A high-quality speaker line-up coupled with an innate ability to address meaningful and relevant industry topics ensured this year’s FESPA Australia Annual Conference (Shangri-La Hotel Sydney Friday 17th October) hit the mark and lived up to the organisation’s brand promise to Connect. Inspire. Support.
All smiles as FESPA Australia President, Nigel Davies, flanked by keynote speaker, David Fish (left) and MC comedian Sam McCool relax after a successful 2025 conference
In his opening address, Nigel Davies, FESPA Australia President, urged the 80+ delegates gathered to use the opportunity to connect with someone new, to be inspired by the speakers and to support one another in getting the most out of the event. “Connection is truly at the heart of our industry. Inspiration drives an emotion in us…to dream…to push forward. And there is a genuine reciprocity amongst our industry which holds everything together and through which we support one another.”
Business Strategist David Fish delivered an enlightening keynote address on the 'Illusion of Connection'David Fish, a globally recognised strategist and business leader, delivered the keynote address on the Illusion of Connection, expounding his insightful views on everything from ‘phone-mo science’, ‘functional trust’ and ‘the epidemic of disconnection’ and proffering a view that our insatiable appetite to be connected might actually be eroding our humanity in that connection.
Following this, FESPA Leaders programme facilitator, Carl Harman, called on a few of the most recent course graduates to accentuate the over-arching conclusion that both Fishy and he were aligned on: ‘that human connection might just be the most important ingredient in our world of digitisation and automation’.
Interesting and informative panel sessions on both AI and Cybersecurity ‘in a connected world’ added volume and
Daniel Watts (right) facilitated an interesting panel discussion on Cybersecurity in a Connected World, calling on first-hand experiences from industry experts Zara Shroff and Richard Berkhan dimension to the over-arching themes. And to further reinforce the value of human connection in today’s often chaotic world, Easy Signs’ Adam Parnell beamed in Steph Wilbow from Allentown US to talk about her journey as a young and upwardly mobile Australian woman, moving to the States to establish the Easy Sign US business from scratch. Her content was hugely authentic and her story nothing short of inspirational: a strong complement to a conference that also carried the wight of authenticity and inspiration.
A strong shout-out too to the event’s MC, comedian Phil McCool, who cleverly maintained an engaging tempo and energy to the conference through an enviable combination of quick-wit and his own highly authentic style.
The FESPA Australia Annual Conference was sponsored by Orafol, Durst, EasySigns, Cactus Imaging, IVE, Mimaki, Vivad, Ball & Doggett and HVG.
