10 Women Making Cairns Crocodiles Unmissable in 2025

By Leah Morris.

Why cross oceans to visit Cannes when you can experience the extravaganza that is Cairns Crocodiles right here in Oz? Better still, there’s a speaker lineup that platforms diverse voices, and that’s bonza.

Formerly ‘Cannes in Cairns’, Cairns Crocodiles presented by Pinterest has only gone from strength to strength. Last year’s festival of creativity saw over 1600 guests attend 55 stimulating sessions, uniting visionary minds in advertising, creativity, marketing and media. This year will be no different, and with a speaker lineup featuring so many brilliant women, Mavens is proud to be a supporting partner. Read on for the sessions we’re most excited for, and don’t miss your unique Mavens reader offer at the end (spoiler: a hefty 35% off tickets). 

Annelise Hickey Director, Filmmaker, Wildebeest Films

Annelise Hickey is one of Australia’s most exciting emerging directors. Based in Naarm, she’s carving out a distinct voice across film, music videos, and branded content with work that’s deeply rooted in identity, belonging and cultural truth. Her breakout short Hafekasi premiered at Tribeca 2023, earning a Special Jury Mention for Best Narrative Short, and won her Emerging Australian Director at Melbourne International Film Festival. Her latest film, Stranger, Brother, premiered at Sundance 2025 – cementing her as a rising talent with international clout.

Of Tongan and Irish heritage, Annelise creates work that reflects her own lived experience and invites others to see themselves in new, powerful ways. Her storytelling is rich with emotional honesty, social depth and artistic confidence. Whether she’s working with children, elders or non-actors, she draws out performances that will stay with you.

Why we’re excited: Wildebeest is an exciting production company pushing progress in an industry still dominated by male directors. Partner and Executive Producer Josie Baynes will also be speaking at the event, and we highly recommend catching both Josie and Annelise at the event. 

Jasmin Bedir CEO, Innocean Australia

Jasmin Bedir brings a German-Turkish-Aussie edge to creative leadership and her voice is a powerful force for industry change. As CEO of Innocean Australia, Jas is known for backing bold campaigns that make industry peers jealous and deliver real results for her clients. She’s a sharp strategist, an unapologetic commentator, and a consistent advocate for marketing that moves culture forward, not just products off shelves.

Her career spans continents, decades, and just about every advertising category you can name. Balancing commercial acumen with a social conscience, she is fearless, future-facing and never performative. When she’s not leading teams to creative breakthroughs, Jas is writing punchy think pieces, hosting business events or sparking big conversations as a keynote speaker and Gruen panellist.

Why we’re excited: Jas is a personal inspiration of Mavens and a great champion of our work. She’s spoken at our print magazine launch event, and her generous, no-BS advice has helped guide Mavens’ own strategy to make shift happen for the communications industry.

Chloe Hooper Founder, Bare Feat

Chloe Hooper is on a mission to make change something people run toward, not away from. As the founder of Bare Feat, she’s helping businesses level up their employee experience, leadership and brand culture through transformation that actually sticks. With a background spanning marketing, new business, L&D and organisational development, Chloe knows how the media and marketing industry ticks (and where it falls short). Her work is grounded in both professional experience and personal truth. When her mother fell ill, Chloe found herself face-to-face with the raw realities of mental health. That moment reshaped everything.

What followed was a bold pivot. Chloe began educating leaders and organisations on how to support mental wellbeing proactively. Not as a tick-box exercise, but as a core part of how we work. Through Bare Feat, she’s proving that human-led culture change is not only possible, it’s powerful.

Why we’re excited: Chloe is helping shift the narrative on change, leadership and mental health and this feels like a compelling and important trifecta. 

Irene Joshy Head of Creative, Insights, Kantar Asia & Australia

Irene Joshy brings creativity and cultural intelligence together like nobody else. With 23 years’ experience across academia, advertising and insights, she brings serious depth to decoding how brands connect with people across cultures, contexts and screens. Trained as a social anthropologist and semiotician, Irene doesn’t just look at what consumers do, she unpacks the ‘why’ behind it. Her work turns cultural nuance into strategy gold, helping brands craft campaigns that cut through noise and actually mean something. She’s shared her thinking at major industry forums, lectured at top business schools, and most recently served as a juror for the Cannes Lions 2023 Creative Data category. 

Why we’re excited: Irene brings a rare blend of academic rigour and street-smart strategy, transforming data and culture into brand action. A fascinating expertise we’re excited to learn from. 

Antoinette Lattouf Broadcaster, Author, Advocate

Antoinette Lattouf is the sharp, fearless voice Australia needs more of. An award-winning journalist, author and broadcaster, she co-hosts The Antoinettes and The Briefing where analysis and wit collide, and no topic is off limits. She’s also the co-founder of Media Diversity Australia, a game-changing not-for-profit pushing for cultural and linguistic equity in media. Her words hit hard in The Guardian, SMH and Women’s Agenda, and her first book How to Lose Friends and Influence White People is a smart, satirical guide to anti-racism that blends humour, evidence and lived experience. Named one of AFR’s 100 Women of Influence, Antoinette is a TEDx speaker, mental health ambassador for the Gidget Foundation, and a firm believer in truth-telling – whether that’s through journalism, comedy or calling out tokenism in rooms built for privilege.

Why we’re excited: At Mavens, bold women’s voices are our favourite kind. Antoinette says what too many won’t, delivered with facts, passion and whip-smart intellect. We’re here for it. 

Professor Veena Sahajwalla

Founding Director, Centre for Sustainable Materials Research & Technology, UNSW

Professor Veena Sahajwalla is a trailblazer in recycling science and green manufacturing. In her role at UNSW, she’s leading the creation of new materials, products and resources made from waste – turning the discarded into a sustainable future. Her pioneering work in green manufacturing has earned her global recognition, including her election as a Fellow at the Australian Academy of Science.

She also heads the ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub for green manufacturing, a cutting-edge research centre collaborating with industry to ensure that new scientific breakthroughs translate into tangible environmental and economic benefits. Professor Sahajwalla’s work is redefining what’s possible in materials science, turning waste into valuable resources and demonstrating that sustainable solutions can power our future industries.

Why we’re excited: Mavens believes we have a responsibility to the planet to do better as an industry, and Professor Sahajwalla is one of the world’s most impactful green innovators. We’re excited to download anything she has to share. 

Dee Madigan

Executive Creative Director, Campaign Edge

Dee Madigan is that sizzling blend of creative genius and political firebrand. After years in big-brand advertising (selling people things they don’t need!) 2014 saw her pivot, founding Campaign Edge and putting her skills to work in the progressive space. Now one of Australia’s top campaign strategists, Dee has led the creative for two dozen Labor Party campaigns, including the game-changing 2022 federal win.

Dee is also a regular face on Gruen, The Drum, Sunrise, and The Latest – where she brings sharp analysis and the kind of media literacy most talking heads only wish they had. She’s the author of The Hard Sell and contributor to several punchy books on politics, change, and motherhood. She also sits on the boards of Per Capita and Australians for Mental Health. She openly admits her attention to detail is tragic, she’s face-blind, and easily distracted – yet somehow always delivers work that lands and lingers.

Why we’re excited: Dee’s a Melbourne girl like me, so I appreciated her role modelling a lot when I was coming up in the industry and still do. I’ve always admired her direct and authoritative voice which is laced with humour and wit, proving women don’t have to perform a particular ‘tone’ to win over a room (and in Dee’s case, a nation). If creative persuasion and strategy is your bag, don’t miss Dee’s talk. 

Linda Fagerlund

Chief Strategy Officer, Mediahub ANZ / Co-Founder, Smelly Lunch Stories

Linda Fagerlund knows how to move the dial on culture, brand growth and leadership. As Chief Strategy Officer at Mediahub ANZ, she leads strategy and planning across major clients like New Balance, Lurpak and Hasbro, connecting the dots between creativity, media and data to drive powerful results. With nearly two decades in the game, Linda has been named in Campaign Asia’s 40 Under 40 and B&T’s Women in Power. Her experience spans indie disruptors, global networks and every layer of the media ecosystem (creative, media and publisher-side). She's not just shaping campaigns, she's shaping the future of strategic thinking across branding, content and comms. 

Beyond the boardroom, Linda is fiercely committed to inclusion. She co-founded Smelly Lunch Stories to help dismantle the barriers holding culturally diverse talent back from leadership roles. It’s a bold name with a bigger mission – championing authenticity in places still addicted to sameness. 

Why we’re excited: Linda is proof that strategy can be inclusive, impactful and a little bit rebellious. Plus, she vocalises her views to help build a better industry, which is what Mavens is all about. 

Mundanara Bayles

Founder, BlakCast Network | Host, Black Magic Woman Podcast | MD, BlackCard

Mundanara Bayles is a trailblazer in Indigenous media and cultural education. As the founder of BlakCast, Australia’s first Indigenous-owned and led podcast network, she’s amplifying First Nations voices and reclaiming the narrative. Her podcast, Black Magic Woman, was the first Indigenous show signed by iHeartRadio, setting a precedent for authentic storytelling in mainstream media. 

A proud Wonnarua, Bundjalung, Birri-Gubba, and Gungalu woman, Mundanara draws from a rich legacy of activism – her father, Tiga Bayles, and grandmother, Maureen Watson, were pioneers of Indigenous broadcasting through Radio Redfern. She continues this legacy as Managing Director and co-founder of BlackCard, a 100% Aboriginal-owned business providing cultural capability training across Australia. Mundanara’s work is grounded in Aboriginal Terms of Reference, emphasising relationships and cultural integrity. Her mission is clear: to educate, empower and create spaces where Indigenous knowledge is celebrated and respected 

Why we’re excited: In 2021, the ACA (Advertising Council of Australia) reported through its Create Space Census that less than 1% of people in the industry identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. In my opinion, is our national shame that Aboriginal people – our nation’s greatest storytellers – aren’t in more rooms where today's stories are being written. By listening to and working with leaders like Mundanara, we can begin to change Australia’s media landscape for the better.

Natalie Harvey CEO, Mamamia

Natalie Harvey kicked off her career in media with a humble start as an Office Assistant to the CEO at Seven Network before transitioning to agency roles at Mediacom and UM in Sydney. After maternity leave, she shifted gears and moved to Brisbane, where she became GM at UM Brisbane, overseeing major clients like McDonald’s QLD & NT and Tourism and Events Queensland. In 2015, Natalie joined Seven West Media in Brisbane, where she crafted the first-ever combined sales team for Pacific and Seven. Her ability to unify and lead paid off and by 2018, she was promoted to Network Sales Director, a role she excelled in before pivoting once again in 2024.

At Mamamia, Natalie found her purpose. Starting as Chief Revenue Officer, she quickly climbed to CEO, bringing her sharp leadership, revenue strategy and passion for creating meaningful change to the brand’s ever-expanding reach.

Why we’re excited: Okay, we may have recently watched ‘Strife’ starring Asher Keddie which is about the creation of Mamamia – and we’re longterm fans of the site. BUT Natalie’s career sounds like a true masterclass in reinvention and leadership, and that’s inspiring. So we’ll be there for the tea and the tips. 

Cairns Crocodiles runs May 13-15 at Cairns Convention Centre, bordered by the beautiful Daintree rainforest and Great Barrier Reef. Plus, Mavens readers get 35% off tickets with code MAVENS35 at check out. 

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