Alita Harvey-Rodriguez is known as one of Australia’s leading marketing and strategic creativity experts, and the brains behind MI Academy. Driven by a passion for problem solving, Alita works with CEOs and business leaders to build more strategically creative, high performing teams. 

As MI Academy’s Founder and Managing Director, her focus and expertise lie in growing the internal capabilities of leading retailers in areas of marketing performance, customer experience, strategic creativity and team alignment – expertise that has seen her working with many global brands. 

Alita is the driving force behind Australia’s first retail hackathon, ‘HackGames’ – an event that brings  together hundreds of leading retailers and solution providers to reimagine a stronger, more innovative future for the industry.  

Daniel D Prior is Associate Professor of Buyer-Supplier Engagement and Director of the Supply Chain Sustainment Research Group at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). Daniel is also a Visiting Professor of Strategic Sales and former Director of the Executive MBA at Cranfield University UK. Daniel has over twenty years’ experience working with small businesses in the tech sector as a consultant, board member and advisor. Prior to academia, Daniel held roles in IT, Defence and Professional Services industries, with companies including Tenix Defence and KPMG Australia. Daniel obtained his PhD in 2008 from Macquarie Graduate School of Management. Daniel is a Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute, a Fellow of the Academy of Marketing Science and a Member of the Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy.

With a background in international retail strategy and inspired by her own toxin-free and plastic-free journey, Ellie founded Go For Zero in 2018 to make a more sustainable lifestyle easier and accessible for others, and to inspire and empower others to make a change, no matter how small. Today Go For Zero is a trusted education platform and online one-stop-shop for zero-waste versions of your everyday essentials. From beauty and cleaning to pet and baby, they make sustainable, nontoxic, and plastic-free products convenient and accessible while exclusively supporting Aussie and NZ founders.

Go For Zero won the QLD Telstra Best of Business awards Promoting Sustainability in 2022 and took away the top spot in the 2023 Top 50 People in eCommerce.

Jacinta begun her entrepreneurial journey in Melbourne in 1999 when, at the age of 24, she co-founded Australian wine e-tailer, Cloudwine.com.au, which later also evolved into bricks and mortar outlets. She subsequently moved to Thailand where she co-owned and operated a Phuket boat tour company. Upon returning to Australia, Jacinta launched Yeppoonie Smoothie, bringing her range of 100 per cent Australian smoothie powders to market in 2022. Jacinta developed the blends after discovering a gap in the market for truly healthy and nutritionally-focused smoothie additions – the business was one of the nominees for manufacturer of the year at this year’s Naturally Good Awards.

Jacinta’s background in building innovative businesses, in varied industries and markets, provides Jacinta with a unique insight into the entrepreneur’s journey.