INVNT and SXSW Sydney 2024 have partnered for a second year to power the Discovery Stage and unveil the lineup for the stage at the Tech & Innovation Expo.
As the official sponsor of the Discovery Stage and an endorsed creative partner, the brand storytelling and experiential innovation agency, and SXSW Sydney are curating an innovation-packed four-day program for The Discovery Stage, featuring 40 sessions and over 100 speakers.
This year’s Discovery Stage offers a dynamic mix of future-forward conversations, from creative leadership to cutting-edge technologies. Hear from Canva’s head of design, explore sport-tech breakthroughs with AWS and Swimming Australia, innovations in surfing with WSL, and the powerful synergy between CommBank and the Matildas.
Dive into AI with a live ‘Battle of the Prompts’ session, discover Fleet Space’s path to net-zero, and hear from Sea Forest co-founder on how their local research and innovation earned an Earthshot nomination.
Explore emerging startups and the realities of raising capital, while MedTech highlights AI’s role in cancer treatment, and Wombtunes, a unique musical translation of ultrasounds. Prepare for innovative insights from industry leaders across the board.
Among INVNT and SXSW Sydney’s line-up of headline speakers presenting are Andrew Green, head of design at Canva, Florencia Aimo, VP of marketing and communications Australasia, Mastercard, Angela Winkle, chief sustainability and strategy officer at R.M. Williams and Rianne van Veldhuizen, managing director Australia and New Zealand, AWS.
Also presenting are on the stage are Prithi Dey, podcast lead AUNZ, Spotify, Russ Tucker, executive creative director at TBWA/Eleven PR, Sarah Carney, national chief technology officer, Microsoft ANZ, Scott Cullather – President & CEO, INVNT Group, Rohan Taylor, national head coach of Swimming Australia and Stephanie Cholakyan, senior APAC creative manager of Getty Images.
Laura Roberts, managing director of INVNT APAC, said: “We’re curating the Discovery Stage to truly showcase, and at the same time challenge the meaning and societal impact of technology and innovation at SXSW Sydney this year. We’re igniting the spark between culture and brands by pairing up panelists that you may never expect to see on a stage together.
“The line-up is unexpected, and through this, we’re excited to see new ideas come to life on the Discovery Stage. In addition to the stage there’s more to discover, we’ve got some exciting interactive experiences happening at our INVNT lounge – our team is looking forward to meeting you at SXSW Sydney 2024.”
Fenella Kernebone, head of conference and Caroline Pegram, head of tech and innovation at SXSW Sydney, said: “We’re thrilled to collaborate with INVNT again in 2024, bringing an exceptional lineup of talent and topics to the Discovery Stage. The event in 2023 really established the Discovery Stage as a significant piece of programming at SXSW Sydney with its own unique tone.
“The Expo and Discovery Stage bring together highlights from all the pillars of SXSW Sydney, from groundbreaking tech to revolutionary art, sparking imaginations and uncovering future-shaping ideas.”
The Discovery Stage will be held at the SXSW Sydney Tech and Innovation Expo of the International Convention Center (ICC) Sydney, from October 16-19, with the wider SXSW Sydney Event running from October 14-20. Venue will be subject to capacity.