Amy-Rose Goodey is a prominent leader in Australia’s digital asset and blockchain sector, currently serving as the CEO of the Digital Economy Council of Australia (DECA). With a career spanning technology, policy, and industry advocacy, Amy-Rose has been at the forefront of driving regulatory clarity, fostering industry collaboration, and positioning Australia as a global leader in the digital economy.

Brad Carr is the Executive for Geopolitical Risk at National Australia Bank (NAB), leading the bank’s analysis and engagement on geopolitics and emerging risk themes, and the delivery of solutions to support the resilience of customers and the wider Australian economy.

Brad previously led NAB’s Innovation and Digital Governance functions, and before that was Managing Director of Digital Finance at the Institute of International Finance (IIF) in Washington, leading programs on digital identity, data policy, cloud, artificial intelligence, and digital assets. Brad led the IIF’s advocacy on the Basel III capital reforms, as well as a global review of banks’ credit risk modelling practices. Brad also hosted the IIF’s ‘FRT’ and ‘NAB Digital Next’ podcasts.

His qualifications include a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Western Australia, Masters in Science & Technology Commercialization from the University of Adelaide, Certificate in Futurist Studies from the University of Houston, and he is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is also a Fellow of the Salzburg Global institute.

Diane Smith-Gander AO is a professional company director with an accomplished business career 40 years in the making. She is Chair of Zip Co, Perenti Limited and private health insurer HBF. On 1st January 2025 Diane became the 16th & first female, Chancellor of the University of Western Australia.

Diane enjoyed a successful executive career ending in the C-Suite at Westpac Banking Corporation and with a period as a partner of McKinsey & Company in the United States serving global clients in diverse industries.

A keen advocate for gender equity Diane is past President of Chief Executive Women, Australia’s pre-eminent women’s advocacy group. In 2019 Diane was made an officer in the Order of Australia for services to business, women’s engagement in executive roles, gender equality and the community.

A former representative basketball player, Diane is a past chair of Basketball Australia and Australia's national anti-doping organisation. She now chairs the independent Nominations Committee of the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA). Diane has completed independent reviews of high performance management and governance in sports.

Diane is a regular speaker on business topics including leadership, strategy and gender equity. For a period she hosted a panel show on Sky Business. She also lectures in the MBA program at UWA.

Diane holds an MBA from the University of Sydney and a BEc and Honorary Doctorate of Economics from UWA. A Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Governance Institute of Australia, in 2019 Diane was made an officer in the Order of Australia for services to business, women’s engagement in executive roles, gender equality and the community.

Rhys leads ASIC’s Fintech team within the Markets group. He leads the team overseeing crypto and digital assets firms, including preparing for the Government’s law reform in this area. He is also responsible for ASIC’s broader work on innovation and digital finance.

His previous roles at ASIC include Senior Executive Leader of the Market Supervision team, Credit, Banking and General Insurance team, the Insurers team and the Investment Managers team. Rhys has also held senior leadership roles at ASIC in the areas of international strategy, consumer protection, and strategic policy.

Rhys has more than 25 years experience as a regulator, academic and public policy practitioner. Before joining ASIC, he was an Executive Director at the NSW State Insurance Regulatory Authority, and Assistant Commissioner for Policy and Strategy at NSW Fair Trading. He has also worked in private legal practice. Rhys has a PhD in financial services regulation and Master degrees in both law and business.

Effie is the CEO and Co-Founder of AUDC, the issuer of AUDD — Australia’s Premier Australian dollar-backed stablecoin built for institutional-grade payments, settlement and digital commerce. She leads the strategy and execution of AUDD, positioning it as a trusted, compliant digital representation of the Australian dollar across public blockchains, with a strong emphasis on governance, transparency and real-world use cases.

A seasoned fintech executive, Effie brings deep expertise across payments, alternative rails and blockchain infrastructure. Through AUDD, she is driving the practical adoption of stablecoins in global payments, bridging traditional finance with decentralised networks and shaping the future of digital money.

Jannah advises firms on identifying and capitalising on innovation opportunities, and crafting and executing strategies within highly regulated environments. She is passionate about shaping the financial markets of the future by leveraging frontier technologies to create innovative financial services and products that drive social and environmental impact while expanding access to financial services. Her current focus areas include the evolution of digital asset markets, the development of new forms of digital money, including stablecoins, and sustainable financial systems.
A long-standing contributor to the development of domestic and global financial policy and regulation, Jannah has played a key role in shaping organisations that drive the regulatory agenda for digital assets and digital currencies, both in the UK and globally, with respect to digital money and assets, including the Digital Pound Foundation, Global Digital Finance, the Whitechapel Think Tank and London Blockchain Foundation.

Jason McFarlane is an economic strategist and systems thinker with over 20 years’ experience advancing innovation, sustainability transitions, and regional economic development across Australia. He has advised governments, industry, and communities on initiatives spanning decarbonisation, advanced manufacturing, and strategic investment, with a strong focus on translating emerging technologies into real-world impact.

He is the inaugural Director of the Western Australian GreenTech Innovation Hub, a Western Australian State Government initiative hosted by Curtin University. The Hub accelerates globally relevant greentech solutions by connecting challenge owners with innovators to drive net-zero, nature-positive, and economically diversifying outcomes. Jason brings deep insight into global greentech trends and the practical realities of commercialisation and scale.

Liam Gobbert is a City of Perth Councillor and long‑time advocate for vibrant urban communities. Elected in 2020, he has served as Chair of the Policy Committee and contributed to key regional and state planning bodies. A proud East Perth resident, he focuses on city safety and activation, improved public spaces, and attracting more people to live, work, and create in Perth. Beyond local government, Liam works in rail infrastructure project management, is Vice-President of the Independent Theatre Association of WA, and serves as a Justice of the Peace. He brings experience from a previous term as a City of Joondalup Councillor and Deputy Mayor, along with a long history of community arts and volunteer leadership.

Mat is the Director of the Creative Tech Village (WA Creative Tech Innovation Hub) with the state government to foster collaboration and creative innovation. Over the last 14 years, Mat has focused on the development of the Creative Sectors within the South West with the establishment of the Emergence Creative Festival and the Creative Corner. Mat was integral in the conception and development of festivals such as Strings Attached, Cabin Fever, Margaret River on Tour and the Pinot Picnic. He has worked for 17 years at the South West Development Commission and worked in partnership with Austrade (Australian Trade Commission) since 2005 as the TradeStart Advisor over this period until 2015 when managed the program. Mat has an extensive background in export market development for the wine, food, tourism, creative and innovation sectors. Mat moved to Margaret River after graduating with his Bachelor of Business degree at Edith Cowan University (ECU) in 1995 and in 1996 developed the Margaret River Wine Club. Mat then returned to Perth to study Postgraduate Diploma in Multimedia at ECU and helped his vision become reality of developing a Marketing Agency in Margaret River called CREATIVE JUICES.

Peter Deans is the CEO and Co-Founder of Shelf Labs and an industry-leading strategy and risk management advisor. Peter works with a range of startups, fintechs and established businesses. Peter is a former Chief Risk Officer and retired from executive life in 2019, after a finance career of over 32 years.
 
Peter is also Non-Executive Director of NerdWallet Australia and Trade for Good.
 
Peter is also the creator of the 52 Risks management framework and author of the book released in December 2024, Startup Toolkit: A Step-by-Step Guide for Founders.

Winthrop Professor Fiona Wood University of Western Australia is a Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon specialising in the field of burn care, trauma and scar reconstruction.

Professor Jingbo Wang established and currently leads the Research Centre for Quantum Information, Simulation and Algorithm that fosters collaboration and entrepreneurship, bringing together academics and industrial partners to develop innovative quantum solutions to tackle otherwise intractable problems and complex phenomena. Widely published in prestigious journals like Nature Photonics, Science Advances, Physical Review Letters, Quantum Science and Technology, her contributions have significantly advanced quantum computing and laid the foundation for future breakthroughs.  

Kate is the Head of School for Curtin University School of Electrical Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences (EECMS).

Kate is an expert in scoping and delivering projects of strategic importance to business, government and universities. Kate values building relationships and networks and has a keen eye for connecting interesting people to start conversations that generate new ideas. She is also passionate about STEM and skilling up Australia’s workforce for a digital and sustainable world and has a keen eye for what's on the horizon in terms of new opportunities and challenges.

Kate has PhD in astrophysics and spent the first part of her research career in Chile working for the European Southern Observatory and then the University of Chile before moving to Sydney to accept the CSIRO Bolton Research Fellowship. Kate was elected President of the Astronomical Society of Australia for 2011, 2012 and was awarded the CSIRO Chairman's Medal in 2015 for her contribution to Australia's involvement with the SKA telescope.

Kate's career roles include State Director for the WA Life Sciences Innovation Hub (a collaboration between federal and state governments); Lead Advisor Research for Murdoch University, Innovation Manager for Wesfarmers (WESCEF); and Deputy Head of Operations for CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science. In her most recent role with the Federal Government's Entrepreneurs' Programme, Kate led the design and implementation of a program to helpl 150 businesses across Australia to decarbonise.

Kate also holds a Grad Cert in Innovation & Commercialisation and is a member of several Advisory Boards for universities and not-for-profit organisations. Kate co-founded Green Caffeen, a sustainably coffee cup startup on the eastcoast and was a member of the Board of Directors for StartupWA. Kate has also lectured for Murdoch University's MBA Global program on innovation and commercialisation.

Michael Small is Director of the UWA Data Institute, the CSIRO-UWA Chair of Complex Systems, and, Professor of Applied Mathematics in the School of Physics, Mathematics and Computing at UWA. He is Editor in Chief of the journal Chaos and Main Editor of Physica A. His interest is data driven methods in applied mathematics – particularly in chaotic dynamics, dynamical systems, complex systems and complex networks. His work has many applications and currently funded projects include three ARC Training Centres and Research Hubs in Industrial Maintenance, Oceans, and Transport; several NHMRC projects focussed on Indigenous Mental Health and Wellbeing; and, a Centre of Excellence in Quantum Computation.

Professor Peta Ashworth is the Director of Curtin University’s Institute for Energy Transition. She is a renowned expert in energy, communication, stakeholder engagement, and technology assessment. Professor Ashworth has researched public attitudes towards climate and energy technologies, including wind, carbon capture and storage (CCS), solar photovoltaic, storage, geothermal and hydrogen, for almost two decades.

Driving strategic growth and regulatory clarity within the digital asset sector is the core focus of Steve Vallas, CEO of Blockchain APAC. With a background as a qualified lawyer and management strategist, Steve guides enterprises through the evolving blockchain landscape. His leadership extends to key roles as APAC Policy Advisor for the GBBC and Director at the Association for Women in Cryptocurrency, reflecting a commitment to global industry development.

Steve’s influence extends globally, with a proven track record of shaping policy and fostering robust regulatory frameworks across key international markets. In Australia, he engages with bodies such as ASIC, Treasury and the RBA, while internationally his work has included meetings, roundtables, events and speaking roles in the US, UK, Singapore, Hong Kong and the UAE. This involves direct engagement with leading international authorities and partnerships with diverse global organisations. His deep cross-jurisdictional experience is critical for navigating a rapidly changing global environment.

His unique perspective, cultivated through lifelong economic study and early adoption of emerging technologies, enables him to translate complex blockchain concepts into actionable strategies, ensuring innovation is responsibly integrated into the global economy. Steve remains dedicated to advancing a clear and sustainable future for digital assets.