Wednesday 25 February – Thursday 26 February 2026, ICC Sydney
Premier lineup of industry leaders and CEOs
Our lineup is still growing – more leaders to be announced
Shane Bracken
Managing Director Australia & New Zealand,
Subway
Alice Champion
Head of Retail Operations,
LUSH
Gerard Connell
Consultant, Egon Zehnder
Scott Edwards
Associate Director Sustainability,
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners
John Gualtieri
Managing Director, Officeworks
Fiona Hayes
CEO & Managing Director, 7-Eleven Stores
Rachael McVitty
Chief Customer Officer, Bunnings Group
Tim Schaafsma
CEO, Coco Republic
Anthony Shiner
Chief Customer Officer, Consumer,
Optus
Aleks Spaseska
Managing Director,
Kmart Group
Christelle Young
Managing Director,
T2 Tea
CONFIRMED SPEAKERS
Shane Bracken
Managing Director Australia & New Zealand
Subway
Shane Bracken
Shane has over 25 years’ experience in managing and driving growth for multiple MNC food brands across ANZ, Asia, Middle East & Africa. With taste, food, innovation, and multi-regional development at the heart of his career, Shane joined Subway® in 2022 and has quickly focused on driving brand growth and partner returns to ensure Subway® is set for the future.
Shane has multi-regional experience across commercial, operations and product development within the packaging, flavour and ingredient companies across multiple industries including QSR, retail and commercial. Having previously held senior leadership roles in two of Asia Pacific and ANZ’s major QSR food and packaging companies, Kerry Taste & Nutrition and Detmold Packaging, he is no stranger to change and growth.
The food industry has been at the heart of his career for many years and will continue to be with Subway®.
Alice Champion
Head of Retail Operations,
LUSH
Alice Champion
Alice is the Head of Retail Operations for Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics across Australia and Aotearoa, bringing over 20 years of experience spanning Product Innovation, Supply Chain, Marketing, and Business Operations. Beginning her journey on the shop floor, Alice’s deep understanding of Lush’s end-to-end business has made her a trusted mentor to senior leaders and an active voice in product and retail strategy.
Lush is a UK-based, employee-owned and founder-led business established in 1995, globally celebrated for its ethical stance on sustainability, cruelty-free beauty, and fresh, handmade products. Alice continues to champion these values locally, driving operational excellence and fostering meaningful connections between Lush, its people, and its customers.
Gerard Connell
Consultant
Egon Zehnder
Gerard Connell
Gerard Connell is a Melbourne-based Consultant at Egon Zehnder, the world’s preeminent leadership advisory firm dedicated to creating a better world by discovering, developing and transforming the leaders of today and tomorrow.
Gerard is a leader in Egon Zehnder’s Consumer, Retail and CMO practice groups. Drawing on over 15 years of international automotive experience, Gerard also belongs to the Firm’s global Automotive & Mobility practice.
He specialises in CEO succession, board and senior executive search, and developmental assessment programs.
Prior to joining Egon Zehnder, Gerard was responsible for retail strategy for electric vehicles at General Motors in Detroit, which involved developing a new digital retail platform to power the future CX of GM’s brands. Previously, Gerard led sales and marketing for OnStar, GM’s connected vehicle subscription service.
He began his career with GM Holden in Melbourne, where he held various sales and marketing leadership roles and spent extensive time partnering closely with the Holden franchise retail network. He brings deep experience at the intersection of brand, retail and digital transformation.
Scott Edwards
Associate Director Sustainability
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners
Scott Edwards
Scott Edwards is the Associate Director Sustainability for Coca-Cola Europacific Partners in Australia. With 15 years experience in environment and sustainability and 25 years in FMCG he’s well versed in decarbonising supply chains, packaging circularity and water stewardship.
Scott was formerly a chemical engineer out of Sydney University and has successfully blended his technical background and significant industry knowledge to engage everyone from the Board room to customers and those on the factory floor in operationalising the CCEP sustainability strategy.
He lives in Sydney with his wife and two boys, loves to travel and yes has a house full of Coke paraphernalia.
John Gualtieri
Managing Director
Officeworks
John Gualtieri
John Gualtieri has built a career of more than 30 years in retail, working across some of Australia’s most iconic brands. He joined Officeworks as Managing Director in August 2025, bringing a strong focus on transformation, growth, and customer experience.
Before Officeworks, John spent over 17 years at Kmart, where he played a central role in shaping one of the most remarkable retail turnarounds. Starting as Divisional Merchandise Manager for Home in 2008, he went on to become Chief Operating Officer in 2016 and Chief Executive Officer in 2021. Two years later, he was appointed CEO of Kmart Australia & New Zealand and Target.
Earlier in his career, John spent two decades at Myer in operational roles, developing a deep foundation in retail execution and customer service. Known for his transparent style, commercial acumen, and ability to inspire teams, he has consistently championed better outcomes for customers, people, and the community.
John holds a Bachelor of Business from Swinburne University of Technology and has completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
Fiona Hayes
CEO & Managing Director
7-Eleven Stores
Fiona Hayes
Fiona joined 7-Eleven in 2022, as General Manager – Channel before being appointed CEO and
Managing Director in July 2024. She is responsible for leading the 7-Eleven Australia team, driving the business strategy, growing the brand and maintaining the company’s position as Australia’s
first choice in convenience retailing.
She has extensive experience in operations and retail networks having held a range of senior roles with Telstra over 26 years, including 12 years as part of the Telstra executive team.
Fiona thrives on engaging and leading large cross functional teams to deliver strategic customer, people and commercial outcomes.
Fiona is a former Telstra Foundation Board member
Rachael McVitty
Chief Customer Officer
Bunnings Group
Rachel McVitty
Rachael is Bunnings’ Chief Customer Officer, responsible for leading the teams that deliver the customer offer and growth across the Bunnings store and trade network as well as the commercial sales and service teams. Prior to this, Rachael was Bunnings’ Chief Financial Officer.
Rachael has worked in the Wesfarmers Group for over 14 years. Prior to Bunnings, she spent over five years in the Wesfarmers Insurance Division and over five years in the Wesfarmers Industrials Division and held various roles including Chief Financial Officer and Blackwoods Chief Executive Officer for New Zealand and Australia.
In addition to Wesfarmers, Rachael has broad experience across corporate finance, M&A and risk management from working at PricewaterhouseCoopers in New Zealand, at Rothschilds in London within the healthcare investment banking team and at CHAMP Private Equity in Australia.
Rachael holds a Bachelor in Science majoring in Decision Science and a Bachelor in Business majoring in Entrepreneurship from Massey University. She has completed the Management Acceleration Program at INSEAD, is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder and a director of a number of Wesfarmers Group subsidiaries.
Chris Rodwell
Chris Rodwell
Chris Rodwell is CEO designate of the Australian Retail Council (ARC) – the amalgamated entity which will combine the strengths of leading retail peak bodies the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) and National Retail Association (NRA).
He is determined to elevate the critical contribution the $430 billion retail sector makes to the Australian economy and communities across the nation.
A seasoned CEO and Board Director with experience working across Australia and internationally, Chris was previously the outgoing CEO of the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Western Australia (CCIWA).
During his seven-year tenure at CCIWA, Chris secured several major policy outcomes, including landmark reform of Australia’s system for GST distribution, improving environment regulation and employment support for people with disabilities. Chris also led CCIWA in playing a fundamental role in supporting business and workplaces through the pandemic.
Prior to this role, Chris spent an extended period abroad developing Australia’s international trade and investment footprint for both the Australian and Queensland Governments, supporting business across all sectors of the economy.
His work in international business spans Australasia, North America, Latin America, and Europe. Chris will be located in Sydney and has lived and worked across many parts of the nation.
He is married to Katie and together they have four children. He is also a passionate advocate for people with disabilities through D-Dads.
Tim Schaafsma
CEO
Coco Republic
Tim Schaafsma
Tim is the Global CEO of Coco Republic, Australia’s leading luxury furniture and lifestyle retail brand. With a 40 year heritage weaving together experiential retail showrooms with interior design excellence, Coco Republic has presence in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.
Until December 2024, Tim was the Chairperson of the National Retail Association, a peak body for the Australian retail industry. Tim was a member of the NRA Board since 2015.
Before his time at Coco Republic, Tim had over 20 years’ experience in household goods and discretionary retail businesses, including as Managing Director of Freedom Furniture and Chief Operating Officer of Greenlit Brands (a $2.5bn vertically-integrated household goods conglomerate).
Tim started his career as a lawyer.
Anthony Shiner
Chief Customer Officer, Consumer
Optus
Anthony Shiner
Anthony joined Optus in October 2024 as Managing Director of Customer Solutions.
He has a deep breadth of experience in the telecommunications industry having worked for almost three decades in commercial, digital and transformation telco operations here in Australia and overseas.
Anthony was most recently the Group Chief Commercial Officer of Airtel Africa based in Dubai and prior to that was Chief Customer, Channel & Digital Officer of Du Telecom.
He knows Optus and Singtel well, having held senior customer and commercial roles including Chief Revenue Officer, Digital at Singtel and General Manager, Consumer Channels; General Manager, Optus Country and Vice President, Broadband, NBN, TV & Content for Optus.
Anthony holds a Bachelor of Sports Science (Exercise Science), UNSW, Post-Graduate in Business Administration, MGSM, NSW, and a Master of Science in Management from Stanford University, USA.
Aleks Spaseska
Managing Director,
Kmart Group
Aleks Spaseska
Aleks Spaseska is a seasoned retail executive and leader with broad experience across finance, property, strategy, data science, risk and compliance as well as global sourcing and domestic and international supply chain strategy and management. In April 2025 Aleks became Managing Director of Kmart Group. Since joining the business in 2020 as Chief Financial Officer, Aleks has been instrumental in the development and execution of its strategic agenda across Australia and New Zealand as well as international markets. Prior to joining Kmart Group, Aleks held several senior roles within Wesfarmers. Aleks has a Bachelor of Commerce and PhD from the University of Western Australia.
Christelle Young
Managing Director
T2 Tea
Christelle Young
Christelle Young is an innovative and results-driven executive with over 20 years of leadership in strategy, transformation, data analytics, AI, and technology. Currently serving as Managing Director at T2 Tea, a B Corp-certified company, she leads the charge in elevating everyday rituals and the art of living, through 100% sustainably sourced tea done differently. Christelle is dedicated to driving a purpose-led brand with sustainable growth, modernizing the brand, elevating AI into retail operations, and expanding its reach.
Previously, as Chief Data & Analytics Officer at L’Oréal, Christelle delivered transformative business outcomes across 33 countries, creating multimillion-euro value through advanced analytics and operational maturity. Her versatile career also spans corporate strategy, organizational redesign, and interim leadership as GM of Finance OTC at Toll Group, where she spearheaded large-scale finance and shared services transformations.
Recognized as a thought leader, Christelle is a sought-after speaker and media contributor on analytics, technology, and innovation. She has co-authored influential tools like the Kearney Analytics Impact Index and served as an advisor to the Melbourne Business School Centre for Business Analytics, shaping the future of education.
Christelle’s foundation in technology, with a Bachelor in IT and a Master of Business Analytics, complements her ability to drive data-led innovation. A passionate advocate for mental health and education, she also serves on nonprofit and academic boards. As a mother of two, she champions inclusive leadership and inspires the next generation to think beyond boundaries.
MORE SPEAKERS TO BE ANNOUNCED
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Highlights from our 2025 event
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If you’d like to showcase your brand at the forefront of the retail industry and connect directly with senior decision-makers, sponsoring the ARA x NRA Leaders Forum 26 is the perfect opportunity. Sponsorship offers you maximum visibility across the two days, alignment with the most influential voices in retail, and the chance to demonstrate your leadership on issues shaping the industry. Connect with us today to explore this opportunity.
