Adam is a famous Australian media personality and public mathematician. He has hosted award-winning breakfast radio shows in Australia’s toughest markets and live current affairs TV. With 25 years’ experience in television, radio and events, Adam loves curating challenging and thought-provoking conversations and therefore is the perfect MC for Curious Thinkers 2024.

At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the Center for Information Systems Research (CISR), Alan looks after the Research and Engagement for the Asia Pacific region. He is leading a global project exploring how large, complex organisations will manage IT in the future and another collaborating with small, agile companies. Alan is also a Senior Visiting Fellow at UNSW.

Angela is the Chief Risk Officer of Cuscal, responsible for leading the risk management strategy, risk management framework, compliance, and risk management culture across the business. She has over 20 years’ experience in banking and financial services. Angela specialises in risk management, governance, regulation, operational excellence, and strategic transformation.

Anushri is a Senior Economist with the Mastercard Economics Institute, responsible for research and client engagements within Asia Pacific. She works with key stakeholders to drive thought leadership, unique measures, and insights, and delivers them to clients and to senior leadership. Anushri has nearly 20 years’ experience in financial markets, consulting, and academia.

Barbara is the Principal Research Scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management in the Center for Information Systems Research (CISR) and leads the MIT CISR Data Research Advisory Board. Barbara is a leading academic scholar, publishing in journals and regularly presents her work to academic and business audiences around the world.

Brendan is Australia’s Ambassador for Cyber Affairs and Critical Technology. He leads Australia’s international engagement on cyber affairs and critical technology issues, while delivering cyber capacity building, crisis response and building resilience across our region. Brendan also served as the First Assistant Secretary for Digital and Technology Security Policy in Home Affairs.

Cameron won Gold in the 50m Freestyle at the Paris 2024 Olympics, cementing his place as fastest swimmer in the world! After the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he ‘turned the tables’, with his self-developed revolutionary training regime, debunking traditional swimming training principles by spending less time in the pool, to focus on strength & resistance training. Dubbed ‘The Professor’ outside of the pool, due to his Bachelor of Science, majoring in Physics and Mathematics.

Charlotte is an Organisational Psychologist and the Head of Growth at Inventium. She has worked with organisations in Asia, the United States and Australia, helping them shape their organisation-wide innovation programs and supporting leaders to create great places to work. Charlotte has written about innovation, the future of work and organisational psychology.

Chris is a Partner at KPMG and works with a variety of APRA and ASIC regulated financial service clients. He has over 24 years’ experience working with financial institutions in Australia, Asia and Europe focusing on banking, payments, wealth, and insurance. Chris previously held senior roles at CBA, AIA and Westpac Group covering internal audit, strategy, integration, and transformation.

Dom is an experienced senior executive, successful entrepreneur, and international speaker, researcher, and writer with nearly 20 years’ experience helping leaders ‘do’ change in the face of external disruption. He sold two successful businesses and spent over five years as a Partner at EY. Dom has authored best-sellers on strategy, leadership, purpose, disruption, and behaviour change.

Edle is a Client Partner at Mantel Group focused on AI and emerging technologies in financial services. She is a seasoned business consultant with 25 years of experience working with companies to transform their business and operating model, and position them to act on industry evolutions, innovative and technology trends, and company strategic changes.

Evan is the Chief Information Officer of Cuscal, responsible for the information technology (IT) and practice delivery functions. He has over 20 years’ experience in IT services delivery in financial services and service provider organisations. Evan has previously worked for Fuji Xerox Australia, Suncorp, and Promina Group.

Kausar is the Global Head of Payment Systems Intelligence at Visa. She is a cybersecurity and fraud leader with a strong background in data analytics and has earned her CISSP and CISA certifications. Kausar has successfully developed and led a variety of programs including Cyber Fraud Intelligence, Insider Threat, Fraud Prevention, Internal Audit, and Data Strategy programs.

Lee is the founder and CEO of aKin and a global expert in artificial intelligence (AI). She has over 20 years’ experience, with a proven track record as a pioneer and CEO in the field. Lee was the CEO and co-founder of Cognea, an AI platform that deployed advanced AI analytics and virtual agents across complex domains like finance, health, and technology.

Lynne is the Executive Director Banking and Financial Services within NSW Treasury and oversees the reform of Banking and Payments across NSW Government to deliver simpler, faster, and safer payment options. She has over 25 years’ experience in the Australian banking sector. Lynne has held senior positions at Westpac and CBA in finance, payments, and transformation.

Marc is the Expert Partner of Bain & Company, Sydney and leads Australia’s Advanced Analytics Practice. He works with clients across all industries, in North America, Africa and Asia Pacific. Marc advises clients on Data Strategy and Governance, delivering analytics-led use cases and building client capabilities to benefit from analytics solutions delivered and sustained at scale.

Michael is the Chief Client Officer of Cuscal, responsible for overseeing the client and growth functions. He has over 30 years’ experience in banking and financial services globally across Australia, Asia, North America, UK, Europe, and South Africa. Michael brings expertise spanning strategy and execution, operations, growth, sales, and client management.

Monica is the Manager Strategy & Commercial Partnerships, Group Payments at Qantas. She leads the payment strategy for the Qantas Group and played a key role in establishing Australia’s domestic debit scheme. Monica is known for her expertise in payment innovation, seamless integration, digital identity advancement, and the ethical considerations surrounding technology deployment.

Nathan is Cuscal’s Domain Lead for Payments. With over 25 years of leadership experience in the payments industry, Nathan has been instrumental in driving innovation and shaping the development of real-time payment systems. At Cuscal, he oversees the creation and implementation of cutting-edge payment products, ensuring they meet the evolving needs of our clients.

Stela is the Director of Australia’s NAIC at the Department of Industry, Science and Resources. She aims to accelerate positive artificial intelligence adoption and innovation that benefits business and community. Stela has led business model transformations to capture new revenue opportunities and build competitive advantage with emerging technologies e.g. Cloud and AI.

Tom is Azupay’s Chief Product Officer, who is passionate about leading great teams to develop great products. He has more than 10 years’ experience scaling & optimising payments businesses globally. Tom has also held strategy roles with Macquarie Group and PA Consulting. His achievements include launching OFX in North America and creating Flywire’s new APAC commercial team.

Tracy is an author, keynote speaker and senior marketing executive with exposure to global tech brands. In 2019, Tracy became known as Hamish McLaren’s famous ‘last victim’ due to her role in The Australian’s podcast, Who the Hell is Hamish? Tracy writes and speaks publicly about intimate fraud, scams, financial empowerment, victim mindsets, resilience, rebuilding, and trust.