SPEAKERS

Matt Church

Matt Church is no ordinary presenter. He is the 2014/15 Australian Speaker of the Year and has recently been named one of the top ten motivational speakers in the world.

He is an instigator, motivator, disrupter, teacher, researcher, innovator and leader. What sets him apart from the field of speakers is the profound impact he has on an audience.He acts as a catalyst inspiring people to create real change. He is without a doubt one of the top professional conference speakers.

His special gift is his ability to reach into the audience, capture their attention, build their trust and kick start a process of change. People leave his sessions entertained, informed and inspired. Rarely does someone simply return to “business as usual” after seeing a Matt Church presentation. Matt’s topic list is diverse with something to suit any audience.

As the founder of Thought Leaders Global, Matt’s greatest love is the development of thought leadership. It’s an obsession which connects him closely to some of the brightest and most brilliant minds in Australia, and across the world. His close connection with industry leaders spans a broad range of markets and activities, and as a chosen mentor to many of those leaders, he is in the unique position to have a deep insight into an enormous variety of topics, issues, markets, industries, and challenges.

A prolific author, his publishing history is a demonstration of his polymathic nature, and his ability to draw from this incredibly diverse sphere of knowledge means he can often shed new light on a topic which an industry has “done to death”. From this space, he inspires people to think, expertly delivering key messages and weaving them together with narratives from a diverse range of sources. Many say his presentations are watershed moments in industry and business culture.

Kurt Fearnley

Australian wheelchair racer Kurt Fearnley AO, is one of Australia's most well known and respected athletes.

Winner of some of the worlds most prestigious marathons, in London, Paris, Rome, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. The latter two, 5 times. Kurt won the Paralympic men's wheelchair marathon in Athens in 2004 and retained his title in Beijing in 2008. In Athens he also won gold over the 5000m on the track. He was recently able to finish a 20 year representative career with a dominant Gold Medal performance at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, whilst also receiving the honour of carrying the Australian Flag into the Closing Ceremony.

In London in 2012 he picked up a bronze medal in the marathon and a silver on the track over 5000m. In Rio 2016 Kurt successfully made the podium for the fourth consecutive time in both the 5000m and Marathon, winning Bronze and Silver, while serving as the Captain of the Australian Paralympic Team. In total Kurt has 13 Paralympic medals spanning across 5 games. He's also a 6 times world champion from 800m to the marathon. His marathon personal best is 1 hour 18 minutes and 51 seconds set in Boston in 2011.

Off the racing circuit Kurt has been a winning crew member of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, taking line honours in 2011 on board the yacht Loyal. However he is most well known for his amazing feat of crawling the 96km Kokoda track.

Kurt is actively involved in various charities as a board member, patron and ambassador. In 2016 Kurt was elected by his peers to be one of six Summer Paralympic Athletes to serve on the International Paralympic Committee's Athletes Commission.

In 2005, Kurt was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia or OAM after winning a gold medal at the Athens Paralympic Games. In 2018 Kurt received an Officer of the Order of Australia or AO, and in 2019 was awarded the NSW Australian of the Year.

Dr Louise Mahler

Rarely does one find a powerhouse of academic insight, observational excellence and dynamic delivery to shed new light on a topic that’s critical to us all – ourselves! Louise’s inimitable style and deep insight in her field are in demand across USA, Europe, Asia and the Pacific, where audiences can appreciate this high level of expertise PLUS a wicked sense of humour. Who could want more!

A foremost expert in body language, voice and human behaviour, Louise has a PhD in Business, and degrees and masters in Organisational Psychology as well as Music. Her skills as a Master Practitioner in Neuro-Linguistic Programming pull together her academic study and years of professional performance on the European opera stage (yes, that’s right - the opera stage) to put her in a league of her own. These blended skills bring powerful observation that elicits discernible, positive change to help you ‘be heard’ in hostile environments.

Louise is regular contributor to the media, appearing on Australian television, in print and on radio and speaks and coaches worldwide. She is in demand through Adobe in the USA, India and the South Pacific, has travelled with Gartner to the USA and Europe and is a repeat guest for the elite Million Dollar Round Table Top Tables in the USA. Her book ‘Resonate’ is published by Penguin/Random House. 

Kim Payne

Kim Payne is the Managing Director of 9Rok and Co-founder of 3Genies Animations.

Professional Advisers (Financial Advisers, Mortgage Brokers, Risk Specialists, Accountants, Stockbrokers and Lawyers) work with Kim to unlock the hidden value in their business so they can make a bigger impact, get paid what they’re worth and build a business that makes them proud.

She does it through delivering inspiring keynote sessions, running group workshops or coaching her aspiring advisers to help them clarify, explain and demonstrate the value of their advice.

Having spent almost 20 years in the corporate world, been a financial adviser and running two of her own businesses, she understands the challenges that hold businesses back.

She believes that even the most technically proficient adviser, with whizbang processes and a team of superstars needs to focus on helping clients understand why they should work with them, stay with them and pay them… if they want to grow their business and get the results they deserve.

Kim holds a Bachelor of Economics degree, a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment and an Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning.

Steve Prendeville

Steve Prendeville is the founder and Managing Director of Forte Asset Solutions, Forte Licensing Solutions and Forte Consulting Solutions. Forte’s Asset Solutions core activity is selling financial services businesses. Forte Licensing Solutions assist practices to find the right Dealer group or become self- licenced. Forte Consulting Solutions assists business to grow. 

Steve has enjoyed a successful 30 plus year career in financial services. 

Steve was a Partner in Deloitte and CEO of DFS Financial Services a HNW Advisory Group.  After selling DFS Steve created Australia’s first specialist financial services M&A group.

Steve is a member of the International Association of Consultants, Valuators and Analysts.

Jim Stackpool

Jim Stackpool consults and trains financial advisers and their firms. He founded Strategic Consulting & Training in 1993 after three years lecturing and consulting with the Financial Management Research Centre at the University of New England in Armidale, NSW Australia. 

In 1997, he established The Dashboard® Reports which became the largest audited research and benchmark database analysing the financial performance benchmarks of Australian financial advice firms.