Nigel Collin

Chair of Meetings & Events Australia (MEA)
Nigel Collin has been part of the events industry for over 2 decades. In 2013 he founded Ingenious Oz Project, where he has interviewed 100’s of successful leaders and individuals and shares their stories. He is author of ‘Game of Inches’. Having built one of Australia’s largest creative entertainment design companies, he worked as a creative and content director, and is now a strategic facilitator and speaker. He is a recipient of the Outstanding Contribution Award for Meetings and Events Australia and currently chair of MEA.

Geoff Donaghy

CEO of ICC Sydney & Deputy Chair of Business Events Council of Australia (BECA)
ICC Sydney is Australia’s premier convention, exhibition and entertainment venue, which since it’s opening has been wowing local, national and international visitors with its focus on high-quality, local produce and commitment to service excellence. Geoff is also Deputy Chair of the BECA, the country’s convention and exhibition body, having previously served as Chairman for five years.

Additionally, Geoff is the director of convention centres for leading venue management specialists, ASM Global (Asia Pacific, India & Middle East), the immediate past president of the International Association of Congress Centres and sits on the executive committee of peak global body, the Joint Meetings Industry Council.

Claudia Sagripanti

CEO of Exhibition & Event Association of Australia (EEAA)
Claudia’s career extends from events and exhibitions to media and digital technology. She led the development of professional standards in online and mobile advertising in Australia for the AIMIA and is currently on the advisory board for the International Social Media Association. Prior to this she managed the events and awards of the Australian Data-Driven Marketing Association (ADMA).

Claudia has also worked for Macquarie Bank and Optus as Business Program Manager, delivering digital transformation, new technology pilot projects, and developing project management value creation frameworks.

Matt Crouch

Founder and Director of Matt Crouch Legal
Matt Crouch is well-known as the legal expert in the events sector, having specialised for over 35 years in assisting participants in the events sector, particularly event managers. Matt practices as a solicitor, teaches event-law and frequently contributes legal columns in events industry publications. His aim is to always speak plainly, to un-pack legal complexity and provide practical solutions.

Marie Barbaric

Manager, Koori Kulcha

Marie is a proud Dunghutti and Gamilaroi woman, a mother of five and grandmother of eight. Marie is CEO of Koori Kulcha Experience, which provides catering, cross-cultural training, team building workshops and tourism. She is also managing director of Koori Kulcha Aboriginal Corporation, which runs Community Development Programs and is fully funded by Koori Kulcha Experience. Her passions include fighting homelessness and empowering marginalised women.

Vanessa Soldatos

Senior Producer, EventFrog
Vanessa has produced and managed registration desks for hundreds of events and exhibitions for companies in the Asia Pacific Region, ranging from intimate meetings and functions to multi-day exhibitions for up to 20,000 attendees.
Vanessa and the team started EventFrog in 2016 after finding many clients required niche expertise in registration management and event technology. Her extensive experience on the EventsAIR platform provided a strong basis for the new skills required for virtual and hybrid event experiences. Leading the charge in this space, Vanessa ensures all elements of virtual events are technically correct and professionally delivered.

Thomas Gray

Business Development Manager, EventsAir
A passionate, confident and motivated Business Development Manager and event technology specialist.
For over a decade, Thomas has been building relationships and helping customers as EventsAIR has grown from a lean start-up to the leader in our space.

Keith Wootton

Managing Director, AV1
Born out of service excellence and innovation, AV1 is a thriving force in the events industry with a team of legends with whom he’s extremely proud to work. Being an active participant in our industry since 1994, Keith continues to contribute with great drive and enthusiasm, as well as genuine care for his team, customers and projects. His commitment to innovation transcends the entire company and is the force behind AV1’s reputation in the industry. It has led to the introduction of new products to the market, such as Sprintr by AV1’s award-winning registration kiosks.

Felicity Zadro

Founder and Managing Director, Zadro Agency
A passionate and committed professional communicator, Felicity Zadro has more than 18 years’ experience in designing and managing communications for a range of organisations. In 2007 Felicity founded Zadro to provide integrated strategic communications. In 2017, Felicity was nominated as one of the most influential female entrepreneurs by a panel of business leaders organised through Fairfax and was named Communications Entrepreneur of the Year by CV Magazine. And in 2019, was named an Unsung Hero by the Events and Exhibition Association of Australasia, recognising her contribution to the industry. Her training in sociology and anthropology, love of strategy, experience in leading numerous market and social research projects, training in change management and leadership, combined with her business acumen, allows Felicity to broaden the standard scope of communications practice.

Jane Lyons
General Manager, Hyatt Regency Sydney

Jane Lyons is the general manager of Hyatt Regency Sydney, Australia’s largest premium hotel. Formerly general manager of West Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton in Sydney, Jane has spent more than 23 years in various leadership roles across upscale and luxury hotels in three continents including Savoy Hotel Group in London, The Langham London and Langham Place New York. Over the course of Jane’s career, she has risen through all hotel departments including front office, finance, rooms, operations and management.

Paula Nolan

Member of Meetings and Events Australia (MEA) Board of Directors
An events, communications and engagement professional with over 20 years’ experience, Paula has produced world-class events for global brands both in the agency and corporate arena. She has sharp expertise in creating event strategies that deliver innovative client-centric experience that drive change and deliver commercial results. Paula designed and delivered campaigns for a number of high-profile global accounts for many years. Paula is also a member of the Board of Directors Meetings and Events Australia (MEA).

Sonia Sadiq Gandhi

Director, Gandhi Creations and Board Member, Multicultural NSW
From international student to creative genius, Sonia Sadiq Gandhi is a serial entrepreneur and a champion of diversity and inclusion. She is the founder and CEO of a multi-award-winning events and social enterprise, Gandhi Creations, that has for over a decade created sustainable platforms in response to business, social and cultural needs of our communities.

Sonia has executed over 550 events in her career and on a broader level, the work she produces has served as meeting grounds for the exchange of ideas between nations and platforms for enhanced cultural diplomacy and improved foreign investment and trade. Sonia is on the board of the Multicultural NSW, has been an Australia Day Ambassador since 2018 and was appointed by the ICC T20 World Cup Australia Board as a 2020 Brand Ambassador. Sonia was also honoured as a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International in 2014 and continues her ongoing charity work with organisations such as Alzheimer’s Australia, Beyond Blue and National Breast Cancer Foundation.