Steven Bradbury – Keynote Speaker

Steven is Australia’s First Winter Olympic Gold Medallist and a renowned Australian motivational speaker. His career as an Olympic speed skater was driven by determination and most importantly – a will to succeed. With the same passion he showed on the ice, Steven has continued his success as a motivational speaker, sharing his experiences from both business and sport, to inspire and help people to succeed in business and in life, and to overcome adversity and achieve their goals.

Steven will share his insights on how success takes passion, persistence and teamwork and how much of the prize is in the journey.

More Speaker announcements to come!

Aaron Morey – Keynote Speaker

Aaron is the Chief Economist at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA, leading CCIWA’s economic reform and advocacy agenda.

Prior to joining CCIWA in 2020, Aaron was the principal economic and commercial advisor to the former WA Treasurer, Ben Wyatt, working on complex policy issues such as GST, asset sales and major governance and economic policy reforms. As a senior economist at the Productivity Commission, Aaron led economic policy development and public inquiries into key issues affecting business and industry in Australia including workforce regulation, intellectual property and infrastructure.

At Converge Esperance, Aaron will share his insights on the Western Australian economy, the emerging macro-economic trends influencing business and industry right now and the unique opportunities and challenges facing the business sector.

Meet our Speakers – David Eaton, Small Business Commissioner

Announcing David Eaton, Western Australia’s Small Business Commissioner and CEO of the Small Business Development Corporation.

David is the longest serving Small Business Commissioner in Australia and has extensive business management experience. In 2023, David was awarded a Public Service Medal in the Australia Day Honours list for outstanding service to small business development, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Converge is honoured to announce David as a part of the 2024 program, where he will be delivering critical insights and practical tools for businesses to address their cybersecurity concerns and ensure their operations are secure online.

Kitty Prodonovich – Keynote Speaker

Kitty is CEO of the Regional Chambers of Commerce and Industry of WA and a strong advocate for regional small business. Having owned businesses in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Kitty is a former President of both the RCCIWA and the Kalgoorlie-Boulder CCI and former Board Chair of the Small Business Development Corporation.

Kitty currently sits on the General Council of CCIWA and is a non – executive Director on the Board of Keystart Home Loans and the Country Housing Authority.

As an experienced host for State and regional events, we’re delighted to have Kitty bring her engaging and inspirational style to MC at Converge Esperance.

Tim Connoley – Speaker

Tim is the director at URBIS and is passionate about developing solutions to complex city and region shaping problems and projects. He does this with his intimate knowledge of the development sector, the local economic landscape, global trends and best practice benchmarks.

Tim has an extensive background in economic development and commercial advisory, and is an urban economics lead at Urbis.

He has supported economic and industry development across regional Australia, including Esperance, for government, industry and not for profit clients.

We look forward to welcoming Tim to Esperance for Converge 2024.

Annabelle Hender – Speaker