Thriving Together

Simon Kuestenmacher is a Director and Co-founder of The Demographics Group, based in Melbourne. He holds degrees in geography from universities in Berlin and Melbourne and previously worked as a business consultant with KPMG Australia.

In 2017, Simon co-founded The Demographics Group with Bernard Salt, providing specialist advice on demographic, consumer and social trends for business. He regularly presents to corporate, government and industry groups across Australia on demographic trends, consumer insights and cultural change.

Simon is a columnist for The New Daily and a contributor to The Australian, and is a frequent media commentator on demographic and data matters. He has 700,000 global social media followers, reaches more than 35 million people each month, and ranks among the world’s Top 10 data visualisation influencers.

Katja Forbes is an award-winning CX innovator and Executive Director at a Global Financial Services firm, recognised among Westpac/AFR’s “100 Women of Influence” and CX Network’s Top 20 CX Leaders in AI and Financial Services. She combines human-centered design with emerging technology to help organisations rethink customer experience and growth.

Her session, Machines Are Customers Too: The Next Frontier of CX and Business Growth, explores what happens when AI-driven agents and autonomous systems begin making buying decisions without human intervention. Katja will examine how traditional customer journeys, trust and engagement need to evolve as machines become genuine customers, and will share practical frameworks to help leaders adapt their customer experience strategies for this emerging shift.

Bernie Brookes is a retail veteran with more than 40 years’ experience leading multi-divisional organisations through significant change and transformation. His career has included senior roles across Australia, India and China, including Managing Director positions with Woolworths Group.

Bernie was CEO of Myer Limited from 2006 to 2015, leading the separation of Myer from Coles Group and rebuilding the business under new ownership. At Woolworths, he was a key architect of Project Refresh, which reduced costs by more than $5 billion over five years, and also served as Director of Marketing.

His contribution to Australian retail has been recognised with the Sir Charles McGrath Award for marketing excellence and induction into the Australian Retailers Association Hall of Fame in 2013.

Mary Verschuer is a highly accomplished executive and board  leader with global experience across engineering, mining services and packaging.

Mary has led complex manufacturing, supply chain and commercial operations across international markets, particularly in Asia, and now brings that same commercial acumen, strategic judgement and leadership depth to advisory, mentoring and non-executive roles.

Having worked across SMEs, multinationals, private equity and listed businesses, Mary offers exceptional perspective on growth, transformation and leadership, making her an outstanding Syndicate Chair.

Ray Glickman is an experienced Chair, non-executive director, CEO mentor and former CEO with more than 40 years of executive and board leadership experience. For over 20 years, he led Amana Living and the City of Fremantle as CEO, following executive roles in Victoria and the United Kingdom.

His experience spans governance, strategy, leadership development, innovation, urban development, community services and aged care. Having worked across government, the not-for-profit sector, private enterprise and entrepreneurial ventures, Ray brings a broad perspective to contemporary CEOs.

As Chair of a CEO Institute Syndicate, he creates a trusted environment where leaders share experiences, challenge thinking and leave with practical insights they can apply within their own organisations.

Felicity Zimmerman is a business leader with 25 years international experience and brings a broad strategic perspective, gained from a background in law, financial services, risk management, complex transactions, government and not-for-profit businesses.

Felicity currently serves as Deputy Chair at Foundation Housing, Non-Executive Director at DevelopmentWA, Board Member at Women’s Legal Service WA and is the principal of FZ Advisory. Felicity has held a range of senior executive roles including Chief Risk Officer and Acting CEO at Keystart, a State Director at ANZ Bank, and Legal Counsel at Barclays Bank London. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours), Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting and Finance) and a Graduate Certificate in Applied Finance and Investment, and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.