World Business Forum Sydney attracts strong interest from Asia
- Written by Tess Sanders Lazarus
The 2018 edition of the World Business Forum Sydney has proved one of the best yet, with thousands of business people and entrepreneurs descending on Sydney for the iconic world forum. This year's event attracted strong interest from Asia and brought together industry leaders from across the world to speak on topics as diverse as the speakers themselves. Over the two days, May 30 to 31, the Forum connected industry leaders with some of the most innovative business thinkers the world has to offer.
Celebrating its fifth year of learning, inspiration and networking in Australia, the 2018 edition represented the Sydney leg of a global series of forums run by World of Business Ideas (WOBI) and drew a crowd of more than 2,000 of the region's leading business executives and thinkers.
Malisa Mlinaric, General Manager of WOBI Australia, said, “in a world of information overload, World Business Forum focuses on the issues most relevant for today’s leaders and businesspeople, stimulating new thinking and inspiring action.
“It also provides a unique networking environment to connect with like-minded professionals.”
The speakers for the World Business Forum Sydney 2018 comprised a diverse and distinguished group of business leaders. Speakers included:
Sir Ken Robinson
One of the world’s leading authorities on creativity, innovation and personal development, Sir Ken Robinson’s work is dedicated to helping unleash the full potential of people and organisations around the globe. He spoke on the topic of creativity.
Alan Mulally
One of the most respected business leaders of our age, Alan Mulally served as president and Chief Executive Officer of Ford Motor Company from 2006 to 2014. He led Ford’s transformation into one of the world’s leading automobile companies and the number one automobile brand in the United States. Alan spoke on the topic of people.
Mark Webber
FIA World Endurance Champion and two-time Monaco Grand Prix winner, Mark Webber is one of motorsport’s most popular and high-profile stars. He enjoyed 12 years at the pinnacle of a sport that requires extraordinary levels personal preparation, teamwork and constant innovation. Mark spoke on the topic of performance.
Rachel Botsman
Author of the influential books Who Can You Trust and What’s Mine is Yours, Botsman is recognised around the world for her visionary insight on how a new era of trust and technology is changing the ways we live work, bank and consume. Rachel spoke on the topic of digital transformation.
Daniel Lamarre
President and CEO of the Cirque du Soleil, Daniel’s talent for international business development spans a long career in creative industries. As head of Cirque du Soleil, Daniel is responsible for nurturing the delicate balance between the company’s global strategy across five continents, its financial growth and stability, and the integrity of its culture and values. Daniel spoke on the topic of innovation.
Other speakers included:
Chip Conley, former Global Head of Hospitality for Airbnb. Topic: New Management
Stew Friedman, founding Director of the Wharton Leadership Program. Topic: Leadership
Kelly Peters, expert in behavioural science and CEO and Co-founder of BEworks. Topic: Marketing
Chris McChesney, number one Wall Street Journal best selling author ‘The 4 Disciplines of Execution’. Topic: Execution
Shara Evans, world leading futurist and founder and CEO of Market Clarity. Topic: Technology
Vivek Chaudhri, Academic Director of Executive MBA programs at the Melbourne Business School. Topic: Strategy
Mlinaric said, “World Business Forum Sydney 2018‘s focus was ‘Humanification’. Too often the focus of leaders continues to be on structural organisation – not on empowering those who actually make up those organisations; on the product – not on the consumer for whom the product is supposedly made for; on the technology – not on the problem that technology is supposed to solve."
World Business Forum Sydney encouraged attendees to focus on people, always.
WOBI’s World Business Forum was ranked first place in Best Conferences to Attend by The Muse, and has been in Forbes’ Top 10 Leadership Conferences for two years running.
Sponsors of this year's event included CPA Australia and SAP, both highly renowned industry leaders. Other partners included Porsche, Bupa, Melbourne Business School, 90 Seconds, Canon, Mindnavig8or (capital M & N), Nespresso, The Sydney Morning Herald, The CEO Magazine and China Daily.
WOBI has a strong presence across the globe, and prides itself on creating intelligent, inspiring events to keep business leaders on the cutting edge of innovation and industry transformation. World Business Forum Sydney has become one of the key events within Australia’s business and leadership sector. Information regarding 2019 is available from the website.
