Mentors

Vivian has established an enviable track record as a commercial CFO and executive director in many diverse industries such as technology, pharmaceutical, fast moving consumer goods and consumer services. Her broad functional responsibilities have included all aspects of Finance, Supply Chain, Procurement, Facilities Management and IT. She has led the design and implementation of various financial systems for multiple markets across the Asia Pacific region based on leading practice.

Richard is a Partner at PwC where he has worked for 20+ years specialising in Corporate Finance and Valuation. Richard’s areas of expertise are: risk analysis, valuation, finance, forecasting and strategy. He has experience in the Financial Services (Banking, Insurance, Funds management), Retail, Mining and Commodities, Property, Consumer and Industrial goods, Education, Government Services.

Josephine is a seasoned Strategist & Certified Agile Growth Coach bringing clarity & confidence to Mid-Market Leadership Teams with Growth mindset to help design their Company Growth (Sofos Advisory) & Category (Category Design Advisors). With more than 20 years of experience in Strategy Consulting, Executive Management & Scaling Tech (NASDAQ) businesses across APAC & Europe, she was part of the 100M to 1Bn (6 yrs) journey of the iconic company Infosys (NYSE:INFY). She started both the Infosys Singapore & Germany offices; headed up Sales & Marketing for Greater China; and drove complex $100+ Million deals in Australia. While she was EVP, Group Executive APAC at Aurionpro, managing a portfolio of acquired companies, she 4X Revenue in 2yrs with no additional sales resources. Her first startup was in 2000, was the Programme Curator for Practical Entrep Track for The Churchill Club (2011-13), created the Entrep & Innovation SIG in Victoria for ACS (2013-15), and was a Lead Judge of the Premier National iAwards for ICT innovations for the Startup, CIO & Entrep Pearcy Medal categories (2012-2015) and was an ex-national athlete.

Rhonda is a globally experienced commercial leader specialising in accelerating sales growth and profitability through strategic change and expert category management. Over the past 15 years, she has successfully driven large-scale initiatives within leading Fortune 500 companies such as Wesfarmers, Staples, and Woolworths Supermarkets. Her leadership experience spans the Australian, UK, European, and North American markets. Rhonda's expertise extends across diverse industries, including FMCG Retail, Mining & Industrials, Fashion, and Business Supplies. She is passionate about the intersection of product, design, and sustainability.

Dr Paul Brown is a national and international award-winning Senior Lecturer in Creative Intelligence and Innovation at Transdisciplinary School, University of Technology Sydney. He is course director of the Diploma in Innovation and specialises in innovation in sustainable production systems. Paul’s is passionate about new technology and how changes in technology can be integrated into new products, services and business models to transform society to become more environmental and economically sustainable. His work has been published in leading international journals including Journal of Cleaner Production,International Journal of Production Economics, International Journal of Production Research, British Accounting Review, Environmental Education Researchand Business Strategy and the Environment.

Maz is a seasoned entrepreneur with experience in sectors including fintech, commercial real estate, and hospitality. He's the co-founder and CEO of BizVision, a business buyers' agency that has secured over AUD 250 million for Australian SMEs. He has also co-founded a data analytics firm and a medical genetics lab, which focuses on the study of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNA) as biomarkers in colorectal cancer (CRC). He currently sits on the board of numerous social enterprises and startup incubators worldwide. Before embarking on these ventures, Maz worked at Fortune 500 and ASX100 companies. With over seven years of expertise in big data and AI, he contributes significantly to commercial real estate companies and serves as a sessional lecturer at universities in NSW. His doctoral studies align with his passion for big data and AI, using these to develop data-driven insights and strategies for business acquisitions and franchise expansions.

Alex is the founder of Anicca Digital, a tech consulting agency helping small and medium businesses scale through smart, practical technology. In just over a year, Anicca has served nearly 100 clients and built a team of 8 across engineering, operations, and strategy. Previously, Alex contributed to the growth of two Australian startups - Checkbox, a no-code workflow automation platform, and Mutinex, a marketing mix modelling platform. Alex thrives at the intersection of product, operations, and growth, driven by a passion for building from the ground up and enabling impact through technology.

Amanda Crawford is an enterprise change leader with more than 15 years’ experience leading strategic change, technology transformation and operating model initiatives across financial services, insurance, technology, government and consulting environments. Her specialty is helping organisations navigate complex transformation by bringing together strategy, delivery governance, Agile ways of working, change leadership and business engagement into a cohesive enterprise approach. She has led large-scale business and digital transformation programs across both public and private sectors, including operating model redesign, technology modernisation, organisational restructure, culture uplift and strategic portfolio delivery.

Howard Wilson is a technology executive with more than 30 years of experience helping software businesses grow and scale globally. He is currently a Strategic Advisor to PagerDuty (NYSE: PD), having previously served as the company’s Chief Financial Officer and Chief Commercial Officer. During his time at PagerDuty, Howard played a key role in the company’s IPO and its growth from less than $50 million to nearly $500 million in annual recurring revenue. Earlier in his career, he held senior leadership roles at Dynatrace, Keynote Systems and Oracle, spanning strategy, operations, finance and commercial leadership. 

Howard is particularly passionate about helping emerging leaders turn ideas into viable businesses. As a mentor, he brings a practical perspective on business models, go-to-market strategy, financial planning, scaling organisations and the challenges that arise as companies move from an idea to a sustainable enterprise. He enjoys working with entrepreneurs to challenge assumptions, simplify complex problems and translate ambitious ideas into actionable plans. 

Akshat is building arrayah — a residency program in Australia that brings together founders, artists, and researchers to live, create, and build alongside one another. 
 
Before Arrayah, Akshat spent more than five years at Antler, where he helped launch its Australia fund and later worked on launching a fund in the Middle East. His experience spans venture capital, startup ecosystems, and working closely with founders across different markets.