Brand Strategy Sydney

SydDT #131: Lead Change That Matters with Ben Pecotich

Join us for the launch of my Ben Pecotich's new book Lead Change That Matters: Design the Conditions for Momentum! Your ticket includes all the usual SydDT goodness… plus a set of limited-edition Lead Change That Matters cards that we’ll use on the night to catalyse conversation and help you choose your own journey. You’ll also get a special launch discount on Ben's new book. 300+ people shared their experiences, goals, frustrations, and hopes through the research behind the book – including so many of you from the SydDT community. Lead Change That Matters is a call to action. It says the work matters, the people involved matter, and what we choose to do next matters. This session is for you if you’re: * Leading change you’re accountable for but can’t really control * Navigating complexity with increasing ambiguity and uncertainty * Caring for everyone’s wellbeing but dodging your own burnout * Firefighting the tactical when you want to lead the strategic change that matters At the heart of the book is a tension that ran through the research. Leaders are expected to juggle more as the work becomes faster, more complex, and more scrutinised… but the conditions around them haven’t kept pace with what’s being demanded. We want people to collaborate, adapt, take the initiative, and deliver meaningful results. What are we doing to make that possible? The premise is that leading change well is about designing the conditions for people to do meaningful work together – bringing purpose and performance together to build momentum and deliver results that matter. We’ll explore these themes together… with a focus on how we design the conditions for momentum, so we can lead change that matters. Come join us for some fun conversations with interesting people in and around the design thinking community. New members are welcome! **SPEAKER** **[Ben Pecotich](https://www.linkedin.com/in/benpecotich/)** **Design & Innovation Director/Founder, [Dynamic4](https://dynamic4.com). Author of Lead Change That Matters: Design the Conditions for Momentum** Ben's a designer, adviser, and founder of Dynamic4. He works alongside leaders and their teams on their most complex challenges across strategy, design, and tech. For 30+ years, Ben's led, designed, and delivered strategic change in financial services in Australia, NZ, Asia, the UK, and Europe – and co-founded 20+ startups and social enterprises across health and fitness, fintech, events, and community building. He founded Dynamic4 in 2001. Ben takes a human-centred design and living systems approach to helping clients design, build, and launch ideas that customers and teams love, make money, and do great things for people and our planet while increasing wellbeing. Everything he does is about accelerating the transition to more regenerative ways of living and doing business, creating the conditions for people and communities to be happier and live on a healthier planet. Ben's the author of Solve Problems That Matter and his new book Lead Change That Matters: Design the Conditions for Momentum is launching now. He's also the co-founder of Sydney Design Thinking. **EVENT SPONSORS** This event is brought to you by [Thoughtworks](https://www.thoughtworks.com/), [Shapeshifters](https://www.shapeshifterscreative.com.au/), and [Dynamic4](https://dynamic4.com/). We take photos and record our events for documentation and promo purposes. Just let us know if you prefer not to be featured.

Australia Business Investment Network Monthly Meet Up

Welcome to our meet up, where we unite, share and chat about day-to-day life, goals and plans, strategies, work life balance, business and investment opportunities. Smart casual attire. Belroy Hotel, Upstairs near terrace. Please look for "Meet Up" sign on Table Agenda Session 1: Introduction Session 2: Five-minute introductory presentation by participants Session 3: Networking Session Session 4: Closing Remarks ** Join our Asia Wealth Connect (AWC) community for support, opportunities and collaboration at [https://www.asiawealthconnect.com.au](https://www.asiawealthconnect.com.au) Hope to see you there. Please be on time and note the event can finish earlier depending on numbers

The Next-Gen Marketer: The AI Talent Playbook & How to Grow Your Career (PAID)

**🚨 IMPORTANT TICKETING NOTE:** This is a **PAID** event and tickets are REQUIRED for entry. RSVPing on Meetup does NOT reserve your seat or grant entry at the door. You must purchase your ticket in advance **via Eventbrite Registration:** https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/the-next-gen-marketer-the-ai-talent-playbook-how-to-grow-your-career-tickets-1999265448776 **Join Women in SEO & Digital Marketing (WiSDM) for our 2026 panel night finale! ✨** An executive summit for marketing and tech leaders and ambitious practitioners navigating the AI era. In an era where AI is transforming marketing operations overnight, staying ahead requires two critical capability stacks: mastering AI tools and workflows to stand out as individual talent, and knowing how to navigate your career trajectory into executive leadership. 🔥 **The Dual Playbooks for Next-Gen Success:** • **Panel 1 \| The AI Talent Playbook: Building & Upskilling AI\-Ready Teams** A tactical discussion with recruitment experts, talent strategists, and enterprise leaders on how top organisations are reshaping job roles, integrating AI across workflows, and how practitioners can upskill themselves to become in-demand talent. • **Panel 2 \| The CMO & CTO Playbook: Navigating Career Growth & Strategy in the Age of AI** A candid, high-level conversation with top CMOs, CTOs, and executive leaders sharing their personal career trajectories, how they evaluate AI investments, and honest advice for advancing your career today. 👥 **Host & Panellists:** • Georgia Tan \(Host & Moderator\) – Founder of WiSDM \| Co\-Founder at Switch Key Digital • Sofie Pellegatti — Data & AI Lead, IBM • Bupe Kasengele — Senior Account Director, LinkedIn & Founder, The Weekly Work Edit • Dominique Powis — Chief Technology Officer, Infomedix • Maziya Sarangpurwala — Centre of Excellence Lead – AI Policy, Risk and Governance, Commonwealth Bank • Malini Sietaram — Founder & Fractional CMO, Argyle Rocks • Tim Lillyman — Head of Marketing & AI Automation, XPON Technologies Group (...plus more brilliant panellists to be announced soon!) 🗓️ **Event Details:** • Date: Thursday, 15 October 2026 • Time: 5:30 PM – 9:00 PM AEST (Doors open at 5:30 PM for welcome drinks & canapés) • Venue: Level 7, Australia Square, 264 George St, Sydney CBD • Produced & Powered by: Switch Key Digital • In Partnership with: u&u recruitment & Taco Technologies ⚡ General Admission Tickets are Live! As this is our last formal panel event of 2026, spots are strictly limited. Secure your ticket today via Eventbrite Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/the-next-gen-marketer-the-ai-talent-playbook-how-to-grow-your-career-tickets-1999265448776

Free Esperanto Beginner Course

Click below to see the entire Flyer!! [https://canva.link/97tuf8wao3ht5yi](https://canva.link/97tuf8wao3ht5yi) **WHY ESPERANTO?** * Enjoy an easy and logical international language * Travel the world with Esperanto * Become part of a friendly and intelligent global community * Enjoy the world of Esperanto literature and the rich culture **FREE BEGINNER COURSE** 7 Saturdays Starting 17 Oct. 2026, 2:00-5:30pm Venue: Esperanto House 143 Lawson St, Redfern, NSW 2016 **Esperanto NSW** sponsors your learning, so it is FREE for you **Joanne Cho** \- an experienced national/international teacher of Esperanto for over 30 years\. She will bring excitement to your learning\. **TO REGISTER** Call/Text Joanne 0413 087 340 joannecho95@gmail.com

Data Driven or Data Distracted!

Our CCX Sydney October event features a very lively and topical panel discussion entitled Data Driven or Data Distracted We will be applying a $10.00 cover charge to cover Food and drinks and on this occasion will be kindly hosted by the ONSET https://theonset.com.au/ About the session **How Product, Design & Engineering actually use evidence to make decisions** How much data do we really need to make better product decisions? And when does being “data-driven” start getting in the way of good product thinking? For this CCX Sydney session, we’re bringing together four practitioners from different corners of the product ecosystem — analytics, strategy and service design, UX/CX, and engineering — to explore the role data and evidence actually play in product development and delivery. Each speaker will have **15 minutes to make their own case** for — or against — being **DATA-DRIVEN OR DATA-DISTRACTED**. Rather than presenting a single view, they’ll challenge us to look at how research, analytics, customer insight, AI, product requirements engineering and data can influence the decisions we make — from defining the problem and creating the PRD through to designing, building and releasing the product. Our speakers bring four very different perspectives: **Olga Pasikova\, Senior Analytics Director; Rob Tot\, Strategy & Service Design Lead; Thomas Shillingford\, UX \| CX \| Strategy \| AI and Author; and David Berigny\, Forward Deployed Engineer\.** Each panel member will bring their own experience, provocations and examples to the question: **when does data help us make better decisions — and when does it simply give us more information to react to?** Then we turn up the heat. Following the four presentations, **Sophie Greenfield, Senior Product & AI Designer at CBA**, will lead a lively panel discussion, bringing the speakers together to challenge each other's perspectives and explore the tensions between data, evidence, intuition, customer understanding and design judgement. Because being data-driven sounds simple. **Knowing what data to trust, what it actually means, and when to ignore it is where things get interesting.** **About our Panel:** ### Olga Pasikova **Senior Analytics Director** Olga Pasikova is a Senior Analytics Director and experienced digital analytics specialist with more than a decade working across data, analytics and digital measurement. She brings a strong ability to translate complex analytics challenges into clear strategic direction, helping teams use data to understand behaviour, measure outcomes and make better-informed decisions. Olga is also an active member of Sydney’s data and analytics community. ### Rob Tot **Strategy & Service Design Lead** Rob Tot is a Strategy and Service Design Lead who works at the intersection of customer needs, business strategy and service innovation. His work brings together strategic thinking and human-centred design to help organisations navigate complex problems, uncover opportunities and turn insight into meaningful product and service outcomes. ### Thomas Shillingford **UX \| CX \| Strategy \| AI \| Author** Thomas Shillingford is a UX and CX strategist, designer, author and speaker with extensive experience across digital products and customer experiences. His career has included work spanning research, customer journeys, interaction design, usability, design strategy and large-scale digital transformation. More recently, Thomas has been exploring the impact of AI on design practice, including how AI is changing design systems, strategy and the role of human judgement. ### David Berigny **Forward Deployed Engineer** David Berigny is a Forward Deployed Engineer working at the intersection of technology, product development and real-world customer problems. His role brings engineering directly into the product development process — translating customer and business needs into practical technical solutions, testing ideas in the field and using evidence from real-world implementation to inform what gets built and how it evolves. ### Sophie Greenfield FACILITATOR **Senior Product Designer & Facilitator** Sophie Greenfield is a Senior Product Designer at Commonwealth Bank with more than 20 years’ experience across UX, product design, research and digital strategy. Her career has spanned product strategy, customer research and experience design across organisations including CommBank, Westpac and ING Direct. Sophie has a particular interest in the intersection of **data, customer insight, product strategy and AI-enabled design**. She has been exploring and teaching AI-enabled design practices, from research synthesis and hypothesis validation to rapid prototyping and new ways of working for designers. For **DATA-DRIVEN OR DATA-DISTRACTED?**, Sophie will facilitate the conversation between our four speakers, challenging their perspectives and helping unpack the bigger question: **when does evidence genuinely improve product decisions — and when can data become a distraction from understanding the customer?** We are so excited to be wrapping up the year with this awesome panel discussion hosted by new friends of CCX Sydney, the ONSET. [https://theonset.com.au/](https://theonset.com.au/) Lastly make sure you Join us for sponsored drinks post the event at a nearby bar more details to follow. Regards Kevin, Lydia, Sylvia, James and Carolina.

Stranger Soccer's 6-a-side match @ Fairfield!

Hey mates! If you're looking for a 6-a-side kickoff, we have it happening at **Fairfield every Tuesday from 6-7 pm**! Joining us is easy! Just download the Stranger Soccer app and register for free. Use the code **WELCOME** to book your first game for free if you're playing with us for the first time. We hope to see you on the pitch!

Lean Beer F2F IRL

Join us for an **in-person Lean Beer Sydney** session — great conversations, great people, and a relaxed pub atmosphere. We use the **Lean Coffee** format: * No fixed agenda * Everyone suggests topics they care about * We vote on what matters most * Then we dive into short, focused discussions **What to expect:** * A friendly, informal setting at a local pub * Conversations about agile, product development, leadership, and more * A chance to learn, share, and connect with like-minded people **What to bring:** * Your curiosity and a few topics you’d love to discuss * No slides, no presentations — just ideas and conversation **Why join?** * Meet new people in the Sydney agile community * Share your experiences and learn from others * Enjoy a drink while having meaningful discussions Grab your favorite beverage, bring your ideas, and let’s make this an engaging Lean Beer Sydney session!

☕🍫 Coffee, Chocolate & New Friends (20s & 30s) – It's Back! 🎉

✨ **Follow us on Instagram for the latest events, updates & social adventures!** ✨: https://www.instagram.com/newfriends_sydney?igsi=cG1ybjM3ZWc0c2wz&utm_source=qr Love chocolate? Join us **weekly** for a relaxed midweek coffee catch-up with fellow chocolate lovers who enjoy good conversation, sweet treats, and a friendly vibe. 🍫🍰 This is a **casual, low-pressure weekly social**, perfect if you: ✅ Love chocolate (dark, milk, or white 🍫) ✅ Want something social but easy after work ✅ Are new to Meetup or just want familiar faces ✅ Prefer smaller, welcoming groups ✨ **What to expect** ✅ Midweek coffee catch-ups ✅ Buy your own coffee (and dessert if you like!) ✅ Friendly, relaxed chats — no forced icebreakers ✅ Come for 10 minutes or stay the whole time ✨ **Good to know** ✅ This is a **weekly recurring event** ✅ Limited spots to keep the group comfortable! ✅ New members always welcome 💰 **Membership Fee**: $10 one time only (Unlimited Events). Past attendees who have already paid are FREE to join again! Please send $10 via PayID to A MIU (0432847305) and send me a screenshot of your payment ***on the day before the event***. Thank you! If you’re a chocolate lover looking for a chill midweek reset and a regular social routine, this one’s for you ☕🍫 Stay tuned for any further updates! Alison - 0432847305 **Did you have fun?** 😄🎉 If you could please leave a quick review in the pop-up **“How did you find it?”** when the event has ended and share your thoughts. Your feedback will help us make the next one even better! 💬✨ 📝 **TERMS & DISCLAIMER:** ✅ If something has come up, please **Edit** your RSVP to ‘**Not Going**’ ASAP. This will allow others who are available to join. Thank you! 😊 ❌ **Late Cancellations** or **No Shows** will not be tolerated. You will forfeit the opportunity to join my future events!

Online Photography - The letter C

Friendcraft 2.0 - Friendship Not Left To Chance

What makes someone go from someone I met to someone I consider a friend and then, perhaps, to a close friend or even a best friend? When we look back at school playgrounds, friendship can seem like something that just happens. We played together, discovered shared interests, spent enough time together, and somehow became friends. But as we grow up, it can start to feel a little more complicated. Responsibilities increase. Careers take priority. Relationships change. People move cities. Social circles shift. We can become so busy maintaining the life we've built that making and maintaining friendships gets pushed further and further down the list. None of this is necessarily a bad thing. But sometimes we only realise how important friendship is when we suddenly need more connection, company or support - and discover we haven't done our homework. So what is such homework? That's the intention behind "Friendcraft - Friendship Not Left To Chance", a social skills workshop exploring what it takes to turn connections into friendships, and keep those friendships alive when life gets overwhelming. Through playful challenges, social experiments and scenarios, you'll explore your own friendship needs, discover what helps friendships grow, and experiment with ways to create more opportunities for meaningful connection. **WHO IS IT FOR?** * Professionals who want to build genuine friendships within their professional networks * Young adults navigating what friendship means in 2026 * Travellers who are constantly entering and leaving new social circles * Leaders who want to strengthen their collaborators and stakeholder relationships * Anyone who is surrounded by lots of people around them, but not enough people who truly feel close to **WHAT OUTCOMES CAN YOU EXPECT FROM ATTENDING?** \- make new friends with like\-minded people who are after similar outcomes \- discover how your personality and quirks can become social assets \- deepen your existing friendships \- create reminder structures for staying connected in the long run \- become proficient at navigating difficult conversations between friends \- find ways to maximize joy when hanging out with others You don't need to be shy. You don't need to be particularly social. You just need to want friendship to be a higher priority. Friendship used to happen by chance. Perhaps it never did. \*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\* 🎟️ To attend, please register and purchase tickets at: [https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1650808](https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1650808) Ticket includes drinks, snacks and a vegetarian meal. \*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\*^\* **ABOUT** ***Utopia Rising*** delivers unconventional social experiences for self-improvement seekers looking to broaden their network or simply be inspired by life again. It’s a party reimagined - alcohol-free, featuring healthy plant-based food. [www.utopiarising.com.au](https://www.utopiarising.com.au)

October syd<video> - #80th episode

Join us for Season 11, Episode 5 as we celebrate 80 meetups of community, code, and video tech this October with another great night of video tech talks returning to the slick **Canva** office for an evening of deep-dives, good friends networking, food and drinks. Tonights speakers will be **[David Rodd (US) - Software Engineering Manager Paramount+](https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-lightning-rodd/)** **KITT: Could AI Have Saved Our Event Platform? How solving lost jobs evolved into building distributed state** **[Colin Hendry - Media Technical Specialist @ SBS](https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinhendry/)** **Streaming both of the worlds largest sporting events (at the same time)** **[Jeremy Brown - Video and Ads @ Kick](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremybrownau/)** **How much can change in a year at Kick the worlds fourth largest live streaming platform** **Sponsors** Our thanks to **Canva** for hosting and sponsoring pizza + drinks at the venue. Sydney Video Technology is a volunteer group, as part of many groups independently run around the world. Tonight’s hosts will be: Jeremy Brown, Adrian Britton, Grégoire Duché and Amy Prosser

How I AI: Show & Tell

Curious about how others are using AI in their learning and design work and to build performance in their roles & companies? Come along for an evening of practical examples, shared experiments and conversation. Four fantastic speakers will show how they’re using AI, sharing ideas and insights you can take back to your own practice. You'll see practical examples, and have time for Q&A after each speaker. Whether you’re already experimenting or wondering where to start, join fellow L&D professionals to explore what’s possible, ask questions and swap experiences. **Meet the speakers** * **[Samantha Ferguson](https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjferg/)** — A passionate learning leader (who's a designer at heart) with experience across a wide range of roles and industries in learning. sharing insights on how AI is being used to design quality learning for a range of clients. * **[Shawna Murray](https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawna-murray-02638283/)** — A forward-thinking Learning & Leadership leader, sharing how she's putting AI into practice meaningfully, to build organisational capability. * **[Travers Owers](https://www.linkedin.com/in/traversowers/)** — A leader in what's possible in learning technology, data & reporting sharing how AI can completely change and improve the way you work. * **[Stanley Yip](https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanleyyip/)** —Is the Manager Learning Innovation & Workforce Programs at the Independent Schools NSW, a not-for-profit member organisation. His current role includes designing and delivering teacher professional learning, innovations such as AI, and teacher workforce strategy. His background is in teaching, learning design, and multimedia. He is currently part-way through a PhD on metacognition, the brain, and AI showing how has AI changed our role as learning designers? Stanley will be sharing how AI is used in his team of learning designers and their toolset, skillset, and mindset. There’ll also be time to catch up with familiar faces and meet others in the learning community before & after the talk. We'll also likely head to a local pub to continue the conversation post 7pm. **Agenda** 5pm - 530pm: Register, mingle, have a snack 530pm - 630pm: Hear from our speakers 630pm - 7pm: Mingle, share ideas 7pm onwards: Wander to a nearby pub to keep the ideas flowing. **When and where** Wednesday 14 October 2026 5:00pm–7:00pm Kindly hosted by our friends at **Hays** Level 14, Chifley Tower 2 Chifley Square, Sydney CBD **Tickets and RSVP** Tickets are **$10 per person**, so we can have some light refreshments (and ensure we're not hangry!) We look forward to seeing you there!