Brett Rutledge is Australia’s only World Champion of Public Speaking and one of just five outside North America.

International competitors in the World Championships and even other World Champions regularly ask Brett for advice and coaching to assist them in their own aspirations and many use Brett as an example of a gifted communicator who is both different and genuine.

As one of Brett’s clients said… “He just knows his stuff so well and his ability to read people and situations and take the room to where they need to go is just awesome!” The World Championship is, however, just a small part of Brett’s experience. His entrepreneurial spirit has seen him in business since he was 18 and he has gathered a wealth of experience in Human Resources, Sales, Strategic Marketing and Organisational Culture as well as degrees and awards in many of the same subjects. That experience has seen Brett employed in senior consultancy roles with many of Australia and New Zealand’s most successful companies.

Today, Brett is recognized as one of the most skilled and versatile communicators in the southern hemisphere and is heavily in demand as a dynamic business speaker, facilitator and coach. His communication skills and abilities are so honed and nuanced that Brett can change his voice and his approach in over 150 different ways. Accents, age and even personalities can all be mimicked or impersonated with the sort of speed most of us reserve for normal, everyday conversation. Brett is an utterly unique talent whose ability as a mimic, practical business knowledge and powerful delivery are guaranteed to both entertain and inform.

 

Daniel Silke is one of South Africa’s leading independent political analysts and keynote speakers, covering South African, African and Global political and economic issues.

A renowned Futurist and commentator, Silke’s predictions will challenge any audience to further discussion and debate. He also specialises in the study of globalisation on the political and economic systems of the world and lectures widely to international business and corporate audiences.

He holds a Masters Degree in South African and International Politics and has served, in a senior capacity, both as a Member of the Provincial Parliament and as a City Councillor in Cape Town. He regularly appears in print, on the internet and on radio both in South Africa and abroad. His articles and comments on topical issues are widely published and respected.

Click Here to view a summary of Daniel's synopsis.

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Paul Bassat — Joint Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Director of SEEK since September 1997.

Paul has joint overall responsibility for SEEK's online employment and learning businesses in Australia and New Zealand. He is also a director of Zhaopin, one of China's leading online employment sites, in which SEEK has a 30% ownership.

Prior to co-founding SEEK, Paul was an Associate with a leading commercial law firm, where he spent six years specialising in corporate law. He holds Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Commerce degrees from the University of Melbourne.

Click Here to view a summary of Paul's synopsis.

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Michael Coyne has worked for 30 years as a photographer covering wars, revolutions and international events.

He spent eight years in the Middle East documenting the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and the Iranian revolution. Michael has also produced fourteen highly acclaimed books, which have won both National and International awards.

Michael Coyne has had three documentaries films made about him and his international images. In April 2003 Michael was awarded the Centenary Medal by the Australian Government for Service to Photography. In 2007 The AIPP (Australian Institute of Professional Photography) awarded him an Honorary Fellowship the highest award a photographer can receive in Australia.

Click Here to view a summary of Michael's synopsis.

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On the cricket field former Black Cap Richard Petrie was notorious for his uncompromising, confrontational approach.

While in business he has been called the "Professor of Harsh Reality" because he's provocative, irreverent and tells it like it is in a humorous, but chilling, serious fashion that cuts to the core of the issues in a way no other marketing 'guru' does.

His own consulting business was started in London five years ago with three recruitment businesses in London on a NO RESULTS NO PAY basis. His clients got quick fire results and not surprisingly he has not looked back. On his return to New Zealand 5 of his first 6 clients in 2005 posted their best ever year.

Outside recruitment he has been hired by Air New Zealand, Harcourt's, Fletcher Construction, Deloitte, National Bank, New Zealand Police, Vodafone Warriors, the International Rugby Academy and Ricoh among many others.

Click Here to view a summary of Richard's synopsis.

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Peter has climbed Mt Everest and has reached the South Pole overland; widely recognised as two of the most significant accomplishments in the world of adventuring and exploration.

A survivor and a calculator of risks, Peter Hillary has been on over thirty mountaineering expeditions, has written five books, operates an adventure travel business and works with the Himalayan Trust (which runs schools and hospitals for the Mt Everest’s high altitude villagers).

Peter Hillary made his 2nd climb of Mt Everest earlier this year, in celebration of the forthcoming 50th Anniversary of the climbing of Mt Everest by his father, Sir Edmund Hillary. In 1999 Peter and his father launched an expedition in Antarctica and they became the first father and son to establish new routes across Antarctica to the South Pole.

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One of Australia’s most popular and respected political leaders, Bob Carr, made his political reputation through public speaking.

Bob’s interests and priorities ranged over conservation, literacy, tort law reform, medical research, the arts and economic development. His biggest achievements in office include hosting the most successful Olympic Games ever, achieving highest-ever levels of literacy among school students, declaring 350 new national parks and enacting tough new greenhouse benchmarks.

Bob received the World Conservation Union International Parks Merit Award in 1998. He received a Fulbright Distinguished Fellow Award in 1999 for a significant contribution to Australian-American relations. In 2004 he served as a member of Tony Blair’s International Climate Change Taskforce.

Click Here to view a summary of Bob's synopsis.

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John Key, MP for Helensville, became Leader of the National Party in November 2006. Prior to that he held the post of National’s Finance spokesman. He brings his own inclusive and aspirational approach to politics.

John was born in Auckland, but moved to Christchurch as a child. He was educated at Burnside High School and then gained a B.Comm from the University of Canterbury.

He launched his investment banking career in the mid-1980s, working at Elders Finance and then Bankers’ Trust. After 10 years working in New Zealand he joined Merrill Lynch’s investment banking arm, working in Singapore, London, New York and Sydney.

During that time John was in charge of a number of business units including global foreign exchange and European bond and derivative trading. In 1999 John was invited to join the Foreign Exchange Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of NY and on two occasions undertook management studies at Harvard University in Boston.

In 2001, he headed back to New Zealand to fulfil a long held ambition to stand for Parliament for the National Party. He won the Helensville seat in 2002 with a majority of 1,589. John has risen through the ranks since then, becoming Deputy Finance spokesman and then Finance spokesman, rising to number seven prior to the 2005 election.

At the 2005 election he again won the Helensville seat, this time with a majority of 12,778. He continued to be the Party’s Finance spokesman and was ranked at number four before becoming elected Leader on 27 November 2006.

John is married to Bronagh and has two children. When he has some spare time he likes to spend time with the family, cooking, playing golf and watching rugby.

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Through an unrelenting focus on bottom line, Bruce has developed a reputation for outstanding performance, particularly in leading loss-making businesses into profitability.

Throughout the 1990’s, firstly as Managing Director for New Zealand and subsequently as CEO for Australia for commercial real estate services giant Colliers Jardine, and despite an ailing, post-crash real estate market, he consistently led businesses in that industry to exceed profit expectations.

During most of the last 8 years he was the Managing Director of Kerry Packer’s ACP Media Ltd in New Zealand where he oversaw another substantial turnaround in profitability in what he describes as one of his most stimulating and satisfying roles to date. Bruce left ACP Media and took up a 12-month contract as CEO of Canterbury International, where he was responsible for a major restructure of that business. He was then appointed as CEO of Gullivers Travel Group in New Zealand, just in time to lead the company through the takeover by S8.

Having ‘temporarily retired’ from corporate life, he now works on a range of commercial projects for corporate clients in Australia and New Zealand and he is currently the Chairman of Noel Leeming Group, a Director of Yellow Pages Group, and a Member of the Advisory Board of Gresham Private Equity in Australia.

Click Here to download a summary of Bruce's synopsis.

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Carl T. Camden is President and Chief Executive Officer of Kelly Services, Inc., a world leader in human resources solutions. He also serves on the company’s board of directors. Kelly is a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Troy, Michigan.

Elected to his current position in February 2006, Carl joined Kelly in April 1995 as Senior Vice President, Corporate Marketing. He was promoted to Executive Vice President, Marketing & Strategy in 1997. In 1998, Carl was named Executive Vice President in charge of Field Operations, Sales & Marketing. He was promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in April 2001.

Carl was elected as President and Chief Operating Officer, as well as to the board of directors of Kelly Services in November 2001. In June 2005, Carl received the Individual Citation Award from the International Association of Workforce Professionals (IAWP) for 2004 and 2005, the highest honor IAWP presents to an individual. In September 2004, the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) presented Carl with the 2004 William L. Heartwell, Jr. Award. This award recognises individuals who have made a significant and substantial contribution to the workforce development system.

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Ross is a recruitment expert.

Since 2003 Ross has been an in-demand expert on recruitment and the recruitment industry in Australia. Ross imparts his expertise through speaking, training, consulting, writing and coaching.

As a professional recruiter, between 1989 and 2003, Ross screened over 80,000 resumes, interviewed over 3,000 people and successfully placed over 500 people in work. Over this time he worked in London, Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne. He has been professionally recognised by the designation, MRCSA (Accredited Recruitment Professional) awarded by the Recruitment & Consulting Services Association (Aus & NZ).

Ross is a Master Practitioner of NLP as well as having gained his original qualifications at the University of Tasmania in the faculty of economics and commerce (B.Ec. 1988).

Ross’s opinion pieces and skill development articles are regularly published in recruitment industry magazines and on specialist recruitment websites, both in Australia and in the USA.

Click Here to view a summary of Ross's synopsis.

 

 

Craig has worked extensively in the video, graphic and animation industries building hardware and software used by companies such as Polaroid, Atari, Commodore and Pixar.

He has worked throughout the world and has specialised in online technologies for e-commerce and recruitment applications.

His credits for movie animation include Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Finding Nemo and the latest Indiana Jones blockbuster released in May. His focus on how everyday activities in the technology space impact the way we need to consider our recruitment practices will challenge eveyone to think past current accepted boundaries.

Craig is one of the founders of Quickcut, a digital media agency responsible for the distribution to press of over 80% of all display/ classified advertisements placed in newspapers and magazines. The company having started in Australia now services 46 countries world wide.

Craig's synopsis to come.

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Isabelle coaches high achieving recruiters around Australia and New Zealand, she consults to CEO’s on building sustainable profitability and she trains professional coaches.

With over 15 years experience in HR management and consulting roles across government and corporate arenas Isabelle brings a breadth and depth of knowledge to her clients. Her recruitment specific experience includes six years specialising in executive, accounting, customer service and sales recruitment, managing recruitment teams for the Select Australasia group. 

She has a passion for developing inspiring leaders who create great places to work. Her training and coaching style is upbeat, inclusive and creates moments of self-awareness: aha!-moments that springboard personal development.

Click Here to view a summary of Isabelle's synopsis.

 

Sheryle Moon
Ross Julia Ross

Ross Julia Ross is a publicly listed Australian company and a premier provider of resourcing solutions including Resource Process Outsourcing and Managed Services. Sheryle is responsible for all operations for all brands in Australia and New Zealand.

Previously Sheryle Moon was the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Information Industry Association, the peak body for the information and communications technology industry in Australia, where she was responsible for Public policy development, Lobbying and working with governments around Australia, to provide an internationally competitive operating environment with greater opportunities for local companies and an attractive foreign investment climate. She worked to enhance the image of the ICT industry to ensure the attraction and retention of talent, and worked to increase the approval rating of the industry within government and the community. Environmental sustainability was a key issue and Sheryle helped develop the first Private Public Sector Partnership to address recycling and reuse of computer equipment in Australia. 

Sheryle has worked in the ICT sector for more than 25 years in senior leadership positions including Vice President of Computer Sciences Corporation, and a managing partner with Accenture.  Prior to her role at AIIA, Sheryle was Director of Recruitment and Staffing Solutions, Australasia for employment services provider, Manpower Services Australia.

Sheryle represented the Australian ICT industry on a number of regional and global committees ensuring Australia was aligned to activities of common concern across multiple economies and influences global policy as appropriate.

Sheryle is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Non-Executive Director on a number of private and public sector boards. She is the strategic IT advisor to CrimTrac, a joint initiative of state and federal policing and Attorneys General to apply information and other technologies to solving crime, catching criminals and ensuring a safe and secure Australia. 

Sheryle is the author of the "SelfScape - Success through Balance", a practical guide to implementing six success strategies. She is also the author of the "SET for Life" Report, which highlights issues around the continuing gender gap in students looking to careers in the ICT industries.  She is included in a new book from the Australian Institute of Management called "Balance @ Work" as well as "Learning from Legends" which was published in November 2007. 

In July 1999 she was named Australian Business Woman of the Year. On Australia Day 2001 Sheryle was named as one of the 20 women in Australia to lead the Honouring Women program established by the Prime Minister.  She holds a Masters of Management in Technology from the Australian National University, and in 2006 was admitted

Sheryle's synopsis to come.

 

Bruce Sullivan CSP
Red Hot Relationships

(CSP is the highest possible international qualification and accreditation for professional speakers. There are only 464 CSP’s in the world, with only 52 in Australasia)

Bruce is a relationship specialist and a proven performer in achieving results through people for over 20 years. His practical, hands on experience is based on working in both the community and business.

He is a Husband to Gillian of 22 years, a Father to Hannah (11) and Declan (7) and he currently balances this with being a Director of six private companies. Managing his own businesses since his teens, by age 24 he had established his own million-dollar network of businesses and he has an extended track record of working with a wide range of private and public organisations’, both in Australia and overseas.

Bruce has also worked with individuals, families and communities providing education and opportunities for personal improvement. It is this experience that has given Bruce a unique understanding of our ability to relate to one another in the workplace and at home. This is what sets his work apart and gives a very practical and timely insight into the human side of the corporate environment.

Click Here to view a summary of Bruce's synopsis.

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MICHAEL SOLOMON
CEO, Learning Seat

“There is no future in any job. The future lies in the individual that holds that job.” ~ Anonymous ~

Michael Solomon is no stranger to the intricacies of Human Resources and the fundamentals of Change Management.

Having delivered Human Resources services and psychometric training extensively in Australia, and around the world, including Dubai, USA, Singapore, New Zealand, Germany, and France, Michael knows that people are the most important asset to any organisation. This belief is reinforced by a strong conviction that people are the business.

Michael’s approach is simple, “Look after the people, and they will look after your business.”

With over 13 years’ experience in people and business management, Michael demonstrates acute business acumen and refined people skills, reflected in his achievements in Lion Nathan, the Taverner Hotel Group, and Human resource consulting business, Jarrah Consulting, a division of Vedior Asia Pacific.

Michael is now CEO of Learning Seat, Australia’s leading supplier of online training and compliance management solutions, and is currently taking the business to the next level of its growth phase, starting with investing in the people.

Michael holds an Advanced Diploma in Business and Human Resources, and is accredited in the delivery of psychometrics.

Click Here to view a summary of Michael's synopsis.

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Ross is a recruitment expert.

Since 2003 Ross has been an in-demand expert on recruitment and the recruitment industry in Australia. Ross imparts his expertise through speaking, training, consulting, writing and coaching.

As a professional recruiter, between 1989 and 2003, Ross screened over 80,000 resumes, interviewed over 3,000 people and successfully placed over 500 people in work. Over this time he worked in London, Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne. He has been professionally recognised by the designation, MRCSA (Accredited Recruitment Professional) awarded by the Recruitment & Consulting Services Association (Aus & NZ).

Ross is a Master Practitioner of NLP as well as having gained his original qualifications at the University of Tasmania in the faculty of economics and commerce (B.Ec. 1988).

Ross’s opinion pieces and skill development articles are regularly published in recruitment industry magazines and on specialist recruitment websites, both in Australia and in the USA.

Click Here to view a summary of Ross's synopsis.

 

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Isabelle coaches high achieving recruiters around Australia and New Zealand, she consults to CEO’s on building sustainable profitability and she trains professional coaches.

With over 15 years experience in HR management and consulting roles across government and corporate arenas Isabelle brings a breadth and depth of knowledge to her clients. Her recruitment specific experience includes six years specialising in executive, accounting, customer service and sales recruitment, managing recruitment teams for the Select Australasia group. 

She has a passion for developing inspiring leaders who create great places to work. Her training and coaching style is upbeat, inclusive and creates moments of self-awareness: aha!-moments that springboard personal development.

Click Here to view a summary of Isabelle's synopsis.

 

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Anthony Sork (MRCSA) is founder and Managing Director of Sork HC Pty Ltd.

He is an author, speaker, trainer & executive coach. Educated in Australia and the United States, he holds qualifications in Psychology, Sociology, Human Resources & Adult Education.

Anthony works with leading organisations throughout Australasia in the areas of Leadership Behavioural Development, Organisation Climate Impact, Employee Attachment & Engagement and Business Performance. With over 15 years experience consulting to the Recruitment Industry, Anthony works both with individual recruitment companies and also in partnership with the RCSA.

Anthony's synopsis to come.

 

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Naomi Gilders
National L&D Manager Adecco Group

Duration with Adecco - 8 years

Industry experience - 10 years in recruitment and 11 years in banking

Work experience - approximately 5 years in HR and recruitment positions and 14 years in Learning and Development roles

Education - Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (2001, 2006 and 2008), Diploma in Education and Training and Bachelor in Learning Development and Training

Current role:
Naomi manages the Certificate IV Business Employment Services process, courseware, assessments and facilitation of the program. I have a team of coaches/assessor/facilitators who manage and assist all colleagues in their learning, commencing from on boarding process and through their entire career.

Country product manager for Adecco psychometric assessment tool
Curriculum design and courseware implementation

L&D is an integral part of the Business Operations and Quality teams and therefore support and assist the business in implementing and managing in any new process or project

 

 

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After setting up her first company in 1988, Annette Presley has developed a passion for innovation and entrepreneurship.

In 1992 from rather modest beginnings she founded Call Australia which grew to a turnover of $100 million and employed over 200 staff. With a desire to get back to New Zealand, Call Australia was sold and Annette became the co-founder of i4FREE which developed into Slingshot in 2001. Slingshot is now the third largest ISP in New Zealand of which she is immensely proud.

Annette was voted Business Woman of the Year in 2006 by Metro Magazine readers and one of the 50 most trusted people in New Zealand by the New Zealand Listener poll.

Click Here to view a summary of Annette's synopsis.

 

Klaus Lange, Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing officer Weissziet Deutschland Inc.

As one of the youngest Executive Vice Presidents and Chief Marketing Officer for Weissziet Deutschland in Munich Germany, Klaus Lange has responsibility for many of their main clients: BMV, Total EG, and Deutschland Air. His responsibilities include branding, market analysis, perception improvement, introductions and demand creation.

He is also responsible for coordinating the product-definition and product marketing functions, developing the expertise, discipline and bench strength necessary to support these companies business units.

Klaus is an avid snooker player and won the German Senior Snooker championship in 2005. He is married and has 2 children. This is his first visit to New Zealand.

Click Here to view a summary of Klause's synopsis.