Keynote Speakers

The Hon. Julia Gillard AC

27th Prime Minister of Australia
Australia

Julia Gillard was sworn in as the 27th Prime Minister of Australia on 24 June 2010 and served in that office until June 2013.

As Prime Minister and in her previous role as Deputy Prime Minister, Ms Gillard was central to the successful management of Australia’s economy, the 13th biggest economy in the world, during the Global Financial Crisis and as Australia positioned to seize the benefits of Asia’s rise. Ms Gillard delivered nation-changing policies including reforming Australian education at every level from early childhood to university, creating an emissions trading scheme, improving the provision and sustainability of health care, aged care and dental care, commencing the nation’s first ever national scheme to care for people with disabilities and restructuring the telecommunications sector as well as building the National Broadband Network.

In foreign policy, Ms Gillard strengthened Australia’s alliance with the United States, secured stronger architecture for the relationship with China, upgraded Australia’s ties with India, and deepened ties with Japan, Indonesia and South Korea. Ms Gillard has represented Australia at the G20, including winning Australia’s right to host the 2014 meeting, the East Asia Summit, APEC, NATO-ISAF, and chaired CHOGM. Under Ms Gillard’s leadership, Australia was elected to serve on the United Nations Security Council. As Prime Minister, Ms Gillard developed Australia’s guiding policy paper, Australia in the Asian Century.

Ms Gillard is the first woman to ever serve as Australia’s Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister. In October 2012, Ms Gillard received worldwide attention for her speech in Parliament on the treatment of women in professional and public life.

In February 2014, Ms Gillard was appointed chair of the Global Partnership for Education, a leading organisation dedicated to expanding access and quality education worldwide. Ms Gillard also serves as Patron of CAMFED, the Campaign for Female Education, which tackles poverty and inequality by supporting girls to go to school and succeed, and empowering young women to step up as leaders of change.

In 2017, Ms Gillard became Chair of Beyond Blue, Australia’s leading mental health awareness body.

In April 2018, Ms Gillard was appointed Inaugural Chair of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College, London. Through research, practice and advocacy, GIWL is addressing women’s under-representation in leadership, and the way gender negatively impacts the valuation of women leaders. A sister institute has been launched at the Australian National University.

In April 2021, Ms Gillard was appointed Chair of Wellcome, a global charitable foundation that supports science to solve urgent health challenges. It focuses on the effects of mental health issues, escalating infectious diseases, and climate change.

In October 2022, Ms Gillard was appointed to lead South Australia’s Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care. The Royal Commission’s line of inquiry includes how families are supported in the first 1000 days of a child’s life, how universal quality preschool programs can be delivered, how all families can access out-of-school hours care and the benefits of increasing workforce participation from parents through improved access to care.

Ms Gillard is a Distinguished Fellow with the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution in Washington. Ms Gillard serves as an Honorary Professor at the University of Adelaide, and is Patron of the John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library in Perth, Western Australia. Ms Gillard is Patron of Western Chances, which provides scholarships to help young people in Melbourne’s west who are facing financial barriers achieve their potential. Ms Gillard is Founding Patron of A Monument of One’s Own, a community campaign for more statues of Australian women. Ms Gillard is Patron of The Museum of Australian Democracy in Canberra, a living museum of the nation’s social and political history. Ms Gillard is Patron of The McKinnon Prize, an independent, non-partisan award that acknowledges outstanding political leadership.

Ms Gillard is the author of three books: My Story, which provides a detailed account of Ms Gillard’s time as Prime Minister, was published in September 2014. Her second book ‘Women and Leadership: real lives, real lessons’ which she co-authored with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was published in July 2020. It analyses the influence of gender on women’s access to positions of leadership, the perceptions of them as leaders, the trajectory of their leadership and the circumstances in which it comes to an end. Her third book ‘Not Now, Not Ever: Ten years on from the misogyny speech’ was published in October 2022. A decade on from the speech that stopped people in their tracks, the book asks where were you then? And where are we today? With contributions from others including Mary Beard, Kathy Lette and the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, it explores the history and culture of misogyny and the roadmap for the future.

On Australia Day 2017, Ms Gillard was honoured to be awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia.

Date
Monday, 20 July

Holly Ransom

Global Leadership Catalyst & Change Architect
Australia

At the age of five, Holly Ransom's grandmother, Dorothy, told her, "Honey, if you walk past it, you tell the world it's okay," and she has lived by that mantra ever since, devoting her life and career to inspiring audiences around the world to stand up and lead the change they want to see.

Today, Holly is recognised globally for her unique ability to take complex ideas and problems, grind them down, and restructure them in a way everyone can understand. She is the founder and CEO of a consulting firm, Emergent; author of The Leading Edge; co-founder, chief curator, and catalyst at Energy Disruptors, winning ‘Best Conference’ in Canada for its work-up catalysing collaboration across the energy industry.

As a renowned speaker and master interviewer, Holly has led discussions with influential figures such as Barack Obama, Malcolm Gladwell, Billie Jean-King, Condoleezza Rice, Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Nobel Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus, and the world's first humanoid robot, Sophia. She even delivered a Peace Charter to the Dalai Lama. Due to this work, Holly was named one of Australia's 100 Most Influential Women by the Australian Financial Review and was awarded the US Embassy's Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Leadership Excellence in 2019. To top it off, Sir Richard Branson nominated her for Wired Magazine's 'Smart List' of Future Game Changers to watch.

While a Fulbright scholar and part of the Harvard Kennedy School Class of '21 fellow, Holly received the prestigious Anne Wexler Public Policy Scholarship, allowing her to act on social and economic inclusion by connecting people directly with the decisions that affect their lives.

Holly’s book, The Leading Edge, is democratising leadership learning by igniting individuals, ability to accelerate change through asking better questions, thinking beyond biased answers, and establishing a groundswell for advancement.

Holly is an accomplished company director in her own right, Holly has compressed a power-packed career into a decade, spanning corporate, non-profit, and public sectors. Working with big-name clients such as P&G, Microsoft, Virgin, Cisco, and KPMG to effect and inspire actual change. Occasionally, Holly will grace Australian screens commentating for Reuters, CBS, and Australia’s ABC. Holly's fierce dedication to inclusivity and equity drives her work as Chair of Pride Cup Australia, a non-profit organisation and movement devoted to eradicating LGBTQI+ discrimination within sporting clubs while making them secure and welcoming for players and fans.

But even before all this, Holly was identified early as a dynamic thought leader and asked to Chair the G20 Youth Summit in 2014, and the United Nations Coalition of Young Women Entrepreneurs in 2016, and became the youngest director ever to be appointed to an Australian Football Club, Port Adelaide, one of the 18 teams in the professional Australian Football League.

A two-time ironwoman, when Holly does manage to find some downtime, she loves to cook, dance, and sing... despite her complete lack of talent at all three.

Sustaining Your Edge: High-Performance Teams & Culture
Date
Tuesday, 21 July

Freddie Ravel

The Keynote Maestro
USA
Transcending the boundaries of music, culture, and business, Freddie Ravel is a #1 recording artist, speaker, and producer of Grammy-winning projects—known worldwide as the Keynote Maestro.

In today’s AI-driven world, Ravel reveals the hidden power behind humankind’s most authentic tool for connection: Music. By blending virtuoso piano performance with insights into human behavior, he helps organizations listen more deeply, align clearly, and lead with purpose.

As the founder of Life In Tune®, his work draws from his direct collaborations with icons like Santana, Madonna, Prince, and Earth, Wind & Fire, as well as the teams behind The Beatles, Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny, Bruno Mars, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Across 84 countries and counting, his insights are forged from the world's most contrasting stages. Whether headlining Million Dollar Round Table's Global Conference in Dubai to working with indigenous tribes in the Amazon, or performing for the Prime Minister of India to restoring the spirit of the Farm Credit Bank of Texas post-hurricane, he proves that the tools of harmony and rhythm are universal and evergreen.

Trusted by the likes of EY, Prudential, Blue Cross, NASA, and Apple, Ravel remains the premier choice for organizations ready to align their people and perform in tune. Knighted by the UN-recognized Order of St. John (Est. 1080), Ravel invites you to TUNE IN—so you can be IN TUNE—with your team, and thrive in the world you choose.

Life in Tune: Strategic Harmony for High-Performance Teams
Date
Wednesday, 22 July