Events Agenda 6DAI Melbourne 2026
9.00am – 9.10am
Welcome by MC: Adam Spencer, Media Provocateur, Math Genius, TED Speaker, Author
9.10am – 9.45am
CHIEFS Panel: CXO Leaders Panel
- Super-AI – what leaders must do to balance innovation with long-term safety, privacy and trust
- The Buck Stops Where? – accountability, governance, and ownership when AI gets it wrong
- Sovereign AI – how national data control, regulatory compliance, and locally governed AI infrastructure is a strategic enabler for trust, resilience, and market differentiation
Panellists:
- Simon Kriss, Chief Executive Officer, Sovereign Australia AI
- Brendan Hopper, Managing Director, Innovation Ecosystems, Commonwealth Bank
- Stacey O’Toole, Chief Information Officer, Victorian Ombudsman
- CXO, Snowflake
9.45am – 10.00am
Keynote Address: Beyond the Hype – How to Build the Foundation that Powers AI Success
Joseph Sullivan, Regional Vice President APJ, Informatica
10.00am – 10.15am
Fireside Chat: The Rise of Agentic Systems – Why AI Agents Aren’t Enough
Paul Arthur, Regional Vice President, ANZ, OutSystems
10.15am – 10.30am
Fireside Chat: From AI Ambition to Agentic AI ERP – How ANZ Leaders Can Fund Innovation Without Disrupting What Works
Joe Locandro, EVP & Global Chief Information Officer, Rimini Street
10.30am – 11.15am
Morning Tea
11.15am – 11.30am
Fireside Chat: Trust at Scale – Managing AI Risk in an Era of Intelligent Decision Making
Rachael Phelan, Chief Operating Officer, Business & Private Bank, National Australia Bank
11.30am – 11.45am
Fireside Chat: Leading When Machines Start Making Decisions
Neville Pinto, Strategic Security Advisor, ANZ, Splunk
11.45am – 12.15pm
THE STAND OUTS: Best Use Cases Panel
- Competitive Edge – how future-ready enterprises are leveraging AI to outperform rivals
- The Next Frontier – harnessing agentic AI, Large Language Models, small language models, and synthetic data at scale
- Beyond the Horizon – Automated Super Intelligence, quantum, immersive enterprise collaboration and other frontier technologies set to redefine the next 5 years
Panellists:
- Robin Mann, Chief Digital & Information Officer, Monash Health
- Pieter Vorster, General Manager Data Platforms & Chief Digital Officer, Westpac Group
- Elizabeth Wilson, Chief Information Officer, Department of Education
- Stu Garrow, Vice President, Asia Pacific, Precisely
12.15pm – 12.30pm
Keynote Address: AI Sprawl – The Hidden Risk Threatening Your Enterprise Now
Richard Davies, Vice President, APAC, Airia
12.30pm – 1.30pm
Lunch
1.30pm – 2.00pm
THE AGE OF AGENTS: Autonomous Enterprises & the Future of Work Panel
- Beyond Chatbots – real-world cases where AI agents cut costs and create new revenue streams
- Careers Rewired – the rise of new roles and the skills that CxOs can’t afford to ignore
- The Human Contract – redefining what organisations owe their people as AI reshapes work and trust
Panellists:
- Dilan Perera, Chief AI Officer, Bendigo Kangan Institute
- Professor Jeannie Paterson CAIDE Co- Director & Digital Ethics Advisor, Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Ethics, The University of Melbourne
- Manohar Esarapu, Chief Information & Innovation Officer, City of Port Phillip
2.00pm – 2.15pm
Keynote Address
Toby Allen, Senior Solutions Engineer, Okta
2.15pm – 2.45pm
THE ACCELERATORS: The Data Readiness Panel
- From Data Chaos to Competitive Advantage – how leading companies are prioritising, structuring, and activating data to unlock real AI value
- Real-Time Governance – how top enterprises are embedding human-in-the-loop controls to enforce AI and data policies at speed and scale
- Sovereign Data, Strategic Control – navigating data residency, regulation, and model strategy to protect long-term ownership
Panellists:
- Nicola Pastorello, Global Lead AI & Advanced Analytics, Bluescope
- Kathryn Gulifa, General Manager, Data & Analytics, HBF Health
- Craig Price, Head of Artificial Intelligence & Data Science, Suncorp Group
- Dr Imtiaz Bhayat, Chief Information Officer & Executive Director, Information Services, Regis Aged Care
2.45pm – 3.30pm
INDUSTRY VOICE: Audience Questions Answered
Pose your burning AI questions on the registration form and have them answered live from industry experts in this dynamic Q&A session.
Key topics to be discussed include:
- How to Generate Value from AI – beyond AI tools to true capability uplift
- Human-Agent Workforces – preparing for 10 years from now
- Techonomics – managing AI spend while still funding growth
- What’s Next – the emerging opportunities and hidden blind spots to watch
Panellists
- Simon Reiter, Chief Technology Officer, CareSuper
- Dr Maruf Hossain, Chief AI Strategist, Author & Global Top 100 Innovator
- Dr Lisa Dethridge, Senior Research Fellow, RMIT University
3.30pm – 4.30pm
Prizes Giveaway, Canapes, Music & Networking!