SXSW Sydney Mentor Sessions: Fifteen Minutes That Could Transform Your Future

Picture this: your own personalised 15-minute slot with industry leaders. Whether you're launching a startup, pivoting careers, or scaling new heights, SXSW Sydney’s mentor sessions deliver the kind of bespoke guidance you can’t get anywhere else.

This isn't your typical networking. This is your chance to sit across from the experts and get the insights that could inspire or even transform your career or business. Book your individual slot and make every minute count.

Meet Your Mentors

Mentors: Monday Afternoon Session

Mark Blackburn (Marketing Director, CHOICE)

Ask me about: Marketing strategy, brand building, resilience

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Remo Giuffre (Founder, REMO Since 1988)

Ask me about: Creative Leadership & Entrepreneurship, Content Creation, Brand Strategy

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Courtney Ellis (Founder, Tangerine Drift)

Ask me about: Content marketing for startups, social content, blogging, SEO, PR & graphic design

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Meagan Loader (National Film and Sound Archive)

Ask me about: Career transitions, Media career pathways, Radio

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Mentors: Tuesday Morning Session

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Hayley North (Neuroscientist, Understand Your Brain)

Ask me about: Neuroscience, employee wellbeing, managing stress and burnout

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Carl Du Plessis (Technical Product Co-Founder, Fyve Labs)

Ask me about: Enterprise leadership, Product development, Business Analytics

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Jaynaya Winmar (Blakbone Sistahood)

Ask me about: Indigenous Innovation & Culturally-Driven Entrepreneurship, Strategic Storytelling for Systems Change, First Nations Global Leadership & Cross-Cultural Collaboration

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Renee Gangemi (LUMME)

Ask me about: Brand strategy/positioning, Go-to-Market & Growth Strategy, Business strategy and setting objectives, How to sharpen your pitch for investors, partners and customers

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Mentors: Tuesday Afternoon Session

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Renee Wootton (Director, New Market Development, LanzaJet)

Ask me about: Career Transitions in STEM, SAF as a decarbonisation strategy, The next generation of Leadership

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Cassie Roma (Director and Founder, CR&Co)

Ask me about: Women in Leadership, Career Progression, Brand Growth & Strategy

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Angela Stengel (Former Head of Digital Content & Innovation at the ABC; President of fbi.radio)

Ask me about: Digital content creation, leadership & team building, AI strategy & ethics

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Larissa Nery (Tourism Australia)

Ask me about: Digital marketing, Digital transformation, travel marketing, global teams

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Yeshal Mansoor (Yes Help Network)

Ask me about: Turning challenges into confidence, Designing and scaling community projects, Navigating bold career pivots

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Mentors: Wednesday Morning Session

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Uma Thana Balasingam (Co-Founder, The ELEVATE Group)

Ask me about: Careerquake – transitions & reinventions, Social as your new CV, How to build a borderless business as a solopreneur

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Lisa Main (Founder, Main Bureau)

Ask me about: Career transitions, content creation, thought leadership, AI and disinformation

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Priya Ramakrishnan (Nasdaq)

Ask me about: Design, AI, FinTech, Product thinking and strategy, Career transitions

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Will Tregoning (Unharm and The Loop Australia)

Ask me about: Non-profit start-ups, philanthropic fundraising, advocacy campaigns

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Vanessa Simsick (Senior Global Engagement Manager, Denver Economic Development & Opportunity)

Ask me about: Global Business Development and Expansion to the U.S., Sub-National Diplomacy

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Stephanie Garnica (Director Global Engagement, Denver Economic Development & Opportunity)

Ask me about: What it takes to enter the U.S. market as an international founder, What can the Denver (Colorado) ecosystem offer me and my expansion efforts, Ask Me About:  Denver’s and Colorado’s well-known lifestyle appeal 

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Mentors: Wednesday Afternoon Session

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Sarah Pelecanos (Founder/Owner, TwentyTwo Digital)

Ask me about: MarTech, Business Ownership, Growth Marketing

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Stefan Bramble (Co-Founder, Playgrounded)

Ask me about: Group dynamics, connection and engagement, leadership

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Aaron Quigley (CSIRO)

Ask me about: AI, Academic Research, Leadership

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Jen Dobbie (Flip the Focus)

Ask me about: Podcast Creation, Guest Outreach & Research, Hosting; Scaleup Growth, Branding, Marketing & Comms; Network and Community Building for Impact

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Olga Boylan (Love Your Work, Talent Solutions)

Talent Attraction and Retention - Employee Value Proposition (EVP),  Scaling your startup with culturally aligned talent, Culture Design, Values and behaviour framework development

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Joe Millward (18 Degrees Film & Interactive)

Ask me about; emerging technologies

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Mentors: Thursday Morning Session

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Dan Bennett (Co-Founder / General Partner, Salus Ventures)

Ask me about: Venture Capital, Fundraising, Start-up Storytelling

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Nici Sweaney (CEO, Ai Her Way)

Ask me about: AI Operating Systems, Ethical AI leadership, AI for Entrepreneurs

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Mark Dwyer (Hudson Bay Capital)

Ask me about: Clean Tech, Digital Assets / Web3

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Simon Wright (InterValley Ventures)

Ask me about: Venture Capital, Brand Development, Product Market Fit

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Taryn Pieterse (Rampersand)

Ask me about: Fundraising, Go-to-Market, Tech

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Ed Bigazzi (Five V Capital)

Ask me about: Start ups, VC investing, scaling businesses

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Rajeev Gupta (Alium Capital)

Investing, Growth, Exit

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Mentors: Thursday Afternoon Session

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Jonathan Englert (Founder, AndironGroup)

Ask me about: PR, Deep Tech Communication, Startup Growth

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Sidney Balfour (This is Amplify)

Ask me about: Creator Economy, Social Content Creation, Social-first Marketing

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Chris Dwyer (Getty Images)

Ask me about: Content creation, creative leadership, brand storytelling, visual communications

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Nicholas Pickard (APRA AMCOS)

Ask me about: Government Relations & Policy Advocacy, Creative Industries & Platform Governance, Strategic Communications & Stakeholder Engagement

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Mentors: Friday Morning Session

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Casey Beros (Chief Casey-ness Officer / Director, kiin Care Education)

Ask me about: Health communication strategy and ecosystems, non-fiction pitching and publishing (for authors), building a personal brand when you're an expert not an influencer

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Catherine Fitzpatrick (Founder & Director, Flequity Ventures)

Ask me about: Career transitions, Stakeholder engagement, Advocacy

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Lili Sussman (CEO + Leadership Team Coach)

Ask me about: Growing businesses and teams, career development, CEO and C-suite coaching

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Sam Buchanan (CEO, IMAA)

Ask me about: Media and the future, Digital marketing trends, Agency growth strategies

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Emmanuella Grace (Find Your Voice Australia)

Ask me about: Global Business Development, Expansion to the U.S., Sub-National Diplomacy

Mentors: Friday Afternoon Session

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Karen Chan (Perennial)

Ask me about: Career/leadership, funding and fundraising, startups

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Rachael Townsley (Indeed)

Ask me about: Marketing Beyond Australia, Being a Generalist Marketer, Navigating the Return to Work after Parental Leave

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Jessi Miley-Dyer (World Surf League)

Ask me about: Making a CEO, Steps to Executive Leadership, Education as Career Freedom

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Katrina Mathers (Cherry Hands Media)

Ask me about: Film/TV/Animation, Film Festival Strategies, Personal PR/Goal setting for creatives

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Oliver Ree (Eucalyptus)

Ask me about: Product, Design, AI

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More mentors will be announced ahead of the event.

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The Details That Matter:

• When: 13-17 October, 2025
• Where: ICC Sydney, Exhibition Level 3 Foyer (south end)
• Cost: Included with your SXSW Sydney Platinum or Pro Pass
• How To Book In For A Mentor Session: On the SXSW Sydney app, search the schedule for your preferred mentor, click the session, and complete the booking form. Spots are limited and allocated on a first come, first served basis, so act fast.

Don’t have a SXSW Sydney pass yet? Secure yours now and step into the room with the leaders you need to meet.