Co-founder and Co-chair, High Resolves; Design Director, Alchemy Growth Partners

Presentation:
‘The Boy Effect on the Girl Effect: How young people can drive gender equity’ (November 17, 2.30pm)

Roya has used her professional and educational experience in architecture to inject a strong dose of design thinking into her philanthropic and professional work.

As a social entrepreneur, Roya is co-founder and co-chair of High Resolves, the most engaging and effective leadership program for young people in Australian high schools. High Resolves is a not-for-profit, non-religious educational program that seeks to motivate high school students to view themselves as purposeful global citizens and to acquire the skills they will need to lead their communities, and the world, to a brighter future. It has grown from a pilot program at International Grammar School in 2005 to over 50 schools in NSW and Victoria reaching over 15,000 students. Roya was the co-director and producer of a documentary about the transformation of some of the students in the program.

Roya has a special interest in the arena of gender equity. She was selected to attend TED Women in Washington in 2010 on the basis of her innovative “boy effect on the girl effect” approach. She has engaged senior business executives and high school boys in projects to raise awareness and stimulate action in this field. She is also adept at using the media of film and “epipheos” as a means of spreading this message. This work is currently getting a lot of attention from the media and policymakers in Australia and overseas.

Roya is the Design Director for Alchemy Growth Partners. Her latest achievement was the design and visual identity behind the As One project including the cover of the book “As One” which was recently on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Amazon best-seller lists. In a book review, it was described as “one of the most beautifully designed books on organisational leadership ever.”

USA, Sports Physiologist and Aerospace Engineer

Presentation:
‘From being bold to winning gold: performance techniques for excellence in individuals and teams’ (November 17, 2.30pm)

Troy Flanagan joined the United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) in 2007 as the Director of Sport Science to lead the preparation of the US Olympic Ski and Snowboard teams for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. Under Troy’s leadership, the US ski and snowboard team more than doubled its medal tally in 2010, winning 21 medals compared to 10 in 2006.

As a result, the US now stands as the number one ranked nation overall in skiing and snowboarding.

Troy has spent 14 years in the Institute of Sport system in Australia, known for its pioneering approach to developing world-class sport science facilities, testing and programs. He spent several years as the Head of Sport Science at the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) in Melbourne, Australia.  During this time he worked with a number of Olympic and World Champions across 16 summer Olympic Sports, particularly Gold Medal winning members of the Australian swimming, rowing, track and field, soccer and shooting teams.

Troy graduated with first class Honors from RMIT University in Melbourne and has completed his PhD in Aerospace Engineering.  His diverse background in Physiology and Aerospace Engineering has allowed him to contribute to several breakthrough sport science projects over the past decade for Australian and US Olympic athletes.

His doctoral studies have resulted in the development of a new, state-of-the-art tracking system to measure the movement and running patterns of soccer players.  This system uses an innovative technique to detect soccer players’ locations on the field by accessing inertial and magnetic sensors instead of satellite.

2010 World Debating Champion

Presentation:
‘The Whys of Gen Y’ (November 17, 2.30pm)

The reigning World University Debating Champion and named Best Speaker at the 2011 World Championships, Victor is an eclectic Gen Y with far too many interests. On top of debating, Victor has just completed a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering (Honours) at Monash and completed his Level 3 Ski Instructor certification in Canada.  As a trumpet player, Victor toured Australia with multi-platinum artist Pete Murray on his 2006 “Opportunity” tour, has played with salsa bands across Melbourne and completed a Bachelor of Music Performance in Jazz Performance. Victor will be starting at McKinsey & Company this August

Managing Director Alchemy Growth Partners & Bestselling Author

Presentation:
‘As One: A new way to lead’ (November 17, 2.30pm)

Mehrdad is Managing Director of Alchemy Growth Partners, a boutique advisory and venture firm based in Sydney. Mehrdad advises large companies on their growth strategies and business building initiatives. He also serves as a venture partner with promising Australian technology companies like eMue, the global leader in authentication. He is co-author of the international bestsellers, The Alchemy of Growth, The Granularity of Growth as well as the NY Times best seller As One. Prior to Alchemy Growth Partners, Mehrdad completed a three-year term in the public sector as an Executive Director of the CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, with overarching responsibility for growth.

Mehrdad is Managing Director of Alchemy Growth Partners, a boutique advisory and venture firm based in Sydney. Mehrdad advises large companies on their growth strategies and business building initiatives. He also serves as a venture partner with promising Australian technology companies like eMue, the global leader in authentication. He is co-author of the international bestsellers, The Alchemy of Growth, The Granularity of Growth as well as the NY Times best seller As One. Prior to Alchemy Growth Partners, Mehrdad completed a three-year term in the public sector as an Executive Director of the CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, with overarching responsibility for growth.

President, Society for Knowledge Economics; Non Executive Director, Telstra, Medibank and David Jones

Presentation:
‘Leadership, Culture and Management Practices: for a super-connected world and high performance teams’ (November 17, 2.30pm)

Steve Vamos is the founding President of the Society for Knowledge Economics (SKE), a not for profit think tank established in 2005, supported by Westpac,  Microsoft, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Hewlett Packard, CPA Australia, the University of NSW and the NSW Land and Property Management Authority.

The SKE has conducted research in partnership with organizations such as the Business Council of Australia, NSW Government Department of Lands, the Victorian Government and the Federal Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. The SKE encourages new and better practice in the leadership and management of human and other intangible resources that create economic and social value in knowledge based and globally connected economies.

Previously, from January 2007 to September 2008 Steve lead Worldwide Sales and International Operations for Microsoft Corporation’s Online Services Group (OSG). He was responsible for the organisation’s international business in more than 30 countries around the world. Steve was Vice President of Microsoft in Australia and New Zealand from 2003 to January 2007.

Between 1998 and 2002, Steve was Chief Executive Officer of ninemsn, the on line joint venture between Microsoft and Publishing and Broadcasting Limited. Other roles Steve has held include, Vice President and Managing Director of Apple Computer Asia Pacific (1996 to 1998), Managing Director of Apple Computer Australia (1994 to 1995) and 14 years with IBM Australia in a number of sales, marketing and general management positions.

Steve was appointed to the Board of Telstra as a non executive Director in 2009. Steve holds a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of New South Wales.

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