2026 SA HR Leadership Summit

19th & 20th February
Adelaide Convention Centre

Forward Motion –  Harnessing collective strength to shape change

As builders, partners, and change-makers, HR leaders are catalysts who guide their organisations into the next phase of growth. By harnessing collective strength, unlocking human potential, and fostering a culture of collaboration, they continue to create meaningful change for their business, people, customers, and the communities they serve. Forward Motion is amplified by HR leaders who reimagine possibilities, navigate complexity and lead with a focus on collective strength.

The 2026 South Australia HR Leadership Summit will explore key areas, including developing sustainable people strategies, adopting advanced digital innovation responsibly, integrating human-centred principles to improve employee engagement, safety and wellbeing, ensuring leadership accountability and governance, designing adaptive workforce strategies, uplifting capability, building a learning culture and empowering a multigenerational workforce. These themes will shape conference discussions, helping attendees refine their strategic roadmap for 2026 and beyond.

Key topics to be explored:
  • Leveraging human potential, collaboration, knowledge, and technology – developing a future-ready organisation
  • Sustainable people strategy – prioritising employee well-being and engagement as a foundation for long-term success
  • Future-ready workforce – upskilling, reskilling, and capability uplift to meet evolving business and community needs
  • Retention and engagement – recognising people as a critical driver of success, and fostering a culture of continuous learning, meaningful connection, and collaborative growth
  • Responsible AI governance and adoption – empowering HR to champion ethical, secure, and people-focused digital transformation
  • Creating a safety-first environment – the interconnection of HR, safety and leadership
  • Shifts in leadership mindset and behaviour – emphasising inclusive leadership, workforce agility, leadership accountability, digital transformation, and employee safety and well-being
  • Data-driven HR – using analytics to inform workforce planning and strategic decision-making
  • Multigenerational workforce – creating inclusive strategies for collaboration across age groups
  • DE&I and purpose-driven work – embedding diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging into organisational culture
  • Harnessing the power of the collective – leveraging people and knowledge to build a thinking organisation
  • What's next? Trends and expectations that might shape the way HR influences business outcomes, inspires future leaders and contributes to a wider ecosystem
+ more

Featured Presenters

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Angela Wiggins
Chief People Officer
BAE Systems Australia
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Sophie Holdstock
Executive People & Safety
ElectraNet    
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Debbie Kirby
General Manager, People & Safety
SA Water    
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Kate Berry
Chief People Officer
G'Day Group    
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Kim Boland
Chief People Officer
Chrysos Corporation 
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Susan Babidge
Legal Practitioner Director
Australian Industry Group 
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Renee Draper
Group Chief People & Culture Officer
Kelsian Group Ltd.
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Karlie Cremin
CEO
DLPA & Crestcom ANZ    
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Lesley Marchioro
Group Executive, People & Culture
SAGE Group    
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Sheila Woods
Managing Director
Interstaff
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Kamini Kruger
General Manager, People & Culture
Mayfield Group Holdings
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Sarah Curran
General Manager, Human Resources
Thomas Foods International     
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Christelle Simpson
Chief People Officer
Saab Australia 
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Liz Humphreys
General Manager, People & Culture
SkyCity Adelaide    
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Rachel Botting
General Manager P&C – SSN AUKUS
ASC Pty Ltd    
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Mark Johnson
Founder
EGM Partners
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Anita Peace
General Manager, People, Culture & Professional Services
Star Pharmacy Group    
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Alex Bond
Director - Strategy & Growth
PBD Hogan

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Hayley Lokan
Workforce Capability Lead
Tonkin 
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Daniel Healy
Partner
Leading Teams Australia
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Kath Faulkner
Group Manager, Capability
Silverchain Group

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Stuart Sinclair
Learning Architect
Australian Institute of Management
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Andy Lester
General Manager
Expr3ss!
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Lorraine Caruso
Senior Lecturer in Leadership & Director of Online MBA
Adelaide University
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Dani Cuff
CEO
Harrison McMillan;
Co-Chair of the Summit


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Daniel Franco
CEO
Reframe Change;
Co-Chair of the Summit

Gold Partners

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Summit Partners

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Networking Partners

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Register Your Interest

For information about registration, partnership or speaking opportunities, please contact us at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.