Andrés is a senior marketing leader, one of State of Social's best-rated speakers, and a proud cat-dad.

Bec is a passionate brand, marketing and eCommerce FMCG leader with experience in global corporate, founder-led social enterprise and start-up organisations, as well as in sitting on and working closely with boards.

For his work on TikTok, Dave made the Forbes 30 under 30 list in December 2020. From 2020 to 2024, he’s earned five Webby nominations and three wins, including ‘Best Creator.’ His first year on TikTok was awarded the North American Digital Awards for ‘Best Digital Project to Engage Young and/or Millennial Audiences.’

David Stewart is one of Australia’s leading intellectual property lawyers and is an Adjunct Professor at Murdoch University. David has lectured at Murdoch University, the Australian Graduate School of Management in Hong Kong, Edith Cowan University, and in Phnom Penh for The Asia Foundation on the IP implications of Cambodia joining the World Trade Organisation. David has written for or been covered by The Wall Street Journal, the South China Morning Post, the Australian Financial Review, The Guardian, and The West Australian newspapers.

Dr Georgie Carroll graduated with her PhD in Sociology from the University of Sydney in 2023. Her research explored the intersection of fandom communities and consumption, and she used the fandoms of Taylor Swift and the television series Supernatural as case studies. Since completing her PhD, she has been widely featured as a media expert on fandom (and specifically Taylor Swift), and is carving a niche for herself in the fan engagement space.

Edwin is Australia's leading Instagram expert and the founder and CEO of social media consultancy, The Social Sandwich

Heralding from the Meerkats school of purpose, Emma knew that her calling in life was to help create better experiences for customers. Having gone through life ruthlessly analysing her own major purchase, travel, vehicle and health experiences, it was fate when she walked through the door of Meerkats (subsequently known as Wunderman Thompson and now VML) and discovered that you could actually do that for a living.

Hi, my name’s Georgia. I’m a writer and strategist who specialises in organic social media content creation. I have almost a decade of experience in digital marketing and have worked clientside for government, hospitality businesses and NGOs (Parks Victoria, Riverland Group, Epilepsy Foundation of Australia) as well as corporate agencies (Ogilvy PR, Popsicle Designs).

With 18 years of marcomms experience working on global brand campaigns for clients such as PlayStation, OREO, Xbox, Converse, and Honda F1 Racing - to name just a few - James Whatley is a multi-Cannes-Lions winning strategist who has spent his entire career working at the forefront of brand, digital, and integrated marketing. 

Described by the Irish Times as “patron saint of people with jobs which have permanently alienated them from their parents”, Jeremy Burge is the founder of Emojipedia, creator of World Emoji Day, and has spent the majority of the past decade with the title derided by the aforementioned publication: Chief Emoji Officer.

Having made his parents proud by studying law and working as a commercial lawyer for two and a half years, Josh decided to abandon that goodwill and start again in the dynamic world of advertising.

Julian Pace is Australia’s leading voice in happiness, emotional wellbeing, and lived-experience mental health. The founder of Happiness Co, he has the goal to positively impact 10 million lives in 10 years.

Ken is a visionary creative leader that has led branding for the world’s largest fashion conglomerates LVMH and Fast Retailing. Most recently he was the Global Creative Director at UNIQLO driving designer collaborations with Jil Sander, Jonathan Anderson and The Louvre as well as overseeing teams in New York, Paris and Shanghai. He also previously led brand creative at DKNY, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Monocle Magazine and has worked with global cultural icons such as Roger Federer, Bella Hadid and Tyler the Creator.

Larah is a seasoned community professional specialising in connecting brands with their customers through social media and online community — employing strategic thinking to develop, grow, and scale.

Lia Haberman is a distinguished Creator Economy expert and author of the ICYMI newsletter that goes out to over 25K subscribers — sharing weekly social media updates with marketers and creators.

Originally from Texas and now proudly Australian, Meg Coffey is a “Texstralian” known for her dedication, calculated risks, and exceptional communication skills. As the founder of State of Social, Australia’s largest digital marketing & social media conference, Meg is dedicated to keeping businesses ahead of the curve.

I guess you need to know how I got here. I have 12+ years of experience. I’m not a Forbes 30 under 30; I have not been named ‘Top Marketing Influencer’ by some random agency looking to PR for new business. At Ryanair, I ran its social media. I let my work do the talking (most of the time), and I think I’m doing ok at it. You can call me the Aldi version of Gary Vee. Now it’s time to speak Frankly.

Paula’s experience is diverse, encompassing over 17 years and spanning across London, New York, Shanghai, Portland, Sydney, Tokyo, and Melbourne. She has worked across a wide range of categories and clients, with a particular emphasis on youth and sports brands.

Richard is an award-winning Executive Creative Director, hopeful environmentalist, and founding partner of Berlin. In 2015 he was crowned ‘WA’s most awarded creative of the decade’ by Campaign Brief, but a recount showed that he was actually not. He says he doesn’t care, but his wife argues that this is also when the bedwetting began. Richard has won more effectiveness awards than any other creative on the West Coast, including the only Grand Effie and regularly ranks in the top 10 Executive Creative Directors Australia wide.

Currently working as a social media producer in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Brisbane team, Scott continues to experiment and grow several social media channels focusing on organic growth and adapting to audience trends and interest.

Meet Tess, the architect behind Brandable—an agency on a mission to sprinkle inclusion into every brand strategy like confetti at a party. As a seasoned marketer and passionate advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), Tess doesn’t just talk the talk; she walks the walk, albeit in comfy shoes.

Will Bal, is a master communicator with a career that spans two decades across retail, sales, and account management. This depth of experience and his infectious enthusiasm has seen Will excel in his field. He cuts through the crap, leans into the hard conversations, and genuinely loves every minute of it, because, if you’re not having fun, what’s the point?