Speaker alumni

Babak Poushanchi is a Founder and Managing Partner of Cota Capital, an investment firm based in San Francisco, focused on the technology sector.
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Babak has spent the majority of his career investing in private and public companies. Prior to founding Cota, Babak was a Co-Founder and Co-Portfolio Manager of Newbrook Capital, a global equity long/short fund based in New York City. Previously, Babak was an Investment Analyst at Karsch Capital, a global long/short fund based in New York City. He was also a Venture Partner at Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator, an early-stage technology accelerator with over 100 portfolio companies, and an Investment Associate at lndosuez Capital, a U.S.-based merchant banking fund investing in private companies across the capital structure.
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Babak holds a B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University.

Professor Fay Johnston is a public health physician and environmental epidemiologist who heads the Environmental Health Research group at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research at the University of Tasmania; and is a senior Specialist Medical Advisor for the Tasmanian Department of Health.

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She has made major contributions to global knowledge about the health impacts of bushfire smoke, and her expert testimony shaped many recommendations for government policy following the air pollution emergencies during Australia’s Black Summer bushfires in 2019/2020.

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Professor Johnston’s team developed AirRater, a real-time environmental and symptom surveillance system designed to support self-management for people with health conditions sensitive to outdoor airborne hazards like smoke and pollen. AirRater was downloaded more than 50,000 times during the Black Summer emergency and has won multiple awards for innovation, impact, and community disaster resilience.

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Professor Johnston frequently provides expert advice for government agencies, community organisations, media, and legal proceedings for issues and incidents relating to air quality.

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Photo Credit: Nikki Davis Jones, The Mercury

Craig is a Portfolio Manager at Regal, specialising in health care across Australia and Asia. Prior to Regal, he was head of Health Care at Macquarie Securities Group, has worked at Boston Consulting Group in Sydney and New York, and practised medicine for five years in Australia and the UK.

Greg Mauro is the Founder and Managing Partner at Learn Capital and oversees the investing practice of the firm. Greg previously managed an affiliate of Founders Fund and co-founded several venture-backed startups used by millions across the education, wireless, and media sectors. Greg has helped lead Learn investments in companies such as Coursera, Udemy, General Assembly, OnDeck, Ascent, Wave Neuro, and MindPortal. Greg is the co-founder of Edmodo, the world's largest social network for learning with over 100M users. Greg also helped incubate and co-found Higher Ground Education, the world's largest Montessori operator, where he serves on the board and is the largest investor. Greg has served on the board of NewGlobe — where Learn is also the largest investor — as the company has grown from serving one school to over 8,000, transforming the lives of over 3M students across Africa and India.  

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Prior to Learn, Greg was the co-founder of Founders Fund backed SmartDrive, a WSJ Top 50 Startup that was purchased by Vista Equity; Tachyon, a predecessor to SpaceX’s Starlink used by GE, the US Dept. of Defense, and Burning Man; and Nextivity, a provider of coverage solutions for over 120 mobile carriers globally. Greg’s ventures have collectively raised over $500M in venture capital. Greg started his tenure in education in 2000 as an eight-year foundation board member for High Tech High, the ‘MIT of charter schools’, where he financed their second campus by founding a facilities fund for high-performing charter schools.

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Mauro began his career as a strategy consultant for Monitor Group and is a graduate of UCLA’s College of Honors. Greg is the owner of Powder Mountain, the largest ski resort in the United States. Greg’s exploits — visiting over 100 countries, surfing on six continents, buying his local ski mountain — have been covered in The New York Times, Financial Times, The Atlantic, Surfer Magazine, and Ski Magazine.

Samir has over 34 years' industry experience and joined JOHCM in May 2011.

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Prior to joining JOHCM, he was a Partner and Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at a firm specialising in Asian equities – Silver Metis Capital Management Pte Ltd. Samir was previously at Lloyd George Management where he worked as CIO. Prior to joining LGM, he worked at Peregrine Securities and ANZ Grindlays Bank for close to eight years as an Analyst specialising in India.

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Samir is a CFA Charterholder and holds a BCom from Bombay University.

Michael Novogratz is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy Digital.

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He was formerly a Partner and President of Fortress Investment Group LLC. Prior to Fortress, Mr. Novogratz spent 11 years at Goldman Sachs, where he was elected Partner in 1998. Mr. Novogratz served on the New York Federal Reserve’s Investment Advisory Committee on Financial Markets from 2012 – 2015. Mr. Novogratz serves as the Chairman of The Bail Project and has made criminal justice reform a focus of his family’s foundation. He also sits on the Board of Overseers at NYU Langone Medical Center and is a board member of Princeton Varsity Club and Jazz Foundation of America.

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Mr. Novogratz received an AB in Economics from Princeton University and served as a helicopter pilot in the US Army.

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Nick Molnar is the co-founder of Afterpay. As a young serial-entrepreneur, Nick’s vision for Afterpay was to create a global payment solution that would allow consumers to pay for things they want and need over time, using their own money. As a millennial himself, he recognised that his generation has an aversion to credit cards and compounding debt.

Nick launched Afterpay with his co-founder, Anthony Eisen, in Australia in October 2014 and listed the company on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2016. The company expanded into the U.S. in May 2018 and soon after, expanded into Canada, France, Italy, Spain and the UK. As of December 2023, Afterpay had more than 24 million customer accounts globally and was offered by more than 340,000 merchants globally.  

In August of 2021, Afterpay was sold to Block (NYSE: SQ) for US$29 billion. Nick currently co- leads Afterpay’s business at Block.

Flavia Tata Nardini is Co-founder and CEO of Australia’s leading space exploration company, Fleet Space Technologies. A rocket scientist, former propulsion test engineer at the European Space Agency and holder of two patents, Flavia has worked across a broad range of innovative space projects. Along with her team, Flavia led the development and launch of Fleet Space’s pioneering Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation - Australia’s first - and continues to push the boundaries of exploration by delivering high-value, real-time satellite-enabled solutions in mining, space exploration, and defence. Flavia is also a highly engaged leader in the global space and mineral exploration sectors as Chair of the Australian Space Agency Space Industry Leaders Forum, Mission Chair of the 7 Sisters Moon Mission, and director on the board of Austmine - the leading industry association for Australia’s mining equipment, technology and services (METS) sector, representing over 700 companies advancing mining innovation around the world. A strong advocate for women in STEM, Flavia also regularly speaks at events to empower the next generation of leaders.

Mark Nelson is Chairman and Co-founder of Caledonia, a specialist global investment manager founded in 1992 and based in Sydney, Australia. Mark was educated at the Universities of Melbourne, and Cambridge, receiving his Doctorate in 1986.

Dr Nelson has over 35 years experience working in Australian and International investment and equity markets, analysing and assessing the business models of global companies in a wide variety of industries, and successfully placing Caledonia at the forefront of Australian-based equity investment firms.

He is currently Chairman of Art Exhibitions Australia, and a Director of Kaldor Public Art Projects. He is also a governor of the Florey Institute of Neuroscience, a Director of the MindGardens Neuroscience Alliance, and a Director of Telix Pharmaceuticals. He serves on the International Council of the Tate Museums in London, and the Directors Council of The Getty Museum in Los Angeles , and is Chairman of the Cricket New South Wales Foundation. He has previously interviewed several keynote speakers at the Hearts & Minds conference including Howard Marks (twice), Michael Milken, Scott Bessent, and Charlie Munger.

John O'Loghlen is the Coinbase Country Director, Australia and Managing Director Coinbase APAC. Prior to joining Coinbase, John led the expansion of Alibaba Group and Ant Group in Australia and New Zealand as well as overseeing the WorldFirst cross border payments business. Before relocating to Sydney in 2014, John spent the previous 11 years in China building businesses in the food delivery space following on from a career in investment banking with Goldman Sachs in London, New York and Beijing.

Ashish co-founded Aikya along with a few colleagues in March 2020. Previously he worked for Stewart Investors in London.

Ashish joined the predecessor business of Stewart Investors in 2014. During his time at Stewart Investors Ashish was Lead Manager on Emerging Markets and Asia Pacific strategies, including Stewart Investors Emerging Markets Leaders Fund. 

He was with Fidelity between 2004 and 2014. In 2008, he launched an Emerging Markets Equity Strategy with high-quality companies, which became Fidelity Institutional Asset Management (FIAM) EM All Cap in 2010. He managed this strategy until his departure in 2014.

Ashish has a degree in Electronics & Communications Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, a Post Graduate Diploma from Indian Institute of Management, and holds an MBA from INSEAD in France.​

Fred is the Founder of Samuel Terry Asset Management, which manages a $500m fund. The fund invests in a concentrated portfolio of about 20 names in Australia and overseas. It invests across the capital structure, including debt, equity and options. Samuel Terry does not consider itself an activist investor, but has been involved in a variety of proxy fights and has made several takeover bids.

Prior to establishing Samuel Terry in 2003, Fred worked in London as a Director and Portfolio Manager of Hunter Hall, an Australian fund manager. Before that, he ran a family office in Monaco. Fred started his career in 1981 as an office boy in a stockbroking firm and then worked on the trading floor of the Sydney Stock Exchange.

Fred has an Economics degree from the University of Sydney.

Hamish Douglass is Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Magellan, and Lead Portfolio Manager of Magellan’s Global Equity strategies. Hamish is a former member of the Australian government’s Financial Literacy Board, the Australian government’s Takeovers Panel, the Australian government’s Foreign Investment Review Board and the Forum of Young Global Leaders – World Economic Forum. Hamish is a Director of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute.

Janchor Partners is an Asia-Pacific focused long-term investment firm based in Hong Kong, with around US$3b of assets under management. John Ho serves as a Deputy Chairman of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Listing Committee, an independent body whose functions are to approve stock exchange listings and has independent oversight over the Hong Kong Exchange Listing Division.

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Before founding Janchor Partners, John was the Head of The Children’s Investment Fund (Asia) Limited in Hong Kong, managing the Asia office and its business and investment activities. Prior to that, John was a senior analyst with the Citadel Investment Group in the U.S. and also a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in Australia.

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Before BCG, John was a lecturer in the School of Banking and Finance at the University of New South Wales Australia, where he graduated in Finance and Mathematics and was awarded the University Medal.  His final year dissertation on option pricing of physical assets was published in the Journal of Alternative Investments.

Professor Sally Dunwoodie leads the world in the discovery of the genetic and environmental causes of birth defects. She was appointed to the International Rare Disease Research Consortium Task Force; founded the International Consortium for Vertebral Anomalies and Scoliosis; and established the largest research program identifying the causes of congenital heart disease in Australia.

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In 2017, Professor Dunwoodie announced one of the most significant discoveries in pregnancy research in decades. Professor Dunwoodie and her team identified a cause and possible prevention of multiple types of birth defects and recurrent miscarriage. This discovery could prevent thousands if not millions of cases of birth defects worldwide.

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Sally is a Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of NSW. She received her Bachelor of Science (Hons) and PhD from the University of Sydney. She trained as an embryologist in London before joining the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in 2000. With women filling just 15 percent of senior roles in science, Professor Dunwoodie is also an inspiring mentor for young female scientists.

William joined Milford in 2010 and has been working from Milford’s Sydney office since its establishment in 2014.

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William is the Portfolio Manager of the Australian Absolute Growth Funds and the Milford Dynamic Funds. He visits and speaks to hundreds of companies every year and conducts detailed financial analysis to uncover high quality investment ideas.

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William has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Auckland majoring in Finance and Economics, and is a CFA Charterholder.

Christopher joined Montaka in January 2015 after spending more than four years at LFG, the private investment group of the Lowy family, where he was a senior member of the research team based in New York. Prior to this Christopher worked at One East Partners, a hedge fund based in New York, and as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs in Sydney.

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Christopher holds a Bachelor of Commerce with Distinction, majoring in Actuarial Studies and Finance, from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, under the Co-Op scholarship program.

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Eleanor is a Founding Partner at Firetrail, a boutique investment manager specialising in high conviction equity investing. Her primary responsibility is Investment Manager of the Firetrail Australian Small Companies Fund. Eleanor has a unique background in both Commerce and Science, with majors in Finance and Immunobiology. She has deep analytical experience in the Australian Healthcare, Technology and Consumer Sectors.

Prior to establishing Firetrail in 2018, Eleanor and senior members of the Firetrail investment team worked together at Macquarie, managing the highly successful Macquarie High Conviction Fund. Eleanor is a passionate investor, who loves uncovering both undervalued companies and companies with significant long term growth potential. In her spare time, Eleanor is an avid tennis player and runner. She holds a Combined Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Sydney and is a CFA Charter holder.

Emma is a portfolio manager for the Airlie Australian Share Fund at Airlie Funds Management, a value focused Australian equities manager. Prior to joining Airlie, Emma worked in Fidelity International’s Australian investment team in Sydney for a number of years. She commenced her career at Nomura Securities as an equity research analyst, and holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Liberal Studies) from the University of Sydney.

James Miller is a Founding Partner and Portfolio Manager at Firetrail, a high conviction investment firm managing more than $6bn in Australian and global equities.

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James has more than 15 years’ experience as a Portfolio Manager and Analyst. Prior to founding Firetrail, James was the co-lead Portfolio Manager of the award-winning Macquarie High Conviction Fund, Macquarie Australia Plus Fund, and Macquarie Pure Alpha Fund.

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Today, James is a Portfolio Manager for the Firetrail S3 Global Opportunities Fund which is a concentrated portfolio of Firetrail’s best global ideas with a sustainable edge.

Patrick Hodgens is Head of Equities at Macquarie Investment Management and lead portfolio manager of the Macquarie High Conviction Fund, winner of the Money Management / Lonsec Australian Equities (Broad Cap) Fund Manager of the Year award in 2016.

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With over 30 years’ experience in investment markets, Patrick has been instrumental in the development of the High Conviction team and the fundamental investment approach at Macquarie Investment Management. In his role, Patrick is responsible for the daily portfolio management of the Fund as well as driving process development across the business.

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In his 27 years at Macquarie, Patrick has developed a comprehensive range of style aware equity strategies across a spectrum of risk/return profiles. Today, the Listed Equities business has over $18bn in assets under management, offering a range of products covering index, low risk, high conviction, small cap, long/short, Asian fundamental, and global funds.

Holly Ransom is an award-winning keynote speaker, master interviewer, author, and leadership expert. Holly is the CEO of Emergent; Author of The Leading Edge; Co-Founder, Chief Curator and Catalyst at Energy Disruptors; Non-executive Director at Port Adelaide Football Club; Board member of Pride Cup,and Hudson.

As an accomplished company director, Holly has compressed a power-packed career into a decade, spanning corporate, non-profit, and public sectors.

Holly Ransom has led discussions with influential figures such as Barack Obama, Malcolm Gladwell, Billie Jean-King, and Julia Gillard. Holly was named one of Australia’s 100 Most Influential Women by the Australian Financial Review and awarded the US Embassy’s Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Leadership Excellence in 2019.

With 25 years’ experience in disruptive business models gained during a career with Macquarie Bank, Alex heads one of the best-performing teams in global investment management in Australia.

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He has a deep understanding of the mechanisms through which disruption changes business models and the impact it has on company valuation, having identified and invested in AI in 2016 through Nvidia, among many other companies which have generated strong portfolio returns over the ten years the fund has operated.

Allan joined Cooper Investors in 2007 and has over 12 years of experience investing in international equities markets.

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Having been a foundation member of the Cooper Investors global equities team, Allan has been instrumental in refining and implementing the VOF investment philosophy and the CI Way in global equities markets. This has enabled the team to deliver consistent performance and to build the global equities platform to over $2bn in assets under management.

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Allan was appointed Portfolio Manager in 2011 and today specialises in North American markets.

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David Allingham is a Portfolio Manager and Principal at Eley Griffiths Group and has over 17 years’ experience analysing small and emerging companies. Prior to joining Eley Griffiths Group in 2004, David worked in marketing at EMI Music Australia. David was educated at Sydney Grammar School and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Sydney.

Dr Itescu has served on the Mesoblast Board since the Company’s founding in 2004, was Executive Director from 2007, and became CEO and Managing Director in 2011. Prior to founding Mesoblast, he established an international reputation as a physician scientist in the fields of stem cell biology, autoimmune diseases, organ transplantation, and heart failure. Dr Itescu has been a faculty member of Columbia University in New York, and the University of Melbourne and Monash University in Australia. In 2013, Dr Itescu received the inaugural Key Innovator Award from the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture for leadership in translational science and clinical medicine in relation to adult stem cell therapy. In 2011, he was named BioSpectrum Asia Person of the Year. Dr Itescu has consulted for various international pharmaceutical companies, has been an adviser to biotechnology and healthcare investor groups, and has served on the Boards of several publicly-listed life sciences companies.

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MBBS, FRACP

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Steven is the Deputy Portfolio Manager and Analyst of the Pengana International Fund, the Pengana International Fund – Ethical, the Pengana International Fund – Ethical Opportunity and the listed investment company Pengana International Equities Ltd. He has over 15 years’ experience as a portfolio manager and equities analyst.

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Prior to joining Pengana, Steven spent seven years at Hunter Hall International as an investment analyst and portfolio manager. He previously worked as an equities analyst at Tricom Securities and as an investment analyst at Platinum Funds Management.

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Steven was awarded a Co-op scholarship at the University of New South Wales, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce (Merit), majoring in Accounting and Finance, and a Masters of Commerce, majoring in Advanced Finance.

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He has completed the Chartered Financial Analyst Program and has been awarded the CFA Charter.

David Halpert is the founder, portfolio manager, and CIO of Prince Street Capital, an emerging and frontier market asset manager based in New York and Singapore. David coined the term ‘Digital Decolonization’ – a new paradigm for assessing investments in emerging and frontier markets through the lens of innovation.

He has 30 years of experience researching and investing in the developing world. Prior to founding Prince Street in 2001, David managed an EM portfolio at Zesiger Capital Group and worked in Indonesia as an equity research analyst.

David has appeared on Bloomberg, CNBC and CNN, and presented at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. He has lectured at universities including NYU, Cornell Tech, Arizona State, Nanyang Technical University and Singapore University of Social Science.

David earned a BA (magna cum laude) in Asian Studies from the University of California, Berkeley and an MBA from Harvard Business School.