The speakers on this page deliver a serious message on scams and cyber security, leave an audience understanding how these attacks actually work, and finish with clear actions people can take to change what they do.
They work on behaviour rather than on systems. Payment redirection and phishing both arrive through somebody's inbox, and both succeed or fail on a decision a person makes in the moment.
Which speaker suits your event depends on your audience. Tell us who will be in the room and we will come back with two or three names rather than a directory.
Which speaker suits your room?
Each one, and what their session covers. They all tailor to the brief, they all work well beyond this subject, and they all work across the programme, whether that is opening, closing, a breakout, a panel or a workshop. Tell us the shape of your day and we will tell you which slot suits.
Dr Emily Heath
The psychology of why people get caught.
Her keynote Why Smart People Get Scammed works on the psychology rather than the technology. She covers the cognitive shortcuts scammers exploit, why intelligence and seniority offer no protection against them, and what to put in place so people catch themselves in the moment. Audiences describe her as insightful and fun, bringing the change process to life and having them laughing.
A behavioural neuroscientist with a PhD from the University of Sydney Brain and Mind Centre, a graduate certificate in behavioural economics from UTS and first class honours in biochemistry. She was a director and sub service line leader at EY, leading a team of more than fifty designing large scale behaviour change programmes, and now co-founds and directs Alchemy Labs in Sydney. She has advised on Australia's National Financial Capability Strategy and presented at SXSW. Also delivers Why Smart People Make Bad Decisions and Harnessing the Science of Behaviour Change. Profile, or her article on why smart people get scammed.
Adam Spencer
Technical substance, delivered for a general audience.
Adam carries genuinely technical material to a non specialist audience without thinning it out, and he is entertaining while he does it. He explains how an attack is actually constructed, so the room leaves able to recognise the mechanics rather than only the warning signs.
He has hosted AusCERT, Australia's major cyber security conference, since 2010, so he has spent well over a decade in the room with the people who do this for a living. A mathematician by training and a broadcaster of twenty five years, he hosts the television series Epic Builds, which has drawn more than three million viewers in Australia, and spent fifteen years in breakfast radio across triple j and ABC Radio. His TED talk on monster prime numbers has passed two million views, and he shared the 2013 TED stage with Elon Musk, Ben Affleck and Bono. He is also one of the country's most in demand MCs, so where you want someone across the full programme as well as on stage, that can be one booking rather than two. Profile, or his article on why cyber scams are a people problem.
Melissa Clark-Reynolds ONZM
Written for the boardroom.
Her keynote What Keeps the Boardroom Up at Night is built around the risk signals landing on Australian and New Zealand directors' desks, and it is pitched at risk appetite and investment rather than at the mechanics of an attack. Written for that room rather than adapted for it.
A futurist trained by the Institute for the Future and an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the technology industry. She has worked with everyone from Spark and IAG to NASA on company strategy and digital disruption. Also delivers Turning Signals into Strategy and Seeing Around Corners, and works across both markets. Profile.
Michael McQueen
Security set inside a wider programme.
Michael places scams and digital safety within the broader picture of disruption and trust, connecting a security theme to the other threads on a programme. He is booked to open and to close, so he can take either slot on your run sheet.
Ranked eleventh among the world's top futurists, a Professional Speakers Hall of Fame inductee, the bestselling author of ten books and formerly named Australia's Keynote Speaker of the Year. He has presented to more than five hundred thousand people across five continents since 2004, and counts Google, Toyota and Mastercard among his clients. One of the most adaptable speakers on our roster, with keynotes including Preparing Now for What's Next and Thinking For Tomorrow. Profile.
Dominic Thurbon
Built to change what happens afterwards.
Dominic's work is behaviour change: closing the distance between what people know they should do and what they actually do. His session ends on committed actions rather than on awareness, which is what makes it useful where a security message has already been delivered and needs to take hold.
At twenty three he founded Karrikins Group, a behaviour change agency he grew past one hundred and fifty staff across Australia, New Zealand and North America before EY acquired it in 2019. He then founded Educator Impact, acquired by Qoria in 2022, and has been architect of award winning behaviour change programmes reaching more than five hundred thousand people a year. A previous world top ten debater, which shows on stage. His keynote The Closer is written to close a session or a full day. Also delivers Making Behaviour Change Happen, The Truthful Leader and To Be Honest on misinformation in the age of AI. Profile, or his article on scams, cybercrime and behaviour change.
A quick way to narrow it down
Find your audience below.
- Staff who have already had awareness training. Dr Emily Heath.
- A board or executive team. Melissa Clark-Reynolds ONZM.
- A general audience, where the content still has to be substantial. Adam Spencer.
- Members or customers. Dr Emily Heath, or Adam Spencer where it needs to entertain as well.
- A programme where security is one theme among several. Michael McQueen.
- A session that has to produce action, not awareness. Dominic Thurbon.
Send us your brief and we will confirm who is available for your date.
We have already run awareness training. What does a keynote add?
They do different jobs and work well together. Training covers what a scam looks like and what the policy requires. A keynote from these speakers works on why people act the way they do under time pressure, and finishes on what to do differently. Programmes often carry both.
Do we need a technical speaker?
It is not a choice between technical and accessible. Every speaker above has the substance. What differs is which part of the problem their session is built around: the psychology, the boardroom decision, or the weeks after the event. Tell us the audience and we will tell you honestly which one fits, including when it is none of them.
Can one session work for both the board and the whole organisation?
It can, and the same speaker can deliver both. Where you have the budget for two sessions, an executive session plus an all staff keynote lets each one be pitched at the decisions that room is making, and keeping it to one speaker means one booking and one travel arrangement.
We are a bureau taking this to a client. What can you give us?
Whatever you need to put a strong shortlist in front of them. Send us the client brief and the date and we will come back with availability, profiles and a quote, and we will keep you in the loop right through. Our speakers are exclusively managed by ODE Management and bureaus book them on behalf of their clients regularly, so you are very welcome here.
Talk to ODE Management
We manage these speakers exclusively and hold their diaries, so we can confirm availability straight away and give you an honest answer on who suits your audience. If none of them do, we will say so and tell you who does.
We manage a small roster exclusively, which is why we can talk about these speakers from real knowledge rather than from a listing. Where a brief needs someone we do not manage, we can source well beyond that roster, so a short list is never a limit on what we can bring you. Ask us whatever you need to. An enquiry commits you to nothing, and nobody here will chase you afterwards.
Tell us what you would like the room to walk out able to do and we will come back with a shortlist and a quote. Contact ODE Management, or call +61 2 9818 5199 in Asia Pacific or +1 877 950 5633 in the USA. See also our guides to futurist speakers in Australia and New Zealand, budgeting for a keynote speaker and how to book a keynote speaker in Australia.
