OUR SPEAKERS
TĀNE HUNTER
FOUNDER | SCIENTIST | AUTHOR | FORMER CANCER RESEARCHER
Founder of Future Crunch, scientist, author, and former cancer researcher published in Nature, spent years building AI and machine learning models at leading Australian research hospitals before turning his scientific lens on the forces reshaping business, technology, and society.
Through 500+ keynotes across five continents, including a 15,000-person audience at the LA Convention Center, Tāne has become one of Australia's most sought-after science communicators. He's the author of Full Stack Human, a neuroscience-informed playbook for staying sharp amid exponential change, and has advised the New Zealand government on their green hydrogen strategy, supported Australia's national energy transition.
He is also a former U.S. mountain biking champion, an ocean sailor with crossings from the South Pacific to the Caribbean, and the former manager and sommelier at New Zealand's Rural Restaurant of the Year.
DR ANGUS HERVEY
POLITICAL ECONOMIST |
FOUNDER, FIX THE NEWS
Angus is a political economist and a journalist specialising in the impact of disruptive technologies on society. Former Co-Founder at Future Crunch where Fix The News originally came to life as a newsletter, he is now Co-Founder of one of the leading journals reporting on intelligent optimism, science, and feel good news for people and organisations who want to build a better future for us all.
He was the founding community manager of Random Hacks of Kindness, a global initiative from Google, IBM, Microsoft, NASA and the World Bank to create open-source technology solutions to social challenges.
He was also the first editorial manager for Global Policy, one of the world's leading international policy journals. He holds a PhD in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics, where he was the Ralph Miliband Scholar.
REBECCA MAKLAD
CEO & CO-FOUNDER, HUMANITY SCHOOLS | SHAPING THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION
For more than two decades, Rebecca Maklad has had a front-row seat to the conversations shaping our future. As part of the founding team at ODE Management, founder of Supernova Speakers, and former CEO and Director of Future Crunch, she has worked alongside futurists, scientists, entrepreneurs, authors and thought leaders exploring the forces transforming business, technology and society.
Rebecca has advised founders and experts on influence and authority, spoken for organisations including Nine Entertainment, ANZ, EY, Australia Post, World Vision and Cuscal, and hosted more than 125 conversations through The DNA of Purpose, a podcast exploring purpose, leadership and human potential ranked in the top 5% globally.
Today, she is CEO and Co-Founder of Humanity Schools, a long-term mission to establish human capability as a new standard of education alongside academic achievement, helping prepare every young person to shape a more flourishing future for humanity.
DAISY WONG
LEADER IN CYBER-SECURITY AWARENESS | DISABILITY ADVOCATE
Born and raised in Melbourne with Hong Kong heritage, Daisy Wong is a cybersecurity culture and awareness leader, disability advocate, and speaker with a passion for building adaptable, inclusive, and people-first security cultures. She currently leads Security Culture and Awareness at Medibank where she helps people navigate the evolving cybersecurity landscape.
Known for her bright pink wheelchair, matching hair, and even brighter leadership, Daisy uses her lived experience with spina bifida to champion visibility, access, and representation for women and people with disabilities in security. She also serves as Honorary Secretary for the Australian Computer Society Victoria Branch.
Daisy recently participated in an NDIS documentary to raise awareness on living with a physical disability as an Australian-born Chinese woman. Through sharing her story, she hopes to challenge stereotypes, highlight the cultural experiences that can shape disability, and show how she continues to live, work, advocate, and overcome barriers with resilience, humour, and a little bit of pink. You can watch the documentary here.
DARA SIMKIN
ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE DESIGNER | AUTHOR
Dara Simkin is Australia’s leading voice on play at work, co-author of Full Stack Human and founder of Culture Hero, a consultancy that helps people and organisations prepare for change through evidence-based, play-driven learning.
With over a decade of experience, her work has been shaped by research partnerships with RMIT University and The LEGO Foundation, and collaborations with McKinsey & Co. and the National Institute for Play. Blending neuroscience, adult development theory and improvisation, Dara helps leaders and teams think better, relate better and respond to change with more courage, creativity and capacity.
DR EHSSAN SAKEE
ENGINEER | SENIOR LECTURER IN PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE & LEADERSHIP
Ehssan is a cartoonist, leadership educator, engineer, writer, philosopher and mindfulness practitioner.
He has been lecturing at University of Sydney, UCLA Extension and Osaka University in the area of leadership, innovation and sustainability for close to a decade.
He has founded a tech startup for measuring soft skill development (PaLDIP) as well as an edutainment company (Wacky Wisdom) and Inspirational Management Australia using evidence-based personal and leadership development training.
SARAH ROWAN
AUSTRALIA'S FIRST SPEAKER +
SPEED PAINTER
Rowan is Australia's top speed painter (according to ChatGTP) and has been speed painting for over 20 years, bringing a vibrant and fun vibe to everything she does.
To date, Rowan has painted at over 500 events, raising over $350,000 for charity. Her keynotes on creativity and mental health whilst speed painting are a big hit with all her clients. As part of the Future Crunch team, she helps create extraordinary experiences, allowing audiences to learn with both the heart and the head. She graduated from Converse College in 2003 with a BFA in Studio Art, and moved to Sydney in 2005 to expand her art horizons.
BEHIND THE SCENES
TIA JEAN
Future Crunch GM | Owner, Organise.Curate.Design |
Admin Specialist, Life & Business Consultant
Tia is the current mind and heart behind the boutique life and business admin company Organise.Curate.Design, blending creativity and organisation into a collective that is curating clarity out of chaos, through structured thinking, grounded action, and a little bit of admin magic.
At Future Crunch, she brings that same grounded magic to operations, partnerships and creative logistics - helping ideas move smoothly from thought to action. With a background in Psychological Science and Sociology from the University of Sydney, Tia’s work is guided by a lifelong curiosity about people, patterns and the way we fit together.
Sam McLean | Elite Agency
“FUTURE CRUNCH... WHERE DO I EVEN START? ABSOLUTELY INSPIRING, INCREDIBLY INTERESTING AND JUST OVERALL OUTSTANDING.”
