Marketing in the Age of Machines: Reaching consumers via AI and algorithms

Join us for the Monash Marketing Dialogue — our flagship thought leadership series on the future of marketing practice and education. This free, public-facing panel event brings together industry leaders to unpack the most pressing questions shaping marketing and marketing education today.

In 2025, we turn our focus to how marketing operates in a world increasingly shaped by machines. The customer journey is no longer a straight line — and marketers aren’t just speaking to people anymore. From recommendation engines to AI agents, machines now mediate and influence consumer decisions in complex and evolving ways.

Our expert panel will explore how marketers can design strategies that reach both human and machine audiences — and what this means for preparing students and graduates to navigate a machine-mediated marketplace. In particular, we will consider how the responsible use of AI should inform marketing practice and pedagogy alike.

Whether you're a marketing professional, strategist, educator or student, this event offers fresh perspectives and thought-provoking insights at the intersection of technology, strategy and ethics.

SPEAKERS

David Finnegan, Creative Director and Founder, Sense 6

Mr Finnegan founded Sense 6, a future-facing content studio that blends creative AI with world-class video production. Over the past 18 years, he has led teams of editors, designers, and motion graphics artists across Australia and the US. He has built a reputation for delivering strategically sharp, empathic storytelling grounded in both craft and emerging technology.

Mr Finnegan’s work sits at the intersection of empathy, design, and innovation. He uses AI not as a gimmick, but as a practical tool to scale ideas without compromising authenticity. From concept to post, he combines traditional production expertise with generative and assistive AI to create content that’s not just efficient, but exceptional.

As AI continues to reshape the creative industries, Mr Finnegan and Sense 6 are focused on helping marketers and creators navigate the shift, balancing speed with substance, and innovation with integrity.

Elisa Koch, Head of Data and Analytics, the Australian Football League (AFL)

Ms Koch has worked as a data and analytics leader in the US and Australia in industries spanning finance, FMCG, technology, and sport. In her current role, she is providing a Centre of Excellence to the AFL and all 18 clubs .

Ms Koch is passionate about leading businesses to be more data driven at all levels of the business. She is a people-first leader passionate about building high-performing teams built on diverse thinking and the ability to bring our authentic selves to work. She serves as an Advisory Board Member for the Institute of Analytic Professionals Australia and is on the board of Spectrum Migrant Resource Centre.

Matt Kuperholz, AI scientist and advisor

Mr Kuperhoz is an accomplished Artificial Intelligence scientist and advisor with a wealth of experience applying AI to real world client challenges, spanning more than three decades. He has dedicated his career to applying AI to address real-world challenges for clients, driven by a passion for optimising humanity with technology.

Mr Kupehoz has been a Professor of Practice for The Centre for AI and the Future of Work at Deakin University, and was the Chief Data Scientist for PwC Australia (10 years) as well as the Advanced Analytics leader for Deloitte Australia (eight years).

For 20 years Mr Kuperhoz has been pioneering the application of AI in marketing. He has also been focused on the area of Responsible AI for the last eight years, and has pioneered solutions with government and private enterprise for the complex issues associated with AI ethics, performance management and governance both in Australia and internationally.

Throughout his career, he has established himself as an expert thought-leader, sharing his knowledge and insights on AI and its far-reaching impact. His contributions have earned him recognition and accolades, including the highest award from the Analytical Industry Body of Australia's top analytics leader in the first year the prize was awarded.

Antony Ugoni, Chief Data Scientist, HCF Australia

Mr Ugoni is one of Australia’s leading figures in data science and analytics. Starting his career as a lecturer in biostatistics and public health at Monash and the University of Melbourne, he later moved into corporate roles where he built pioneering analytics capabilities. At NAB, he developed Australia’s first fraud detection analytics function, before leading customer analytics. As the first data hire at SEEK, he transformed candidate and hirer data into powerful insights, helping over a million Australians find jobs and keeping SEEK ahead of global competitors. He went on to serve as Chief Data Officer at Bupa and Go1, before becoming Chief Data Scientist at HCF.

Across his career, Mr Ugoni has identified more than $AU100 billion in revenue opportunities, built foundational data science capabilities in leading organisations, and driven innovations that connect people with opportunities. Beyond his executive roles, he chairs the Institute of Analytics Professionals Australia Advisory Board, advises several start-ups, sits on the Melbourne Business School Advisory Board, and has co-authored 70 peer-reviewed papers.

MODERATOR

John Rizzo, founder, Joyous Work

Mr Rizzo believes the extraordinary advancement of human society over the last 250 years owes a great deal to a single catalyst: technologies that allow humans to collaborate at scale.

But the inherited collaboration practices that now define our systems of work no longer help in a modern, connected world. Mr Rizzo believes the next leap in productivity will be the prize for those who change how they collaborate - those who change their system of work to fit the modern world.

His deep understanding of systems of work comes from more than two decades of strategy, customer, marketing, and ventures leadership in major organisations, including ANZ bank and Bupa Asia Pacific, with start-up teams of three to multinational teams of hundreds.

ORGANISER

Department of Marketing, Monash Business School