Brendan Carter is an entrepreneur and innovator shaping the future of the Australian wine and spirits industry. He is the founder of acclaimed brands including Unico Zelo, winner of the Young Gun of Wine’s People’s Choice award, the multi-gold medaled Applewood Distillery, and Økar (amaro). This portfolio became the first B-Corp certified winery and distillery in Australia, cementing its dedication to ethical and sustainable business practices.

Building on this foundation, Brendan has evolved into a leading cultural communicator. Through his dynamic media platform, Bottle Shock, he has cultivated a global audience of over 250,000, which now connects in person at the brand’s home in Gumeracha.

His vision for the future is taking root in the Adelaide Hills at a new 50-acre vineyard in Forest Range. There, he is pioneering challenging viticultural techniques like dry-farming and advanced mycorrhizal management to plant the ‘new classics’ of Australian wine, directly influencing a style that reflects the nation’s diverse and evolving palate.

Phil Lockyer is a Noongar man from Western Australia with 25 years of experience working in Indigenous Affairs across government, community organisations, employment, and corporate sector.

His career focus is creating meaningful opportunities for First Nations people businesses, and communities, and is one of Australia’s leading practitioners of the Reconciliation Action Plan Program which strengthens relationships between First Nations people and the broader community.

Since February 2021 he has been Head of Indigenous Affairs at Tourism Australia where he is focused on ensuring the diversity, warmth and humour of First Nations people is central to Australia’s tourism narrative.

Jessica Adamson is a presenter, facilitator and one of South Australia’s most sought after MC’s.

Jess forged a reputation as one of the state’s finest journalists after 24 years in television news.

Jess is a board member of the Breakthrough Mental Health Research Foundation and the Adelaide Crows Foundation.

She’s also a passionate ambassador for CanTeen – the Australian organisation for young people living with cancer, and the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Alex Brown is a tourism development consultant, marketing advisory and content writing service. Alex’s experience is diverse and exciting after working with urban and regional destinations, leisure attractions, retail precincts, start-ups, small and big business on tourism development and marketing initiatives.

Alex knows what it takes to align and pitch projects to specific grant programs from her experience securing funding, sitting on State and local funding panels and administering grant funding for infrastructure and experiences projects. Alex has written grant applications for community, local, State and Federal funding programs across a variety of industry sectors including tourism, arts and cultural, entertainment, food, wine and export programs.

Peter Clay is a tourism and research specialist with over 25 years’ experience across cruise, aviation, and destination development, including projects with the UNWTO and UNESCO. He is General Manager of Insights at the Caravan Industry Association of Australia, lectures at Monash University in the Graduate Tourism program, is completing a PhD on tourism in regional smart economies, and sits on Tourism Research Australia’s forecasting advisory panel.

Shaun de Bruyn is the CEO of the Tourism Industry Council of South Australia (TiCSA) and a dedicated industry advocate with 20 years’ experience delivering strong outcomes across the leisure, travel and tourism industry within South Australia.

John Hart is Executive Chair of Australian Chamber – Tourism, Chair of Australian Grape and Wine, Tourism Training Australia, Capacity Optimisation Group, Ondeen, Restaurant & Catering Australia and on the Board of Food Standards Australia and New Zealand and Rangelands NRM.

He was Chief Executive of Restaurant & Catering Australia between 1999 and 2017. John holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Business Law), a Master of Business Law and was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in 2021 for service to tourism.

John also served as Chair of the Commonwealth Vocational Education and Training Advisory Board and was previously on the Prime Ministers Business Advisory Council.

Ryley Heap is an experienced economic development professional, specialising in regional and remote tourism development and economic diversification. Through his role at the Town of Port Hedland as Principal Economic Development, Ryley is responsible for working collaboratively with the government, industry and community stakeholders to improve liveability and economic diversification in one of Australia’s largest regional economies.

Ryley was appointed Deputy Chair of Regional Development Australia (RDA) Pilbara in July 2025, having served on the board since November 2023. He holds a Master of Tourism, Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing), Grad. Cert. in Data Science, Grad. Cert. in Business (Behavioural Economics) and is currently studying towards a Master of Economics.

In 2020, Ryley was awarded the Economic Development Rising Star Leadership Award by Economic Development Australia for supporting post-mining futures in East Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, through tourism development.

​With a passion for promoting and facilitating sustainable economic development, Ryley is dedicated to fostering equitable prosperity throughout regional Australia through innovation, collaboration and a deep understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities facing regional economies.

Dave Hockly is the founder of Data Story, a digital agency based in Queenstown, New Zealand, that helps tourism brands grow by using data to drive smarter marketing and better customer experiences. He’s worked with many of New Zealand and Australia’s leading tourism operators — including Destination Queenstown, RealNZ, Lake Wānaka Tourism, Cardrona Alpine Resort, Ultimate Hikes, the Tasmanian Walking Company, and the West Coast Wilderness Railway — contributing to hundreds of millions in attributable tourism revenue through data-led digital strategy.

Dave played a key role in helping Destination Queenstown pioneer its approach to regenerative tourism, aligning data, brand, and impact to support a more sustainable visitor economy. Back for his second time speaking at the Australian Regional Tourism Convention, Dave brings sharp insights, clear takeaways, and a passion for helping regional destinations thrive in a fast-changing digital world.

Inspired by Jurlique’s unique brand story, Adelaide Hills born and bred Tourism and Farm Manager Cherie Hutchinson’s affiliation with Jurlique has spanned more than a decade. What started as a Production Manager position then transitioned into the role of Farm Manager at Jurlique’s Biodynamic Farm in the Adelaide Hills. After a decade at the helm as Farm Manager, and 12 years within the Jurlique business, 2024 saw Cherie step into the newly created position of Tourism and Farm Manager. This pivotal role for the Jurlique business spans both local and global tourism opportunities, education, Brand Ambassadorship and stakeholder engagement across sponsorship, partnerships and collaborations.

Cherie enjoys nothing more than sharing Jurlique’s biodynamic farming practises with visitors at the farm, stretching back to our ancestors and the deep connections to what each season brought. Being able to represent Jurlique in the area of education, from healing herbs to biodynamic and organic farming techniques, sustainability, organic composting, and soil enrichment without the use of chemicals, and with a shared goal to be the worldwide leader in natural skincare, Cherie is proud to work for a skincare company that own each part of their process, or as Jurlique refer to it, the seed to skin journey.

Outside of The Farm, Cherie is a Mum of two young boys and her interests include keeping fit – Cherie is a keen lacrosse player, visits the gym regularly and enjoys mediative walks in nature.

Despina Karatzias, a certified trainer, business coach, and author of Adventures of a Balloon Girl, has over two decades of experience driving innovation in tourism and small business operations. As founder of the Institute of Excellence, she has transformed industry training since 2014, specialising in areas like customer experience excellence, business and product development, partnership marketing, crisis preparation, leadership, social media and and digital marketing to name a few. Her leadership roles at Navii Digital, Tourism Tribe, and Global Ballooning Australia highlight her expertise, earning her the ‘Outstanding Contribution by an Individual’ award at the 2022 Victorian Tourism Awards. Currently pursuing a Master’s in Digital and Social Media, Despina continues to inspire excellence through her dynamic programs, including the current VTIC Quality Tourism Business Program and growing catalogue of online self-paced learning experiences to make continual learning and development accessible to all small business leaders across Australia.

Deborah Kingsbury is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Ondeen, an award-winning culinary destination in the Adelaide Hills. With decades of experience in international wine and spirits, brand development, and marketing, she is recognised for creating businesses and experiences that seamlessly connect people, culture, and place. A Telstra Business Awards finalist and founding member of Entrepreneurs’ Organisation (SA), Deborah is passionate about sustainable regional growth and celebrating the producers, stories, and provenance that make South Australia unique.

At Ondeen, Deborah is driving a bold vision for immersive, sustainable tourism, championing local producers and creating authentic experiences that deeply connect visitors to the region.

Adele Labine-Romain is a respected voice in the tourism sector and a trusted thought leader, with a career including executive roles at Tourism Australia and the Tourism & Transport Forum. Until recently, Adele was the Travel Sector leader for Deloitte and a partner with Deloitte Access Economics where she worked with public and private sector businesses across the tourism spectrum—including aviation, hotels, business events, cruising and major attractions—delivering critical insights, forecasts and an extensive range of studies and evaluations to help shape the sustainable growth for the sector.

Adele has helped shape national and state, territory and destination tourism strategies engaging with industry leaders, operators and stakeholders across the country and beyond.

Now Head of Travel & Tourism at Roy Morgan, Adele leads efforts to deliver the data and insights the sector needs and to shape the policies and strategies that will enable the tourism sector to evolve, innovate and thrive in a rapidly changing landscape.

Adele has served on key industry panels, including the Tourism Forecasting Reference Panel and Thrive 2030’s Industry Data and Expert Analysis committee, and is a passionate advocate for tourism’s capacity to drive economic growth and enrich lives.

She is a frequent presenter at industry conferences and has been the author numerous thought leadership reports.

Coralie McCarthy is a respected leader in business advocacy and regional economic development, with extensive experience across both the NSW South Coast and regional Australia. She has worked in large and small businesses, run her own business, and held leadership roles in local government, giving her a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing regional communities.

As Director of Business Illawarra and former Chair of Australian Regional Tourism, Coralie has led transformative initiatives, shaped national tourism policy, and championed growth across diverse regions. She is a passionate Visitor Economy Strategist and Advocate, known for her genuine engagement, solutions-based thinking, innovation, and strategic leadership.

Merrin has built her tourism career in both Canada and Australia, leading small destination marketing organisations and delivering unforgettable visitor experiences while caring for some of the world’s most spectacular national parks.

In her current fast-paced role as National Executive at ATEC, she supports the growth and development of Australia’s inbound tourism industry through meaningful training and leadership programs.

In her “spare time”, Merrin and her husband run Bed in a Shed — their quirky vineyard stay in the Clare Valley — and manage a hand-picked suite of South Australian tourism businesses through Blocks Road Remarkable Accommodation, all while raising two small humans, a couple of goats, and their much-loved Canadian dog. She’s a firm believer in the power of AI to streamline the must-dos, leaving more room for the people, places, and stories that truly fill her cup.

Peter Pudney is a Professor of Industrial and Applied Mathematics at the University of South Australia. His research covers optimisation and optimal control of energy systems. He has extensive experience working on projects with electric vehicles—he has been building and racing solar cars since 1993, he is Chair of the Scientific Faculty of the World Solar Challenge, he built a small 3-wheeled EV that was driven around the world in 2010, and has led national research projects on planning for EVs in Australia, including a recent project on EVs in holiday parks.

Jenny is an experienced industry development manager with a passion for helping regional tourism operators thrive. Having been with Destination Southern NSW for three years now, she enjoys the challenge of covering a wide area and working with businesses at every stage of their development, helping them reach their full potential.

Before her current role, Jenny was the owner-operator of a successful tourism business that was heavily impacted by the Border Fire and subsequent floods and the pandemic. The experience of navigating those challenges gave her a profound understanding of the resilience and adaptability required to succeed in a constantly changing environment. It also cemented her commitment to supporting and empowering others in the industry.

A strong advocate for sustainable community development in rural and regional Australia, Jenny has extensive experience in high-level communication, administration, and business development. As a former Director of Sapphire Coast Tourism and former Chair of Eden Tourism Inc, she is dedicated to leveraging the many opportunities available for new tourism products in her region.

Jenny holds a Diploma in Communications from Griffith University and hopes to complete her Masters in the future.

Paige is an enthusiastic driver of change: bringing a values-led approach to all areas of tourism. She’s a respected strategist and mentor who has supported all levels of government and industry across Australia with visitor economy planning and industry capability building across her 18-year career.

After growing up on a farm in Eyre Peninsula and now managing a generational mixed farming enterprise with her family in the Clare Valley, she has a genuine love and drive for developing thriving local communities across Regional Australia.

Paige takes responsibility in being able to connect the dots between tourism potential and the lived reality for people in regional and rural Australia. She is dedicated to inspiring change with all parts of the tourism ecosystem to ensure tourism has the best chance of supporting the wellbeing of local people and places, so future generations can continue to thrive across regional Australia.

At The Tourism Collective, our vision is to enable tourism for a better future. We’re committed to demonstrating how tourism can be a force for good and help to enable communities and the special places they love thrive for generations to come.

Susan Stone is the Credit Union SA Chair of Economics at UniSA, where she provides expert analysis and new thinking about South Australia’s economic position and how global economic factors impact the local economy. Prior to joining UniSA, Ms Stone was a division head at the OECD, a Director for the UNESCAP, a Senior Research Fellow at the Asian Development Bank Institute in Tokyo, and a Research Manager at the Productivity Commission in Melbourne. Ms Stone is a frequent guest on radio and television and her opinion pieces have been published in InDaily, The Australian Financial Review and The Australian. Ms. Stone holds a PhD in Economics.

Juan, a Kuku Yalanji man, from North Queensland is the founder of Walkabout Cultural Adventures,
an internationally renowned, 100% Indigenous owned day tour business, operating half and full day
tours as well as private charters through his Kuku Yalanji homelands in Far North Queensland.
An engaging storyteller with twenty years of experience in Indigenous cultural teaching, Juan brings
expertise across Indigenous business, cultural tourism and education, working with government,
corporate and the community sectors to increase cross-cultural knowledge and understanding of
First Nation people’s connection to country.
Juan has represented Australia internationally, as a cultural business innovator in partnership with
the Commonwealth Secretariat and Tourism Australia, in Egypt and France. He is the recipient of
significant awards for Indigenous Business, Cultural Tourism and Education.
Having partnered with Telstra, Department of Communities, GeoScience, Gold Coast Suns, First
Australians Capital and Tourism Australia Reconciliation Week, Juan delivers cultural programs,
experiences and language education.
Juan is committed to sharing knowledge of Australia’s First People, acknowledging that increased
understanding drives reconciliation.