TUESDAY 15 & WEDNESDAY 16 SEPTEMBER
THE CALILE HOTEL, BRISBANE
If you’re the person everyone comes to for their weird people problem solving, this is for you.
As Head of People & Culture, People Partner, HR Manager, OD Specialist, People Experience Lead (ok, you get the idea), you’re always giving to your people and organisation. And while everyone else gets learning and development, you often don’t.
This event is designed especially for HR leaders who want to grow, build community, and have the best time doing it. Think less conference and more workshop vibes. You’ll connect with HR pros from across Australia who get the challenges you face in your role every day.
We have wrangled some of the expert-iest experts in People and Culture who’ll be running sessions tailored to you.
Ohhhh, and one final thing: there are only 150 spots. So don’t sleep on it.
A note from Shell, Boldside’s Founder
Does this sound like you?
HR can be a lonely and emotionally exhausting gig.
Your days are spent in firefighting mode and you feel like you’ve lost momentum on strategy.
You’re isolated in your role and craving honest peer connection (because for those of us in the HR trenches - IYKYK, right).
You’re feeling fatigued by the end of each week and need fresh energy.
You’re looking for practical tools and strategies to take People Experience to the next level.
You’re ready to step into stronger influence internally (pitching ideas, getting buy in, shaping culture).
The antidote:
Taking time out of the day-to-day to reset and recharge
Investing in your professional development as an HR Pro
Building community with peers who get it
So what if you could be the one who:
Had space to think instead of react
Found a community of other P&C leaders who get it
Got tools and strategies to build your impact
Left with an energy reserve you forgot you had
No “ooh, here comes HR” as you enter the room here.
This is what to expect:
No convention centre vibes. Absolutely none. It’s going to be raw conversations, workshops instead of keynotes, and connecting with people who get the challenges you face in your role every day.
Real-time, real-world focus. We’ll spotlight the biggest challenges facing the industry right now - like a session dedicated to AI for HR leaders. You’ll get to hear how other organisations are tackling the same issues you’re facing, and identify the right solutions.
L&D for the people who plan it. This isn’t your typical HR event. It’s an investment in you as a strategic people leader.
Anti-awkward networking. Don’t worry, we’re not into networking or awkward small talk. There will be deep and real peer discussions. It’s a weather-chat free zone.
For the love of foodies. Yep, we’re foodies too. So you can expect good coffee, a delicious menu and bubbles all sorted.
Keep scrolling for the full program overview 👇
The Expertiest-experts
SHELLEY JOHNSON
Founder & Leadership Coach, Boldside
Shelley is the leadership coach you'll want in your corner. She's led large HR teams for over a decade, coaching executives and managers to become leaders people want to follow and build teams people never want to leave.
She's an author, speaker, and columnist for The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald. When she's not writing, you'll find Shell behind the mic on This is Work — an Australian Podcast Awards finalist — sharing whip-smart advice with her trademark cackling laugh. She also holds a Master of Human Resource Management and a Graduate Certificate in Organisational Development.
DR AMANTHA IMBER
CEO at InvEntium.ai & organisational psychologist
Amantha is an organisational psychologist and founder of Inventium, the behaviour change consultancy behind productivity and innovation work with Google, Apple, Disney, LEGO and Microsoft.
In 2021 she became the first Australian to win the Thinkers50 Innovation Award, and in 2025 she took out both AI Consultant of the Year and the AI Excellence Award at the Australian AI Awards. Amantha hosts the number one podcast How I Work, has appeared in Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, Forbes and Fast Company and is the author of four bestselling books. Her latest, The Energy Game is out now.
SHANE MICHAEL HATTON
Global Speaker & Author on Culture, shanehattonspeaks
Shane works with organisations to develop remarkable people leaders. To close the leadership gap between their mid and senior level leaders. His clients tell him that his ‘secret sauce’ is the ability to bring clarity to their thinking and simplicity to complexity.
He’s a global author, trainer, coach and speaker working online, onstage and in person. A member of the Forbes Global Coaches Council, a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach and the author of ‘Lead The Room – Communicate a Message That Counts in Moments That Matter’.
SANAM PERMAL
Founder, LAW LENZ
& YOUR MC FOR THE EVENT
Sanam is the loud, boisterous anomaly of the legal world. A practising employment lawyer in Australia and New Zealand, she has spent years in-house, close enough to the chaos to know what P&C is up against every day. Outside her 9 to 5, she founded Law Lenz to give leaders, HR and employers the legal thinking without the legal bill.
Quiet and reserved? She's not the one. Sanam would rather get a room on its feet than read it case law. Put her on stage with a mic and a good crowd and she's in her element.
P.s. nobody is ever glad to see legal, but she's actively working on it!
Program Overview
Tuesday 15 September, from11:30am
Boldside Partner Pass
A sneaky extra day-before-the-big-day of exclusive workshop content for our Boldside client partners past and present.
The number one piece of feedback we received last year: give us more time together. So here is our special invitation to all Boldside client partners past and present to join us for an extra day jam-packed with practical takeaways and D&M conversations, topped off with a ✨ magical ✨ dinner (hint, hint) to warm up for the big day.
-
We want you to have the opportunity to connect with familiar faces from last year, and some new ones who have become a part of the Boldside gang since. Lunch will be served on arrival - and you know it will be anything but sandwiches and wraps.
-
If there’s one thing this room knows, it’s people. Together we’ll tap into that collective expertise and solve the biggest people challenges facing organisations across Australia right now.
-
How to communicate with confidence in the moments that matter. This session gives you practical tools to speak up in challenging environments, sharpen your natural tone of voice, and grow your impact.
-
Over dinner, we’ll make space for big laughs, moments of awe, and the kind of conversations you rarely get time for. A thank you from us and a celebration of the work we’re doing together to build world-class leaders and high performing teams. With a little magic sprinkled between bites.
Wednesday 16 September,
8:30am to 5:30pm: The Main Event
You know that feeling when you’ve had such a big day that you’re ready to flop on the lounge. And yet weirdly, at the same time, you can’t wait to get back to work and get stuck in. That’s how you’ll feel at the end of this day. You’ll connect with peers who get it, share what’s real, and leave feeling a little more seen, supported, and inspired for the work ahead.
-
We’ll start the day with intros so you can get to know the people on your table. Because if there’s one thing we love in HR it’s an ice-breaker.
-
If you’ve ever said ‘that’s interesting’ in response to the most unhinged, cannot-make-this-stuff-up employee performance issue than this session is for you. In this hands on workshop Shelley shares the tools to spot conflict early, move from reactive to proactive, empower leaders to solve their own challenges (no more rescuing) and protect your energy so you can crush it in one of the toughest roles in business.
-
Most of us are typing vague prompts and crossing our fingers for genius. Amantha’s workshop helps HR leaders genuinely partner with AI as a collaborator, not an oracle. Walk away with a framework for a productive relationship with AI, techniques to sharpen clarity and unlock creativity, and habits to uncover blind spots and challenge your biases.
-
Eat. Breathe. Talk about things that don’t involve an HRIS.
-
Part masterclass, part wildcard. An audience-led take on the culture questions that matter most - the ones that genuinely keep leaders up at night. Shane will work through as many as he can in the hour, bringing a lens on microcultures that adds real nuance to how we think about culture at scale.
-
We close where the future begins. A forward-looking workshop on what your HR leadership needs to look like next and the mindset shift required to get there.
-
We’re not going around the room asking for your “one key takeaway from today”, but we do believe in taking a moment before re-entering the real world. Can we ignore the inbox a little longer?
-
Think bubbly cold drinks and deep convos, no awkward “networking” vibes (don’t worry, we’re not into that either).
Make it official.
We’ll save you a seat.
THE UNCONFERENCE EXPERIENCE
WEDNESDAY 16 SEPTEMBER
$1,475 + GST PER PERSON
Open to all senior people and culture leaders. Limited spots available.
Your investment includes a full day agenda on Wednesday 16 September, with everything you need to step out of the day-to-day and into deep learning, connection and strategic thinking.
✓ A jam-packed agenda of interactive workshop sessions where the best conversations are the ones you help start
✓ Fully and deliciously catered menu, starting with coffee and ending with bubbles (because: of course)
✓ Deep chats and real problem solving with your new HR leadership besties from all over Australia
THE BOLDSIDE PARTNER PASS
TUESDAY 15 & WEDNESDAY 16 SEPTEMBER
$1,750 + GST PER PERSON
Open to Boldside Client Partners past and present, with an intimate 40 seat capacity.
Your investment includes:
✓ Everything from The Unconference Experience on Wednesday 16 September
PLUS:
✓ An extra day-before-the-big-day of exclusive workshop content and connection on Tuesday 15 September
✓ Followed by a beautiful thank you dinner to celebrate the amazing work we have done together
✓ Access to our private HR leader community in an intimate, safe setting
✓ At least one or two surprises (you know how we love a surprise)
Where the best conversations are the ones you help start.
We can’t wait to have you in this room. It’s going to be full of:
Genuine connection with world-class People and Culture leaders from across Australia (that’s you we’re talking about)
Practical tools to build a more strategic, future-focused people agenda
Hands-on workshops focused on live HR challenges and how to solve them
Sessions designed to build your influence as you lead the People Strategy
Space to recharge (we know burnout is a real challenge in HR roles)
What’s included
We have two amazing experiences to offer in 2026.
Each includes everything you need to step out of the day-to-day and into deep learning, connection and strategic thinking. We’re talking:
Genuine connection with a small group of world-class People and Culture leaders from across Australia
Practical tools to build a more strategic, future-focused people agenda
Hands-on workshops focused on live HR challenges and how to solve them
Sessions designed to build your influence as you lead the People Strategy
Space to recharge (we know burnout is a real challenge in HR roles)
Absolutely zero conference centre vibes
The Unconference Experience investment includes:
A full day of interactive workshop sessions
Fully and deliciously catered, starting with coffee and ending with bubbles (because: of course)
Deep chats and real problem solving with your new HR leadership besties from all over Australia
Open to all senior people and culture leaders. Limited spots available.
$1,475 + GST per person
And for our Boldside Partner Pass holders, your investment includes:
Everything from The Unconference Experience
PLUS
An extra day-before-the-big-day of exclusive workshop content
A beautiful thank you dinner to celebrate the amazing work we have done together
Access to our private HR leader community in an intimate, safe setting
At least one or two surprises (you know how we love a surprise)
Open to all Boldside client partners past and present, with an intimate 40 seat capacity.
$1,750 + GST per person
TUESDAY 15 & WEDNESDAY 16 SEPTEMBER
THE CALILE HOTEL, BRISBANE
Accommodation is not included. We recommend booking directly with The Calile Hotel (we’ll share a cheeky discount code when you register) or one of the many nearby hotels.
