Sydney meet-ups with a friendly vibe, curious people and industry leaders — sharing cross-industry knowledge to help each other lead through future technological disruption.
2 0 2 6
About
Speakers
About
Talks
• Friendly Vibe
• Emerging Leaders
• Curious People
See you at
Level 13/4-6 Bligh St,
Sydney NSW 2000
I went to my first corporate event alone yesterday and nearly turned around at the front door. But I’m so glad I didn’t. The Future Tech Collective event at Bilue last night exceeded my expectations and the conversations were even better.
Head of Recruitment at GCG HQ | Psychology & HR Graduate (with Honours)
Talks from…
Next event
2 7 T H A U G U S T 2 0 2 6
Cindy
Schwartz
Founder and Principal of Executive Excellence Group
About speaker
Cindy Schwartz is the Founder and Principal of Executive Excellence Group, where she works with boards, executives, and leadership teams navigating transformation, artificial intelligence, and organisational change.
Her work focuses on the human side of leadership in an AI-enabled world: how leaders build trust, exercise judgement, communicate with credibility, and create the conditions for people and technology to perform together.
Cindy brings more than 25 years of senior leadership experience across Australia, Asia Pacific, and the United States, including senior leadership roles at AWS, Microsoft, and Gartner. She is known for combining commercial and technology expertise with a direct, practical approach to leadership.
Georgina Robilliard
Operations Leader
About speaker
Georgina Robilliard has spent 10+ years helping tech companies build cultures people actually trust. She's led People teams at remote-first startups, co-founded Playgrounded to help teams connect and do better work together. She now runs GHR4HR, giving HR leaders room to think, instead of just putting out fires.
LinkedIn
About talks
Cindy Schwartz
AI Is Going to Take Your Job... Now What?
AI is reshaping the workplace, bringing uncertainty, change and plenty of fear. But what if understanding how your brain responds to uncertainty could help you manage uncertainty and improve team performance. In this session, we'll explore the neuroscience behind stress, learn practical emotional intelligence strategies to navigate change with confidence, and discover why human judgement, context and connection are becoming more valuable than ever in an AI-enabled world.
Georgina Robilliard
(Trust First: Building High-Performing Teams in an AI World
As AI changes how we work, trust is becoming the leadership capability that matters most. Building on the themes of uncertainty explored in the previous session, this talk examines why traditional approaches to trust no longer work in today's global, hybrid and AI-enabled workplaces. You'll leave with practical strategies to build psychological safety, strengthen collaboration and create high-performing teams that thrive through change
Event details
-
Timings are estimates, but we do try to stick to them.
Events are a mix of prepared talks, panel discussions and break out conversations. There will be light refreshments, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.A typical night is run like this:
5.30pm
Doors open, snacks and drinks on arrival.6.00pm
Introduction to the night.6.05pm
First Talk (no questions at this stage).6.20pm
Short break, folks mingle and snack.6.30pm
Second Talk (no questions at this stage).6.50pm
Short break, folks mingle and snack.7.00pm
Panel discussion, audience participation is encouraged. It’s an open forum.7.30pm
Event concludes.
-
There will be a selection of drinks and snacks available on the night.
-
Register now!
2 6 T H M A R C H 2 0 2 6
Previous
Speakers
Our 8 events have featured 16 leaders, each helping our community explore how tech is changing the world around us.
-
Sarah-Jane Kurtini is a founder and storyteller known for turning complex ideas into clear, compelling narratives. She co-founded Tinybeans (ASX:TNY) — once described by New York Magazine as “the most loving space on the internet” — becoming one of the few female founders to take a tech company public on the ASX.
Today, she helps startups and scaling teams cut through Complexity Creep, sharpen their value proposition, and align their go-to-market efforts around a story that sticks. After years in London, Sydney and New York, she now works from the Central Coast, advising founders while juggling tennis games, surf attempts and life with teenagers.
-
Arani Satgunaseelan is the Co-Founder and Director of Vollardian, a consulting firm built for businesses that want strategy they can actually execute. She began her career in investment banking before moving into investor relations and then stepping into a senior strategy role at eBay, where she launched new revenue streams and helped develop a global division over three years.
In 2017, fuelled by a desire to drive meaningful change for more companies, Arani co-founded Vollardian — a full-service consultancy specialising in growth, operations, tech and digital transformation, sales and people strategy. Working with clients from emerging startups to some of Australia’s biggest brands, including Bunnings, AFL, Brighte, Slyp and Shippit, Vollardian operates on a simple principle: we win when you win.
-
AWS Head of Innovation AU/NZ shared his two rules that helped him navigate 28 years in technology and product development (including the odd disaster).
-
School deputy principal, now a leadership coach Rosie Mlinaric, spoke about the need to embrace emerging technology by teaching students to use, analyse, and improve AI-generated content.
-
Lawyer-entrepreneur Nik Albrecht, discussed the challenges of emerging technology without proper regulation, especially global applications which are treated differently by each country.
-
UNO founder and business investor Vincent Turner, spoke about how leveraging technology to transform company culture, enables greater flexibility, collaboration, and innovation, raising the bar for remote and hybrid work.
-
Content strategist Mel Flanagan works closely with NGOs all over the world, explored how Artificial Intelligence can enhance government transparency by making public data more accessible and easier to consume.
-
Relationship counsellor and sex therapist Anya spoke about how technology is changing our brains and intimate relationships.
-
Climate communications expert Marguerite spoke about communicating in uncertain times.
-
Tech and tech communication expert, formerly AWS, Canva, Nine, YOW! Kris pondered the question, just because we can do big things with technology, doesn't mean we should.
-
Technology leader Kane shared his personal journey of using voice simulating AI technology to give his wife a voice, and explored potential commercial opportunities and sinister fraudsters.
-
Technical recruiter Fiona Chan explored how the job market is changing and what the future might hold for job security, skills development and career growth.
-
Humaneer.app CEO Careen Matthews explored how trust, fear and culture shape whether teams embrace or resist new tech.
-
Designer Engineer Josh Crowley shared how a chaotic attempt to fix meal planning turned into building practical AI tools to boost everyday productivity at home.
-
Blending culture, creativity and tech, Nicole Salisbury shows how AI-powered music experiences are reshaping learning and the creative industries.
-
With decades across winemaking and global brand leadership, Scott McWilliam reveals how emerging technologies are protecting, transforming and elevating the modern wine industry.
About the Organisers
The Future Tech Collective was co-founded by Ruth Neech and Georgina Robbilliard, who first connected through the tech industry and bonded over their shared love of wine.
-
Having both led people teams within traditionally male-dominated tech environments, they were ready to break away from the usual “blokes and beers” event formula and build something more people centric.
Their goal for FTC was to create a space that is relaxed, welcoming and inclusive, where networks and friends are made. The wine simply sets the tone: warm, encouraging and a little celebratory. Cheers!
A special thanks to Bilue, Playgrounded and MJGT for helping make our events possible.
-
Ruth is currently the Chief Growth Officer at Bilue, where she applies her passion for people, leadership, and organisational culture. Her journey began in high school, where she was awarded the ‘Einstein Award’ for being the person most likely to succeed after school, as a result of being more focused on socialising than academics. While her peers pursued their passions in subjects like art, science, and technology, Ruth found her true calling in understanding and connecting with people.
With a Bachelor's Degree in psychology and a Master's in art therapy, Ruth has built a diverse career in people-centred roles across various industries, including child protection and emerging technology. A strong advocate of the Culture First movement, she believes that trust and inclusion are key to enabling individuals to thrive at work. These values are central to her leadership philosophy at Bilue, where she fosters a culture of growth, collaboration, and innovation.
-
G has built a career working with people in the technology industry. She’s always loved how passionate people in technology are about technology, but tech is not her jam. What technology can do for people, and how it can impact society and how we work is far more interesting to her.
G runs Playgrounded with her co-founder Stefan Bramble - helping hybrid & remote teams build relationships, rituals & reflection practices to get more done and have more fun.
If you’d like to speak at one of our event please, contact us.