Tell better stories, or we are stuck with this…

• Topic: Tell better stories, or we are stuck with this…
• Date: Thursday 20th August 2026 at 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
• Networking: 5:30 pm - 6:00 pm and 6:45 pm - 7:30 pm
• Presentation Time: 6:00 pm - 6.45 pm
  (includes welcome, presentation 30 mins & community marketplace)
• Location: Thoughtworks HQ Level 35/360 Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000
• Ticket: Free of cost, however, registrations and RSVP are required!
• Sponsor: Thoughtworks

Precis
In a room at the Canberra Parliament in late 2013, a group of engineers and officials gathered to brief Federal Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull on the struggling NBN rollout. There was a hard choice to make - fibre to the node, or fibre to the premises. The topic was so complex, the explanations so extensive, the impacts so varied, and the powerpoint slides so detailed, that making a decision proved vexing to the Minister. In the end, he chose the 'hybrid' model, based on data he could fathom the meaning of. This proved famously costly to Australia's economic development.

Nigel Dalton will relate this moment to the decisions being made in Boardrooms in 2026, about similar choices on the adoption of AI & ML tech that could be equally momentous. How can data professionals ensure the narratives they are producing provide the maximum clarity to decision-makers, and avoid another NBN?

About The Speaker
Nigel Dalton is a social scientist at Thoughtworks Asia-Pacific. He is well-known for his work in technology and innovation, stemming from his time as CIO of REA Group and GM of Technology at Lonely Planet, as well as a diverse background in government, startups, and private enterprise across multiple countries.

Nigel joined Thoughtworks in 2020, and has continued his work speaking at conferences, writing articles, podcasting, advising executives, and mentoring. After witnessing the highs and lows of high-stakes story-telling around technology and business decision-making for 4 decades, he is passionate about improving the quality of tech communications. The AI era is providing plenty of opportunities to improve that.