Kylie Watson-Wheeler is the Senior Vice President & Managing Director of The Walt Disney Company Australia and New Zealand and the Head of Sports Network ESPN for Asia-Pacific.

Kylie is responsible for The Walt Disney Company in Australia and New Zealand across Film, TV, live events, digital, content distribution and streaming services. She manages a portfolio of content and products across Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, ABC Studios (US), 20th Century Fox and National Geographic. She also has regional responsibility for ESPN across the Asia Pacific Region.

Kylie has 20+ years of entertainment industry experience and has led multiple areas of the business across The Walt Disney Company including content, marketing, sales, consumer products, theatrical distribution and local production. She has held responsibility for the Publishing business across the region including India, South East Asia and Korea.

Before joining Disney, Kylie was the Global head of Marketing for Hallmark Inc., based in Kansas City, USA, where she oversaw and managed the marketing function for Hallmark’s US$4 billion business.

She previously held roles at Coca-Cola Amatil and Penguin Books. She is also the President of AFL Club, The Western Bulldogs and is a Non-Executive Director at Tennis Australia and The Australian Ballet.

She resides in Melbourne with her husband Mark and their two children Finn and Lexi.

Sarah Walsh is a former Australian international athlete with 70 caps and 35 international goals for the Matildas. She has a decorated career including appearances in the 2004 Olympics and 2007 FIFA World Cup. She clinched victory at the 2010 Women’s Asian Cup.

Since then, Sarah has evolved into an accomplished sports executive, Logie-nominated commentator, and compelling public speaker. Her firsthand experience in high-performance sports has translated into advocating for pay equity and inclusion, spearheading innovation in governance and policy driving social change at all levels of football.

Notably, as Head of Women’s Football for Football Australia, she influenced the strategy that generated a staggering $398M for football’s World Cup leveraging strategy through government and commercial investment, with an additional $200M earmarked to improve community infrastructure for women and girls across all sports. As hosts of the most commercial FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Matildas shattered attendance and viewership records, drawing over 11 million viewers during the semi-final against England, making it the single highest rating TV program of all time.

Recently ranked 22nd on News Corps’ list of 100 most influential women in sport, Sarah’s illustrious playing and professional career converge in this pivotal moment.

Today she serves as the Head of AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 Office at Football Australia, charged with delivering the most prominent Women’s Asian Football Tournament to our shores.

Amanda Del Prete is the Director of Product & Customer Experience at Tennis Australia, where she leads the strategic vision behind fan engagement, innovation and product design across one of the world’s most iconic sporting events — the Australian Open. Since joining in 2023, Amanda has played a leadership role in delivering the record-breaking-event, which welcomed more than 1.2 million fans in 2025 and set new global benchmarks for live entertainment, experience design and audience growth.
With a career spanning global executive roles in product development, marketing, and commercial leadership, Amanda brings a blend of creativity, customer insight, and operational excellence. Prior to Tennis Australia, she held senior positions at Hallmark Cards across Australia, the UK, and the US where she led large-scale transformation and innovation across diverse markets.
As a lifelong spectator and player of sport, Amanda is passionate about the intersection of sport, culture, and human connection.

Tom Mottram is the Chief Events Officer at the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, where he leads the delivery of two of Australia’s largest annual global sporting events: the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix and the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, Tom oversees a broad portfolio including infrastructure and event build, venue operations, customer operations, motorsport, catering, and capital projects. He leads a diverse team and an extensive supplier network, managing a wide range of subject matter expertise.

Tom has nearly 15 years of experience with the Corporation and has previously held senior roles at TGI Sport—where he served as Senior Account Manager for Cricket Australia—and at the Victoria Racing Club (VRC). He also contributes to the broader sporting community as a Director on the Board of Regional Sport Victoria.

Tom is responsible for delivering one of the most complex and dynamic sporting events in the country, including:

· Capital investment in infrastructure to support the growing demands of hosting a Formula 1 event in a public park,

· Venue design and operations for Australia’s largest pop-up event, accommodating over 465,000 fans across four days, and

· Track scheduling for one of the busiest calendars on the F1 circuit, featuring Formula 1, Formula 2, Formula 3, and leading Australian motorsport categories such as Supercars and Porsche Carrera Cup.

Tom is passionate about people leadership and is committed to fostering a united, high-performing, and enjoyable culture within his team and the wider organisation.

Rachael has had a diverse career spanning senior roles in government, major event, and tourism agencies through to being co-owner of an entrepreneurial sport and music promotional company. Rachael has developed major event and tourism strategies for cities, led successful government major event bids and executed host city planning for major events, including the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games and the New Zealand 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Prior to TEG, Rachael was the Director and CEO of Duco Events, leading the creation and delivery of multiple international major sporting events, overseeing the acquisition and growth of live content as well as working in the intriguing world of international boxing promotion. As Managing Director, TEG Sport, Rachael is responsible for the growth of TEG’s global sport content

Misha Zelinsky is a leading expert on the rise of global authoritarianism.

A Fulbright Scholar, economist, lawyer, and author, Misha spent 2022 and 2023 covering Russia’s invasion from inside Ukraine as a war correspondent for The Australian Financial Review. For this work, Misha is personally sanctioned by the Putin regime.

A graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science, he is an expert associate at Australia’s National Security College. Misha is a director of AustralianSuper, an industry superannuation fund with over $300 billion under management. He is currently the Executive General Manager of Corporate Affairs at the National Rugby League.

Thanks to his time leading the Australian Workers’ Union— Australia’s oldest blue-collar trade union — Misha has been a senior political figure with a reputation for expertise in supply chain sovereignty, national security, industrial policy, countering foreign interference, international trade and energy security.

Misha is a regular columnist for The Australian Financial Review, writing on the future of democracy, Australian domestic policy, national security and geopolitics. As a contributor to MSNBC, BBC, and ABC, Misha’s work features in Australian and international print publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, Daily Telegraph, Foreign Policy and The Times.

Misha’s book The Sun Will Rise, detailing the events of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine was released in December 2023.

David began his role as NBL CEO in May 2023. Stevenson has brought to the League a wealth of leadership experience, having previously held positions at the AFL as General Manager of Operations, the Western Bulldogs as CEO and Nike as VP & GM of Emerging Markets.

During almost seven years at the AFL and 17 years at Nike, Stevenson held many senior executive positions in sports, commercial, operations, and retail both in Australia and Internationally. Stevenson also has strong governance experience as the board chair of a state government health service.

During his tenure as CEO, the league has seen record growth in broadcast, attendance, digital and media metrics.

With a background in journalism, Loretta has been at the forefront of driving digital content innovation within the sports industry. Her career includes roles as a sports reporter for 3AW and Sky News Australia, where she covered some of Australia’s most significant sporting, political, and news events. She then transitioned to sports administration, initially as Media Manager at the Carlton Football Club, before joining the executive team at the Sydney Swans in 2016.

At the Sydney Swans, Loretta has overseen the growth and transformation of the club’s digital presence, leading creative strategies to engage fans and position the Swans as a leader in sports media and communication. Under her guidance, the Swans have embraced new technologies like virtual reality, live streaming, and innovative digital storytelling to bring fans closer to the action, both on and off the field.

Beyond her work in media and content, Loretta is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion. She serves on the Sydney Swans’ Reconciliation Action Plan and Diversity Action Plan committees, championing initiatives that promote inclusivity within the club and the wider community.

Dino is Group Chief Executive Officer with Cronulla Sharks. With more than 35 years’ experience in the corporate travel and leisure markets both domestically and internationally, he has had a lucrative career previously holding CEO positions at Star Sydney and Accor Plus and has extensive experience in aviation, hotel management, sales, marketing & franchise hotels, hospitality, team leadership and setting solid strategic direction.

Jennie Sager is the CEO of the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL). Jennie is a globally recognised leader in the entertainment, media, and technology sectors, and brings a wealth of experience and an innovative approach as the WNBL enters an exciting new chapter following its acquisition by Wollemi Capital Group Syndicate and the NBL.

Jennie’s distinguished career spans global roles with major organisations including Nine Entertainment, National Geographic, Viacom/MTV, Twitter, and Nextdoor. She is passionate about basketball having played at an elite level in college and is strongly connected with community sports through her current participation. She is currently a Director of the Australian Women in Music Awards (AWMA) and a Director of Sydney’s City Recital Hall. Her leadership in spearheading transformative projects, fostering community impact, and empowering women makes her a game-changer for the WNBL.

Andrew Stark is the President World Surf League Asia Pacific. Andrew joined WSL in September 2018 after serving as CEO for Surfing Australia for 9 ½ years, where he successfully grew that business commercially and started the now thriving Surfing Australia High Performance Centre (HPC) which is based at Casuarina Beach, Northern New South Wales. Andrew is a member of the global leadership team of WSL and leads the WSL APAC team that executes half of the global World Championship Tour (WCT) including major events in Australia, Tahiti, Fiji, Asia and Abu Dhabi. He is also responsible for the delivery of over 30 WSL regional series events throughout Asia Pacific. Andrew is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, has completed the Harvard Business School Authentic Leadership Development Program in Boston, and attended Stanford University in USA to complete a Strategic Marketing and Innovation Executive Program. Andrew is a passionate and experienced surfer who thoroughly enjoys the ocean and everything the sport and lifestyle of surfing has to offer. He is a sports enthusiast and family man.

Elisa has worked as a Data & Analytics leader in the US and Australia in industries spanning finance, FMCG, technology, and sport. Currently, she is the Head of Data and Analytics at the Australian Football League (AFL) which provides a Centre of Excellence for the AFL and all 18 Clubs . She is passionate about leading businesses to be more data driven at all levels of the business. Elisa is a people-first leader passionate about building high-performing teams built on diverse thinking and the ability to bring our authentic selves to work. Elisa serves as an Advisory Board Member for the Institute of Analytic Professionals Australia and is on the board of Spectrum Migrant Resource Centre.

Phil is a Product Leader and a lifelong technology and sports enthusiast. He is currently leading the product and UX of Cricket Australia’s flagship app – the Cricket Australia Live App. This past season, in partnership with Microsoft, Phil led a world-first: a fully user-facing, end-to-end delivery of an AI-powered insights feature – using hundreds of data points per ball to tell stories that would otherwise remain untold.

Phil is passionate about enhancing fan experiences and ensuring sport continues to push the boundaries in an attempt to inspire and entertain the future generation more than ever before.

In his previous role, Phil worked at Telstra, contributing to the go-to-market strategy and growth of the AFL, NRL and Netball Live apps. He now continues to have a keen interest in technology, particularly the applications of AI.

Rich Hawkins is a Partner and Co-Head of Bird & Bird’s Media, Entertainment & Sports group in Australia, with deep expertise in commercial and regulatory matters across the sports and entertainment sectors. He began his career in Bird & Bird’s London office and rejoined the firm in Sydney after serving seven years as General Counsel of Rugby Australia. Rich is known for his strategic insight, having advised major clients like Football Australia, Rugby Australia, Netball Australia, Activision Blizzard, Riot Games, and the City of Sydney, and is actively building a leading Asia-Pacific sports law practice.