Hunter iF, the apex body for innovation governance in the Hunter region, has successfully concluded its 2022 Innovator’s Lunches educational and networking series. This series of three lunches brought together over 200 participants and 13 panellists from across the Hunter innovation ecosystem.
2022 series of lunches covered the following key topics designed to share the learnings from innovators and thought leaders already operating in the Hunter:
- June 2022 – “Grassroots to Greatness” featuring Grayson Wolfgang, Regional Manager at AusIndustry, Justin Hales, Founder of Camplify, Justin Bain, CEO of 3ME Technology and Siobhan Curran, Senior Manager, I2N and Innovation at University of Newcastle
- August 2022 – “Latest Trends and Opportunities in Climate Tech and Renewable Energy” featuring Mick Liubinskas, CEO and Co-founder of Climate Salad, Monica Tan, Head of Projects at Beyond Zero Emissions, Dr Andrew Mears, CEO at SwitchDin, Alexander Post, CTO at MGA Thermal
- December 2022 – “Talent Attraction and Retention” featuring Jess Wagstaff, GM at ASR Recruitment, Tony Parezanovic, Co-Founder and Mentor at incubatorTANK, Joshua Sattler, CEO at Dantia and Melissa Moore, Assistant Director, Employability and Work Integrated Learning, University of Newcastle
Alex Brennan, Chair of the Board at Hunter iF and facilitator of the lunches said, “From educating startups and scaleups on the barriers and solutions to scaling their business to understanding the role climate tech has to play in accelerating our energy transition and grappling with the challenges and complexity of talent attraction and retention in an increasingly competitive marketplace, the Hunter iF Innovators Lunches covered a lot of ground in 2023. We managed to engage the audience in some lively and thought provoking discussions and continued to forge connections within our community. By any measure, that is a huge win in my book.”
Established in 2017 as an opportunity for entrepreneurs and innovators to connect with other members of the innovation ecosystem including funding specialists, lawyers and recruiters, these social events were designed to build stronger ties between the start-up community to support the development of innovative businesses in the region.
Hunter iF has planned 5 innovators lunches for 2023, taking place in February, April, June, August and December with the highly anticipated Hunter Innovation Festival taking place in October. Talking enthusiastically about the plans for 2023, Mr Brennan mentioned that “Based on the attendance and participation that we enjoyed this year, I’m excited to see what we are able to achieve in the year ahead. We have activated the ecosystem post-COVID and are pleased to see a huge amount of support from corporate partners, a fresh and energised board and huge potential for 2023. I can’t wait to welcome our community to the first Innovators Lunch in February.”