The High Flyers Podcast with Vidit Agarwal

This episode is supported by Xero, helping businesses use AI with more control through JAX, its in-platform AI finance partner. Get 90% off your plan for your first 6 months at xero.com/highflyers.
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Venky Ganesan is a Partner at Menlo Ventures, one of Silicon Valley’s oldest venture capital firms, where he has helped lead its push into AI and backed companies including Anthropic, Abnormal AI and Palo Alto Networks. He has spent 20+ years in venture capital, after starting his career as an entrepreneur and co-founding Trigo Technologies, which was acquired by IBM in 2004.
In this rare public conversation, Venky joins Vidit to unpack a journey that began in India before he moved alone to rural Washington State at 16. He shares the culture shock of arriving in America, working through college, choosing a $39,000 McKinsey job over a far more lucrative offer, and eventually becoming an entrepreneur — co-founding Trigo Technologies and selling the company to IBM in 2004.
They also explore Venky’s 20+ years in venture capital, from backing Palo Alto Networks early in its journey to becoming a Partner at Menlo Ventures and helping drive the firm’s push into AI. Venky shares what separates good founders from great ones, why “propensity for action” has become one of his strongest signals, how he thinks about position sizing and why VCs often end up with more money in their worst companies than their best. He also unpacks today’s extraordinary AI market, investing in Anthropic, and why he believes the industry is moving from innovators to “imitators and idiots.”
Venky reflects on the role his wife has played in his life, the stroke that nearly killed him and changed his perspective, what more than two decades of investing have taught him about ambition, and more.
Please enjoy exploring your curiosity.
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Get in touch with us via email at contact@curiositycentre.com
Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG,, Allens, Macquarie Capital, Xero, JP Morgan and more.
Show notes and more episodes here
Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram
Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here
Contact us via our website
This episode is supported by Xero, helping businesses use AI with more control through JAX, its in-platform AI finance partner. Get 90% off your plan for your first 6 months at xero.com/highflyers.
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TIMESTAMPS

01:17 — The 15-year-old who talked his way into a job
03:21 — Growing up in India with big ambitions
08:08 — An unexpected lesson from Nelson Mandela
10:05 — Leaving India alone at 16
14:10 — Why technology became his path to freedom
22:41 — McKinsey, entrepreneurship and selling to IBM
31:13 — From founder to venture capitalist
39:57 — The signal Venky looks for in great founders
44:02 — How he backed Palo Alto Networks early
47:00 — Reinventing Menlo for the AI era
53:14 — AI’s “innovators, imitators and idiots”
59:25 — The most disorienting market of his career
1:06:05 — The stroke that nearly killed him
1:08:20 — Rapid fire
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The High Flyers Podcast features in-depth interviews with the world’s most influential figures in business, tech, finance, government and sport. Launched in 2020, it has ranked in the global top ten for past three years, with listeners in 27 countries and over 200+ episodes released, and featured in Forbes, Daily Telegraph, and at SXSW.
Our guests include -- Malcolm Turnbull (Prime Minister of Australia), Keith Rabois (Managing Director, Khosla Ventures), Jason Collins (Head of BlackRock, Asia Pacific), Brad Banducci (CEO, Woolworths), Michael Schneider (CEO, Bunnings), David Eckstein (CFO, Legora), David Schneider (Growth Fund Co-Lead Partner, Coatue), Venky Ganesan (Managing Partner, Menlo Ventures), Shiv Rao (CEO, Abridge), Jesse Zhang (CEO, Decagon), Vandita Pant (CFO, BHP), Elena Verna (Head of Growth, Lovable), David Haber (a16z Partner), Jodie Auster (Uber's Global Head of Travel), Paul Grosmann (CEO, RM Williams), Rob Giglio (CCO, Canva), Jean-Michel Limieux (CTO, Shopify and Atlassian), Stevie Case (CRO, Vanta), Cristina Cordova (COO, Linear), Gautam Chari (Head of Capital Commitments, Bank of America), John Haddock (CBO, Harvey), Mark Suster (Partner, Upfront Ventures), Niki Scevak (Partner, Blackbird), Craig Tiley (CEO, USA Tennis), Jeanne DeWitt Grosser (COO, Vercel), Paul Bassat (Partner, Square Peg), Bowen Pan (Creator, Facebook Marketplace), Peter Varghese (Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Australian Government), Sam Sicilia (CIO, Hostplus), Jack Zhang (CEO, Airwallex), Tim Doyle (CEO, Eucalyptus), Sukhinder Singh Cassidy (CEO, Xero), Sanjeev Gandhi (CEO, Orica) and Philip Green (Australia's Ambassador/High Commissioner to India).

This episode is supported by Xero, helping businesses use AI with more control through JAX, its in-platform AI finance partner. Get 90% off your plan for your first 6 months at xero.com/highflyers.
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David Schneider is a General Partner at Coatue, where he co-leads the firm’s Growth Fund. Previously, he was President at ServiceNow, helping scale the company from roughly $100M to $5B in revenue, after helping take another software company in Data Domain from zero customers to more than $1B in revenue. David is widely regarded as one of Silicon Valley’s most successful go-to-market, sales, revenue and business building executives of all time.
In this rare public conversation, David joins Vidit to unpack a career spent building some of enterprise software’s defining companies. He shares how he was initially rejected by Data Domain for not being “aggressive enough”, only to join when it had zero customers and around 18 employees and help scale it beyond $1 billion in revenue — revealing the intensity, hiring philosophy and relentless focus on execution that shaped him as a leader.
They also explore David’s decade at ServiceNow, where he helped scale the business from roughly $100 million to $5 billion, what he learned working alongside legendary CEO Frank Slootman, and the painful customer failure that fundamentally changed how he thought about leadership. David then opens up about leaving operating at the height of his career to become a General Partner at Coatue, where he now co-leads its Growth Fund, and the surprisingly difficult transition from being the person making decisions to the investor sitting beside the founder. Along the way, he reflects on building exceptional sales teams, spotting future leaders, the future of enterprise go-to-market, flying 250,000–350,000 miles a year, the impact that ambition had on his family, and why curiosity has remained a constant throughout his life.
Please enjoy exploring your curiosity.
_______
Get in touch with us via email at contact@curiositycentre.com
Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG,, Allens, Macquarie Capital, Xero, JP Morgan and more.
Show notes and more episodes here
Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram
Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here
Contact us via our website
This episode is supported by Xero, helping businesses use AI with more control through JAX, its in-platform AI finance partner. Get 90% off your plan for your first 6 months at xero.com/highflyers.
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 – Left Field Questions
01:24 – The founder David is betting on
04:01 – Growing up in Silicon Valley before the boom
08:25 – How David became obsessed with winning
24:45 – Rejected by Data Domain for not being “aggressive enough”
28:40 – From zero customers to a billion-dollar business
40:00 – What David learned working with Frank Slootman
50:23 – The customer failure David never forgot
52:25 – How David helped scale ServiceNow from $100M to $5B
59:04 – Why he walked away from operating
01:00:29 – From operator to investor at Coatue
01:08:00 – What David looks for in breakout companies today
01:11:00 – 350,000-mile years
01:13:30 – Left-field questions: grit, pet peeves and what matters now
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The High Flyers Podcast features in-depth interviews with the world’s most influential figures in business, tech, finance, government and sport. Launched in 2020, it has ranked in the global top ten for past three years, with listeners in 27 countries and over 200+ episodes released, and featured in Forbes, Daily Telegraph, and at SXSW.
Our guests include -- Malcolm Turnbull (Prime Minister of Australia), Keith Rabois (Managing Director, Khosla Ventures), Jason Collins (Head of BlackRock, Asia Pacific), Brad Banducci (CEO, Woolworths), Michael Schneider (CEO, Bunnings), David Eckstein (CFO, Legora), Kevin Hartz (Partner, A*; Founder, Eventbrite), Shiv Rao (CEO, Abridge), Jesse Zhang (CEO, Decagon), Vandita Pant (CFO, BHP), Elena Verna (Head of Growth, Lovable), David Haber (a16z Partner), Jodie Auster (Uber's Global Head of Travel), Paul Grosmann (CEO, RM Williams), Rob Giglio (CCO, Canva), Jean-Michel Limieux (CTO, Shopify and Atlassian), Stevie Case (CRO, Vanta), Cristina Cordova (COO, Linear), Gautam Chari (Head of Capital Commitments, Bank of America), John Haddock (CBO, Harvey), Mark Suster (Partner, Upfront Ventures), Niki Scevak (Partner, Blackbird), Craig Tiley (CEO, USA Tennis), Jeanne DeWitt Grosser (COO, Vercel), Paul Bassat (Partner, Square Peg), Bowen Pan (Creator, Facebook Marketplace), Peter Varghese (Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Australian Government), Sam Sicilia (CIO, Hostplus), Jack Zhang (CEO, Airwallex), Tim Doyle (CEO, Eucalyptus), Sukhinder Singh Cassidy (CEO, Xero), Sanjeev Gandhi (CEO, Orica) and Philip Green (Australia's Ambassador/High Commissioner to India).

This episode is supported by Xero, helping businesses use AI with more control through JAX, its in-platform AI finance partner. Get 90% off your plan for your first 6 months at xero.com/highflyers.
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Paul Grosmann is the CEO of R.M.Williams, the 94-year-old heritage bootmaker whose handcrafted leather boots have become one of Australia’s most recognisable cultural exports, worn from the outback to boardrooms around the world. He is leading the next phase of growth for the business, which generates hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue, expanding it as a global premium brand while preserving its manufacturing roots in Adelaide. Before R.M.Williams, Paul built an unusually international career across PwC and McKinsey, before leading strategy and digital growth for Nike in Greater China.
In this rare public conversation, Paul joins Vidit to unpack an unusually global career, from Sydney to New York and China, including quitting his job and spending a year learning Mandarin to earn a role with McKinsey in Shanghai. He shares what he learned working inside Brett Blundy’s private business group, how he pitched his way into Nike and helped lead its retail and digital growth across Greater China, and why decision-making changes across public companies, private businesses and founder-led organisations.
They also explore Paul’s return to Australia to lead R.M.Williams, the 94-year-old heritage brand whose handcrafted boots have become one of the country’s most recognisable cultural exports. Paul explains how the company has doubled its production capacity and created 350 Australian jobs, while expanding online, attracting younger and female customers, and building an international retail presence through an unconventional UK strategy. Along the way, he reflects on cold emails, considered decision-making, living across cultures, balancing ambition with family, and the role his wife Sophie has played throughout the journey.
Please enjoy exploring your curiosity.
_______
Get in touch with us via email at contact@curiositycentre.com
Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG,, Allens, Macquarie Capital, Xero, JP Morgan and more.
Show notes and more episodes here
Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram
Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here
Contact us via our website
This episode is supported by Xero, helping businesses use AI with more control through JAX, its in-platform AI finance partner. Get 90% off your plan for your first 6 months at xero.com/highflyers.
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Cold emails
04:32 Growing up in a loud Italian family
07:35 Becoming a global citizen
13:55 Quitting work to learn Mandarin
18:29 Learning to operate in China
20:31 Choosing mentors over promotions
22:11 Paul’s cold-email playbook
23:57 The leadership power of pausing
27:09 Why Paul left McKinsey
28:57 Learning retail from Brett Blundy
34:28 Public versus private companies
40:39 Rising rapidly at Nike China
45:38 Pitching for the R.M.Williams CEO role
47:51 Returning to China during COVID
49:12 The partner behind the career
50:24 Rebuilding an Australian icon
53:53 Taking R.M.Williams global
55:47 Winning younger customers
58:00 Rethinking women’s footwear
01:00:44 The unconventional UK expansion strategy
01:03:30 Rapid-fire lessons and quirks
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The High Flyers Podcast features in-depth interviews with the world’s most influential figures in business, tech, finance, government and sport. Launched in 2020, it has ranked in the global top ten for past three years, with listeners in 27 countries and over 200+ episodes released, and featured in Forbes, Daily Telegraph, and at SXSW.
Our guests include -- Malcolm Turnbull (Prime Minister of Australia), Keith Rabois (Managing Director, Khosla Ventures), Jason Collins (Head of BlackRock, Asia Pacific), Brad Banducci (CEO, Woolworths), Michael Schneider (CEO, Bunnings), David Eckstein (CFO, Legora), Kevin Hartz (Partner, A*; Founder, Eventbrite), Shiv Rao (CEO, Abridge), Jesse Zhang (CEO, Decagon), Vandita Pant (CFO, BHP), Elena Verna (Head of Growth, Lovable), David Haber (a16z Partner), Jodie Auster (Uber's Global Head of Travel), Paul Grosmann (CEO, RM Williams), Rob Giglio (CCO, Canva), Jean-Michel Limieux (CTO, Shopify and Atlassian), Stevie Case (CRO, Vanta), Cristina Cordova (COO, Linear), Gautam Chari (Head of Capital Commitments, Bank of America), John Haddock (CBO, Harvey), Mark Suster (Partner, Upfront Ventures), Niki Scevak (Partner, Blackbird), Craig Tiley (CEO, USA Tennis), Jeanne DeWitt Grosser (COO, Vercel), Paul Bassat (Partner, Square Peg), Bowen Pan (Creator, Facebook Marketplace), Peter Varghese (Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Australian Government), Sam Sicilia (CIO, Hostplus), Jack Zhang (CEO, Airwallex), Tim Doyle (CEO, Eucalyptus), Sukhinder Singh Cassidy (CEO, Xero), Sanjeev Gandhi (CEO, Orica) and Philip Green (Australia's Ambassador/High Commissioner to India).

This episode is supported by Xero, helping businesses use AI with more control through JAX, its in-platform AI finance partner. Get 90% off your plan for your first 6 months at xero.com/highflyers.
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Mike Vernal is a General Partner at Conviction and one of Silicon Valley’s most respected operator-turned-investors. He joined Facebook very early, spent eight years there working closely with Mark Zuckerberg and ultimately became VP of Product and Engineering, before becoming a partner at storied venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, where he backed companies including Notion, Rippling, Clay and Statsig.
In this conversation, Mike joins Vidit to unpack the journey from Microsoft to joining Facebook when it was still only a few hundred people, helping scale it through one of the most important periods in technology, and later becoming a partner at Sequoia before joining Conviction. He shares what he learned working closely with Mark Zuckerberg, why Facebook’s obsession with speed became such an advantage, how he learned to spot exceptional founders, and why ambition remains one of the traits he values most.
They also explore why Mike believes people risk “overfitting” to a job after seven years, what Sequoia taught him about great businesses, why he came back to venture after some of the most enjoyable years of his life with his family, and what changes when the cost of creating software starts approaching zero. Along the way, Mike shares the habits, quirks and principles behind his reputation as a “nerd’s nerd”, from obsessive curiosity and inbox zero to the belief that the best leaders make the people around them better.
Please enjoy exploring your curiosity.
_______
Get in touch with us via email at contact@curiositycentre.com
Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG,, Allens, Macquarie Capital, Xero, JP Morgan and more.
Show notes and more episodes here
Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram
Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here
Contact us via our website
This episode is supported by Xero, helping businesses use AI with more control through JAX, its in-platform AI finance partner. Get 90% off your plan for your first 6 months at xero.com/highflyers.
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 — The Nerd’s Nerd
04:00 — Growing Up in New York
08:00 — Power, Internet and Caffeine
13:00 — Working at a Startup in High School
14:00 — Why Harvard Became the Goal
18:00 — Meeting His Wife
24:00 — What Microsoft Taught Him
31:00 — Why Strategy Can Go Wrong
33:00 — How Facebook Built High-Impact Teams
37:00 — The Moment Facebook Felt Different
43:00 — Facebook’s Speed Advantage
49:00 — Why Mike Left Facebook
54:00 — Why Sequoia
56:00 — Learning What Makes a Great Business
59:00 — Why He Doesn’t Take Notes
01:01:00 — What Mike Looks for in Founders
01:07:00 — Leaving Sequoia
01:09:00 — Why He Joined Conviction
01:14:00 — How Mike Spots What’s Next
01:16:00 — When Software Costs Approach Zero
01:18:00 — What Makes Products Go Viral
01:20:00 — Coaching His Kids
01:22:00 — Inbox Zero and Productivity
01:25:00 — What Mike Is Experimenting With
01:27:00 — The Advice That Changed His Career
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The High Flyers Podcast features in-depth interviews with the world’s most influential figures in business, tech, finance, government and sport. Launched in 2020, it has ranked in the global top ten for past three years, with listeners in 27 countries and over 200+ episodes released, and featured in Forbes, Daily Telegraph, and at SXSW.
Our guests include -- Malcolm Turnbull (Prime Minister of Australia), Keith Rabois (Managing Director, Khosla Ventures), Jason Collins (Head of BlackRock, Asia Pacific), Brad Banducci (CEO, Woolworths), Michael Schneider (CEO, Bunnings), David Eckstein (CFO, Legora), Kevin Hartz (Partner, A*; Founder, Eventbrite), Shiv Rao (CEO, Abridge), Jesse Zhang (CEO, Decagon), Vandita Pant (CFO, BHP), Elena Verna (Head of Growth, Lovable), David Haber (a16z Partner), Jodie Auster (Uber's Global Head of Travel), Rob Giglio (CCO, Canva), Jean-Michel Limieux (CTO, Shopify and Atlassian), Stevie Case (CRO, Vanta), Cristina Cordova (COO, Linear), Gautam Chari (Head of Capital Commitments, Bank of America), John Haddock (CBO, Harvey), Mark Suster (Partner, Upfront Ventures), Niki Scevak (Partner, Blackbird), Craig Tiley (CEO, USA Tennis), Jeanne DeWitt Grosser (COO, Vercel), Paul Bassat (Partner, Square Peg), Bowen Pan (Creator, Facebook Marketplace), Peter Varghese (Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Australian Government), Sam Sicilia (CIO, Hostplus), Jack Zhang (CEO, Airwallex), Tim Doyle (CEO, Eucalyptus), Sukhinder Singh Cassidy (CEO, Xero), Sanjeev Gandhi (CEO, Orica) and Philip Green (Australia's Ambassador/High Commissioner to India).

Welcome to the 14th episode in our special series with the Australian Government and their Centre for Australia–India Relations (CAIR), spotlighting the growing Australia–India relationship across technology, business, media, culture and sport.
Other guests in this series include BHP's CFO Vandita Pant, Bank of America's Head of Capital Commitments Gautam Chari, Austrade's GM for South Asia Mukund Narayanamurti, Renowned Music Composer Tushar Apte, Australia's High Commissioner to India Philip Green, MUFG's CEO Vivek Bhatia, Australia's Secretary of Foreign Affairs Peter Varghese, NAB's EGM Sweta Mehra, Deputy Secretary of Australia's Home Affairs Brendan Dowling, Orica's CEO Sanjeev Gandhi, Sports Journalist Bharat Sundaresan, Cricket Legend Lisa Sthalekar and CAIR's CEO, Ryan Neelam, reflecting the breadth of Indian-Australian leaders at the most senior levels.
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This episode is supported by Xero, helping businesses use AI with more control through JAX, its in-platform AI finance partner. Get 90% off your plan for your first 6 months at xero.com/highflyers.
Get in touch with us via email at contact@curiositycentre.com
Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG,, Allens, Macquarie Capital, Xero, JP Morgan and more.
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Amit Singh is Managing Partner of Mandala, a global economics, data and policy research firm. He has advised three Australian Prime Ministers, served as Uber’s Global Head of Economic Policy in San Francisco, and more. Today, he leads Mandala and serves on several prominent government and public-policy boards.
In this conversation with Vidit, Amit shares his journey from growing up amid political instability in Fiji and moving to Australia as a teenager, to running a $20 million organisation with 200 employees at just 21 — before going on to work at the highest levels of Australian government.
He reflects on going from Freehills to Kevin Rudd’s office in the space of two days, subsequently working for Julia Gillard and briefly Anthony Albanese, and the experience of technically losing his job five times during his political career. Amit also shares the equal-pay decision he is proudest of, which delivered a 23–45% pay increase for 150,000 predominantly female care workers.
Amit also explains why he left government for technology, what moving to San Francisco and working at Uber taught him about ambition and taking risks, and how those experiences ultimately led to building Mandala as a globally focused economics and policy firm.
They also explore Amit’s Fijian-Indian identity, why he believes the Australia–India economic relationship remains underdone despite decades of intent, the opportunity across technology, AI and services, and why changing Australians’ understanding of modern India could unlock a much deeper relationship.
Please enjoy exploring your curiosity.
______
Get in touch with us via email at contact@curiositycentre.com
Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG,, Allens, Macquarie Capital, Xero, JP Morgan and more.
Show notes and more episodes here
Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram
Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here
Contact us via our website
This episode is supported by Xero, helping businesses use AI with more control through JAX, its in-platform AI finance partner. Get 90% off your plan for your first 6 months at xero.com/highflyers.
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Who is Amit Singh
01:28 From selling limes in Fiji to building Mandala
03:43 Growing up Fijian-Indian amid political instability
04:31 His parents’ sacrifice — and the values they passed down
08:11 Navigating identity after moving to Australia
11:42 Finishing high school at 16 — by accident
13:12 Running a $20M organisation at 21
16:13 Law, Freehills & an unexpected career path
17:52 From lawyer to Kevin Rudd’s office in two days
21:51 What working closely with Prime Ministers taught him
23:21 The decision that changed pay for 150,000 workers
26:10 Leaving government for Uber and Silicon Valley
28:57 From playing it safe to “shoot your shot”
31:38 The hardest parts of Amit’s career
33:36 What Uber taught him about managing exceptional people
35:22 Building Mandala
37:22 Why Australia–India remains underdone
42:13 Why no one is truly self-made
43:24 Rapid fire
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The High Flyers Podcast features in-depth interviews with the world’s most influential figures in business, tech, finance, government and sport. Launched in 2020, it has ranked in the global top ten for past three years, with listeners in 27 countries and over 200+ episodes released, and featured in Forbes, Daily Telegraph, and at SXSW.
Our guests include -- Malcolm Turnbull (Prime Minister of Australia), Keith Rabois (Managing Director, Khosla Ventures), Jason Collins (Head of BlackRock, Asia Pacific), Brad Banducci (CEO, Woolworths), Michael Schneider (CEO, Bunnings), David Eckstein (CFO, Legora), Kevin Hartz (Partner, A*; Founder, Eventbrite), Shiv Rao (CEO, Abridge), Jesse Zhang (CEO, Decagon), Vandita Pant (CFO, BHP), Elena Verna (Head of Growth, Lovable), David Haber (a16z Partner), Jodie Auster (Uber's Global Head of Travel), Rob Giglio (CCO, Canva), Jean-Michel Limieux (CTO, Shopify and Atlassian), Stevie Case (CRO, Vanta), Cristina Cordova (COO, Linear), Gautam Chari (Head of Capital Commitments, Bank of America), John Haddock (CBO, Harvey), Mark Suster (Partner, Upfront Ventures), Niki Scevak (Partner, Blackbird), Craig Tiley (CEO, USA Tennis), Jeanne DeWitt Grosser (COO, Vercel), Paul Bassat (Partner, Square Peg), Bowen Pan (Creator, Facebook Marketplace), Peter Varghese (Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Australian Government), Sam Sicilia (CIO, Hostplus), Jack Zhang (CEO, Airwallex), Tim Doyle (CEO, Eucalyptus), Sukhinder Singh Cassidy (CEO, Xero), Sanjeev Gandhi (CEO, Orica) and Philip Green (Australia's Ambassador/High Commissioner to India).