One of the most captivating American heroes of our time, Captain ‘Sully’ Sullenberger’s preparation and leadership enabled him to safely guide US Airways Flight 1549 to an emergency landing in New York City’s frigid Hudson River – an inspirational and iconic moment in modern history. His incredible personal story is captured in Sully, a major motion picture directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Tom Hanks as Captain Sullenberger. In his speeches, Captain Sullenberger shares timeless management principles – including his credo of “leadership by personal example” –and the lessons from his life which prepared him to handle the unprecedented crisis presented by the “Miracle on the Hudson”.

Say the name Erin Brockovich and you think, strong, tough and stubborn. Erin is all that and definitely more. She is a modern-day “David” who loves a good brawl with today’s “Goliaths.” She thrives on being the voice for those who don’t know how to yell. She is a rebel. She is a fighter. She is a mother. She is a woman. She is you and me.

It’s been over 15 years since Julia Roberts starred in the Oscar-winning tour de force, Erin Brockovich. The film turned an unknown legal researcher into a 20th century icon by showcasing how her dogged persistence was the impelling force behind the largest medical settlement lawsuit in history. Since then, Erin hasn’t been resting on her laurels – she continues to fight hard and win big!

This gutsy broad doesn’t apologize for who she is. She has always loved going head to head with the big boys and was never intimated by their bravado. She learned how to come out on top from her tight-knit mid-western family in Lawrence, Kansas. Erin was the youngest child of an industrial engineer father and journalist mother. Her parents always believed that she could do anything she set her mind to if she learned to focus her amazing energy.

After a few years roaming around at various colleges, Erin decided that she wanted to be a California girl. She first landed a job as a management trainee for K-Mart, but when that didn’t make her swagger, she decided to study electrical engineering. But that wasn’t enough for the Kansas beauty. On a fluke, she entered the Miss Pacific Coast beauty pageant, and, not surprisingly, won the title. When she realized that beauty pageants weren’t her thing, Erin, her husband, and her two children settled in Reno, Nevada. After divorcing, the single mother became a secretary at a brokerage firm where she met and married her second husband. But that marriage was short lived, and the now mother of three was solo again.

Up until this point, Erin was the average divorced single mother trying to make a living, until she crossed paths with lawyer, Ed Masry, and this meeting changed the course of both of their lives.

After being seriously injured in a traffic accident in Reno, Erin moved back to California’s San Fernando Valley and hired Masry & Vititoe to represent her. They won a small settlement, but she still needed work, so she got a job at the law firm as a file clerk. It was while organizing papers on a pro bono real estate case that Erin first found medical records that would explode into the largest direct action lawsuit in US history.

Erin’s exhaustive investigation uncovered that Pacific Gas & Electric had been poisoning the small town of Hinkley’s Water for over 30 years. It was because of Erin’s unwavering tenacity that PG&E had now been exposed for leaking toxic Chromium 6 into the ground water. This poison affected the health of the population of Hinkley. In 1996, as a result of the largest direct action lawsuit of its kind, spearheaded by Erin and Ed Masry, the utility giant was forced to pay out the largest toxic tort injury settlement in US history: $333 million in damages to more than 600 Hinkley residents.

The story and eventual film made “Erin Brockovich” a household name. Over time, Erin realized that she could use her notoriety to spread positive messages of personal empowerment and to encourage others to stand up and make a difference.

Erin Brockovich has conquered all forms of media. Her first TV project was ABCís 2001 Special, Challenge America With Erin Brockovich, where she helped motivate and organize the rebuilding of a dilapidated park in downtown Manhattan. This show is best described as “Extreme Make-Over Home Edition on steroids.” For three seasons, Erin hosted the Lifetime series, Final Justice With Erin Brockovich. The show celebrated everyday women who triumphed when faced with overwhelming adversity.

Erin then dominated the world of publishing with her New York Times Business Bestseller, Take It From Me: Life’s A Struggle, But You Can Win. She has also written two fiction novels, Rock Bottom and Hot Water.

Because of her fighting spirit, Erin has become the champion of countless women and men. She is this generation’s “Dear Abby”, and in fact receives thousands of “Dear Erin” letters and emails each year from people who are begging for help and support in their own personal struggles. Erin proudly answers every one of them.

As President of Brockovich Research & Consulting, she is currently involved in numerous environmental projects worldwide. She has requests for her help in ground water contamination complaints in every state of the US, Australia, and other international hot spots. She is currently working on cases in California, Texas, Florida, Michigan, Illinois, and Missouri.

Erin is one of the most requested speakers on the international lecture circuit and travels the world for personal appearances. She is a true American hero whose icon status and “stick-to-it-iveness” only fuels her determination to expose injustice and lend her voice to those who do not have one.

As Corporate Vice President of the Cybersecurity Solutions Group at Microsoft, Ann Johnson oversees the go-to-market strategies of cybersecurity and compliance solutions for one of the largest tech companies on our planet.

As part of this charter, she leads and drives the evolution and implementation of Microsoft’s short and long-term security and compliance solutions roadmap with alignment across the marketing, engineering and product teams. She has built and shaped one of the company’s highest performing teams whose digital transformation expertise leverages built-in cloud security capabilities.

As a recognized thought leader on cybersecurity, Johnson is a sought-after global speaker and digital author specializing in cyber resilience, online fraud, cyberattacks, compliance and mobile security.

Prior to joining Microsoft, her executive leadership roles included CEO of Boundless Spatial, President and COO of vulnerability management pioneer Qualys, Inc. and Vice President of World Wide Identity and Fraud Sales at RSA Security, a subsidiary of EMC Corporation. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Weber State University with a dual major in political science and communication. She has completed the majority of the required coursework toward her MBA with a concentration in statistics.

Dedicated to giving back to her community, Johnson currently serves on the boards and as a board advisor of the Security Advisor Alliance, the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC), Executive Women’s Forum, HYPR (a biometric security firm) as well as the Executive Sponsor of the Microsoft Women in Security Group and co-executive sponsor of Microsoft GLEAM. In addition, Johnson dedicates her philanthropy – in terms of time and fundraising – to animal and youth causes.

For over two decades, Adam Spencer has been one of Australia’s best and foremost event hosts, keynote speakers and facilitators. His attention to detail and ability to improvise are the hallmarks for which he has been regularly invited back to many events.

Adam has interviewed, among others, bestselling authors, astronauts and CEOs of some of the world’s largest companies; winners of Nobel Prizes, Academy Awards and AFL Grand Finals. He has shared the stage with every Australian Prime Minister since Whitlam but he is equally adept at bringing to life the everyday stories of ordinary people who deserve acknowledgement for their achievements.

Adam’s greatest strength is his versatility; there is virtually no topic he doesn’t enjoy getting his head around and presenting. That said, given his background in mathematics, Adam is particularly strong at presenting on science, technology, the digital world, medicine and health.

Adam’s 2013 TED Talk on massive prime numbers has received over 2 million views and was voted in as one of the 10 best ever TED talks on Mathematics. And after he interviewed the greatest chess player of all time, Garry Kasparov, they played a match. The result of that momentous event … is not important!

Ita Buttrose AC OBE is a truly exceptional Australian: a legendary media trailblazer, businesswoman, best-selling author, committed community and welfare contributor and former Australian of the Year.

In 2019 Ita became a Companion of the Order of Australia for her service to the community through leadership in the media, the arts, the health sector and as a role model.

Current work Ita is Chair of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Chair of the Australian Mental Health Prize Advisory Group. She balances her high profile role with charitable responsibilities include serving as National Ambassador of Dementia Australia following her term as National President from 2011-2014. She is also Emeritus Director of Arthritis Australia and Ambassador for Breast Cancer Network Australia.

An accomplished communicator with a wealth of experience across a broad range of industry sectors, Ita works behind-the-scenes and in the public eye for major corporates, small business, governments and charities.

In 2019 Ita was chosen as a Shero Barbie, one of a collection of 20 Barbie Dolls that globally recognise female role models and achievers.

Previous experience Media: Ita was the founding editor of Cleo, the youngest ever editor of The Australian Women’s Weekly, the first woman to ever edit a major metropolitan newspaper in Australia as Editor-in-Chief of the Daily and Sunday Telegraphs, and the first female director of News Ltd Australia.

She has hosted prime time shows on radio and television. She later started her own company, Capricorn Publishing, and created ITA Magazine, a magazine for the woman who wasn’t born yesterday.

In 2011, her earlier career was immortalised in the acclaimed ABC mini-series ‘Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo’.

Ita was inducted into the Australian Media Hall of Fame in 2017.

Author: Ita has written 11 successful books, including her best-selling autobiography ‘A Passionate Life’.

Awards: In 2018, Ita was conferred with the University of New South Wales’ highest honour – an honorary doctorate in medicine in recognition of her eminent service to health, being an inspirational role model for aspiring women in business and making a difference in society. In 2015 she was conferred an Honorary Doctor of Letters by the University of Wollongong, for her contribution to mental health and ageing. In 2014 Sydney’s Macquarie University conferred an Honorary Doctor of Letters on Ita in recognition of her contribution to the arts. She was the Inaugural NSW Excellence in Women’s Leadership award winner. (2014).

She received an AO in 1988 for her services to the community especially in the field of public health education when she spearheaded Australia’s HIV/AIDS Education Program, an OBE for her services to journalism, and a Centenary Medal for business leadership.

Steve Wozniak’s Key Accomplishments Include…

A Silicon Valley icon and philanthropist for more than thirty years, Steve Wozniak has helped shape the computing industry with his design of Apple’s first line of products the Apple I and II and influenced the popular Macintosh. In 1976, Wozniak and Steve Jobs founded Apple Computer Inc. with Wozniak’s Apple I personal computer. The following year, he introduced his Apple II personal computer, featuring a central processing unit, a keyboard, color graphics, and a floppy disk drive. The Apple II was integral in launching the personal computer industry.

In 1981, he went back to UC Berkeley and finished his degree in electrical engineering/computer science. For his achievements at Apple, Wozniak was awarded the National Medal of Technology by the President of the United States in 1985, the highest honor bestowed on America’s leading innovators.

In 2000, he was inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame and was awarded the prestigious Heinz Award for Technology, The Economy and Employment for single-handedly designing the first personal computer and for then redirecting his lifelong passion for mathematics and electronics toward lighting the fires of excitement for education in grade school students and their teachers.

Through the years, Wozniak has been involved in various business and philanthropic ventures, focusing primarily on computer capabilities in schools and stressing hands-on learning and encouraging creativity for students. Making significant investments of both his time and resources in education, he adopted the Los Gatos School District, providing students and teachers with hands-on teaching and donations of state-of-the-art technology equipment. He founded the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and was the founding sponsor of the Tech Museum, Silicon Valley Ballet and Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose.

Wozniak is a published author with the release of his New York Times best selling autobiography, iWoz: From Computer Geek to Cult Icon by Norton Publishing. His television appearances include reality shows “Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List”, ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” and “The Big Bang Theory.” In 2014, he was awarded the Hoover Medal, a prestigious honor given for “outstanding extra-career services by engineers to humanity,” and was inducted into the IndustryWeek Manufacturing Hall of Fame.

Paula Januszkiewicz is a CEO and Founder of CQURE Inc. and CQURE Academy. She is also Enterprise Security MVP, honorable Microsoft Regional Director for CEE and a world class cybersecurity expert, consulting Customers all around the world. In 2017, she graduated from Harvard Business School. Paula

Paula has 15 years of experience in the cybersecurity field, performing penetration tests, architecture consulting, trainings and seminars. She has performed hundreds of security projects, including those for governmental organisations and big enterprises, at the same time being a top speaker and a keynote speaker at many well-known conferences, including Microsoft Ignite (rated No 1 Speaker among 1100 speakers at a conference with 26000 attendees), RSA (in 2017 in San Francisco her session was one of the 5 hottest sessions), Black Hat, TechEd North America, TechEd Europe, TechEd Middle East, CyberCrime etc., where she is often rated as No 1 speaker.  She also creates security awareness programs for various organisations, including awareness sessions for top management (telecoms, banks, government etc.). She is passionate about sharing her knowledge with others.

In private, she enjoys working with her research team, converting the results of her findings to authored leading-edge trainings and tools used in practice in projects. She wrote a book about Threat Management Gateway and she’s currently working on the next one… so stay tuned for more. Recently, Paula has become a member of the Technical Advisory Board at Royal Bank of Scotland – helping to keep its security at the highest level possible!

She has access to a source code of Windows, an honor granted to just few people around the world!

With almost a decade of experience in software development and information security, Laura Bell specializes in bringing security survival skills, practices, and culture into fast paced organisations of every shape and size. An experienced conference speaker, trainer, and regular panel member, Laura has spoken at a range of events such as BlackHat USA, Velocity, OSCON, Kiwicon, Linux Conf AU, and Microsoft TechEd on the subjects of privacy, covert communications, agile security, and security mindset. She is also the co-author of Agile Application Security, published by O’Reilly media and a regular writer for a range of blogs and magazines on security issues.Laura is the founder of SafeStack, a specialist security training, development, and consultancy firm. She lives in Auckland, New Zealand with her family.

Dr. Stanley Shanapinda (B. Juris, LL.B – UNAM; MM ICT PR – Wits University Johannesburg SA, PhD Computer Science – UNSW Canberra), is a Research Fellow at the Optus La Trobe University Cyber Security Research Hub, in Melbourne Australia.

Stanley has over 15 years of experience in the mobile telecommunications regulatory sector as legal counsel, CEO and now as researcher.

Stanley is researching the dynamic relationship between the powers of law enforcement and national security agencies to access and use telecommunications metadata; the role of Telco’s to protect privacy, ensure cyber security, digital services, digital transformation, the digital economy and digital disruption; the development of communications technologies; and the role of oversight and governance.

David has been involved in the security industry for the last 20 years. During this time he has found many high-impact and novel vulnerabilities, handled security response for dozens of open source projects, led a Chinese startup that failed miserably, and wrote the core aviation meteorology system for the southern hemisphere. For the last 7 years he has managed technical security teams, and is currently the manager of Commonwealth Bank’s penetration testing team.

Gareth Phillips is an experienced IT security professional with over 18 years in the offensive and defensive disciplines of cyber security. Having made a number of contributions to the industry over the years, which includes co-authoring two internationally published books and presenting a number of ethical hacking courses at BlackHat, Gareth is currently a Cyber Security Research and Development specialist Kryptos Logic and founder of Scapecom Security Solutions.

Gareth is passionate about helping secure organisations, building robust pentest teams and developing unique solutions to improve the security for all organisations.

Kevin holds a Masters in Policing Intelligence and Counter Terrorism from Macquarie University, and after graduating spent five and a half years working at the Australian Signals Directorate in both analyst and leadership capacities. Following this, Kevin entered the private sector and redesigned the CTI function of Australia’s largest bank before establishing, and leading the Cyber Threat Intelligence function for the internal security operations center at Symantec.

Tom is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional and Master Architect with many years’ experience in a wide range of industry sectors. His experience covers most aspects of security, risk, strategy and information technology systems through senior roles in multiple industry sectors. He is active in defining solutions for data, application and cloud security at IBM.

Originally from the United States, and now living in New Zealand, Sai Honig is a multipotentialite who has worked in differing roles in various industries. Prior to working in information security, Sai worked as a design engineer in the aerospace industry and worked on projects in the commercial, defense and space programs.

Sai has IT experience is in the governance, audit, supply chain, risk management, and security of IT. Her industrial experience includes manufacturing, healthcare, education and banking. Sai has volunteered for Grameen Foundation offering her skills and knowledge in internal auditing and IT operations. She assisted this foundation’s global efforts in providing microfinance and alternative methods for assisting those to access capital that would not normally have access. Sai’s volunteer efforts were recognized with The President’s Volunteer Service Award in May 2013 from then President Barack Obama.

Sai stumbled into a career in cybersecurity after working in accounting. Her current area of focus is cloud security.She has completed a term as board member of (ISC)2. She is cofounder of the New Zealand Network for Women in Security. This network is is a community that unites and supports the advancement of women in all areas of security.

Kylie is a Sociologist that specialises in technology (Cyber and Analytics). She has a strong interest in human behaviour in regards to technologies including users and cyber criminal behaviour and regularly advises federal government agencies on strengthening security based on her insights. Kylie has led technology teams across Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and Korea to assist clients with innovation, data management, advanced analytics and security. She is a recognised thought leader in human behaviour and recently developed a tool that is used by government to advise on automation risks including security and social impacts. She was welcomed in 2019 by special invitation to submit her opinions in the recent Federal Government Cyber Security Plan. Kylie has published a range of academic papers and general articles on human behaviour and technology including predictive analytics in healthcare with a focus on risks such as data privacy and security. Kylie leads the Cyber, Data and Analytics federal government teams in her current role with a focus on risk advisory, cyber security frameworks, cyber technologies and platforms, identity and access management, cyber analytics and big data. Kylie is completing her second Masters degree with a focus on cyber.

Roger A. Grimes, CPA, CISSP, CEH, MCSE, CISA, CISM, CNE, yada, yada, is the author of 11 books and over 1000 national magazine articles on computer security, specializing in host security and preventing hacker and malware attacks. Roger is a frequent speaker at national computer security conferences, and was the weekly security columnist at InfoWorld and CSO magazines 2005 – 2019. He has worked at some of the world’s largest computer security companies, including, Foundstone, McAfee, and Microsoft. Roger is frequently interviewed and quoted in the media including Newsweek, CNN, NPR, and WSJ. His presentations are fast-paced and filled with useful facts and recommendations.

Kelsey is an IT professional with more than 25 years experience, the last 5 of which have been focussed on Information Security, particularly in the Identity and Access Management Domain. Kelsey leads a globally distributed, remote first team, who deliver Identity as a product to more than 8000 technologists around the world. Kelsey’s goal is to reduce the friction which often results from trying to balance amenity and security, through making it easy to do the right thing in the first place.

CCS Cultural Cyber Security Executive Director – Brian Hay APM has a rare blend of cyber security skills and business attributes. Long considered a Thought Leader in the world of Cyber Security he learned his craft not from the technical demands of the industry but rather by focusing on the activities of organised crime and cyber criminals. He has served in both APAC and National security roles within the Cyber Security industry delivering operational and service excellence. A Detective Superintendent at Queensland Police, where he served 35 years working extensively in the area of financial, identity and cybercrime. Commander of the Queensland Police Fraud & Cyber Crime Group, Chair of the Australia New Zealand Police Advisory Agency’s eCrime Working Group, and driver of the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network, and member of the Federal Attorney-General’s National Cybercrime Working Group. Was the recipient from McAfee for efforts in combating cybercrime – “The International Award for Cyber Crime Fighter of the Year”. Brian is also the recipient of the Australian Police Medal, and in 2010 he was the recipient of the National AusCERT Award for Individual Excellence in Information Security. He has a Masters in Public Policy and Administration.

Ian is currently the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for the Australian Parliament. This includes all cyber security related responsibilities for the Parliamentary Service, House of Representatives, Senate and the Parliamentary Budget Office. The parliamentary network extends to over 250 sites nationally and services over 5000 users. Ian has maintained the responsibility for cyber security within the parliament during in his previous roles of CTO and acting CIO before moving in the newly created dedicated cyber security executive role. Prior to moving back to Australia to work for the parliament, Ian worked in senior ICT leadership roles in the Middle East and Europe.

Edward Farrell is a security consultant with over five years’ experience in information security and ten years’ experience in the IT industry. As the director of Mercury ISS, one of Australia’s few remaining independent security firms, he has conducted or overseen the delivery 300 security assessment activities and incident responses in the past 5 years. His professional highlights include lecturing at the Australian Defence Force Academy, being rated in the top 200 bug bounty hunters in 2015 and running an awesome team of security professionals.

Chirag is an established cyber security leader with extensive experience building and managing information security, risk management, compliance and awareness programs in multiple countries across various industries. He is the author of the bestselling book – 7 Rules to Influence Behaviour and Win at Cyber Security Awareness, which has been purchased in several countries around the world.

Chirag’s ambitious goal is to enable human progress through trust in technology, He his passionate about creating a safe world online for commerce, communication and entertainment. This vision has led him to become a sought-after speaker on a wide range of topics including cyber threat landscape, emerging technologies, cloud computing and security awareness. He has presented at numerous leading conferences and forums. In his current role as Head of Security and Technology Risk Governance at a large Australian organization, he leads the cyber and technology risk functions along with training and awareness.

Chirag’s academic qualifications include a Master’s degree in Telecommunications Management and Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering. He holds multiple certifications including Certified Information Security Manager, Certified Information Systems Auditor and Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control.

With 21 years under his belt, Ashwin is an experienced and qualified CISO responsible for running the delivery aspect of the Unisys security business within the APAC region. He is also responsible for leading and delivering security engagements to C level executives within the region ensuring the successful delivery of client security programs. Ashwin is able to bring strategic business value right through to technology level consultancy and implementation. Areas of expertise include IT security and risk management, IS Strategic Planning, IT Disaster Recovery, and enterprise level architecture across all aspects of security. Ashwin is also an accomplished public speaker and writer having featured in many security events and publications.