Keynote Speakers

TW2023 keynote speakers

Leigh Sales AM

Leigh Sales AM is a multi-award winning author and journalist at the ABC and anchors the much-loved Australian Story program. Before that she presented the network's prime time current affairs program 7.30 for twelve years. She has been the face of the ABC's major events coverage, including federal election and budget nights. She has interviewed every living Australian Prime Minister and innumerable world leaders and celebrities from Hillary Clinton and Tony Blair to Paul McCartney and Elton John. Leigh has held numerous roles at the ABC, including as Washington Correspondent, and is a three-time winner of Australia's highest journalist prize, the Walkley Award. She's the author of four books, including the national best seller Any Ordinary Day and most recently Well, Hello. Leigh also co-hosts a wildly popular podcast with Annabel Crabb called Chat 10 Looks 3. It attracts hundreds of thousands of downloads monthly and has an associated Facebook group with over 47,000 members.

In 2018, Leigh was awarded the Order of Australia for her services to journalism. She has a Bachelor of Journalism and a Master of International Relations and was awarded Deakin University's 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Olympia Yarger

Olympia Yarger is the CEO and Founder of Goterra, a Canberra-based waste management infrastructure company that provides food waste infrastructure as a fee-for-service. Olympia was awarded KPMG's Australian Tech Innovator of 2022 and was recently named the ACT Australian of the Year 2023.

Goterra recognises that waste management hasn’t changed in millennia but needs to so we can have a meaningful impact on the climate crisis. Olympia believes that instead of transporting waste to a hole in the ground, we can instead realise its true value and reduce emissions by managing it onsite with modular units housing the heroes of Goterra’s work-black soldier fly larvae.

Goterra is not a traditional company, and Olympia is not a traditional CEO. She grew up in Canberra. It was on her Nonna’s farm she learned about farming pigs and chickens and found her first passion - horses. She has always loved agriculture and the land, and this love continues to motivate her to protect our planet. That’s why sustainability is a key tenet of Goterra’s operation - Olympia’s the only CEO that catches the bus instead of a plane if she can.

Jane Cay

Jane Cay is the founder of birdsnest, an online fashion business based in regional NSW that employs 150 locals in a town of 6,500. The birdsnest story is a fun one, and should give hope to many small, independent businesses out there trying to adapt to this global and technology led world.

Birdsnest’s success has been built on exceptional customer service and innovation, fields in which they have been highly recognised and awarded for in the industry. The latest evolution in 2022 includes the launch of their ‘rehatched’ preloved range and diving into the tourism industry with ‘Nest Stays’, just imagine the ultimate girls getaway shopping weekend.

Jane is passionate about cultivating a workplace that has people moving from the city to the country. birdsnest has twice featured in the top 10 places to work in Australia. Jane has been a board member on Jobs for NSW and prior to this she was a founding board member of the National Online Retailers Association. The best bit is, Jane gets to live in the slow lane, and work in the fast lane. Her home, where she lives with her sheep farmer and three children, is a 130km round trip for a litre of milk.