Day 1 – Wednesday 11 November
09.10 Opening Keynote – Finding strength and clarity when everything feels overwhelming
- Holding focus and purpose when demands are constant and time feels stretched
- Navigating competing priorities with resilience, finding a path forward without always needing to escalate
- Making thoughtful decisions in uncertainty, and trusting your judgment while knowing when to seek more insight
- Bringing calm and balance to multiple stakeholders with different expectations
Sam Bloom, Keynote Speaker, Best-Selling Author, 4 x World Para Surfing Champion, sambloom.com.au
10.10 Networking that feels natural and delivers impact
- Prioritising relationships that align with business outcomes and career direction
- Building trust and credibility without needing to “work the room”
- Strengthening influence through consistent, low-friction connection
- Maintaining a high-value network in a way that feels natural and sustainable
Oksana Koriakova, Founder, CEO, Networking Queen, Impero
11.00 Morning tea
11.30 EA Panel: Redefining productivity for today’s EA when you’re ‘beyond busy’
- Becoming outcome-oriented rather than task-focused
- Identifying low-value work and reducing or delegating it
- Shifting from reactive task management to proactive workflow design
- Measuring success in impact, not activity
Natalie Hawkes, EA to CFO, Federal Court of Australia
Donna Peat, EA to Director-General, National Archives of Australia
Kim Szerdahelyi, EA to the Dean and General Manager, College of Law, Australian National University
Gina Morrison, Executive Assistant, IP Australia
12.15 Sustaining excellence without burning out
- Recognising early signs of overload and addressing the problem
- Creating realistic boundaries in high-expectation roles
- Aligning energy, focus, and workload
- Building habits that support consistency, not just intensity
David Flakelar, Founder and Head Facilitator, Inner Performance
12.55 Lunch
13.50 Digital confidence with smarter tools for simpler days
- Using technology intentionally to streamline scheduling, inbox management, and daily priorities
- Cutting through tool overload and identifying the platforms that genuinely save you time
- Staying current with digital trends without getting distracted by every new app or feature
- Get more from Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Teams, OneNote, and more) to work faster and with less friction
Mario Halouvas, Founder and CEO, MHPP
14.45 Keeping your footing when the ground is constantly shifting
- Using your natural strengths to filter high-impact priorities and silence the noise of constant ‘urgency;
- Understanding your specific stress patterns to respond with calm precision and clarity rather than reacting to environmental pressure
- Building a ‘personal operating system’ backed by AI-driven insights that support your health, nutrition, and mental stamina
- Turn biological awareness into a competitive advantage by harnessing your ‘flow state’ to increase output and collective team resilience
Dr Cam McDonald, VP Education, Shae Wellness, Shae Group
15.25 Afternoon tea
15.50 Managing pressure without losing perspective
- Staying composed when stakes are high
- Breaking down complexity into manageable action
- Supporting executives through uncertainty
- Maintaining perspective in demanding environments
Kyra Breden, EA to Deputy Secretary, Integrity and Security Group, Attorney-General’s Department
16.20 Senior Executive Panel: From support to copilot: Evolving the EA–executive partnership
- Anticipating needs without overstepping
- Creating alignment on priorities and working styles
- Challenging constructively when needed
- Becoming a trusted sounding board, not just a doer
Megan Leahy, First Assistant Secretary, Office for Women, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
Josh Watkins, Head Infrastructure Planning and Coordination, Australian Submarine Agency
Brigadier Georgeina Whelan AM, CSC and Bar, Senior Coach and Mentor, Army Combat Training Centre, Project Lead – Service Level Charter, Joint Health Command, Department of Defence
Shane Lysons-Smith, Assistant Secretary, Security, Integrity and Assurance Branch, People, Property and Security Division, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Liz Hefren-Webb, Commissioner, Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission
17.05 Congress photo
17.15 Networking drinks
Day 2 – Thursday 12 November
09.10 EA Panel: Understanding how your organisation works to build business acumen
- Interpreting financial, operational, and strategic signals
- Speaking the language of different departments
- Adding value in cross-functional environments
- Strengthening your commercial awareness
Claire Savle, Senior EA, Commonwealth Treasury
Rachael Koorey, Executive Officer, Australian Submarine Agency
Sylvia Brunner, EA, Chief People Officer, University of Canberra
Miriam Hutchinson, EA to Deputy Secretary, Skills and Training, Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
09.55 Thinking like a decision-maker: Strengthening your business lens
- Understanding what drives executive decisions
- Connecting daily work to organisational outcomes
- Identifying risks before they surface
- Contributing insights, not just information
Corrie Fitch, Capability Manager, Axiom Associates
10.40 Morning tea
11.10 Partnering with AI to create efficient workflows for advantage
- Use AI as a practical partner to streamline tasks, anticipate needs, and deliver higher-quality support
- Balance efficiency with relationship-building to enhance your impact and strengthen your advantage to the organisation
- Connect calendars, inboxes, task managers, and documents into seamless, low-friction workflows
- Make small, strategic time investments now that deliver significant long-term efficiency gains
Mario Halouvas, Founder and CEO, MHPP
12.10 EA – The EA advantage: Navigating tension, politics, and boundaries with confidence
- Anticipating and addressing issues before they escalate
- Managing personalities and competing agendas
- Setting boundaries without creating friction
- Staying professional in politically sensitive situations
Yvette Simpson, Founder, The Y Principle
12.50 Lunch
13.50 EA Panel: Influencing buy-in without formal authority
- Framing ideas so they land with impact
- Building quiet credibility over time
- Influencing across different levels of seniority
- Knowing when to push and when to pause
Lee-Anne Dean, EA to the Chief Executive Officer, Commonwealth Superannuation Commission
Veronica Edwards, EA to the Chief Executive Officer, National Film and Sound Archive of Australia
Claire Savle, Senior EA, Commonwealth Treasury
Anita Grassos, Executive Officer to the Chief Executive, Clinical Excellence Commission
14.30 EA to EO: Owning your career narrative to progress on your terms
- Defining what ‘next’ looks like for you and the steps to get there
- Building visibility in the right way for the right reason
- Positioning your value beyond your job title by positive action
- Taking deliberate steps toward leadership or specialist paths
Rachael Koorey, Executive Officer, Australian Submarine Agency
15.15 Chair’s closing remarks
15.25 Afternoon tea
16.00 Close