Speakers | Sponsorship | Agenda | Contact us | About the ARA

Thank you for attending the 2023 Leaders Forum.

It was our pleasure to host this sold out event, which explored the future of retail and the most important issues facing the retail industry.

Please stay tuned for highlights from the event in the coming days and weeks.

Save the Date for 2024:

21-22 February 2024

More details to come soon.

2023 Leader Forum Speakers

Dr Claire Naughtin

Co-author of the CSIRO’s Global Megatrends report

The Hon Ed Husic MP

Minister for Industry and Science

Dr Kirstin Ferguson AM

Award-winning leadership expert and author

Catriona Noble

Executive General Manager, Retail, Australia Post

Professor Gary Mortimer

Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, QUT

Jane Kelly

Chief Human Resources Officer, Super Retail Group

Nicole Sheffield

Managing Director, Wesfarmers OneDigital

Angus McDonald

CEO, Barbeques Galore

Vicki Doyle

CEO, REST Super

Jade Clarke

Head of Westpac DataX, Westpac

Janet Menzies

Country Manager, Amazon

Kate Box

Director, Global Business Group, Retail ANZ, Meta

Kellie Cordner

Chief Customer Officer, Wesfarmers OnePass

Paul Zahra

CEO, Australian Retailers Association

Katrina Konstas

EVP, Country Manager and Head of Sales APAC, Afterpay

Jason Timor

Director, Two Point Co

Mirja Viinanen

CEO, IKEA

Leah Rocheleau

Vice President, Mastercard Australasia

Robyn Hill

Head of Retail/CPG APAC, AWS

Andrew Steele

Director, Retail GS1 Australia

Olivia Tyler

Managing Director, Edge Environment

Craig Woolford

Senior Analyst, Consumer Sector, MST Marquee

Sally Coates

Founder, The Retail Mentors

Michele Levine

CEO, Roy Morgan Research

Karen Bozic

CEO, Craveable Brands

Ryan Swenson

CEO, Circonomy

Natalie Angel

Let Me Try Before You Buy

Ian McCreery

Strategic Solutions Consultant APAC, Paradox

Jaana Quaintance-James

Chief Sustainability Officer - Mainstreaming Sustainable & Ethical Fashion, Global Fashion Group

David Phillips

Partner, Deloitte Digital

Fleur Brown

Chief Industry Affairs Officer, Australian Retailers Association

Meet your leadership peers at the 2023 ARA Leaders Forum – in-person for the first time following the sell-out success of our event.

Network with the largest gathering of retail executives from across Australia to explore the future of retail and the most important issues facing you and your teams.

Included in your ticket: a full day of best-of-breed global and local presenters and panellists covering agenda-setting conversations, a post-conference cocktail party and networking session, and all meals throughout the event. Last year’s event was a sell-out success – secure your tickets now!

2023 CONFERENCE PROGRAM

08:00AM – 09:00 AM

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION

09:00AM – 09:10 AM

Welcome to Country | ARA CEO Welcome by Paul Zahra

09:10AM – 09:30 AM

Global Megatrends | CSIRO expert, Dr Claire Naughtin will explore the geopolitical, economic, social, technological, and enviroanmental forces unfolding around the world – predicting their likely impact on Australia’s people, businesses and governments, and what this means for retail.

09:30AM – 09:40 AM

Ministerial Keynote | The Honourable Ed Husic MP, Minister for Industry and Science.

09:40 AM - 09:45 AM

Setting the Retail Scene | ARA President, Nicole Sheffield discusses the way forward for retail in 2023 and beyond.

09:45 AM - 10:15 AM

CEO Leaders – State of the Sector | Hosted by ARA CEO Paul Zahra, an exclusive insight into what’s on the agenda for CEO’s of Australia’s leading retailers. Featuring Janet Menzies (Amazon), Mirja Viianen (IKEA), Karen Bozic (Craveable Brands) and Angus McDonald (Barbeques Galore).

10:15 AM - 10:45 AM

MORNING TEA

10:45 AM - 11:15 AM

Retail Outlook | In this insight–packed session, Australia’s leading retail analysts share exclusive findings into the outlook for retail and Australian consumer spending trends. Hosted by Professor Gary Mortimer (QUT), and featuring Craig Woolford (MST Marquee), Michele Levin (Roy Morgan), Leah Rocheleau (Mastercard).

11:15 AM - 11:30 AM

Retail as a Career | Sally Coates, Founder of The Retail Mentors will provide an inspiring keynote on how we can help create, shape, and influence the future leaders of retail and the retail businesses of the future.

11:30 AM - 12:00 PM

The New Workplace | As retail rebuilds and faces a skills crisis, this expert panel will share insights and learnings on how to attract, develop and inspire a successful team culture. Featuring Jane Kelly (Super Retail Group), Vicki Doyle (Rest), Ian McCreery (Paradox).

brought to you by

12:00 PM - 12:30 PM

High Impact Marketing | This expert panel will discuss how influencing purchasing behaviour shifted enormously during the pandemic – leading to new channels and new conversations with customers. Featuring Kate Box (Meta), Nat Angel (LMTBYB) Kellie Cordner (Wesfarmers).

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12:30 PM - 12:45 PM

Tech Trends | This session will focus on how global tech trends impact the Australian retail landscape in 2023. Featuring Robyn Hill (AWS) and David Philips (Deloitte).

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12:45 PM - 01:45 PM

LUNCH

01:45 PM - 02:00 PM

The Store of the Future | How do you succeed in leveraging last mile to power eCommerce and take customer experience to the next level? In this keynote Catriona Noble will share her insights on how modern brands can maximise their impact with customers and provide a sneak peek of Australia Post’s exciting new hyper-local interpretation of their Store of the Future concept.

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02:00 PM - 02:15 PM

Next Gen Customer | Fleur Brown (ARA) and Katrina Konstas (Afterpay) will discuss exclusive insights from the retail leader who continues to help define the needs of the millennial customer.

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02:15 PM - 02:30 PM

The Power of Data in Decision Making | The Head of Westpac’s dynamic DataX business, Jade Clarke, will reveal how retailers are using the latest insights to help navigate the economic slow-down, develop new store formats and optimise the shift to online.

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02:30 PM - 03:00 PM

Sustainability and Innovation | Sustainable practice is a cornerstone of retail innovation in 2023. What can we learn from retailers who have been on the journey for some time? In this exclusive panel, sustainability leaders share their learnings and insights on the path to NetZero.

03:00 PM - 03:15 PM

First Nations empowerment | A powerful address from Jason Timor (Two Point Co) about the challenges and opportunities for the retail sector, arising from the growing momentum towards Indigenous reconciliation and constitutional recognition.

03:15 PM - 03:45 PM

AFTERNOON TEA

03:45 PM - 04:30 PM

Head and Heart – The Art of Modern Leadership | Dr Kirstin Ferguson AM will provide an inspiring closing keynote discussing what compassionate and passionate post-pandemic leadership looks like. This session is interactive. Don’t forget to fill out your pre-session survey. You can access the link via the Event App.

04:30 PM - 05:00 PM

ARA Vision for the Future | A closing address from ARA CEO Paul Zahra and leading visionary around the future of retail.

05:00 PM – 07.00 PM

🎉NETWORKING AND REFRESHMENTS🎉

Event testimonials (2021)

Sponsorship opportunities

The ARA’s purpose is to make a positive impact to the Australian retail industry and enable retail businesses to thrive and their customers to benefit, now and into the future.

As the peak industry body, our voice is powerful and we use it to drive positive change. We work collaboratively with our event sponsors to produce thought-leadership events and initiatives that provoke, inspire, educate and give back to our community. The ARA is the dominant retail authority across all mainstream and business media channels.

As an event sponsor, your brand will be aligned with future-focused decision makers and senior business leaders, from CEO’s, CFO’s, Operations, Digital & E-commerce, Marketing & Communications, HR Managers and more.

All driving change across their business, spanning e-commerce, bricks and mortar stores, small businesses, franchises and large multinational retailers.

To learn about our event sponsorship opportunities, please contact partnerships@retail.org.au.

Included in your ticket price is:

An action-packed day of in-person conferencing – all the ideas, all the insights and all the access to the ARA Leaders Forum 2023. Best-of-breed global and local presenters and panellists covering agenda-setting conversations.