Speakers in 2010
Photos and bios of confirmed speakers can be found below. Don't miss inspirational Johanna Griggs, or the insightful health & wellbeing expert Susie Burrell, or our fantastic MC, Channel 7's Samantha Armitage. Plus, we're delighted to welcome the Editorial Director of Australian Women's Weekly as one of our keynote speakers, and the UK National Chairman of the European Management Assistants Association, Sue France.
Feedback from 2009
Click here for some testimonials from the 2009 delegates, or click here to see the photos.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER - JOHANNA GRIGGS, TV HOST AND ELITE SWIMMER
Channel Seven sports host and former elite swimmer, Johanna Griggs has become one of Australia’s most popular and loved personalities. She has clocked up over 15 years satiating Australia’s desire for sports news, and counts the Sydney and Beijing Olympics in her stable of achievements.
Host of Seven’s House & Garden, Auction Squad and regular guest on several panel programs, Johanna’s adaptability and energy make her an in-demand presenter and keynote speaker.
CHAIRPERSON - SAMANTHA ARMYTAGE
After graduating from Charles Sturt University with a Communication Degree (majoring in Broadcast Journalism), Samantha Armytage started her career as a reporter and back-up presenter at WIN Television in Canberra.
Samantha was then approached to work as a political correspondent for Sky News in the Canberra Press Gallery. There she covered breaking stories including the 2001 Bali bombings, the start of the Iraq War, a federal election and the January 2003 Canberra bushfire… coverage that brought her to the attention of Channel Seven bosses in Sydney.
Samantha moved to the Seven Network in 2003, and regularly works on the road as a journalist. She's covered many breaking news stories, including regular trips to Bali to report on the trials of Schapelle Corby and the “Bali-9”. She also reported on the recent troubles in East Timor. Samantha covered the Canterbury Bulldog's rape crisis, the aftermath of the Cronulla riots, as well as anchoring the 6pm bulletin live from the the Lismore flood disaster in 2005; while also covered more light-hearted stories like the Melbourne Cup Carnival, fashion week and royal tours for both the Queen and Princess Mary and well as chatting to visiting stars including Matt Damon and Daniel Radcliffe.
Samantha co-hosts the Seven Network's very successful Weekend Sunrise with Andrew O'Keefe, and can be seen every Sunday morning from 8-10am and presents Seven's national 4.30pm News bulletin (the highest rating news bulletin in its time slot) and presents late night updates each week.
Samantha regularly fills in on Seven's other news and current affairs shows; including Sunrise, 6pm bulletins and Morning News and presents Today Tonight's Summer Series.
When she's not at work - Samantha loves traveling, as well as most sports, and regularly plays tennis and golf. Sam is a keen snow skier, passionate about horse racing and a huge supporter of rural Australia, having grown up in country NSW.
Samantha is an exceptional MC and guest speaker who is in high demand from the corporate sector.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER - DEBORAH THOMAS - EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, THE AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S WEEKLY
Deborah Thomas is Editorial Director of The Australian Women’s Weekly, the iconic magazine that boasts the highest readership in Australian publishing and, per capita, in the world.
She has been at the helm of ‘The Weekly’ – now in its 75th year – for nine years. Kerry Packer appointed her Editor in 1999 before promoting her to Editor-in Chief in 2000 and Editorial Director in 2005.
Deborah Thomas moved into publishing in 1987 following a full-time modelling career in Europe and experience working in television production and advertising.
Her break into magazines came via her good friend Lisa Wilkinson - then editor of Cleo and now co-host of the Nine Network’s Today Show - who offered her the position of Beauty and Lifestyle editor of the magazine. Three years later Deborah was promoted to Deputy Editor of Cleo. During her time at Cleo, supporting Lisa, the magazine's circulation broke all records, further strengthening its position as the No. 1 selling lifestyle publication (per capita) in the world.
In 1992, Deborah was appointed editor of Mode. Over the next two years, Mode’s sales grew 25 percent and advertising revenue 33 percent. Two years later (1994) Deborah became editor of ELLE Australia and consolidated the magazine's position through a frenzied period of rival magazine launches.
In 1997 is was back to Cleo – this time as editor with a brief to arrest and revive the magazine’s falling circulation and advertising revenue, which was achieved in spite of emerging competitive brands.
Her appointment as editor of The Australian Women’s Weekly came in 1999. Her brief: to make the magazine more contemporary without alienating traditional readers. In July 2001, The Australian Women’s Weekly announced its first circulation increase in four years. The following year, it scooped the pool at the Magazine Publisher’s of Australia Awards ( the magazine equivalent of the Oscars). The awards included Magazine of the Year 2002, General Excellence ( News and General Interest), as well as two advertising awards. Deborah Thomas received the highest accolade, Editor of the Year.
In March 2004, Deborah was appointed Editor-in-Chief of The Australian Women’s Weekly magazine and the Australian Women’s Weekly books division and one year later was promoted to Editorial Director responsible for all aspects of this iconic brand.
Outside work, Deborah Thomas is a wife and mother to five-year-old Oscar. She’s currently writing her autobiography for Pan McMillan and is a much sought after speaker on many topics from her extraordinary life, women’s issues, the media, marketing to women, older mothers and juggling a career with motherhood.
She appears regularly on the Today Show, A Current Affair and Radio 2UE and is considered an intelligent and informed commentator on many subjects for radio and newspapers. She is actively involved in community fundraising projects including the Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick, the YWCA, the Starlight Foundation and the Taronga Zoo Foundation.
Deborah is also a board member of The National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre, The Queensland Food Fibre and Science Innovation Council and a councilor of The National Library of Australia. For three years she was a member of the Walkley Foundation Advisory Board, the caretakers of the most prestigious awards in news journalism.
Susie Burrell is one of Australia's leading dietitians; her unique training in both nutritional science and psychology helping thousands of adults, children and athletes reach their health and nutrition goals without diets or deprivation.
Susie currently has a weekly column in The Daily Telegraph's Simply Food lift out as well as columns in Good Health & Medicine, ALPHA and Dolly magazine. Susie is also a regular guest on FRESH television and The Today Show.
In a past life, Susie was a prominent sports dietitian and has consulted to a number of elite sporting teams including the Super 14 winning 2007 South African Blue Bulls, St George Illawarra Dragons and Sydney University Rugby. Susie is currently consulting to the Parramatta Eels to maintain her sports nutrition skills.
In her private work Susie specialises in fat loss and sees clients each week in her private rooms at Kogarah in Sydney's south. Susie balances this clinical work with consulting to key food industry groups; groups who have the ability to positively influence the food supply with her primary love, writing for both print and electronic media.
ZOE MITCHELL - MASTERCLASS LEADER
Zoe Mitchell is well known in Australia and New Zealand for her professional, engaging and highly effective training courses. Specialising in the professional development needs of the busy executive PA, Zoe knows what it takes to become the best in the business, and has a strong understanding of the everyday challenges and support you require to perform your roles effectively. Her workshops specifically focus on leadership, communication skills, negotiation, conflict resolution, time management and people management. Zoe has trained over 600 senior EAs from Australian businesses in leadership skills, communication skills, negotiation skills and management skills with ThinkTank Media. Her masterclasses are held in extremely high regard and always sell out, with delegate feedback never being less than excellent. Zoe is an Australian based in Los Angeles, where she runs Mint Development, an exclusive consultancy specialising in the professional development of EAs as well as senior business managers. Zoe brings her international experience to Australia several times a year, working with ThinkTank Media to produce market-leading EA/PA masterclasses such as ‘Emotional Intelligence at Work’, ‘Communication & Negotiation for the Executive PA’, and ‘Fundamentals of Leadership’. Prior to establishing Mint Development, Zoe worked with Maximus International in Sydney, where she specialised in the design, implementation and management of both assessment and people development solutions. Zoe has worked with a range of industries including Financial Services, IT&T, Consumer and the Health sector. Coca-Cola Amatil, Rothschild, Hutchison, Caltex, AVJennings, Westpac and Fuji Xerox are just a selection of organisations where Zoe has added value across all levels of the business. |
Sue France is the author of a new book branded by The Times: “The Definitive Personal Assistant/Secretarial Handbook” and published by Kogan Page.
Testimonial for the book by: Catherine Smith (Wales UK)
"A Must Read for All - My edition came yesterday and I am already half way through it - it's fab - lots of brilliant tips and I love the quotes. I am giving this book to my boss when he goes on leave - never mind just reading chapter 10 he can read the lot! An excellent, well written 'bible' for all assistants. I have recommended it to all the assistants in our building to read and also have mentioned it to others. I am off to log onto the website: www.suefrance.com ...!"
Sue is also the UK National Chairman for European Management Assistants (EUMA) a voluntary secretarial networking organisation which helps to develop Management Assistants and provides global links for Management Assistants.
Following her boss’s nomination, Sue won the prestigious award of The UK Times Crème DHL PA of the year 2006 and was also a finalist in the European Smart PA of the Year 2007.
Sue started work as a shorthand typist/word processing operator and worked her way up becoming a senior secretary, team supervisor, events manager and Personal Assistant to the Head of Arthur Andersen in Manchester, UK which was a global leading accounting firm. Sue was also the client events manager for Andersen Clients and organised teambuilding weekends for the employees as well as external client events. Sue attended University as a mature student part time to be awarded a post graduate diploma in human resource management and is now a Fellow member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Sue then became part of the global training team as training manager responsible for 600 secretaries in the UK. Sue took redundancy in 2002 when Andersen collapsed worldwide and started working with Bill Docherty, owner of a training and development company – Persuasion. Sue was Bill’s PA, Marketing, training & Events Manager. Sue took responsibility for developing and coaching PAs for Persuasion’s clients in the UK and overseas.
Sue left Persuasion in November 2009 to set up her own Management Assistant Training Company and in 2010 Sue will be speaking in France, Qatar, Switzerland, Australia, Johannesburg, Kenya, Bahrain, Nigeria and the UK.
Sue has been involved in raising over £35000 for sponsored walks for children’s charities in such places as the Grand Canyon, the Inca Trail in Peru, the Alps, Mount Etna and the Great Wall of China.
Sue is the proud mother of 2 children, Samantha aged 17, Sara aged 30 and has a new baby granddaughter Isabella Rosina born 27 January 2010.
Barbara Warren is the Head of NIDA Corporate Performance. In this capacity she has consulted in the private and public sector to an extensive range of national and international companies. Her background as an experienced educator and facilitator has influenced the creative design of training packages that have achieved national recognition. She has been responsible for distinctive staff orientation programs with an emphasis on outstanding customer service, team building, leadership, and presentation and communication skills.
Prior to accepting the challenge of establishing NIDA Corporate Performance as a separate department, Barbara was Head of NIDA's Open Program. In this role she accepted the responsibility of steering Open Program in to becoming a successful and respected business unit. Whilst the financial gains for NIDA were immense, perhaps the greatest gains came in the form of providing valuable employment opportunities for NIDA graduates and leveraging the NIDA brand in both the national and international marketplace.
Liana has spent 14 years working in various roles within the Banking and Finance, Accounting, HR and Legal industries.
Liana currently works as the PA to the CEO of Colonial First State where she has been for the past five years. Not only does she provide daily support to the CEO, but she also manages the corporate reception desk; runs, facilitates and presents at the corporate induction days for new employees; and is responsible for building a strong PA network within the organisation.
Aside from her work as a PA, Liana is also a certified recruitment consultant and has spent 4 years working in recruitment both within recruitment agencies and within organisations.
Most recently Liana completed an Advanced Certificate in Business Management through the University of Technology.
KATHY THOMAS - SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
Kathy began her career in administration before moving into teaching and project work with Swinburne University. As part of her project work she has developed two post graduate qualifications to meet the niche market needs of executive administrators and public relation practitioners.
She has since gone on to develop these qualifications in an online environment to meet the needs of distant learners. Apart from managing two post graduate programs she also co-ordinates the Advanced Diploma of PR in the TAFE sector.
MARIANNA MOOD - OPERATIONS DIRECTOR, RANDSTAD
Marianna Mood is the Operations Director of Randstad’s Business Support, Contact Centre & Assessment Centre divisions in Australia and New Zealand.
As a qualified accountant with prior experience in various finance roles, Marianna joined Randstad (formerly Select Appointments) in 1997 as a Consultant. Marianna was quickly promoted to various management roles within the growing organisation and in 2003 won the Best Direction Award for Outstanding Management Performance at the company’s Annual Employee Awards.
With her continued success, Marianna was promoted to the position of General Manager for Select Appointments (now known as Randstad’s Business Support division) in 2004. Focusing on the expansion of the business support, contact centre, accounting and assessment centre businesses in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, the division experienced growth from 8 to 17 offices.
In her current position as Operations Director and with the support of a senior management team across Australia and New Zealand, Marianna leads a team of 130 consultants and is responsible for the management of sales of over $130 million.
Marianna truly believes that without the support, professionalism, understanding and friendship she has had with her Executive Assistants and Personal Assistants over the years, she wouldn’t be where she is today. Great Executive Assistants take pride in anticipating the needs of their managers and take pride in ensuring things run smoothly. Their advanced interpersonal skills and strong business acumen proves that they are the ambassadors of the corporate culture. |
MAXINE MCKENDRICK - EA TO CEO, TENNIS AUSTRALIA
Maxine has over 30 years experience in all areas of administration in various industries including federal government, media, defence, financial services, professional services and sport. She has worked at the EA level for past 15 years.
Maxine joined Tennis Australia in July 2005 as Executive Assistant to the President/Chairman and CEO and is responsible for all aspects of the Executive office management and supporting both the Chairman and CEO as well as the CFO and Board of Directors
Some other areas of responsibilities include organising company functions and conferences, and prior to and during the Australian Open she also manages the VIP Function areas which include the President’s Reserve, Last Eight and International Lounges. This commences with invitations and RSVPing through to hosting the guests on arrival and during their stay making sure they have a wonderful experience.
Maxine has also presented on panels on several workshops and won the EA of the Year Award at the Executive PA Magazine Awards held in Sydney in August.
Millions of Americans wanted to tell President Clinton what to do everyday, and Laura Schwartz did.
Laura Schwartz, a former Special Assistant to the President and The White House Director of Events for the Clinton Administration, created and executed more than 1000 White House events including 12 State arrival ceremonies and dinners, America’s Millennium Celebration and NATO’s 50th Anniversary. While producing the President’s events on the world stage, leaving no room for error, Ms. Schwartz demonstrated the Presidency’s ability to inspire a nation and the world through powerful events. As an eight-year veteran of the Administration, prior to being named The Director of Events in 1997, Ms. Schwartz served as The White House Director of Television and The Midwest Press Secretary for The President. Following the Administration, Laura traveled the world with Former President Clinton for his Foundation and Global Initiative. In 2004, Laura served as a Senior Advisor to John Kerry for the Kerry-Edwards Presidential Campaign.
Today, Ms. Schwartz shares her unique perspective on face to face networking, politics and leadership on the CBS Early Show domestically and internationally on Good Morning London (GMTV) throughout the UK, the BBC World News and Sir David Frost’s “Frost Over The World” broadcast to 120 million viewers on Al Jazeera English. Prior to joining CBS, Laura was the on air Political Analyst on the Fox News Channel 2004-2007 and was the Special Correspondent to Larry King Live and CNN for the presidential primaries 2007-2008. Laura has also appeared on MSNBC and the PBS acclaimed Lehrer NewsHour, Sirius, XM Satellite Radio and 2UE Sydney. Ms. Schwartz has been a featured expert in the New York Times and USA Today.
Ms. Schwartz is well known to corporations, industry associations, service and professional organizations and educational institutions for her lecture and individual coaching series in which she delivers positive and motivational message. Ms. Schwartz’s most popular seminar, “Eat, Drink and Succeed! The Networking Power of Social Events,©” also the title of her upcoming networking book, explores where bridges can be built in professional and personal social scenes, using the individual’s power as a guest or a host to increase their client base retention, land an incredible job, inspire volunteerism and to expand their responsibilities while creating professional and personal profitability and success. Laura believes that although a “job” might be 9-5, “careers” are 24/7 and we are always and in all places, an ambassador of what and who we represent professionally as well as ourselves, personally. “The Networking Power of Social Events©” delivers those tools to ensure success.
In 2001, Ms. Schwartz created, White House Strategies, an event, media, political and message consultancy. Serving corporations, industry associations, cultural institutions, service organizations, political figures, and aspiring entrepreneurs, Ms. Schwartz uses her unique experiences and strategies to generate ideas to develop and deliver her client’s objectives through business, social, media and industry events and creative and targeted messaging. In the Fall of 2007, Ms. Schwartz was honored by the American University, Washington DC with their “Leadership in Education” award. In January 2009, Laura was invited to speak and debated at the prestigious Oxford Union in England on the Foreign Policy Legacy of the United States.
Ms. Schwartz is based in Chicago where she operates White House Strategies and travels extensively both domestically and internationally for speaking engagements and with her clients, empowering them to unleash their limits by recognizing and embracing their highest personal and professional potential.
JANELLE WILSON - EA TO THE CEO, AUSCOAL Superannuation
Janelle is the Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer at AUSCOAL Superannuation – the Industry Super Fund for the coal mining communities in NSW, Queensland and Tasmania. Janelle’s biggest challenge in the last 8 years has been juggling a hectic work schedule with the needs of her youngest son, who has several disabilities. In her ‘spare time’, Janelle is studying for her Certificate in Business at Charles Sturt University and has just passed her PS146 Superannuation Exam.
Janelle is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Office Professionals and in May last year was named the 2009 NSW Top Office Professional (or PA) of the Year.
