Jo-Anne Ruhl
Managing Director and Vice President, Australia and New Zealand, Workday
Agenda
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In person
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Tuesday, 26 May 2026
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ICC Sydney
Here's your personal timetable for the day.
Registration Opens
Get ready to join us at Workday Elevate Sydney. Check in at our registration kiosks, grab your lanyard and a coffee as we begin the day.
Welcome
Join us as we kick off Workday Elevate Sydney with our welcome to country, acknowledging the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and paying our respects to the traditional owners of this land.
Workday Australia Executive Keynote
Innovation Keynote
Max Wessel
Senior Vice President, Product, Workday
Customer Keynote: Salesforce
Chris Dagg
Senior Finance Transformation Officer, Salesforce
Customer Keynote: Telstra
Niki Rose
Workforce Experience and Capability Executive
Telstra
More than just a coffee break: Morning tea at the Workday World Expo
Join us at the Workday World Expo for a morning tea experience that's as interactive as it is invigorating. Network with peers, engage with Workday experts, and explore the latest innovations. This is the perfect opportunity to connect, collaborate, and kick start your day in the heart of the action.
11:25am–12:25pm
Strategy & Vision / Demo
This session will unveil a New Work Day for HR—a fundamental shift from systems that simply track work to those that actively enable it through Agentic HR.
Grounded in three core imperatives, this strategy demonstrates how Workday’s Enterprise AI platform reinvents core HR with trusted AI, delivers a new level of business value, and builds for the future through a unified, AI-driven architecture.
By leveraging Workday’s unparalleled context—encompassing 75 million users and 20 years of experience—HR leaders can now deploy specialised agents across payroll, recruiting, and performance to eliminate "talent trapped in trivia" and allow their teams to lead with empathy and creativity.
Cristina Goldt
General Manager Workforce Management and Payroll, Workday
12:25pm–1:30pm
Fuel Your Curiosity: Lunch and Exploration at the Workday World Expo
Join us for lunch at the Workday World Expo. Explore interactive demos, engage with industry leaders, and connect with fellow attendees. This is your chance to fuel your body and mind in the centre of innovation.
1:30pm–2:00pm
Partner Lens
2:00pm–2:30pm
Customer Deep Dive
Melissa Dorey
Head of People and Digital Experience, AGL
Kelly McFadden
Head of People and Performance, Starlight Children’s Foundation
11:25am–12:25pm
Strategy & Vision / Demo: A Practical Look at AI Agents in Finance
Hear the latest insights on the state of AI in Finance for 2026, exploring how Workday customers are navigating the shift from simple automation to autonomous agents. You’ll get an early look at upcoming Workday features and releases including Workday Finance Agents, as well as a sneak peek at building a Finance AI Agent.
Luke Bebbington
Strategic Industry Advisor, Workday
Rob Zwiebach
Vice President, Product Management - Financial Management, Workday
12:25pm–1:30pm
Fuel Your Curiosity: Lunch and Exploration at the Workday World Expo
Join us for lunch at the Workday World Expo. Explore interactive demos, engage with industry leaders, and connect with fellow attendees. This is your chance to fuel your body and mind in the centre of innovation.
1:30pm–2:00pm
Partner Lens
2:00pm–2:30pm
Customer Deep Dive
Esther Monks
Strategic Industry Advisor, Workday
Chris Dagg
Senior Finance Transformation Officer, Salesforce
Nicole Ebejer
Group Controller, Bravura Solutions
11:25am–12:25pm
Strategy & Vision / Demo: Accelerating Transformation with an AI-First Open Platform
As AI moves from experiment to core infrastructure, CIOs are the primary architects of the machine-human workforce. This keynote sets the stage for the IT track, exploring how Workday’s open, AI-native platform eliminates technical debt by unifying the enterprise’s two most critical data sets: People and Money. We move beyond the hype to show how an open architecture allows IT leaders to stop simply maintaining systems and start orchestrating intelligence—creating a flexible digital backbone that turns raw data into measurable business agility
Shan Moorthy
CTO APAC, Workday
12:25pm–1:30pm
Fuel Your Curiosity: Lunch and Exploration at the Workday World Expo
Join us for lunch at the Workday World Expo. Explore interactive demos, engage with industry leaders, and connect with fellow attendees. This is your chance to fuel your body and mind in the centre of innovation.
1:30pm–2:00pm
Partner Lens
2:00pm–2:30pm
Customer Deep Dive
Shan Moorthy
Chief Technology Officer, Asia Pacific, Workday
11:25am–12:25pm
Strategy & Vision / Demo: Shape the Future with Adaptive Planning
In unpredictable times, unified planning builds resilience. Discover how agentic AI drives smarter, faster decision-making across finance, HR and operations.
Learn from the success stories of leaders adopting AI into their organisations and get a firsthand look at upcoming innovations in Workday Adaptive Planning.
Eric Thum
Head of Marketing - Adaptive Planning, Workday
12:25pm–1:30pm
Fuel Your Curiosity: Lunch and Exploration at the Workday World Expo
Join us for lunch at the Workday World Expo. Explore interactive demos, engage with industry leaders, and connect with fellow attendees. This is your chance to fuel your body and mind in the centre of innovation.
1:30pm–2:00pm
Partner Lens
2:00pm–2:30pm
Customer Deep Dive
Fraser Brearsley
General Manager, Internal Diagnostics
Antonia Scorciapino
General Manager – Finance Business Partners, Mission Australia
11:25am–12:25pm
Strategy & Vision / Demo
As the higher education landscape evolves, the shift from fragmented legacy systems to a unified platform has become a strategic imperative. This session explores Workday customer outcomes and our latest product innovations designed to meet the unique needs of modern institutions.
We will dive deep into Workday Student, showcasing how a cloud-native student information system (SIS) transforms the student and administrative experience. Furthermore, we will discuss why a unified data core is no longer just an operational advantage but the essential foundation for leveraging Artificial Intelligence. Discover how integrated data empowers institutions to move from reactive reporting to predictive insights, ensuring agility in an increasingly complex academic environment.
Kate Russell
Head of Industry Strategy, Workday
Tristan Damen
Senior Solution Consultant, Workday
12:25pm–1:30pm
Fuel Your Curiosity: Lunch and Exploration at the Workday World Expo
Join us for lunch at the Workday World Expo. Explore interactive demos, engage with industry leaders, and connect with fellow attendees. This is your chance to fuel your body and mind in the centre of innovation.
1:30pm–2:30pm
Customer Deep Dive
Hear from Michael Johnston of Pensacola State College who will share their transformation story, discussing the "why" and "how" behind their Workday Student implementation journey which drove a 43% increase in full-time registration over two years.
Then, join us for a powerhouse discussion on the sector's biggest pain points. Michael Johnson will be joined by Australian leaders, including Mark Erickson, Registrar at the University of Sydney, and other local CIOs.
Michelle Gillespie
Higher Education Industry Advisor, Workday
Michael Johnston
Associate Vice President, Pensacola State College
Mark Erickson
Registrar, University of Sydney
2:30pm–3:15pm
Reflection and recharge: Afternoon tea at the Workday World Expo
Take a pause and reflect on the day's insights with afternoon tea at the Workday World Expo. Connect with fellow attendees, share key takeaways and recharge before the closing keynote.
3:15pm–4:00pm
Locknote
4:00pm–4:10pm
Closing Remarks
Jo-Anne Ruhl
Managing Director and Vice President, Australia and New Zealand, Workday
4:10pm–6:30pm
Unwind and connect: the Workday Sydney Elevate after-party
Don't miss the ultimate networking event! Join us at the Workday World Expo for an evening of drinks, delicious bites, and entertainment. Relax, unwind, and connect with peers, partners, and Workday leaders as we close the day.
Got questions? We have answers.