Speakers
Professor Sarah Kelly OAM
Head of the QUT Graduate School of Business
Sarah is a Professor and Head of the QUT Graduate School of Business, an experienced commercial lawyer and non-executive director across sport, tourism, technology, and professional services sectors.
She is a member of the Brisbane 2032 Games Organising Committee board, and Deputy Chair of the Brisbane Lions AFL Football Club and Tourism and Events Qld.
She is globally known for her expertise in the sports field, and her recent published work includes health impacts of esports, sports integrity, mega-event legacy evaluation, scandal and sponsorship, sports diplomacy, and women’s sports commercialisation.
She is the Queensland Chapter Leader for the Minerva Network, which provides pro bono mentoring to professional sportswomen nationally.
Sarah was awarded an Order of Australia Merit Award in 2021 for services to sports administration and to tertiary education.
Dave Donaghy
CEO, Brisbane Broncos
Dave Donaghy is an accomplished and experienced executive. A positive, progressive and visionary leader, he boasts over a decade of experience in senior management roles in the NRL and AFL industries.
He has excelled at leading high performance teams and organisation, developing and fostering strong organisational culture, as well as commercial management, risk management, communications and media, governance, strategy, entertainment and venue management, stakeholder engagement and government relations.
Donaghy is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Brisbane Broncos, the largest franchise in the NRL competition and only ASX-listed sports organisation in Australia. Having joined the Broncos in May, 2021, Donaghy has overseen a number of key changes within the business, whilst implementing a strategy of growth aimed at delivering sustained success.
Prior to the Broncos, Donaghy’s most recent role was that of CEO of NRL Premiers, Melbourne Storm. Appointed CEO at Storm in 2015 at age 32, Donaghy oversaw significant commercial growth off-field, delivering record revenues and crowds, as well as profitability in a non-traditional market for rugby league.
Adam Gilmour
CEO, Gilmour Space Technologies
Adam Gilmour is the CEO and Co-founder of Gilmour Space Technologies, an Australian-owned company that is leading the development of sovereign space capabilities in launch vehicles, satellites, and access to space.
Founded in Queensland, Gilmour Space is today the largest space manufacturer in Australia with over 180 employees, funding from some of Australia's biggest private investors, and contracts for launch and satellite systems from both commercial and defence customers.
Before starting his career in space, Adam spent over two decades at Citi managing a billion-dollar regional sales business dealing in complex financial products for institutional and corporate clients in the Asia Pacific.
An avid space fan, his inspiration for change came in 2004 when the X-Prize was won by Scaled Composites’ SpaceShipOne, which demonstrated just how affordable spaceflight could be.
Today, he is leading a growing team of talented engineers in Queensland, Australia, on a mission to develop and deliver truly low-cost access to space.
Heidi Cooper
Chief Executive Officer, Business Chamber Queensland
Heidi has dedicated her career to the advancement of business and is a passionate advocate for the strategic growth of Queensland.
With more than 20 years’ experience in law, corporate affairs and policy making, Heidi is focused on driving business growth, creating jobs, leading industry reform, implementing sustainable business practices and fostering community relationships. Heidi was selected to attend Harvard University’s inaugural program on Climate Change and Energy and the Global Rapid Switch Program at Princeton University.
Ellen Fanning
Ellen Fanning is a presenter of the national, nightly ABC TV current affairs discussion program “The Drum”. She has spent her working life as a public affairs journalist working in Australia and abroad in on-air roles at the ABC on radio and TV, the Nine Network and at SBS. For her sins, she has interviewed every Australian Prime Minister since Malcolm Fraser. Despite this, she has maintained a faith in democracy and a deep affection and admiration for her fellow Australians.
