Am I educated enough in AI to understand how to leverage it?

Is my industry at risk of being disrupted?

How do I upskill? Where do I start?

We are going headfirst into the tough questions, with your chance to ask your own questions of AI and innovation leaders in our local NSW ecosystem. Join expert innovators, founders and investors as we discuss current and future AI solutions and trends coming out of Australia. You’ll meet some of the minds currently driving the industry, hear about how policy and markets are driving innovation, find out what opportunities currently exist in Australia and beyond, and meet potential collaborators.

Our expert panel

Julia French - COO, Harken

Julia has been instrumental in the development and launch of famously successful ventures Atlassian, Dropbox, Whatsapp. After 15 years in Silicon Valley, she has worked with prominent venture capital firms in Australia including AirTree, Founders for Founders and an angel investor. She is now the COO of Harken, and a respected and influential voice in the global startup community.

Elizabeth Henderson - Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills

Elizabeth Henderson is a Partner at Herbert Smith Freehills and co-heads the firm’s Venture Capital practice in Australia. She advises on transactions over the full life cycle of business creation and expansion, including early stage and expansion capital raising, acquisitions for growth, M&A and other liquidity transactions.

Elizabeth provides strategic advice and assistance to founders and their companies who are raising early stage or expansion capital and to investors in venture, growth and other private capital raising. Elizabeth also leads strategy development and implementation in HSF’s Venture Capital practice nationally. She is regarded as one of the leading Venture Capital and start-up lawyers in Australia.

Wayne O'brien: Founder, MySocialAI

Wayne is a digital innovator and veteran with over 20 years in the trinity of advertising, media, and marketing. His work and expertise spans the globe, helping brands and people flourish. As the co-founder of MySocial.ai, he's crafted a platform that turbocharges your personal brand, B2B sales growth and closure rates through professional social media such as LinkedIn. Wayne is a strong advocate of AI and its ability to enhance our workflows, helping to better position individuals and businesses whilst maintaining authenticity.

Lou Conway- Director of Enterprise at UNE

Lou Conway is the Director of Enterprise at University of New England (UNE) where the UNE SMART Region Incubator (UNE SRI) supports over 70 founders who are bringing to market awarding winning solutions for agriculture, environmental services, health and creative industries.

Lou is fueled, just as the region is fueled, by the 'can do' attitude and determination of regional founders. Lou knows how founders have been quick to capture the benefits of AI and technology, with a readiness to improvise and make good, as the lifeblood of regional innovation! Don't forget to check out the Grad Cert in AI Innovation, a world-first educational offering, only at UNE.

Alan Jones - Partner, M8 Ventures

Originally a tech reporter, then a producer for Microsoft’s Sidewalk, Alan Jones rose through the product ranks from Yahoo’s first product hire in Australia to become Product Director, South Asia.

After leaving Yahoo, he became co-founder and product head for HomeScreen Entertainment, backed by the Packer family’s CPH, and later acquired by Quickflix.

Now a startup founder mentor and tech investor, he is a partner with early-stage tech venture fund and syndicate manager M8 Ventures, and the chair of Catalysr, an entrepreneurship program focused on marginalised migrants and refugees. Disagree with him on Twitter at @bigyahu

You will love this if you:

Are curious about AI and what it means for your work and industry
Are a founder in AI, or would like to be
Interested in what these solutions and trends mean for your business and your customers
Want to meet leaders in the AI industry in Australia
Want to develop your own ideas or early stage company in AI

Plus - a guided tour of the Stone & Chalk Sydney Scaleup Hub

Join us after the event to see the inside of one of Sydney's vibrant and connected tech communities with Stone & Chalk.

About Spark Festival

Spark Festival has a mandate to coordinate and promote startup-focused events that spark engagement into and across the startup ecosystem.

Spark Festival 2024 is proudly supported by the City of Sydney, and has been made possible by support from the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, TURO, Cntrl Print, ACS Labs and Harbour City Labs, Herbert Smith Freehills, Stone and Chalk, Atlassian Foundation, Startup Daily, Net Nada and Startup/Angels.

By registering for this event, you grant full rights to use the images from any photography/video footage for publicity and education purposes. This may include (but is not limited to), the right to use them in their printed and online publicity, coursework presentations, social media and press releases. If you do not wish to be photographed, please inform an event organiser.