Summit speakers in 2026
The Corporate PA Summit attracts a fantastic mix of inspirational speakers, celebrity speakers and leading EAs.
Photos and bios of confirmed speakers will be shown below as they become available.
Speakers
Holly Ransom
Holly Ransom is a global voice on leadership, change, and high-performance cultures.
As CEO of Emergent Global, Holly advises Fortune 500 companies, governments, and trailblazing brands like Microsoft, Virgin, and P&G on how to build future-ready teams, drive cultural change, and lead through complexity.
A globally sought-after keynote speaker, emcee and master interviewer, Holly has captivated audiences in 25+ countries and is trusted by brands like Coca-Cola, Volvo, Mastercard, and EY to elevate their most critical events.
When Barack Obama visited Australia in 2018, he selected Holly to moderate their conversation. Since then, she’s interviewed leaders, changemakers and icons including—Sir Richard Branson, Malala Yousafzai, Malcolm Gladwell, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Venus Williams, Brené Brown and Matthew McConaughey—transforming every exchange into a masterclass in leadership through her signature mix of curiosity, clarity, and fearless questioning.
Holly’s leadership journey defies convention. She has chaired the G20 Youth Summit and the UN’s Coalition of Young Women Entrepreneurs, delivered a Peace Charter to the Dalai Lama, been awarded the U.S. Embassy’s Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Leadership Excellence, and completed a Fulbright Scholarship at Harvard Kennedy School.
She is also the co-founder, event designer, and lead moderator of Energy Disruptors: UNITE, the award-winning summit voted Canada’s Best Conference three times—bringing global leaders together to accelerate clean energy innovation.
Her bestselling book, The Leading Edge, is a practical playbook for navigating disruption and unlocking high-performance cultures—used by leaders and teams across the globe.
Offstage, Holly is passionate about mentoring the next generation, championing intergenerational collaboration, and bringing leadership insights to the world of high-performance sport. When she’s not advising global leaders or igniting rooms full of changemakers, you’ll find her on a sunrise run, baking something delicious, or brushing up on her Spanish.
Dr Ben Hamer
“Instead of asking ‘what if things go wrong?’, ask ‘what if things go right?’
Dr Ben Hamer is a renowned sociologist and accredited futurist, who was recently awarded the number one thought leader for the Future of Work in the Asia-Pacific by Onalytica.
Ben has undertaken work and research around the world, including time spent leading critical projects at the World Economic Forum as well as being a Visiting Scholar at Yale University. He is an Adjunct Professor at Edith Cowan University’s School of Business and Law and a Non-Executive Director for the Australian HR Institute, where he was appointed as the youngest Non-Executive Director in the organisation’s history, as well as being on the Board of Netball NSW, which includes oversight of both the NSW Swifts and Giants professional netball teams.
A sought-after media commentator and keynote speaker on future trends, Ben is the host of the ThinkerTank podcast, which is all about the trends shaping the way we will live, work and play in the future.
Jana Pittman
Two times world champion, four times Commonwealth champion – in the sport of athletics, Jana Pittman personifies resilience and determination. When continual injuries hampered her athletic career and could have signalled retirement, she swapped the track for the ice, joining the Australian women’s bobsled team and becoming the first woman to represent Australia in both a Summer (2000, 2004) and Winter (2014) Olympic Games.
Off the track, Jana completed a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery at Western Sydney University in 2019 (graduating with First Class Honours and the university medal) and is now a junior doctor in Women’s Health.
She completed a Masters of Reproductive Medicine at the University of New South Wales in 2020 and has initiated her PhD in Obstetrics (focusing on aspects of uterus transplantation).
This busy woman is proud mum to six children: Cornelis; little sisters Emily and Jemima; Charlie; and most recently, twins Quinlan and Willow.
Having experienced her own personal scare with cervical dysplasia, Jana became an ambassador for the Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation. In 2021, Jana was a participant in the gruelling television show SAS Australia on Channel 7. She made it to the last day of the course and was the final female standing among the 18 celebrity recruits, despite having given birth only five and a half months previously.
Dan Haesler
Dan is a coach whose work focuses on creating happier, healthier and higher performance. He works with leaders in order to help them, and the people they lead, to thrive, professionally and personally. Dan’s clients include elite athletes and Olympians, as well as corporate and educational leaders. Dan works with individuals and organisations around issues of leadership, engagement, mindset and wellbeing.
As a Director of Cut Through Coaching, Dan also works with corporate organisations across the Asia Pacific, including the likes of Boston Consulting Group, Roche Diagnostics Australia, CHEP, People’s Choice and Boston Scientific as well as schools and educational institutions.
Since its release in 2021, Dan’s book, The Act of Leadership has been the best-selling Australian-authored business title (perhaps because it’s about people not business) and has been described by James Kerr, the best-selling author of Legacy as a book that will, “Change your life”.
He is the host of one of Australia’s most popular management podcasts, The Habits of Leadership, which sees him engage with the world’s most respected experts, researchers and thinkers on leadership theory.
As a keynote speaker and workshop facilitator, Dan Haesler marries the rigour of the research with his experience of working with high performers, some of whom are – literally -amongst the best in the world at what they do. He prides himself on his ability to ensure you are not only provided with an entertaining, motivating experience, but are also empowered with immediately actionable insights.
Bethan Winn (speaker and masterclass facilitator)
Warm, engaging and passionate, Bethan delivers training like no other. With over two decades as an international educator, she brings a playful, practical approach which her clients love.
Not only because it’s enjoyable, it also gets results.
Whether it’s finding the right solution, gaining decision-making confidence or upping analytical skills, everyone takes away new skills and tools.
Her attention to detail and commitment to quality mean she goes above and beyond to provide bespoke, impactful sessions to improve leadership and business outcomes.
Bethan’s openness and warmth creates an atmosphere in which people feel comfortable and encouraged to experiment and challenge themselves.
Meredith Wilson (masterclass facilitator)
Meredith Wilson is a leadership coach, facilitator and founder of the Capacity Compass™—a framework designed to help professionals operate with clarity and energy in the face of constant change. Drawing on her work with senior leaders, EAs and teams across corporate, government and not-for-profit sectors, Meredith helps individuals reconnect with what really matters and design capacity for what’s next.
Her facilitation style is reflective, empowering and grounded in real-world experience. Known for her calm presence and clear thinking, Meredith invites participants to slow down, re-centre, and take meaningful action.
Fantastic summit – I tell everyone that this is the premier conference for EAs in Australia – I love that it is high octane with great presenters and no “dead spots”. Keep doing what you’re doing – its working very well!
DFAT