MFA EX 2025 Speaker Lineup

AI WITHOUT LOSING OUR MAGIC

Lucinda Barlow, Head of International Marketing, Uber

Lucinda Barlow is Head of International Marketing at Uber across 60+ countries. Known for award-winning campaigns like Get Almost Almost Anything and When You’ve Done Enough, she now turns her focus to the generational shift reshaping every business: AI.

In this keynote, Lucinda explores the exhilarating promise and hidden traps of AI for marketers. Drawing on pilots across Uber’s global team and industry peers, she shares how to wield AI to drive imagination and productivity without falling into traps of mediocrity. From AI-enabled personalisation, efficiency and product innovation, Lucinda makes the case that while AI is the whirlwind, it’s up to us to chart the course, and protect the magic.


Dare to recharge: Strategies to thrive, not just survive

MFA EX MELBOURNE

Olly Bridge, Health and Performance Expert

In elite sport, peak performance isn't about doing more – it's about doing the right things at the right time, and recovering like it's your job. The same should be true for today’s high-performing corporate athletes. In this high-energy session, Olly Bridge will demonstrate how to manage your internal battery, not just your calendar, so you can get more done, stay sharp under pressure and still have something left at the end of the day for the people who matter most… your inner circle.

Dare to Disconnect: is Dopamine Addiction Killing our Best Ideas?

Peita Pacey, Chief Strategy & Behaviour Change Officer, Hearts & Science
Liz Wigmore, National Managing Director, Hearts & Science

Our industry is addicted to being always on – every ping, post and push notification feeding a dopamine loop that hijacks our attention and stifles creativity. In this session, Peita and Liz will reveal how our hyper-connected habits are rewiring our brains for reactivity over originality – and explore how to strategically disconnect and reclaim deep focus.

Through the lens of behavioural science, they’ll dive into ways to redesign our industry to give our brains the space to make connections that algorithms never could.

Closing the Gender AI Gap: The world has a gender equality problem and artificial intelligence is making it worse

David Bielenberg, National Head of Strategy, PHD
Gemma Dawkins, National Head of Digital, PHD
Louise Cummins, Award-Winning CMO, Strategist, Reinvention & Resilience Advocate

AI is shaping our future – but it’s repeating the mistakes of the past. From crash-test dummies to voice assistants, tech has long been designed for men. Now, gender bias is being hardwired into AI systems, threatening progress in equality. This eye-opening session blends stats, stories and expert insight to expose the problem – and ignite action. Attendees will leave empowered to challenge the status quo and push for gender-inclusive design in media and tech.

 

The Tension of Attention

James Rawlings, Group Head of Strategy, OMD
Dr Karen Nelson Field, Founder, Amplified Intelligence
David Gray, Dramaturg & Story Strategist, Small Planet Studios

We’ve built an industry around chasing shrinking attention spans – but what if the problem isn’t the audience, it’s us? This session challenges the myth of micro-attention, showing people invest time when content earns it. From Taylor Swift’s 10-minute hit to long-form TikToks, the evidence is clear: it’s not about brevity, but value. Through data, debate, and insight, the speakers will reframe the attention question – and explore what it really takes to earn meaningful engagement.

 

Can neurodivergent thinking make us all better at our jobs?

Rob Frost

Media is a fast-paced business. We reward people who move quickly, juggle tasks, think laterally and thrive under pressure. But what if we’ve been overlooking some of the most naturally wired minds for this kind of work? In this thought-provoking session, Rob Frost – who is both autistic and has ADHD – will explore what neurodivergent minds can teach us about working smarter, planning better and thinking in new ways. You’ll walk away with  a ​​practical toolkit of five powerful, neurodivergent-inspired strategies to transform the way you work.

The Case of the Missing Millions

Katy Eng, National Head of Diverse, OMG
Elena Giannini, Business Director, Avenue C
Luisa Dalli, Strategy Director, Havas Media

Australia is diverse – but our media still isn’t. This powerful session brings together four changemakers to unpack why true inclusion remains so elusive and what it really takes to shift the dial. From working with Roy Morgan to evolve how we measure audiences to crafting inclusive campaigns, you’ll gain practical tools and real-life advice for driving meaningful change. With a live audience exercise, you’ll map out your own change agenda – and leave empowered to create media solutions that reflect all Australians.

 

The Stories We Tell Ourselves

MFA EX SYDNEY

Paul Watkins

In this high-energy session, adventurer Paul Watkins shares hard-won insights, practical tools and jaw-dropping tales from a career spanning all seven continents. Discover how to live life as a verb not a noun, and build confidence through curiosity and the doing of hard things. You will leave not with a forgettable checklist, but with big, challenging questions that could change the way you live and lead.

 

Agents of Change

Mitch Long, Chief Strategy Officer, Havas Media

AI agents are already rewriting how we work, but who will lead the change? Us, or them? Agents of Change is a fast-paced, no-holds-barred session co-hosted by the Oracle of Adland, an AI built on industry knowledge with a sharp personality, ready to roast our most outdated behaviours and deliver prophecies for what’s coming in 2030. Blending storytelling, live audience engagement and AI-powered performance, the session confronts the question of who the real agents of change will be – revealing how we can seize the future, before it seizes us.

The Media Taskforce of the Future

Katie Rigg-Smith, Consultant: Strategic Foresight

What will our industry look and feel like in five years' time? 
The MFA has commissioned The Media Workforce of the Future to answer exactly that. At its heart is a bold exploration of the skills we'll need to thrive, the habits we must unlearn, and the opportunities that come in this rapidly evolving landscape. Katie Rigg-Smith will unpack the key disruptors shaping our industry, what they mean for us, and the capabilities we must build to not just adapt, but to lean into change and lead with confidence.  She’ll be joined on stage by MFA Board members Imogen Hewitt and chair Mark Coad to discuss what this future means for individuals and agencies right now - and how, together, we can shape the direction for the future of media - because We Are The Changers.

Building Strength by Combating Shame

Jason Tonelli, CEO, Zenith
Jessica Howse, Head of People & Culture, Publicis Groupe

Synopsis: Jason Tonelli and Jessica Howse explore the hidden impact of shame in media and advertising. From career setbacks to high-pressure pitches, they reveal how empathy, psychological safety, and authentic connection transform workplaces. By confronting shame openly, businesses can unlock creativity, foster collaboration, and build cultures where bold ideas—and people—truly thrive.

Work that Dares to Change

David Dalgarno, Group Strategy Director, Spark Foundry
Matt Risdale, Group Client Director, EssenceMediacom
Darshan Pawani, Digital Performance Manager, Starcom
Xue-Ying Chen, Market Lead - Product Enablement Choreograph, WPP Media

The Work that Dares to Change

MFA EX SYDNEY

Chris Colter, Managing Director, Media Strategy ANZ, Accenture Song
Emma Greenhalgh, National Head of Communications Design, Initiative
Catherine Rushton, Chief Strategy Officer, This is Flow
Sophie Gallagher, Strategy Director, Clemenger BBDO

Search Everywhere: Are we getting smarter or just lazier?

Eloise Russell, Group Experience Director, Mindshare

As generative AI makes answers instant, are we getting smarter – or just more reliant? Eloise will explore the rise of AI-powered search and a curious side effect: intelligence hallucination. From digital amnesia to inflated self-confidence, she will unpack how search affects memory, creativity, and decision-making – and what we can do about it.

INSPIRATION X Melbourne

Seriously. Shut Up!

Sam Bessell, Strategy Director, Atomic 212°
Jan Janas, Senior Strategist, Atomic 212°

Most people don’t listen with the intent to understand, but the intent to reply. In an industry awash with constant disruption, our ability to truly hear each other is more compromised than ever. In this session, Sam and Jan will reveal how poor listening derails productivity, damages client relationships, and limits career growth – before arming the audience with practical, proven techniques to help them become better listeners and transform the way they work.

INSPIRATION X Melbourne

Data & Dragons

Florence Gleeson-Cook, Business Manager, Slingshot Media

Romantasy flipped the fantasy genre – and the publishing industry – on its head. Not just creatively, but commercially. It succeeded by challenging assumptions and following the data. For media planners and buyers, it’s a wake-up call: perception skews strategy, but data reveals opportunity. From Gen Z homeownership to Sydney’s real spending power, Florence will explore the blind spots we overlook and how data can set us straight.

INSPIRATION X Sydney

We sell culture in our plans. So why aren’t we better at creating it?

Caitlin Watters, Creative Connections Manager, UM

Culture isn’t a vibe, it’s a strategy. Yet rising burnout and high churn rates show we’re often missing the mark. Caitlin will guide the audience through building a practical culture roadmap in real time – to help us stop freestyling culture and start designing it with intention. Because when culture works, people stick around

INSPIRATION X Sydney

Not all catfish live in rivers. Some live in your dashboards

Amartya Majumdar, Media Effectiveness Manager, iProspect

In media, we love numbers. But without context, metrics like CTRs, completion rates and ROI can catfish us – sounding impressive while hiding the truth. Amartya will reveal how our industry can stop being fooled by surface-level stats and start fishing smarter – by choosing the right data, not just more data.

INSPIRATION X Sydney

MFA EX MC

Chloe Hooper, Founder, Bare Feat & Course Facilitator, The Limitless Equation