10 innovative leaders. 10 minutes each.

Buckle up!
Prepare to learn the very best tips and tricks that will help you to innovate and grow your business during this dynamic and engaging summit.
Rare Birds presents this 100-minute intensive business training session to build the skills, capability, confidence and resilience of small business owners and intrapreneurs who are focused on business growth and innovation.
10 business leaders will each deliver 10 minutes of valuable advice and actionable insights. It's like TEDx, but tighter, targeting direct hits on your business growth and sustainability.

This event was held as a LIVE webinar on 11 August 2020 and is now available for purchase for the special discounted price of just AUD$10.00.



Speakers

The Partnerships Advantage

Gretta Addison
Xero, Global Director- Partnerships and App Ecosystem

Gretta is focused on powering small business through technology and unlocking partnerships that enable companies to combine strengths, innovate and meet more customer needs.

Prior to joining Xero in 2018, Gretta worked at CommBank, Zuru, Mondelez, and Mattel in Australia, Hong Kong, China and Singapore. In 2016, Gretta was awarded the United Nations Women in Leadership MBA Scholarship.

The Partnerships Advantage

Gretta Addison
Xero, Global Director- Partnerships and App Ecosystem

Gretta is focused on powering small business through technology and unlocking partnerships that enable companies to combine strengths, innovate and meet more customer needs.

Prior to joining Xero in 2018, Gretta worked at CommBank, Zuru, Mondelez, and Mattel in Australia, Hong Kong, China and Singapore. In 2016, Gretta was awarded the United Nations Women in Leadership MBA Scholarship.

Embedding an Organisational Growth Mindset

Sonia Nazaretian
Director of Retail and Commercial Enterprise, Microsoft Australia

Sonia is the Director of Retail and Commercial Enterprise at Microsoft Australia. She is responsible for leading teams of strategists, technology and industry experts who actively work with organisations to help drive their business transformation agenda leveraging digital capabilities to innovate and grow. Sonia’s experience spans across strategy, operations, go-to-market sales and marketing where she has held leadership positions within top performing organisations.

Sonia holds an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) and Stern Business School in New York, and recently completed the Australian Institute of Company Directors program. Sonia also leads the Women and Microsoft program for the Australian subsidiary which is focussed on retaining and developing female talent and developing a strong pipeline of future leaders.

Embedding an Organisational Growth Mindset

Sonia Nazaretian
Director of Retail and Commercial Enterprise, Microsoft Australia

Sonia is the Director of Retail and Commercial Enterprise at Microsoft Australia. She is responsible for leading teams of strategists, technology and industry experts who actively work with organisations to help drive their business transformation agenda leveraging digital capabilities to innovate and grow. Sonia’s experience spans across strategy, operations, go-to-market sales and marketing where she has held leadership positions within top performing organisations.

Sonia holds an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) and Stern Business School in New York, and recently completed the Australian Institute of Company Directors program. Sonia also leads the Women and Microsoft program for the Australian subsidiary which is focussed on retaining and developing female talent and developing a strong pipeline of future leaders.

Building a Strong Culture

Yaniv Bernstein
Airtasker, Chief Operating Officer

Yaniv Bernstein is COO at Airtasker - a local services marketplace that connects people who need work done with people who want to work. Founded in Sydney in 2012, Airtasker’s mission is to empower people to realise the full value of their skills and has established fast growing communities in Australia, UK and Ireland.

Prior to his appointment as COO, Yaniv was VP Engineering at Airtasker for two years. Before this he held senior engineering roles during his 10 year stint at Google across Search, YouTube, and Google Maps. Yaniv holds a PhD in Computer Science from RMIT University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from the University of Melbourne.

Building a Strong Culture

Yaniv Bernstein
Airtasker, Chief Operating Officer

Yaniv Bernstein is COO at Airtasker - a local services marketplace that connects people who need work done with people who want to work. Founded in Sydney in 2012, Airtasker’s mission is to empower people to realise the full value of their skills and has established fast growing communities in Australia, UK and Ireland.

Prior to his appointment as COO, Yaniv was VP Engineering at Airtasker for two years. Before this he held senior engineering roles during his 10 year stint at Google across Search, YouTube, and Google Maps. Yaniv holds a PhD in Computer Science from RMIT University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from the University of Melbourne.

Leading Through Change

Craig Davis
Advisor, KPMG & Co-Founder, Sendle

I’ve come to understand performance and success as congruence, but I didn’t always think this way. For a long time I thought they were about pushing myself beyond healthy limits. I started an ad agency in my 20s that I built up and sold before leaving Australia with my young family to live and work overseas. First as the creative chief for Saatchi & Saatchi across Asia, then as the global creative supremo for JWT based in London.

After 10 years of living abroad, we returned to Australia - it was time to reflect and regroup, rebuild relationships, and start something new. I had a couple of failed ventures (rich and painful learning experiences) before co-founding Sendle.

At the same time, in an effort to find a path to sustainable performance, I started exploring and deepening my meditation practice, and training in emotional intelligence, mindfulness and neuroscience. Besides investing and advising, I now teach a program to startup founders and their teams to help them ride their own roller-coasters with more wisdom and composure than I did.

Leading Through Change

Craig Davis
Advisor, KPMG & Co-Founder, Sendle

I’ve come to understand performance and success as congruence, but I didn’t always think this way. For a long time I thought they were about pushing myself beyond healthy limits. I started an ad agency in my 20s that I built up and sold before leaving Australia with my young family to live and work overseas. First as the creative chief for Saatchi & Saatchi across Asia, then as the global creative supremo for JWT based in London.

After 10 years of living abroad, we returned to Australia - it was time to reflect and regroup, rebuild relationships, and start something new. I had a couple of failed ventures (rich and painful learning experiences) before co-founding Sendle.

At the same time, in an effort to find a path to sustainable performance, I started exploring and deepening my meditation practice, and training in emotional intelligence, mindfulness and neuroscience. Besides investing and advising, I now teach a program to startup founders and their teams to help them ride their own roller-coasters with more wisdom and composure than I did.

Capital Raising in Australia

Benjamin Chong
Partner at Right Click Capital

Benjamin has a track record of investing in and building successful Internet-related businesses for over twenty years. These include Online Agility, Jetabroad and Online Marketing Group.

Today he spends time as a partner at venture capital firm, Right Click Capital, which invests in and champions Australia and New Zealand’s bold and visionary tech founders. Benjamin is also the Director of the Founder Institute in Sydney.

Capital Raising in Australia

Benjamin Chong
Partner at Right Click Capital

Benjamin has a track record of investing in and building successful Internet-related businesses for over twenty years. These include Online Agility, Jetabroad and Online Marketing Group.

Today he spends time as a partner at venture capital firm, Right Click Capital, which invests in and champions Australia and New Zealand’s bold and visionary tech founders. Benjamin is also the Director of the Founder Institute in Sydney.

High Growth Strategies

Jordan Lewis
Director of Growth, Deputy

Currently leading the growth team at Deputy, Jordan has helped form and scale high-impact growth teams across Australia and New Zealand. Previously, he was the Growth Hacking Team Lead at Xero, and Senior Product Manager at Vend. A husband and father of 2, he spends his spare time with family and looking for new additions to his record collection.

High Growth Strategies

Jordan Lewis
Director of Growth, Deputy

Currently leading the growth team at Deputy, Jordan has helped form and scale high-impact growth teams across Australia and New Zealand. Previously, he was the Growth Hacking Team Lead at Xero, and Senior Product Manager at Vend. A husband and father of 2, he spends his spare time with family and looking for new additions to his record collection.

The Art & Science of Customer Engagement

Shira Levine
Founder of Fanchismo

Shira Levine is a pioneer and innovator in customer engagement, online community marketing and social media fields, having held leadership positions at DC Comics, eBay, Zynga and Sephora. She is a tireless evangelist for how organizations partner with their online customers to drive ROI, lock in retention, and reduce overall costs. She specializes in consumer & business to business engagement best practices, building strong relationships with customers, and supply-side marketplace community strategy. Shira shares a wealth of examples from years of consulting with companies such as Afterpay, UberEats and Dulux to help other companies understand the power of strategic engagement. She currently lives in Melbourne, Australia.

The Art & Science of Customer Engagement

Shira Levine
Founder of Fanchismo

Shira Levine is a pioneer and innovator in customer engagement, online community marketing and social media fields, having held leadership positions at DC Comics, eBay, Zynga and Sephora. She is a tireless evangelist for how organizations partner with their online customers to drive ROI, lock in retention, and reduce overall costs. She specializes in consumer & business to business engagement best practices, building strong relationships with customers, and supply-side marketplace community strategy. Shira shares a wealth of examples from years of consulting with companies such as Afterpay, UberEats and Dulux to help other companies understand the power of strategic engagement. She currently lives in Melbourne, Australia.

Aligning Purpose to Drive Progress

Ben Cooper
Managing Director of Tricky Jigsaw

Ben is an innovation thought leader with two decades of experience internationally. He is the Founder and Managing Director of innovation firm Tricky Jigsaw, a company within the M&C Saatchi Group that, in September 2017, drove the group to take #1 position in the Australian Financial Review’s ‘Most Innovative Company’ award. Tricky Jigsaw’s methods and product design work for NRMA Fireblanket (an early bushfire detection system), also won ‘Most Innovative Product’ and overall ‘Best Innovation’ categories. He is a member of the D&AD Impact Council, which is made up of international leaders from across the creative, social entrepreneur, Venture Capital and NGO spaces, and exists to drive creativity for global change.

Aligning Purpose to Drive Progress

Ben Cooper
Managing Director of Tricky Jigsaw

Ben is an innovation thought leader with two decades of experience internationally. He is the Founder and Managing Director of innovation firm Tricky Jigsaw, a company within the M&C Saatchi Group that, in September 2017, drove the group to take #1 position in the Australian Financial Review’s ‘Most Innovative Company’ award. Tricky Jigsaw’s methods and product design work for NRMA Fireblanket (an early bushfire detection system), also won ‘Most Innovative Product’ and overall ‘Best Innovation’ categories. He is a member of the D&AD Impact Council, which is made up of international leaders from across the creative, social entrepreneur, Venture Capital and NGO spaces, and exists to drive creativity for global change.

Aligning Purpose to Drive Progress

Ben Cooper
Managing Director of Tricky Jigsaw

Ben is an innovation thought leader with two decades of experience internationally. He is the Founder and Managing Director of innovation firm Tricky Jigsaw, a company within the M&C Saatchi Group that, in September 2017, drove the group to take #1 position in the Australian Financial Review’s ‘Most Innovative Company’ award. Tricky Jigsaw’s methods and product design work for NRMA Fireblanket (an early bushfire detection system), also won ‘Most Innovative Product’ and overall ‘Best Innovation’ categories. He is a member of the D&AD Impact Council, which is made up of international leaders from across the creative, social entrepreneur, Venture Capital and NGO spaces, and exists to drive creativity for global change.

Building Resilience & a Growth Mindset

Jo Burston
CEO Rare Birds

Jo Burston is one of Australia’s most successful female entrepreneurs. She has launched six businesses, the standout being Job Capital which went from $0 to $40-million turnover in five years and has kept her on the list of Australia’s top 30 female entrepreneurs since 2013. Jo has worked in partnership with the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) and Office For Women (OFW) as well as global brands such as Microsoft, Google, EY , PwC and XERO.

Effective Marketing Strategies

Emma Lo Russo
CEO of Digivizer

Emma Lo Russo is CEO of Digivizer, Australia’s leading digital technology and activations company, which she co-founded in 2010. Across both companies Emma employs over 50+ people in Australia and 13 other countries across Asia, serving some of the largest global brands.

Emma won the 2014 Carnegie’s Den investment round which led to further funding, and is a Portfolio CEO for Heads Over Heels. She is a recipient of the AGSM Anita Prabhu Women Leaders in Business Award for entrepreneurship, innovation, leadership and business acumen, was awarded the Pearcey Foundation Tech Entrepreneur of the Year Award for NSW in 2016, and won the ACS CXO Disruptor of the Year Award in 2018 and an ACS award for Thought Leadership in 2019.

Effective Marketing Strategies

Emma Lo Russo
CEO of Digivizer

Emma Lo Russo is CEO of Digivizer, Australia’s leading digital technology and activations company, which she co-founded in 2010. Across both companies Emma employs over 50+ people in Australia and 13 other countries across Asia, serving some of the largest global brands.

Emma won the 2014 Carnegie’s Den investment round which led to further funding, and is a Portfolio CEO for Heads Over Heels. She is a recipient of the AGSM Anita Prabhu Women Leaders in Business Award for entrepreneurship, innovation, leadership and business acumen, was awarded the Pearcey Foundation Tech Entrepreneur of the Year Award for NSW in 2016, and won the ACS CXO Disruptor of the Year Award in 2018 and an ACS award for Thought Leadership in 2019.

10 innovative leaders
10 minutes each
100 key take-aways