Emcee & Entertainment Act
Brett Lee
Australian Cricketing Legend
Brett Lee is a former Australian international cricketer and fast bowler, who played and became a cult legend in all three formats of the game of cricket. He is widely regarded as one of the fastest bowlers in the history of the game maxing out with a top speed of 161.1 kmph.
Brett made his international debut for Australia in December 1999 and quickly established himself on the world scene. Known for his blistering pace, aggression, and ability to generate extreme bounce, he struck fear into the hearts of batsmen around the world.
With his smooth run-up, explosive action, and ability to consistently bowl above 150 km/h, Brett was a formidable presence on the cricket field.
Throughout his career, Brett played 76 Test matches, taking 310 test wickets at an average of 30.81. In One Day Internationals, he claimed 380 wickets in 221 matches at an average of 23.36, equal most wickets for Australia along with Glenn McGrath.
After retiring from international cricket in 2012, Brett transitioned into the world of cricket broadcasting and commentary whilst continuing his domestic Big Bash career right up until 2015.
His deep understanding of the game, coupled with his engaging personality, made him a natural fit for this role. He continues to serve as a commentator for Fox Sports in Australia and Viacom 18 in India.
In India, Brett’s popularity soared as he embraced the culture by learning Hindi and connected with the fans on a personal level. His love for Bollywood endeared him to the Indian audience, making him a beloved figure in the cricket-crazy nation. This popularity led to numerous brand endorsements and appearances in Australian & Indian films.
Brett’s ability to connect the world of sport to business can be attributed to his strong
relationships with the subcontinent. He was once invited on a business delegation trip to India with then Prime Minister, the Honourable Tony Abbott, where the PM was quoted saying “I didn’t understand the power of cricket until I came to India with Brett Lee”.
Brett has been actively involved in promoting cricket in India and has worked closely with various organizations to foster collaborations and partnerships. His charisma, combined with his business acumen, has enabled him to create a significant impact in the sports industry, particularly in the Indian subcontinent.
Meg Lanning
Former Captain, Australian Women’s Test, ODI & T20 teams
Former captain of the Australian Women’s Test, ODI and T20 teams Meg Lanning boasts an incredible domestic and international record.
Meg made her T20 International debut on 30 December 2010 against New Zealand. She then made her One-Day International (ODI) debut on 5 January 2011 against England at the WACA Ground. Two days later, in just her 2nd international game, she scored her maiden ODI century against England, making 103 not out off 148 balls. In doing so, at 18 years and 288 days she became the country’s youngest ever centurion and youngest ever Australian cricket captain – male or female. Meg also holds the records for the fastest 50 and fastest 100 in an ODI by an Australian female cricketer, breaking the record in December 2012 scoring a century off just 45 balls.
Meg has also won the Belinda Clarke Medal twice – the prize for Australia’s top International Women’s cricketer.
Meg was #1 ranked batter in the world in the ODI and T-20 formats until she was forced to have surgery on a shoulder injury, that kept her out of the 2017/18 Ashes Series.
Meg captained the Southern Stars to an incredible Ashes Series win in the UK in August 2015 – this is the first time the feat has been achieved since 2001. She repeated the feat in 2019, where Australia dominated the series winning 12-4 on the points system. During the series, she set a world record highest score in a T20I, smashing 133 not out off just 63 balls at Chelmsford.
Meg has led the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars to three successive ICC World T20 titles and achieved the feat again in November, 2018, defeating England in the World Cup final. Then in March 2020, after carrying the weight of a home nation on her shoulders for 2 years, Meg led the Aussies to yet another brilliant World Cup victory at the MCG, in front of 86,000 spectators.
She played over 200 matches for Australia and scored 15 x ODI centuries at an average of over 50, plus 2 x T20I centuries. She scored 93 in the 2022 Ashes Test to record her highest score in the Test format.
In April, 2022 Meg captained Australia to victory in the ICC ODI World Cup in NZ – her 4th world cup title as captain. She was also the 5th highest run scorer in the tournament with 394 runs including a majestic 135 v South Africa.
In June 2022, Meg was acknowledged in the annual Queen’s Birthday Honours List and awarded Member of the General Division (AM) for significant service to women’s cricket at the elite level.
In 2023, she captained Australia to a record 5th ICC World Cup title, defeating South Africa in the T20 final in India.
Meg is captain of the Delhi Capitals in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) in India and is consistently amongst the leading run scorers.
In November, 2023 Meg announced her retirement from international cricket, marking the end of an astonishing career spanning 13 years representing Australia, including a decade as captain.
Meg continues to play domestic cricket in the WBBL and also with Delhi Capitals in the WPL.
Mark Bouris
CEO & Founder Yellow Brick Road, Host of the Apprentice
Mark Bouris is an Australian entrepreneur who has been innovating for years, challenging the business landscape with disruptive models that help Australians succeed. Having built his reputation as a finance specialist taking on Australia’s banks, his unique brand of charisma & curiosity sees his influence cut across multiple worlds. From businesses large and small, to politics and sport, Mark pays forward his knowledge and experience, to help grow and nurture the next generation of Australian success stories.
Best known as the founder of ‘Wizard Home Loans’, Australia’s second largest non-bank mortgage lender, which he sold to General Electric in 2004. Mark is now the Executive Chairman of Yellow Brick Road, where he continues his mission to help Australians access their dream homes.
Appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2015 for his significant service to the finance industry, his sharp financial commentary and trademark “tell it straight” attitude resonates with everyday Australians and led to his foray into television. The former host of the Nine Network’s The Apprentice and Celebrity Apprentice, as well as The Mentor on the Seven Network, Mark’s time on Australian screens cemented his place as a trusted voice in finance and business.
Making use of his media platform and decades of experience in business, Mark is committed to sharing the insights and knowledge of Australia’s leading business minds through the Mentored Platform, which helps small business owners and entrepreneurs come together, grow, and succeed. His 2019 three-city speaking tour brought together more than 9,000 small business owners and entrepreneurs keen to hear his advice.
He pays forward his knowledge and that of others to Australian entrepreneurs through his podcasts, The Mentor and Straight Talk, original series, Survive & Thrive, and his books, What It Takes and Rise.
Away from business, Mark sits on the board of the Sydney Roosters, and looks forward to the Roosters lifting the premiership trophy next season
Dylan Alcott
2022 Australian of the Year, Paralympic Gold Medalist & 23-time Grand Slam Champion
2022 Australian of the Year, Dylan Alcott AO, is one of Australia’s most successful and well recognised Paralympians, media personalities and disability advocates. In 2021 he became the only male in any form of tennis to win the 'Golden Slam', winning the Australian, French, Wimbledon and US Open Championships, and he is a Paralympic Gold Medallist in two different sports. He is a 23-time Grand Slam champion.
Since retiring from professional tennis Dylan has not slowed down in any way and his drive is stronger than ever when it comes to his purpose and mission: to change perceptions so people with disability can live the lives they deserve to live.
In 2017, Dylan launched the Dylan Alcott Foundation, providing grants, scholarships and mentoring to young Australians with disability to eliminate the barriers of entry to get involved in sports, study, training, employment and business ownership. In the same year, he co-founded consultancy firm Get Skilled Access with a purpose to create a new generation of disability inclusion that is equitable for all. More recently he co - founded and launched The Field Jobs – a dedicated platform to establish pathways between job seekers with a Disability and employers of all types in the marketplace as well as The Shift 20 Initiative - an education awareness and awareness campaign aimed at achieving increased representation in mainstream advertising and marketing.
Dylan was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2022 for distinguished service to Paralympic sport, particularly to tennis, and as a role model for people with disability, and to the community through a range of organisations.
A 23-time Grand Slam Quad Wheelchair Tennis Champion, he made history in 2021 as the first male tennis player to achieve the ‘Golden Slam’ by winning all four Grand Slams and the Paralympic Gold Medal in a single calendar year. Alcott has also won four Paralympic Gold Medals and two Silver Medals across wheelchair tennis and basketball. Beyond sports, he co-hosts the ListenABLE podcast, authored the biography ‘Able’, and has acted in various roles, including in “BUMP” and as the narrator for the 2024 Sydney run of the Rocky Horror Show. He hosted the Nine Network’s coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games and won the 2019 Logie Award for Best New Talent. Alcott’s achievements are further immortalized with a Madame Tussauds wax figure, and he was honored with the 2016 Newcombe Medal, the highest accolade in Australian tennis.
Craig Tiley
CEO, Tennis AustraliaTiley
Craig is recognized as one of Australia’s most innovative and forward-thinking chief executives. His charismatic and passionate nature, together with his business acumen, has leveraged him to the forefront of sports administration and the leader behind Australia’s largest and most successful international sporting event.
He has been the driving force behind the growth of the Australian Open into a truly global brand and one of the biggest sporting events in the world.
Craig’s incredible relationship with the players has long been a key to the success of the Australian Open right from when he was appointed Tournament Director for his first event in 2006. He was later appointed CEO of Tennis Australia in 2013.
In that time, he has led unprecedented growth in the event’s global awareness and audience, revenue, player compensation, facilities and on-site activities for fans. As a result, the Australian Open has continually broken attendance records and attracted more than 814,000 people from around Melbourne, Victoria and across the globe in 2020 alone.
The event reaches a global audience of more than one billion households. His relationship with the players and relentless focus on improvement and innovation has transformed the Australian Open into one of the players’ and Australia’s favorite sport and entertainment event.
More recently the Australian Open was the first Grand Slam tennis event (and first truly global sporting event) to be held safely and successfully in 2021 (amid Covid) as well as at the height of the omicron strain in 2022. These incredible logistical exercises involved transporting more than 1000 people (including more than 500 players) across the globe to Australia to compete.
Despite some enormous obstacles, AO 2021 and 2022 were hailed massive successes (especially by the players) and generated more than $405.3 million in economic benefit to the state of Victoria at a time when it was most needed.
Craig has also led the introduction of successful initiatives to shift the historical decline in tennis participation including the rollout of digital platforms, which has increased access to courts by over 350%. He has led the diversification of Tennis Australia with the creation of a global production unit, development of music and food partnerships, the launch of a venture capital fund and a successful incubator partnership. He also serves as the Chair of the Coalition of Major Professional and Participation Sports (COMPPS) in Australia and is on the Board of Safety Culture and Rising (Melbourne’s International Arts Festival). Prior to joining Tennis Australia, Craig was Director of Tennis at the University of Illinois, where he led the fastest tennis program turnaround in US collegiate history, breaking a 100-year-old record for most consecutive wins.
He twice earned the US National Coach of the Year award, which was presented by the President of the US at the White House, coached several top ten professional players and captained the South African Davis Cup team. His achievements have further been recognized by being elected to the College Tennis Hall of Fame (2010) and Illinois Athletic Hall of Fame (2017).
Craig holds academic degrees in kinesiology, economics and business, has produced two best-selling tennis videos, been a Lieutenant in the Army where he was the sixth ever recipient of South African Army merit award and has served as a keynote speaker and leadership consultant.
Toby Walsh
Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence, University of New South Wales & CSIRO's Data61
Toby Walsh is Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of New South Wales and CSIRO's Data61. He has a B.A. from the University of Cambridge and a M.Sc. and Ph.D. degree from the University of Edinburgh. He was named by the Australian newspaper as one of the "rock stars" of Australia's digital revolution.
Professor Walsh is a strong advocate for limits to ensure AI is used to improve our lives. He has, for example, been a leading voice in the discussion about killer robots, speaking at the UN, and to heads of state, parliamentary bodies, company boards and many other bodies on this topic.
He has been elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. He is the winner of the prestigious Celestino Eureka Prize for Promoting Understanding of Science and was named on the international "Who's Who in AI" list of influencers. His twitter account was voted in the top ten to follow to keep abreast of developments in AI. He has won both the Humboldt Prize and the NSW Premier's Prize for Excellence in Engineering and ICT.
He has given talks at public and trade events like CeBIT, the World Knowledge Forum, TEDx, New Scientist Live and writers festivals in Adelaide, Bendigo, Bhutan, Brisbane, Canberra, Geelong, Jaipur, Margaret River, Melbourne, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Sydney and elsewhere. He appears regularly on TV and radio, has been profiled by the New York Times and has authored four books on AI for a general audience, the most recent ones entitled "Faking It: Artificial Intelligence in a Human World" and "Machines Behaving Badly”.
Kim Krogh Andersen
Group Executive, Product & Technology, Telstra
Kim Krogh Andersen joined Telstra in January 2020 as Group Executive, Product & Technology.
In this role, Kim leads Telstra's Product & Technology function, which is responsible for creating and delivering products and solutions that customers across all segments value and that drive profitable growth for Telstra. He has accountability for Telstra's product strategy, lifecycle and P&L, as well as technology and innovation where products are incubated and brought to scale. As of December 2022, Kim is also accountable for Telstra's IT and Data & AI functions and accelerating the organisation's digital leadership as part of its T25 growth strategy.
Before joining Telstra, Kim was Senior Vice President, Head of Global Technology Strategy with the Telenor Group, a leading telecommunications company with operations across Scandinavia and Asia. He had responsibility for defining global technology roadmaps as well as leading Telenor's Global 5G Execution Program as it prepared for the launch of 5G across all of Telenor's markets.
Prior to this role, Kim held a very broad range of roles with Telenor including Director Customer Services Denmark with end-to-end responsibility for customer service and Chief Marketing Officer for Telenor Global Services with responsibility for product development and management.
Prior to joining Telenor in 2008, Kim served as an officer in the Danish Army for 13 years.
Kim is a father of three and is living in the beautiful city of Sydney with his wife and children.
Andrew Groth
EVP, Region Head – Asia Pacific, Industry Head – Financial Services, Infosys
Andrew is the Region Head for Infosys Asia Pacific and as an Industry Head, he is also part of the Global Financial Services Executive Leadership team. In addition, Andrew serves on the Boards of Infosys Compaz and Infosys Portland.
Having lived and worked across Europe, Asia Pacific and the United States, Andrew has rich strategic experience with many of the largest organisations in the world – including major financial institutions.
Andrew is a Senior Associate of the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance, a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management.
Sumit Virmani
EVP & CMO, Infosys
Sumit heads marketing at Infosys and is responsible for realizing Infosys’ brand ambitions globally. A transformative marketing leader, Sumit has significant experience shaping the brand narrative and experience across geographies. He joined Infosys in 2004 and has since held multiple strategic positions including head of Infosys products & platforms marketing as well as the global head of corporate marketing. He champions marketing effectiveness and enjoys the challenge of building strong connects between marketing metrics and business outcomes. Sumit comes with over 20 years of experience in international marketing. Prior to joining Infosys, he has worked with Polaris Software and the Tata Group where he acquired his specialist skills in brand development, marketing communications and demand generation. Forbes has ranked Sumit among the top 50 most influential CMOs in 2023. He is on the steering committees of The Drum, International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences and the Association of National Advertisers. Sumit is also Trustee, Infosys Foundation and serves on the Board of WongDoody – Infosys’ experience design company.
Raja Shah
EVP - Global Markets, Infosys
Raja Shah, Executive Vice President and Industry Head at Infosys, is an accomplished business leader. He has over 27 years of diverse experience and consistent track record of scaling trusted client relationships and building high-performing teams. He leads the CMT & SURE sectors (Technology, Media, Energy, Utilities, Communications, and Services) across global markets, helping clients leverage Infosys' vast expertise to drive innovation and growth. At Infosys, Raja has been instrumental in transforming the company into a trusted advisor and strategic partner, and helped secured numerous industry awards and Industry first for its clients.
As a senior leader for global markets, Raja also serves on the Board of Directors for Infosys Malaysia and Infosys Thailand along with leadership council for Asia Pacific and Middle east. A strong advocate for Diversity and Inclusion, he actively promotes an inclusive workplace culture within Infosys.
Raja holds a Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering. He has also completed the Global leadership programs at Stanford university and Harvard Business School. Based in Melbourne, he enjoys spending time with his family, watching live cricket, and playing the sport in his spare time.
Rafee Tarafdar
EVP & CTO, Infosys
Rafee is Infosys’s Chief Technology Officer. He is responsible for the technology vision and strategy, sensing & scaling emerging technologies, advising and partnering with clients to help them succeed in their transformation journey and building high technology talent density. He also leads the technology strategy for all the platforms.
At Infosys, he founded and scaled from zero, a new business capability unit - Strategic Technology Group. It’s a 3000+ global team of passionate technology leaders, full stack architects and power programmers working on the most complex and advanced digital, cloud and AI programs for G2000 enterprise clients of Infosys and Infosys platforms.
Under the visionary leadership of Nandan Nilekani (co-founder and chairman of Infosys), he led Infosys’s own transformation to be a digital native and become a Live Enterprise. He is now helping Infosys leapfrog to be an AI First company with a goal of amplifying human potential, unlocking value and creating exponential impact. Rafee has led and rolled out complex, population scale (100M+ users), resilient digital platforms and has led several large scale & complex transformation programs. He is the co-author of “The Live Enterprise” book, co-author of a HBR paper on “Micro changes for Large Scale Transformation” and presented and published several technology papers. He is recognized as a top 50 technology leader in Forbes CIO Next List 2023.
Melissa Doyle
Master of Ceremony
An accomplished and awarded journalist with nearly 30 years experience, Melissa is one of the best-known and trusted voices and faces in Australian media.
A graduate of Charles Sturt University with a degree in Broadcast Journalism, Melissa began her career as a television news reporter and weather presenter at WIN TV Canberra in 1990. Three years later she moved to Prime TV in Canberra as a reporter and co-host of the evening news. In 1995, Melissa joined the Seven Network in the Canberra bureau at Parliament House before moving to the Sydney newsroom.
Melissa joined Sunrise in 1997 and co-hosted Australia’s favourite breakfast program until August 2013, taking it from humble beginnings to Number One.
During that time Melissa covered such significant events as the Beaconsfield mine disaster, the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, Olympic Games in Sydney, Athens, Beijing and London, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the Queensland floods, Victoria’s Black Saturday bushfires, multiple federal and state elections, the Inauguration of Barack Obama and the election of Pope Francis.
She interviewed stars such as Tom Cruise, Justin Bieber, Robin Williams, Jane Fonda and Katy Perry.
Melissa rejoined the Seven Network’s news team in 2013 and anchored the network’s live rolling coverage of historical moments such as the birth of Prince George, the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the release of Schapelle Corby from prison in Bali, the centenary of ANZAC commemorations in Gallipoli and the Lindt Café Siege in Sydney.
Melissa and the Seven News team were recognised with a Walkley Award ,a Logie and three international Edward R. Murrow Awards for their coverage of the siege.
Melissa went on to be host and senior correspondent of the Seven Network’s flagship news and public affairs program, Sunday Night, covering a wide range of stories, from internationally exclusive interviews with James Hewitt, Princess Diana’s former lover and Rebel Wilson, to stories on PTSD and the Jonestown massacre.
Melissa is also the weekend breakfast host for radio station Smooth FM. In 2014, she won the Australian Commercial Radio award (ACRA) for Best Newcomer (Metro) and in 2018 Best Music presenter (metro).
In the 2016 Australia Day Honours List Melissa was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her "significant service to the community through representational roles with a range of charitable groups, and to the broadcast media."
Melissa has written two books, “The Working Mothers Survival Guide” and her best selling memoir “Alphabet Soup.”
Off screen, Melissa is a wife and proud mother of two teenagers Nick and Talia.
She passionately supports many charities. She is National Patron for the Make A Wish Foundation and an Ambassador for The Alannah and Madeline Foundation, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, World Vision, Children’s Cancer Institute, Adopt Change, Legacy and the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
She is the Number One Ticket holder for the GWS Giants (AFL) and serves on the club board.
A multiple Silver Logie nominee as Most Popular Television Presenter, Melissa was voted one of the "most real celebrity mums" and regularly polls in the Top 50 of Reader's Digests annual list of Most Trusted Australians.
Dom Chambers
Award-winning Magician & Comedian
Dom Chambers is a talented, entertaining and an internationally award-winning magician and comedian.
Well known for his modern take on magic, his viral internet videos, artistic live performances and welldeserved place as a semi-finalist on America’s Got Talent. Howie Mandel described him as “The Steve Jobs of Magic”, Simon Cowell as a “Genius”.
Dom’s internet videos have been viewed over 100 million times and his magic has appeared on many of America’s and Australia’s major TV networks.
Dom was the first Australian based magician to appear on the hit international TV series, ‘Penn & Teller: Fool Us!’, and the first and only Australian solo act to make the semi-finals of America’s Got Talent.
Dom’s critically acclaimed one-man show ‘RanDom’ was awarded the prestigious award for “Best Magic Show”, at the Adelaide Fringe in 2019.
Charming and approachable, Dom puts on a show is like none other.
