.
2:35pm – 3:00pm: Afternoon Tea & Networking
Take a pause to recharge, reflect and connect with fellow attendees over afternoon tea. This break offers time to continue relevant conversations, exchange ideas and build professional connections before the afternoon sessions resume.
3:00pm – 4:30pm: Interactive Workshops
Room 1: Smartphone Photography & Content Creation Workshop
In an environment where moments are shared quickly and attention is limited, the ability to capture strong content in real time has become an important skill for event, marketing and brand teams. This hands-on workshop is designed to show how professional, high-impact content can be created on the spot using tools most teams already have access to, including their smartphones.
Led by Andrew Thomasson, an internationally experienced photographer with decades of experience capturing people, places and moments for global brands, this session goes beyond basic tips or filters. It focuses on how to intentionally capture content that feels authentic, on-brand and aligned to your event narrative, while still being fast enough for immediate use across social, digital and internal channels.
Attendees will learn how to anticipate moments worth capturing, frame shots in dynamic environments, and work confidently in changing light and fast-paced settings. The workshop also covers how to think like a storyteller rather than a spectator, ensuring the content you capture supports promotion, engagement and brand storytelling while the event is still live.
Rather than relying solely on post-event photography or separate content teams, this session helps attendees capture experiences as they happen, extending reach, relevance and value in real time.
Room 2: AI as Your Co-Creator: Enhancing Human Work in Events & Marketing
Artificial Intelligence is rapidly reshaping how event and marketing professionals plan, create, communicate and deliver. Yet for many teams, AI still feels overwhelming, poorly defined or risky. Between hype, fear and conflicting advice, leaders are often left asking the same question: where does AI genuinely add value, and where does it distract or create unintended consequences?
Presented by Stephanie Cassimatis, Louise Gardner and Tony Agioski, this interactive workshop will explore how AI can be used as a practical partner in modern events and marketing, supporting better thinking, faster execution and more strategic use of time. Bringing together perspectives from event production, transformation and technology, the session is designed to move beyond theory and into real-world application.
Stephanie Cassimatis, as an event producer and business owner working at the intersection of event strategy, experience design and innovation, will bring an industry-grounded view of how AI can support research, planning, communications and creative development within event delivery. Louise Gardner will contribute her expertise in managing complex projects and organisational transformation, with a focus on how technology can improve business outcomes and customer experience. Tony Agioski will add a practical technology perspective to the discussion, helping attendees consider how AI can be applied across business and professional environments to create efficiencies, improve decision-making and support stronger outcomes.
Attendees will see how AI can support ideation, research, content development, workflow efficiency and insight generation, while also understanding the limitations, risks and governance considerations that leaders cannot afford to ignore.
4:30pm – 5:30pm: Close and Networking Sunset Drinks
Close out the day with final reflections from the Summit team before moving into networking drinks with speakers, partners and fellow attendees. This closing session provides an opportunity to continue conversations, strengthen new connections and conclude the day with relevant industry engagement.