Invited Speakers
Master of Ceremonies
Sponsored by The Old Woolstore Apartment Hotel
Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
Warwick Merry is a gifted professional speaker, consultant and a leading authority in aiding individuals and organisations to live their passion. He is the founder of Get More, an organisation dedicated to igniting an inexhaustible passion for life in people.
Warwick has lived his message. He knows that it is essential for people build a life based on choices, not on “shoulds”. Warwick made the choice to turn his own life around, from working long hours in corporate Australia and failing to take care of his health, Warwick has built a successful business working less hours and losing over twenty kilos in the process.
Warwick has impacted the lives of thousands of people through his keynote addresses, workshops and programs. His mission is to help people find their passion, take action, and make their lives, their companies, and ultimately their communities, better and more productive. Warwick consistently receives outstanding feedback for his candid and practical approach to communicating key principles with a human touch. It is his unique ability to transform people's lives in a short period of time that has made Warwick a highly sought after speaker and facilitator.
Warwick’s sessions are full of energy with fun and practical examples of how to implement the new skills he shares with you. Each participant will leave his session entertained, educated and with tips, tools and techniques to Get More.
Robyn Moore
Robyn Moore is regarded as one of Australia’s best and most in-demand speakers.
For over 30 years she has been working in Education, Advertising and the Communication/Entertainment Industry. She has unique skills with "the Power of the Word" and her entertaining, inspiring and thought provoking presentations totally captivate her audiences at national and international conferences. Robyn literally "sells people back to themselves" so they recognise old habits and behaviours and take responsibility for choices, which create the outcomes they want in their lives. Robyn’s presentations are quite often literally described as “life changing”.
Robyn's corporate clients often book her to open or close their conferences. She is not a cliché “Motivational Speaker” (most people, if asked, would say they are already highly motivated) or a cliché “Personality Speaker” (big fees, little juice). With her authentic Australian style, Robyn is able to create a relationship with her audiences (from every sector) that allows her to unfold communication skills beyond those generally being used in business or in education today…skills which help “clear the way” for the new thinking and communication required to create solutions and remarkable results in business, health, education, community, family and relationships!
Wendy M. 
Owner & Head Stylist of Smitten With Style
Smitten With Style is a personal and corporate stylist that is helping women and men of all ages, shapes and sizes to dress their best from head to toe. With a background in retail and corporate marketing and communications, no one understands better than Wendy how important it is to project the right image from the start, and aims to help everyone develop their own sense of style to achieve their goals. She is a regular contributor to several online publications, corporate trainer and presenter on workplace dressing, and leads all of Smitten's fashion and style seminars.
Simon Thiessen
The Real Learning Experience
Since 1994, Simon Thiessen has become one of Australia’s most prominent and successful public speakers through his company The Real Learning Experience. Simon’s motivational and inspirational presentations are one that audiences relate to, as they are based on the story of someone just like themselves. This remarkable physical and sustainable transformation in Simon’s life has been brought about by applying the same principles to achieve success that he teaches participants. These principles have not only changed his life but also the lives of others. “I believe that it is essential for participants to leave our sessions feeling not only inspired to change, grow and strive but also to come away with workable strategies to help them transform their good intentions into actions.”
Kate Walker FRMA MAICD AMIM
Chief Executive Officer - RMAA - Records Management Association of Australasia
Kate is currently the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Records Management Association of Australasia (RMAA). She also owns and operates her own consulting business - Relevancy Pty Ltd - which pursues information management solutions, in particular; workflow, document and records management solutions as well as providing training and assessment in line with the AQTF Competency Framework. She is a widely recognised advisor on the subjects of Knowledge Management, Information Management Records and Document Management, E-Business, Workflow & Image Processing, Process Mapping & Analysis, and information enabling technology.
She has conducted Audits, Corporate Plans, Strategic Studies and Implementation & Impact Studies on the introduction of information technologies. She has had extensive involvement with the design, development, introduction, implementation and post-implementation of Knowledge Management, Workflow, E-Business (and E-Publishing), Document Management, Records Management, Inter/Intranet, Scanning, Image technology, Text Retrieval, Indexing Systems, OCR, ICR, CMR, Process Mapping and Analysis and Bar Code technologies to many organisations.
Rob Howes
Recruitment Manager - South at Searson Buck
Rob moved to Tasmanian From the UK in 2005 as manager of the Hays recruitment office in Hobart. Having never worked in recruitment or HR, it was a baptism of fire but one which he says he learnt a great deal from. After 18 months, Rob was giventhe opportunity to join local HR services firm Searson Buck and now finds himself as a Gen X Manager sandwiched between Baby Boomer Directors above, and a team of 8 passionate Gen Y’s below.
Lucille Kerslake
Lucille has spent over 20 years working in senior executive assistant roles in the AustralianForeign Service and for seniorfederal politicians.
For ten years, Lucille was a member of the personal staff of the former Prime Minister, John Howard. She joined his staff when he was a shadow minister, and travelled throughout Australia with him during his second stint as Leader of the Opposition. Lucille filled the role of Private Secretary (Programme) to the Prime Minister from 1996 to 2001 and had complete responsibility for the proactive development, implementation and management of his programme of public events, both within Australia and overseas.
Prior to this, Lucille spent four years working in the Australia Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, and a further three years working in the Australia High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Lucille’s current role is as a Corporate HR Adviser in a large utility company.
Becher Townshend
Font PR
Building on over ten years experience as a journalist, consultant and political adviser, Becher Townshend is now a leading issues and crisis management consultant in Tasmania and managing director of Font Public Relations. Since joining the team in 2001, Becher has drawn upon his in-depth understanding of the workings of government and developed a specialisation in high-level advocacy and strategic lobbying. He is also a leading trainer in the area of media relations having delivered training for industry groups such as the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Local Government Association of Tasmania and Aged and Community Services Tasmania. Becher’s clients emanate from the aged care sector, agribusiness, healthcare, insurance, local government and grocery sectors and include peak bodies, major Tasmanian exporters and premium national brands. Becher has won awards for journalism excellence in areas of business and tourism and received a Tasmanian gold award in Marketing Communications in the PRIA State Awards for Excellence. In 2007, He was a finalist in the Professional Leader of the Year Small to Medium Business in the 2006 Tasmanian Business Leaders Awards.
Bill Lark
Lark Distillery
Having been a surveyor in private practice for most of that time, complicated by building and running a ski field pub at BenLomond for 20 years, the Lark’s were granted Tasmania’s first Spirit Maker’s General Distillation Licence in 1992, the first since 1839 and accordingly established Australia’s first “Boutique” general distillery that year to produce Tasmanian single malt whisky and other unique Australian spirits. In order to achieve this, the Lark’s were successful in lobbying the Australian Government, through the help of Duncan Kerr and Barry Jones, to amend the Distillation Act 1901 to allow the use of small craft stills.
Since the Lark’s had the legislation amended and begun distilling in 1992, there have been another 18 or so small distilleries start up in Australia together with a still manufacturing business locatedin Hobart. Bill and daughter, Kristy, also run a distillery school for people considering entering the industry.
More recently Bill has been consulting to establish a new distillery in Scotland and has been asked to look at another two distilleries in Scotland and one in the USA.
Dr Margaret Lindley
Dr Margaret Lindley lectured at Monash, the Australian Catholic University and the University of Tasmania in modern European history, gender and media history, social policy and administration. She introduces concerts of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.
Dr Lindley has also served as Manager of Strategic Projects to the Department of Economic Development and is currently Senior Adviser to Premier and Cabinet on policy and research. For two years she was a Senior Adviser in Media to the Premier and Cabinet.
Ange Tierney
Body Shop At Home
Creating your First Positive Impression does count! At the Body Shop At Home we love make-up, perfumes and moisturisers. Would you like to know some versatile and wonderful products to LOOK and FEEL great? Time Poor but need to look FABULOUS every day? At the conference we will demonstrate flawless complexion, hiding fine lines, freshly blushed Cheeks, loads of lashes with a perfect pout.
"There is no scientific answer for success. You can't define it. You've simply got to live it and do it"
Anita Roddick FOUNDER of THE BODY SHOP
Colin Bowden
Colin is a dedicated Tasmanian and has spent his last 22 years of employment in the financial services industry.
He has a diploma in financial planning from the RMIT University, is a Certified Financial Planner and a member of the Financial Planning Association of Australia.
Colin has recently retired as a Director of Bowden Collidge Financial Planning but remains involved as a client consultant specialising in retirement planning.
He is passionate about assisting working Australians to understand the sometimes complex features of superannuation planning and issues associated with funding a comfortable retirement.
Sue Hickey
Sue Hickey is the Managing Director of Slick Promotions Pty Ltd, Tasmania’s leading provider of printed promotional products.
Sue attributes her rags to riches story to “a lot of hard work!”. As a former Miss Tasmania and a television presenter Sue found herself the victim of a nasty STD (sexually transmitted debt!). Facing massive debts, bad publicity and the threat of 365 years in jail, Sue built her company from a single operator business in a rented room to a company considered amongst the top 20 distributor companies within her industry in Australia.
Sue won the 2007 Telstra Tasmanian Business Woman of the Year and the 2007 Telstra Yellow Business Operator of the Year. She is President Elect and a board member of the Rotary Club of Hobart and participates in various business and community committees. Sue has over 20 years of business experience and 30 years of community service. She lives by the motto “some days you are the statue and some days the pigeon!”
Chelle Burtt 
Chelle Burtt is currently the Business Manager of Slick Promotions, but is also a successful stage actor and theatre educator, and has starred in many leading productions including the highly successful musicals Annie, Sound of Music, Chess, Sweet Charity, Anything Goes and Aspects of Love. From her 30+ years of performing and 10 years as Director of Encore Musical Theatre School she has a passion for sharing her love of performance and public speaking by not employing the usual self-help jargon, but reflecting on the skills she has learnt, her experiences as an actor/teacher and how they can be applied to public speaking.
Chelle believes that when we are not alone, we are all performers and public speakers – whether it be a speech, presentation, job interview or day to day family and business interactions – we can all appear more relaxed, confident and spontaneous whenever we “step into the limelight”, simply by learning to “act naturally”.