Grant Cairns is Commonwealth Bank’s Executive General Manager for Business Lending. He is a strong advocate of Australian SME businesses and is passionate about the role that technology and AI can play in shaping the future of business lending.

Since joining CBA in 2005, Grant has held a number of roles across Commonwealth Bank. From 2016 - 2021, Grant led Commonwealth Bank’s Regional and Agribusiness Banking business, and has held senior leadership roles across Commercial Lending, Transaction Banking and Asset Finance, serving key sectors of the Australian economy in metropolitan and regional areas.

Grant is a Director of the Australian Business Growth Fund joining at its inception in 2020. He has completed AsiaLink’s Leaders Program and holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Accounting and Finance, as well as a Master of Applied Finance. He is also a Chartered Accountant, a Graduate of Australian Institute of Company Directors and Vice President of FINSIA.

Judith’s career was in the law and financial services before joining Australian Philanthropic Services in 2012 as one of the organisations first employees.

Since that time Judith has become a leading authority on ancillary funds, grown and led a team of expert philanthropic advisers and was named CEO in June 2022.

In only 12 years APS has grown to be the leading independent ancillary fund services provider with over 960 clients who collectively gave away $200M to charities in FY2024.

APS works closely with financial advisers and accountants right round the country providing expert governance and giving support to their clients, freeing up financial advisers and accountants to concentrate on their clients’ overall financial affairs.

Judith believes that raising awareness and education about the benefits of structured giving is a key part to meeting the government and sector goal of doubling giving by 2030 and to growing strong culture of giving in Australia.

Erlene Graanoogst is the Executive General Manager of Operational Excellence at the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), where she leads strategic initiatives to enhance operational performance and fairness in the financial services sector.

With extensive experience in change, transformation and business management, Erlene has worked across global financial hubs, including Amsterdam, New York, and Sydney.

During her 14 years at ING Bank, Erlene held senior roles such as Head of Commercial and Wholesale Banking Operations and Head of Business Management – Global Data Management, driving impactful initiatives across diverse markets.

In addition to her corporate career, Erlene is deeply committed to social impact and mentoring. She actively supports Roots Inspire, a program focused on empowering underrepresented professionals and serves as an Expert in Residence and Operations Advisor at Young Change Agents, where she champions financial literacy initiatives for young people.

Fluent in Dutch, English, Spanish and Portuguese, Erlene holds a Master of Laws specialising in Criminology and Juvenile Law from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Her unique blend of expertise in financial services, social advocacy and innovation positions her as a transformative leader. Erlene is dedicated to shaping an inclusive digital future by empowering organisations to harness technology and purpose effectively.

Fionna is passionate about supporting early-career professionals navigating complex and often non-linear career paths. With over 15 years of experience delivering strategic transformation across finance, healthcare, and telco, she’s led large-scale change in some of Australia’s most regulated and dynamic sectors, including project director roles at Westpac in regulatory compliance and governance uplift.

I'm Eliot Hastie, a seasoned journalist with a focus on television production. My journey in journalism has led me to explore diverse topics, from personal finance to emerging trends in fintech. With experience at ausbiz and Stake I've developed a knack for translating complex financial concepts into engaging content that empowers readers to make informed decisions.

I thrive on uncovering compelling narratives and delivering actionable insights to my audience. Now at Ten, I help to produce the flag-ship 5pm bulletin, working with our reporters to create an hour of news a day. Outside of work, you'll find me exploring new hiking trails, indulging in culinary adventures, or immersing myself in the latest literary masterpiece.

Brett is an experienced business leader with 30 years’ investment industry experience in Australia, Europe and Asia. This includes 13 years as CEO of abrdn Australia (Aberdeen Asset Management).

With a specific focus on funds management, superannuation and wealth management, Brett has held roles from back office to front office and leadership. Highly experienced in the development, execution and oversight of strategy at all levels of an investment business - corporate, investment, product, distribution, operations, risk, and people/culture. Experienced in the development & deployment of new & innovative products / services. Strong track record in leading organisational change and in the development of new and innovative products and services.

Anthony is Managing Director and Senior Broker and Credit Advisor at Equilibria Finance. Anthony works with his clients to deliver credit solutions aligned with their overall financial strategy and long-term goals and objectives.

Anthony delivers residential, commercial and asset finance solutions to time-poor professionals, business owners and business managers.

Max has over 18 years’ experience in the Business Advisory division providing consulting, advisory, outsourcing and taxation services to a variety of clients ranging from SMEs, small listed entities and Australian subsidiaries of overseas-based global corporations. Max has strong capabilities within a range of sectors including hospitality, construction and retail.


Max has a proven track record of successfully integrating foreign subsidiaries into Australia; from general business advisory to setting up worker’s compensation policies, cloud-based accounting solutions, payroll and accounts payable and receivable functions.



Additionally, Max has an in-depth understanding of the tax landscape spanning a wide range of areas including income tax, capital gains tax, goods and services tax, fringe benefits tax and indirect tax.

Max acts as the point of contact for business owners and finance departments to solve problems and guide them through the changing accounting and tax landscape.

The Team Superannuation Fund (Team Super) is a profit to members, public offer pension fund dedicated to serving the retirement needs of all Australians. Team Super manages over $22 billion in funds for approximately 150,000 members.

Vasyl Nair is the Chief Executive Officer of Team Super (prior to this, Vasyl held the roles of Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Chief Risk Officer and Chief Strategy Officer). Vasyl is a keen advocate for the ongoing development of the superannuation sector, with active participation in a number of different parts of the industry. He has served as a director of an Australian fintech organisation, specialising in superannuation and investment administration. Vasyl was appointed to the Board of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) as Director in January 2025, the peak pension fund association in Australia.

Vasyl has a strong background in law, corporate finance and strategy, having held senior roles across at some of Australia’s largest financial services institutions. Vasyl holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hon), Bachelor of Commerce, Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice and an Executive Master of Business Administration. He is admitted to the Supreme Court of NSW as a solicitor, is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has achieved a Certificate of Business Excellence from the Haas School of Business, U.C. Berkeley.

Jonathan is a CFA charterholder and a fully qualified Actuary that has worked in funds management for over 15 years.

Prior to Reach Alternative Investments, Jonathan was a director in Russell Investments’ Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) business. In that role, Jonathan was responsible for managing over $4 billion of multi-asset portfolios for clients, which included close to $500 million of private market assets. Jonathan’s clients included the superannuation funds of a state government and household name companies, as well as the portfolios of universities, and not-for-profits.

Geeta is a Fellow of FINSIA with over 20 years of experience across leading financial institutions. She has successfully navigated complex organisational challenges, and driven impactful business outcomes through strategic planning, stakeholder management, and commercial leadership.

Holding a CPA qualification and postgraduate credentials in Analytics (UNSW) and Behavioural Economics (UTS), Geeta has leveraged data, design thinking, and cross-functional collaboration to drive value creation via impactful customer, employee, and business outcomes. Her approach to work is underpinned by a commitment to excellence, building professional partnerships, and influencing meaningful, measurable impact.

Having dedicated 10+ years to volunteer roles, Geeta is a seasoned mentor and community advocate. Engagements include a for-purpose networking group, 10+ years mentoring on the LUCY program at the University of Sydney, a 3-month Jawun secondment where she worked with indigenous leaders to design a model of how the community wants to interact with government, as well as contributions to the local school and local council initiatives.

Outside of work and volunteering, Geeta loves annoying her two children—because quality time is important, right?! When she’s not annoying her children, she enjoys unwinding with either yoga, or soaking in nature and water views with scenic walks. Geeta also cherishes exploring new destinations with her family, and connecting with friends over good conversations, laughter, and shared experiences

Alice Tang has over 25 years of experience gained at Macquarie Group, Deloitte and most recently, as COO of MA Asset Management, a listed alternatives fund manager. Leading a cross functional team across Client Services, Product, Fund Operations and Accounting, Risk Management, Data & Technology, she partnered with the business to lead a 2.9x growth in asset management to $10.3bn during her six-year tenure.

Her time at Macquarie includes investment, operations and risk and compliance roles, most notably part of the team which managed a shopping centre fund in China for 9 years for global institutional investors.

A Fellow of the Chartered Accountants ANZ, a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a MBA (Exec) holder from the AGSM, she brings strong change leadership and governance experience in digital transformation and operating model design and execution.