26 must-see business events for 2013

Business events offers leaders a chance to be inspired, to gain insight, meet new people and even to drum up new business, sometimes.

Leading companies pace the year with some well-timed conferences, workshops or visits to see inspirational experts in the field of leadership. They send out their reports and staff for refreshers, and stimulation, and a break from the routine that provides an instant snap to productivity.

We’ve taken a look at some of the best on offer throughout 2013 for C-suite executives so you have plenty of time to plan for them.

A couple of our favourite conferences haven’t announced 2013 dates yet, so we’ll update this page when details become available.

Have we missed anything? What events are you going to, and why? Let us know in the comments and we’ll add them.

JANUARY

• Women & Leadership  Advanced Leadership Program: 12-month program

The Advanced Leadership Program is designed to support the rapid advancement of high-potential female leaders from all sectors and industries.

During a career-defining 12-month journey, participants accelerate their own career progression as they strengthen the performance of their teams. As the program advances, participants become part of an exclusive cohort of female leaders. Each participant is allocated a dedicated coach for the duration of the program. The coaching process is fundamental to the program, and greatly enhances the learning process.

To review the program prospectus, click here. For information on the scholarship application process, please contact WLA on 1300 138 037 or info@wla.com.au

• VECCI Business Leaders Luncheon series: Three over the year in Melbourne.

A powerful information and networking session for CEOs, business owners and key community stakeholders.

This series brings together influential business representatives to network over lunch and hear from high-profile business guest speakers presenting on innovative and thought-provoking topics.

• VECCI Women in Business – Regular networking series, Melbourne.

One of Melbourne’s premier women’s networking series, providing a contemporary, professional and social platform for prominent business women from corporate management to business owners. As well as hearing from dynamic and successful guest speakers, this series provides the opportunity to make valuable business contacts and further develop existing relationships in a relaxed environment.

FEBRUARY

• Harvard Club of Australia Monday Club. February 4, 2013, Sydney.

A group forum luncheon for members and guests with a guest speaker (to be confirmed), followed by discussion/debate.

• Strategic Management Institute breakfast briefing. February 12, Melbourne.

It’s not me, it’s you: Realising business reinvention by innovating management. How to create a company that continually reinvents itself.

• Australian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility Conference. February 13, Melbourne.

Corporate social responsibility is all well and good, but how do you embed it into the way your organisation works? The keynote will be delivered by Professor David Allen of the University of Surrey, and will investigate why organisations fail at corporate social responsibility. 

• Gartner Business Intelligence & Information Management Summit. February 25-26,  Sydney.

Perfect for CIOs, or those who simply want to know how to use information and analytics more effectively in their business, this conference explores the ways information is changing businesses. From big data to social media, mobile to managing risk, it’s a huge program with lots of different streams for different interests.

• The Churchill Club Melbourne. Thursday, February 7, 5.30pm-8pm. Building Scale. 

• The Churchill Club Melbourne. Tuesday, February 12, 5.30pm-9pm. Sales Magic Workshop with Brendan Lewis. 

 MARCH

• CFO Summit, March 10-12, Gold Coast. RACV Royal Pines Resort.

The CFO Summit is the premium forum bringing elite buyers and sellers together. An invitation-only event, the summit offers Australia and New Zealand’s chief financial officers and solution and service providers an intimate environment for a focused discussion of the key new drivers shaping corporate priorities and finance strategies.

• Australia’s first global luxury forum to take place at the Art Gallery Of NSW, March 18, Sydney.

deLux13 is Australia’s first forum to focus on domestic and global business in the premium and luxury sectors. With an impressive schedule of guest speakers, deLux13 will provide an opportunity to gain important insights from today’s most influential and successful corporate and business leaders.

www.deluxforum.com

APRIL

• Ownership Matters Annual Conference. April 9, Melbourne.

Now in its second year, the Ownership Matters conference is a chance to listen to some of the biggest investors and financial analysts in the country discuss issues relating to corporate governance, investor relationships and finance. LeadingCompany went along in 2012 and was pleasantly surprised by the passion and widely divergent views in the room. A highly educational and surprisingly entertaining experience.

• HR Summit. April 10-11, Sydney.

Featuring a bevy of human resource heads from some of Australia’s largest companies, the HR Summit is touring four cities throughout 2013. The speakers vary slightly from city to city. Sydney’s conference speakers, along with the agenda, can be seen here.

• The Churchill Club. Tuesday, April 23, 5.30pm-9pm.
  Gain Sharing Workshop with Dr Stuart McGill

MAY

• The 4^th Women on Boards Conference – Where to Now? May 8-10, Sydney.

The Women on Boards conference has been a catalyst for changes around gender diversity in the Australian economy for a decade. The 2013 conference will feature sessions and thought leadership on a broad range of topics within our two sub-themes:

1. Keeping diversity on the boardroom agenda; and

2. Exploring the future of work

The conference is an opportunity to be part of the next wave of action to change attitudes and practices around women achieving board positions and other leadership roles. An unparalleled opportunity to learn, to share and to build powerful relationships for growth.

• CIO Summit 2013. May 8, at Crown, Perth.

The CIO Summit is a unique opportunity for CIOs and ICT professionals to gather to gain insight from industry experts as well as real–world experience from CIOs on critical business and technology issues. The CIO Summit brings you one day of learning, peer sharing and exploring the latest IT and business trends.

Hear from the best of the best as they reveal all they know about new trends, new technologies and proven IT strategies for your business.

1. What are the high-priority IT issues for the year to come?
2. What should you do now to prepare your business?
3. How are your colleagues already embracing new technologies to gain a competitive edge?

• The Churchill Club. Tuesday, May 7, 5.30pm-9pm. Unlock the Power of Pricing Workshop with Jon Manning

• The 6th Asia-Pacific CPO Forum, May 15-16, Melbourne

Dedicated to lifting commercial leadership at the highest levels of the procurement profession, this annual event is hosted by The Faculty Roundtable and sponsored by VISA and ARIBA. In 2013, the event will be held at The Mansion Hotel & Spa, Werribee Park and is expected to again attract over 50 Chief Procurement Officers from organisations including BHP Billiton, NAB, Santos, QANTAS, Nufarm, the Victorian Government, Schweppes, and AGL.

 JUNE

• NeuroLeadership summits. June 19-21 , Sydney.

The NeuroLeadership Summit is taking place in three locations across the world, and the Asia-Pacific conference will be held in Sydney. The conference brings together neuroscientists, psychologists and business leaders to look at the implications of brain research for businesses, such as how to maintain stamina, how to mitigate bias, and the navigation of complex organisations. Last week, we interviewed with one of the conference’s speakers, David Rock.

• HR Summit. June 19-20, Perth.

The Perth leg of the human resources summit.

• The 63rd ARA Awards presentation dinner. Thursday, June 6 at Melbourne Town Hall.

In 1950, to improve the standards of financial reporting in Australia, a group of leading businesspeople established the Annual Report Awards. The awards are now known as the Australasian Reporting Awards (ARA). 

The awards are run by Australasian Reporting Awards Limited, an independent not-for-profit organisation supported by volunteer professionals concerned about the quality of financial and business reporting. 

The awards provide an opportunity for organisations to benchmark their reports against the ARA criteria. They are open to all organisations that produce an annual report.

JULY

• The Global Business, MIS, Economics and Finance Research Conference. July 25-28, Tokyo Hotel, Japan.

The Global Business, MIS, Economics and Finance Research Conference is a four-day conference for professionals of related business fields and academics. It will include a special session that will emphasise on management of human resource, laws and ethics related with the business, educational administration, decision sciences, finance management, business engineering. It will emphasise the management of information systems including information technology and computer information, business sociology, taxes on estate, gifts, corporate individual and partnership. Some important related topics and legal issues will also be raised in the conference.

• Harvard Club of Australia leadership program 2013 – Financial acumen: Linking business decisions to financial outcomes. Sunday, July 28 to Friday, August 2, Manly, NSW. Presented by: Professors Ben Esty and Stuart Gilson, Harvard Business School.

All senior executives, regardless of their functional domain, need a mastery of basic financial concepts. This program is designed to deliver, in a hands-on way, the financial frameworks, theories, and tools needed to navigate an increasingly competitive global market in the midst of a global recession.

AUGUST

• HR Summit. August 1-2, Melbourne.

The Melbourne leg of the human resources summit.

OCTOBER

• HR Summit. October 10-1, Brisbane.

The Brisbane leg of the human resources summit.

• 6^th European Chief Marketing Officer Conference: Hardwire – marketing that delivers against business goals.  October 4, Zurich, Switzerland

Most marketing strategies are doomed to failure not because they are poorly developed and/or executed, but because they are not properly connected with the overarching business goals which they should help to achieve. Hardwiring the marketing with the business objectives of the company is the starting point of every successful CMO in setting-up a winning marketing strategy for his organisation.

NOVEMBER

• Creative Innovation Conference (Ci2013).  November 27 to 29, Melbourne.

The creative innovation conference caters for everyone from the disruptive small business to the corporate looking for new ways to build a high-performing workplace. Run by opera singer Tania de Jong, the conference is notable for its musical interludes between sessions. This year LeadingCompany was treated to poetry, a delightful piano piece inspired by the previous session, and plenty of singing. And we were only there for a handful of sessions. Aside from that, the speakers are great. The perfect way to give yourself a boost of motivation before the year’s end.

Have we missed anything?  Drop us a line.