APAC 2026
The Future of Leadership Summit
27–28 October 2026 · Sydney & Virtual
Brought to you by the
Institute of Executive Coaching and Leadership
Summit at a Glance
27–28 October 2026
The Fullerton Hotel, Sydney
+ Live Online
1 Martin Place, Sydney NSW 2000
The Summit will also be live-streamed to a global audience. In-person tickets are strictly limited.
A 10% accommodation discount is available for Summit attendees at the Fullerton Hotel. Use promo code IECL when booking.
View VenueHow do leaders build the essential human capabilities for an AI-enabled workforce?
At the IECL Future of Leadership Summit, CEOs, CPOs and senior enterprise and government people leaders will put these questions to the test through new research, candid C-suite panels, peer exchange, and practical, workshop-style sessions where delegates can discuss organisational challenges and use cases.
The programme examines leadership readiness in an AI-enabled world: how decision-making changes, what emerging generations expect, how to build capability and coaching cultures, and where human judgement remains essential.
The Summit opens with a presentation of initial Leadership Readiness Indicator findings for 2026, and moves through executive panels, keynotes and breakout sessions. You will leave with sharper priorities for your organisation, fresh approaches to coaching and capability, and a set of actions to take back to your executive team.
Attend in Sydney or join the live online experience.
Book Your PlaceWith thanks to our partners
Speaker Snapshot
Thinkers & Practitioners
Shaping the Future of Leadership
Lisa Annese AM
CEO, Chief Executive Women
Reality Check
Lisa Annese AM has spent two decades advancing gender equality, from foundational work at the Workplace Gender Equality Agency to ten years leading Diversity Council Australia. She is now CEO of Chief Executive Women, representing more than 1,400 of Australia's most senior women leaders across business, government and academia.
Dr Natalie Ashdown
Head of Enterprise Solutions - Coaching, IECL
Day one reflection; Ten Commitments for Leadership 2030
Day two breakout session; Building a Coaching Culture that Improves Performance
Dr Natalie Ashdown is Head of Enterprise Solutions, Coaching at IECL and founder of Open Door Coaching (acquired by IECL in 2025). An ICF Master Certified Coach, author and leadership specialist, she has extensive experience helping organisations build coaching capability, strengthen leadership practice and create lasting cultural change across government and the private sector.
Dr Carlos del Cueto
Orchestral Conductor; Leadership & Team Culture Coach, Leading Teams
Maestro Moves for High Performance
Holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge and formerly held a BBC Performing Arts Fellowship. Brings a distinctive lens to human performance, trust and collaboration through the art of conducting.
Salomeh Diaz
Organisational Coach & Facilitator, IECL
Leadership Insights Lab
Leadership exchange
Salomeh Diaz is a PCC executive coach and IECL Level Three organisational coach who works with senior leaders, executive teams and high-potential talent at pivotal moments. With nearly three decades of global experience, she helps leaders navigate complexity, build trust, lead change and strengthen self-awareness, courageous communication and relational intelligence.
Mandy Geddes
Head of Coach Education, IECL
Leadership Insights Lab
Dedicated to educating confident, competent organisational coaches, providing exceptional coaches to corporate clients and working with organisations to build a coaching culture in-house.
Emma Hardy
Partner, PwC Australia
Trusted Expertise in the Age of AI
Leads PwC Australia's Workforce practice, helping organisations navigate workforce transformation, complex organisational change and evolving workplace legislation. Equips leaders with the insight and capability to respond confidently.
Lisa Hobbs
CEO of Swillhouse
The CEO-CPO Leadership Contract
Lisa Hobbs is CEO of Swillhouse and a values-led leader with more than 20 years’ senior leadership experience. She is passionate about building high-performing cultures, empowering people and creating the clarity and accountability teams need to thrive. Lisa combines strategic vision with practical leadership to drive sustainable organisational performance.
Andrew Johnstone-Burt
Managing Partner, Kcc.ai; Chair, The Omnia Collective
Transformation Fireside Chat
Andrew Johnstone-Burt is an AI and digital transformation strategist at KCC.ai, and former General Manager at IBM Consulting and Senior Partner at Deloitte. Across a 24-year consulting career and earlier military service, he has advised organisations on transformation, emerging technology and operating models, translating AI innovation into practical commercial outcomes.
Gavin Kable
Chief People Officer, ANSTO
Leadership 2030: Stop. Protect. Invent.
Gavin Kable is Chief People Officer at ANSTO, with more than 25 years’ experience in people leadership, operations and business transformation. He has held executive and board-level roles across complex organisations, including Sydney Trains and Qantas, and brings deep expertise in leading change, building capability and strengthening organisational performance outcomes.
Sasha Lawrence
Partner, PwC Australia
Trusted Expertise in the Age of AI
Sasha Lawrence is a Partner in PwC Australia’s Advisory practice where he provides leadership, culture and change solutions, with a focus on M&A. He works with global and Australian corporate and private equity clients, and also leads the learning and development function for PwC Australia’s global Deals business. Sasha is also a Non-Executive Director at Leadership Victoria.
Karen Lonergan
CPO, PwC Australia
CEO/CPO relationship Panel
PwC Australia's Chief People Officer and Partner, and a member of the firm's Management Leadership Team. Karen is an experienced people and culture leader with more than 25 years of experience helping organisations build strong cultures, develop exceptional leaders, and navigate transformation. She is passionate about creating environments where people can thrive, grow, and perform at their best while helping organisations successfully navigate change and complexity.
Lucinda Longcroft
Director of Policy and Government Affairs at the Tech Council of Australia
Reality Check
Lucinda Longcroft is Director of Policy and Government Affairs at the Tech Council of Australia, specialising in technology policy, AI, digital transformation and regulation. Formerly with Google and the United Nations, she brings deep experience working across government, business and international institutions to shape policy, innovation and responsible technology adoption.
Caroline McAuliffe
Chief Executive, BlackBridge Executives
The Leadership Readiness Indicator 2026
Recognised authority in interim executive deployment and executive coaching. Co-author of The Rise of the Interim Executive and co-founder of Continuum. Over 20 years partnering with boards, investors and C-suite leaders.
Mark McCrindle
Social Researcher & Futurist; CEO, McCrindle
Navigating Megatrends and Leading Emerging Generations
Internationally recognised for tracking social trends and generational change. Bestselling author and the researcher who coined the term Generation Alpha. Advises executive teams on the forces shaping society, work and leadership.
Kim McGuinness
Head of Community, IECL
MC
Accredited coach, advisor and educator with broad experience across business, community leadership and professional networks. Has owned businesses and held senior roles across publishing, market research, associations, education and start-ups.
Katharine McLennan
Leadership Strategist; CEO / CPO Coach
Leadership in the Round: From Chatbots to the Agentic Enterprise. Where Is Your Organisation?
Keynote speaker and leadership strategist with 35 years' experience advising executive teams. Has worked with more than 200 boards and C-suites, led people and culture at Cochlear and CBA, holds a Stanford MBA and authored Before the Fingerprint Fades.
Martin Mercer
CEO | MD, Scentia
Reality Check
Transformation Fireside Chat
CEO of Scentia Pty Ltd, a privately owned higher education and vocational training business encompassing the Australian Institute of Management, AIM Business School, the Australian College of Health and Wellness and IECL.
Greg Palmer
Head of Leadership and Learning, Clayton Utz
Leadership 2030: Stop. Protect. Invent.
Greg Palmer is Head of Leadership and Learning at Clayton Utz. An industry-recognised registered psychologist, he has 20 years' experience across professional services and financial services, specialising in senior leadership development, succession and capability. He is passionate about experience design and behavioural change, creating memorable development experiences that shift how people lead and perform.
Mark Rigotti
CEO, Australian Institute of Company Directors
Reality Check
Visionary and strategic leader with deep experience in business, boards and NFPs. Immediate past global CEO of Herbert Smith Freehills and Harvard University alumnus.
Arabella Steel
Director, Destrier Group
Day two breakout session; Redesigning Capability for 2030
Arabella Steel is an organisational psychologist and founder of Destrier Group. She partners with boards and executives across APAC on Human-AI pairing, leadership and workforce capability. With more than 20 years' experience in assessment and organisational development, she helps organisations strengthen judgement, redesign work and build human performance as AI reshapes workplaces.
Shelley Tate
Chief People Officer, Scentia
The CEO-CPO Leadership Contract
Shelley Tate is Chief People Officer at Scentia, leading people, culture, leadership development and organisational capability across the group. With a global career spanning multiple sectors, she brings a strategic, people-first approach to transformation and growth, building inclusive, high-performing teams and helping leaders navigate change with clarity, confidence and purpose.
Sheridan Ware
Chair, Sustainable Digitalisation Project
Leadership 2030: Stop. Protect. Invent.
Sheridan is an award-winning transformation leader with 25 years’ experience turning strategy into impact through a human-first approach. She chairs the Sustainable Digitalisation Project, supporting the responsible, ethical, and sustainable adoption of emerging technologies, and was previously Charter Hall’s Chief Information & Technology Officer and Australia’s CIO of the Year in 2023.
Catherine Woo
Director of Partnerships and Engagement, Cranlana Centre for Ethical Leadership
Leadership 2030: Stop. Protect. Invent.
Catherine leads partnerships and external engagement at Cranlana, bringing deep experience across business, government and civil society. Her career spans senior roles with the Australia-UK Chamber of Commerce, Australia Post and the Victorian Government. She specialises in strategic growth, advocacy, stakeholder engagement and building sustainable, high-impact partnerships across complex environments.
Full Programme
Agenda Overview
Two days, carefully sequenced. The Future of Leadership Summit APAC 2026 moves senior leaders through a deliberate journey: Reframe the leadership challenges ahead, Reimagine the capabilities and systems organisations need, and Rewire leadership practice through practical commitments for 2030.
Arrival
From 8.15am
Arrival and Connection
Arrive early, connect with senior peers and begin contributing to the Summit conversation. Delegates will be invited to share the leadership tensions defining their year, creating the first live input into the Leadership Readiness Indicator conversation.
Opening
9.00am
Welcome to the Future of Leadership Summit
The Summit opens by setting the context for two days of evidence, dialogue and practical leadership. We will introduce the co-creation ethos of the program, connect in-room and online delegates through Slido, and frame the journey from insight to action.
Research Launch
9.15am
The Leadership Readiness Indicator 2026
Be among the first to explore the Leadership Readiness Indicator 2026 — a new evidence base examining the state of human leadership across Australia and APAC. Caroline will surface the leadership risks, tensions and capabilities that matter most as organisations prepare for an AI-enabled future.
Executive Panel
9.50am
Reality Check
What leadership assumptions have you completely changed in the past three years? Senior executives share the assumptions they have had to rethink and the realities now shaping leadership at the highest levels of business, governance and organisational performance.
Break
10.35am
Morning Tea
Continue the conversation with fellow delegates, speakers and partners.
Keynote
11.00am
Navigating Megatrends and Leading Emerging Generations
Australia's leading social researcher and futurist explores the demographic, technological and societal shifts reshaping organisations, workforces and leadership. Delegates will consider which megatrends are most likely to disrupt their organisations and what leaders must be ready for next.
Interactive Lab
12.00pm
Leadership Insights Lab
This thought-provoking, interactive session invites delegates to make sense of the morning's research and leadership perspectives through conversation with peers. Guided by IECL facilitators, delegates will identify patterns, tensions and practical leverage points for leadership change.
Lunch
1.15pm
Networking Lunch
Continue the conversation over lunch. Online delegates will have facilitated virtual networking options, while in-room delegates connect with peers, partners and speakers.
Partner Insight
2.10pm
Trusted Expertise in the Age of AI
At times it seems as though the technology is calling the shots, so where can we look to intentionally shape and drive the people agenda. Organisations have invested heavily in technology, yet many are still waiting on the return because their people, roles and ways of working have not kept pace. This isn't just about AI but about grappling with the intended and unintended consequences on society as work reinvents, expectations change, and the implications are not only far reaching but happening fast. Emma Hardy (Partner, PwC Australia) and Sasha Lawrence (Partner, PwC Australia) explore what trusted expertise looks like for HR now: the judgement and questions that earn the function its place at the centre of transformation, and the workforce choices that follow.
Executive Panel
3.00pm
The CEO–CPO Leadership Contract
What does the CEO need from the CPO — and what does the CPO need from the CEO — in an AI-enabled organisation? This executive conversation explores the changing partnership between enterprise leadership and people leadership.
Break
3.40pm
Afternoon Tea
Refresh and reconnect before the closing keynote of Day One.
Keynote Experience
4.05pm
Maestro Moves for High Performance
Orchestra conductor and leadership expert Carlos del Cueto brings a distinctive lens to human collaboration, performance under pressure, and creating a team dynamic high in trust. This keynote explores learnings from the conductor’s podium that can help to shift the most widely pervasive counterproductive behaviours in workplaces today.
Closing
4.35pm
Day One Reflection
We close Day One by drawing together key insights from the Leadership Readiness Indicator themes and previewing the practical leadership studios and action-focused work of Day Two.
In-Person Only
4.45pm
Cocktail Reception
In-person delegates are invited to continue the conversation at the Day One cocktail reception.
Arrival
From 8.30am
Delegate Connection
Reconnect with peers and set your intention for Day Two as the Summit moves from insight into practical application.
Opening
9.00am
Day Two Welcome and Synthesis
The MC welcomes in-room and online delegates back, synthesises the themes emerging from Day One and explains how the Leadership Studios will help translate insight into capability, culture and action.
Fireside Chat
9.10am
Leading Through Transformation
A practical executive conversation on leading transformation, building trust and sustaining performance through complexity. This session surfaces lessons learned from real leadership experience and sets up the applied work of the Leadership Studios.
Leadership Studios
9.50am
Leadership Studios — Round One
Choose one of three practical studio sessions. Online delegates will join the featured studio streamed from the main plenary room. View studio details below →
Considering Work, Worker and Workforce in an AI-enabled Organisation with Emma Hardy · Partner, PwC Australia and Sasha Lawrence · Partner, PwC Australia
Redesigning Capability for 2030 with Arabella Steel · Director, Destrier Group
Building a Coaching Culture that Improves Performance with Dr Natalie Ashdown · Head of Enterprise Solutions - Coaching, IECL
Emma Hardy · Partner, PwC Australia and Sasha Lawrence · Partner, PwC Australia
Redesigning Capability for 2030 with Arabella Steel · Director, Destrier Group
Building a Coaching Culture that Improves Performance with Dr Natalie Ashdown · Head of Enterprise Solutions - Coaching, IECL
Break
10.50am
Stream Changeover and Morning Tea
Refresh, connect and move to your second studio.
Leadership Studios
11.10am
Leadership Studios — Round Two
The three Leadership Studios are repeated so in-person delegates can attend two of the three options. Online delegates will join the featured studio streamed from the main plenary room. View studio details below →
Considering Work, Worker and Workforce in an AI-enabled Organisation with Emma Hardy · Partner, PwC Australia and Sasha Lawrence · Partner, PwC Australia
Redesigning Capability for 2030 with Arabella Steel · Director, Destrier Group
Building a Coaching Culture that Improves Performance with Dr Natalie Ashdown · Head of Enterprise Solutions - Coaching, IECL
Emma Hardy · Partner, PwC Australia and Sasha Lawrence · Partner, PwC Australia
Redesigning Capability for 2030 with Arabella Steel · Director, Destrier Group
Building a Coaching Culture that Improves Performance with Dr Natalie Ashdown · Head of Enterprise Solutions - Coaching, IECL
Lunch
12.10pm
Networking Lunch
Continue the conversation with delegates, speakers and partners. Online delegates will have facilitated virtual networking options and a scheduled screen break.
Immersive Experience
1.15pm
Leadership in the Round: From Chatbots to the Agentic Enterprise. Where Is Your Organisation?
Most organisations still think AI means a chatbot on every desk. Then comes AI inside the workflow, then end-to-end processes running themselves, then the agentic enterprise. Reaching it asks more of leadership, culture, structure, and talent than any restructure or merger ever has. Where are we honestly, and what stays human?
Facilitated Experience
2.05pm
Leadership Exchange
From insight to action: what must your organisation stop, protect and invent to strengthen leadership for 2030? Working with IECL facilitators and fellow delegates, you will identify challenges, explore solutions and contribute commitments through Slido.
Break
3.05pm
Afternoon Tea
A final pause before the closing synthesis and commitments.
Executive Panel
3.25pm
Leadership 2030: Stop. Protect. Invent.
Drawing on the Leadership Readiness Indicator and the insights generated across the two days, senior leaders respond to the question at the centre of the Summit: what must leaders stop doing, protect and invent for 2030?
Closing
4.05pm
Ten Commitments for Leadership 2030
The Summit concludes by translating two days of learning into practical personal and organisational commitments. Delegates will help validate the Future of Leadership Summit 2026 Ten Commitments for Leadership 2030, which will be shared after the event.
Close
4.25pm
Close of Summit
Guests depart.
Day Two · Choose Your Studio
Leadership Studio Workshops
Choose one unique workshop for each session. Seats are limited for each studio.
Session 19.50am – 10.50am
Morning Tea · 10.50am – 11.10am
Session 211.10am – 12.10pm
Studio 01
Building a Coaching Culture that Improves Performance
Dr Natalie Ashdown MCC
Head of Enterprise Solutions – Coaching, IECL
Throughout the Summit, we have explored what leadership readiness looks like for an AI-enabled workforce — the capabilities organisations will need, the changing expectations of leaders and employees, and where human judgement remains essential.
This session turns that conversation to the organisational environment. How do we create the conditions that enable these capabilities to develop and translate into performance? And what role can a coaching culture play in making that happen?
Dr Natalie Ashdown will introduce the IECL Coaching Culture Framework as a practical way for leaders to understand and benchmark their organisation's coaching culture, and connect it to their broader workforce and capability strategy.
Through a live case study of best-practice implementation, participants will see how the framework can be applied in practice and consider where their own organisation sits today, where it wants to go next, and the leadership actions that can help move it forward.
Session 1 · 9.50am
Session 2 · 11.10am
Studio 02
Considering Work, Worker and Workforce in an AI-Enabled Organisation
Emma Hardy & Sasha Lawrence
Partners, PwC Australia
AI is moving at warp speed, yet some of the most valuable responses are refreshingly retro. Job design is back. Too often, workforce plans are backward-looking and spreadsheet-driven: reduction targets set through the finance lens, or technology prototypes built while the people conversation lags behind, without a clear view of how work actually gets done.
This studio works through the three layers that matter: the work itself, the workers who do it, and the workforce you need to build. Leave with practical ways to bring HR, finance and technology to the same table, and to plan your workforce from the work up.
Session 1 · 9.50am
Session 2 · 11.10am
Studio 03
Redesigning Capability for 2030
Arabella Steel
Director, Destrier Group
AI is now everywhere, but few organisations have built the enterprise capability to turn it into advantage. An enterprise capability is an organisation's collective ability to deliver a defined outcome by orchestrating people, processes, information and technology. In the AI era, the capabilities that win are agile: they sense change early, reconfigure quickly and keep human judgement in command.
This 60-minute studio is a working session designed for Chief People Officers, Heads of Learning and Development, and enterprise leaders. You will take your identified enterprise capability and be guided to make critical choices about how to optimise your path, and make board-resilient decisions.
You will leave able to:
- Identify one enterprise capability that matters for value, risk or advantage by 2030.
- Make an explicit portfolio choice about how to differentiate, scale, safeguard, access or automate it.
- Decide where human judgement must stay in command, and assess how agile the capability is.
- Frame an executive proposition with a sponsor, a decision gate and evidence of value beyond learning activity.
Session 1 · 9.50am
Session 2 · 11.10am
Limited Tickets · 27–28 October
How to Attend
In Person
Individual Ticket
In-person attendance at the Fullerton Hotel, Sydney. Considered seat placement. Full catering over two days, 9 am – 5 pm.
Book Now
In Person · Group
Table of Ten
In-person table of ten at the Fullerton Hotel Sydney. Bring your team, leaders and clients. Full catering over two days, 9 am – 5 pm.
Book Now
Online
Virtual Attendance
Virtual attendance via Zoom for a superior event experience, live-streamed from Sydney with online facilitators, extra content, and networking opportunities.
Book Now
Who Is IECL?
About IECL
The Institute of Executive Coaching and Leadership (IECL) are the pioneers of Organisational Coaching excellence. Since 1999, we have spearheaded the professionalisation of this unregulated industry, ensuring every leader and organisation can thrive and grow through world-class coaching.
Our focus is crystal clear: to cultivate confident, competent, and ethical organisational coaches and leaders. With a remarkable track record of working with individuals and organisations globally, IECL empowers professionals to reach new heights.
Voted #1 Coach Training Certification Globally 4 Years Running
Judged against 50+ leading coaching organisations by The Balance, New York. IECL's executive coaching certification programs were found to provide the best tools, best-in-class methodologies, and instant credibility with clients.
Why IECL
A Systemic, Human-Centred Lens on Leadership
The Institute of Executive Coaching & Leadership (IECL) has spent over 25 years working with corporate and government clients to lift leadership capability through organisational coaching, coach education and systemic leadership programs.
We believe:
- Leadership is a system, not a series of events.
- Human skills are the core capabilities of that system.
- Coaching is one of the most powerful ways to embed those capabilities in everyday work.
With thanks to our promotional partners
Where is the venue? +
The Summit will be held at the Fullerton Hotel Sydney, 1 Martin Place, Sydney, Australia.
Are there accommodation discounts? +
Yes — a 10% accommodation discount is available for delegates. Use promo code IECL when booking at the Fullerton Hotel website.
Will session recordings be available? +
Yes. Registered attendees will be provided with access to recordings of all sessions after the Summit.
Are group registration discounts available? +
Yes — discounts are available for table/corporate registrations when you purchase IECL membership. More information on membership can be found at iecl.com.
Do I need to register on arrival? +
Yes, you will be required to register before the start of the Summit on both days. Please arrive 15 minutes early.
What platform will be used for virtual attendance? +
Zoom will be used. Instructions for virtual attendance will be sent to you 2 weeks prior to the Summit.
Can I switch from virtual to in-person (or vice versa)? +
Ticket type switches are allowed, subject to availability and applicable fees. Please contact [email protected] to request a change. In-person tickets may not be switched outside our refund policy, however you may send someone in your place.
Can I attend just one day? +
The Summit is designed as a two-day experience and one-day tickets are not available. You are welcome to send a team member in your place for the second day if necessary.
What is the refund policy? +
Our full cancellation and refund policy can be found at iecl.com/policies.
Are sponsorship or exhibitor opportunities available? +
Yes — please contact us at [email protected] to discuss sponsorship and exhibiting opportunities.
Online participation +
All plenary sessions are live-streamed via Zoom. During the Leadership Studios, online delegates will join the featured studio streamed from the main plenary room. Slido will be enabled throughout so online and in-room delegates can contribute questions, insights and commitments.
In-person inclusion +
In-person registration includes the Day One cocktail reception at The Fullerton Hotel Sydney. This reception is not streamed and is not included in the virtual registration.
Limited Tickets · 27–28 October 2026
The Future of Leadership
Summit APAC 2026
Join Australia's leading executives, emerging leaders and critical strategists at the Fullerton Hotel, Sydney, or live-streamed globally.
Book Now