SPEAKERS

Principal Consultant, Advalore Partners

Chris is a highly skilled Facilitator, Executive and Team Coach who works with senior executives, Boards and leadership teams to create insights and solutions that accelerate performance and impact. 

Chris has over 30 years of experience working across the corporate and consulting sectors with a particular focus on strategy, governance, leadership development and organisation design. She brings a strong understanding of the complex challenges and opportunities present in business today to clients in the financial services, professional and legal services. 

Chris’ skills are underpinned by a background in executive search and corporate leadership in a global organisation in strategy, change management, retail franchising, industrial relations and talent development. 

Chris has skills in strategic design and can analyse competitive dynamics, market opportunities and internal systems to facilitate the development of strategies to differentiate and sustain independent schools and peak member associations. 

Chris specialises in governance, leadership development, and recruitment. She conducts board performance reviews, assessing strategy, skills, and effectiveness. She coaches senior and emerging leaders for appointments and designs operating models, structures, and executive search programs to align schools’ leadership teams with strategic goals.

Sydney Executive Plus, the University of Sydney Business School

Dr Kai Riemer is the Director of Sydney Executive Plus at the University of Sydney Business School and Professor of Information Technology and Organisation at Sydney University. 

Kai’s expertise spans the fields of artificial intelligence, collaborative systems, the future of work, emerging technologies, and the philosophy of technology. 

He has published across a range of prestigious scholarly journals. 

Kai co-authored The 2025 Skills Horizon, a new, annual, global initiative that explores what leaders need to know next and features insights from conversations with dozens of executives and leaders—from heads of government to head chefs—about our changing world.  

A focus of this work is to reimagine how to upskill leaders, executives and professionals to be future-proof and ready for the 4th Industrial Revolution. 

Kai consults for executives and boards and is frequently requested to comment and speak on issues around the future of business and technology.

Chief Executive, Association of Independent Schools South Australia 

Anne Dunstan is the Chief Executive of the Association of Independent Schools of South Australia (AISSA). Prior to this she was the Principal of Guildford Grammar School in Perth WA, Principal of Pulteney Grammar School, Adelaide and Deputy Principal of Scotch Oakburn College, Launceston.  

A former Board Member of the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) Board, Anne was also Board Member of the Association of Independent Schools South Australia (AISSA) from 2016 – 2019, holding the position of Deputy Chair from 2017-2019. She was an active member of the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA) and has served as Secretary/Treasurer for the SA/NT Branch. In 2019, Anne was awarded the Noel Volk Excellence Award, presented by AISSA in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the Independent sector. 

Anne is experienced in leading transformational change, inspiring a culture of innovation and excellence, and especially passionate about growing the capacity of others. 

Principal Growth Director, Lutheran Education SA, NT and WA.

David has spent 34 years in Lutheran Education SA region and 27 years as principal across three learning communities. 

David currently serves at the Principal Growth Director for Lutheran Education SA NT WA – a portfolio focused on building capacity and wellbeing in school leaders.   He believes the greatest source of underperformance and even destruction of school leaders, is an over-focus on KPIs and performance measures. He understands superior performance to be the result of superior learning enabled through quality relationships.

David’s passion is to listen to, support, encourage, inspire and empower principals and directors in an environment where continuous growth and learning is critical for learning communities to remain relevant and sustainable.  

Through David’s work, Lutheran Education SA NT WA is exploring a relational strategy to increase principal wellbeing and to inspire brave, courageous, creative leadership and therefore, superior performance.

Senior Educational Consultant, Director of the Leadership Institute and Centre for Innovation, Association of Independent Schools South Australia.  

With over three decades of experience in providing education services to a range of clients across the education sectors, Mary’s passion lies in educational leadership, particularly in building the personal capacities of leaders at all levels to transform culture and to foster creative, solutions-focused thinking that supports innovation. 

Mary collaborates closely with school boards, designing professional learning opportunities that ensure compliance obligations and met but that also help them embrace their role as catalysts for innovation, strategic leadership, and culture-setting which is central to the school's wellbeing.

This work underscores AISSA’s commitment to strong governance, which is essential for the sustained growth, effectiveness, and longevity of independent schools and the sector. 

Mary is currently Deputy Chair of the Siblings Australia Board, a NFP that works to support the siblings of those with long term illness or disability.