Consulting Groups Melbourne

Where do you thrive? Your product fit across startup, scale-up & corporate

**Where Do You Thrive?** *Finding your product fit across startup, scale-up and corporate* Managing a product at a 10-person startup looks markedly different to managing one at a scale up or established corporate. While the title is identical, the day-to-day job requirements, the influence, the pace, and the path forward have key differences. So how do you know where you thrive most? Join Product Women Melbourne for a panel conversation with product leaders who've built careers across startups, scale-ups and corporates. We'll explore: · What actually changes about the role at each stage — and what stays the same · The trade-offs nobody tells you about (autonomy vs. resources, speed vs. structure, ambiguity vs. process) · How to know if you're in the right environment for where you are in your career · What it's really like to move between stages — and what surprised our panellists most **Panellists:** [Anna Kelk,](https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-kelk-743587a7/) Chief Product Officer, Splose [Kelly Nguyen](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellynnguyen/), Senior Product Manager APAC, Heidi [Teresa Huang](https://www.linkedin.com/in/teresajhuang/), Head of Product Bupa Whether you're considering your next career move, curious about a different kind of company, or just want to know if the grass really is greener in a different setting, this session is for you. Expect honest conversation and insights and time to connect with the Product Women Melbourne community afterwards. **Venue**: Preacta, 260 Collins Street, Melbourne (Melbourne CBD) **Date:** 06 August 2026 **Time:** 5:30-7:30pm Kindly sponsored by Preacta: Talent Acquisition Solutions and Recruitment

Community Conversations: Education for the Mind and Heart

Education is about more than acquiring knowledge. It is also an opportunity to develop the qualities that help us navigate life with purpose and compassion. Building on a previous program on the theme of education, join us for an evening to explore how a deeper perspective of education, and spiritual development, has the potential to shape lives in lasting ways. The evening will begin with a brief presentation by Andre Pitts, an educator with decades of experience in Melbourne schools, who will share his reflections on the theme. Community Conversations provides a warm and inclusive space for meaningful discussions, and to spark positive initiatives in our neighbourhoods. This will be followed by shared group consultation, where we can explore the ideas together, along with time to connect, socialise, and enjoy light refreshments. This is a free event and all are invited to attend.

Is Organisation Design Keeping Up?

**Organisations are being asked to redesign faster. Is organisation design practice keeping up?** At our August meetup, Martin Foster will unpack insights from the Organization Design Forum’s latest global practitioner survey and report, revealing how organisation design is actually being commissioned, practised and evolved. The findings present an intriguing tension: experienced practitioners, strong craft foundations and senior sponsorship, alongside uneven technology adoption, AI used more to support the work than reshape operating models, and “continuous organisation design” still emerging as a practice. We’ll explore what is changing, what is not, and what these global findings might mean for Australian organisations. This session is for anyone shaping operating models, transformation, workforce, technology or ways of working. Not only those with “organisation design” in their title. More on Martin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinfoster/ Thanks to TeamForm, our event sponsor for providing a great place to meet and refreshments. Look at teamform for visualising your delivery teaming structures whether they be persistent or project based, and for desigining and operating the workforce behind them - given the work, aligning the right roles today and into the future. https://teamform.co/

In Conversation: Patricia Piccinini and Professor Melissa Little

Product Camp 2026

Join us on Saturday, August 8th for a day of product goodness. And madness. With learning new things and meeting new friends. Kick off / Keynote @ 9:00 am Doors 8:30 am What is Product Camp? * It’s a day long community driven event consisting of participant led talks which are voted on by you (aka an ‘unconference’). * Brings together people who are involved in making products - product managers, product owners, product marketers, designers, researchers, UXers, BAs, engineers and more. * Organised by volunteers, Product Camp is a free event for attendees and is only possible with the support of sponsors! **Keep updated by joining the ProdAnon Slack**: (there's a camp channel) [https://bit.ly/pcmelb26](https://bit.ly/pcmelb26) **Want to give a talk or lead a discussion?** Get your ideas in early so we can promote you on the website & socials! More info here: [https://bit.ly/pcamptalks2026](https://bit.ly/pcamptalks2026) We’ll be kicking off at 9am sharp for a full day of activities, learning, food and fun - including a keynote). Plus an after party once we wrap up around 4:30pm. See the [Camp ](https://productcampmelbourne.com)website for pix from previous years & additional info. Is your company interested in sponsoring? Reach out to Jen, Steve or any of the Product Camp volunteers. Join these amazing organisations: **Thank you to our host - Seek!** [SEEK ](https://www.seek.com.au/Product-Manager-jobs)has been helping Australians live more fulfilling and productive working lives for 28 years. SEEK is a diverse group of companies, comprised of a strong portfolio of online employment, educational, commercial and volunteer businesses. As a market leader in online employment marketplaces that span ten countries across Asia Pacific and Latin America, SEEK makes a positive contribution to people’s lives on a global scale. **Thank you Amplitude!** [Amplitude](https://amplitude.com/?utm_source=3rd-party-event&utm_medium=measurecamp&utm_campaign=2026-08-08-apac-tradeshow-productcamp-melbourne) is the leading AI analytics platform, helping over 4,900 customers—including Atlassian, Burger King, NBCUniversal, SafetyCulture, and Zip—build better products and digital experiences. With powerful AI Agents embedded across our platform, teams can analyse, test, and optimise user experiences faster than ever. Ranked #1 across multiple categories in G2’s Winter 2026 Report, Amplitude is the best-in-class solution for product, data, and marketing teams. **Thank you Everest!** [Everest Engineering](https://www.everest.engineering/) helps clients step into the future by designing, building and scaling smarter digital products, delivered by trusted experts in product, design, engineering and AI. Smarter products, powered by AI. Built with people you can trust. **Thank you Mixpanel!** [Mixpanel ](https://mixpanel.com/)is the decision analytics platform built for fast-moving teams. By combining intuitive self-serve reporting, enterprise-ready scale, and seamless integrations with your data stack, Mixpanel helps product, marketing, and growth teams align faster, uncover what matters, and take confident action. **Thank you Fabric!** [Fabric Group](https://www.fabricgroup.com.au) and Cursor have partnered to help organisations accelerate the future of software engineering. Combining Cursor’s industry-leading AI-powered development platform with Fabric’s deep engineering expertise and enterprise consulting capabilities, the partnership empowers teams to build, deliver and innovate faster. Together, we’re enabling organisations to embrace AI-native engineering, unlock greater productivity and solve complex business challenges with confidence. **Thank you Easygo!** [Easygo ](https://easygo.io/)is the force behind brands with global reach, through products and platforms people actually choose to experience. We do what’s exciting, not expected. That means big ideas, tight execution, and teams that are trusted to ship, learn, and ship again. **Thank you Octopus Deploy!** [Octopus ](https://www.linkedin.com/company/octopus-deploy/posts/?feedView=all)makes it easy to deliver software to Kubernetes, multi-cloud, on-prem infrastructure, and anywhere else. Automate the release, deployment, and operations of your software with a tool that can handle CD at scale in ways no other tool can. **Thank you Figma!** [Figma ](https://www.figma.com/)is a cloud-based digital design and collaboration platform primarily used to design, prototype, and test websites and mobile apps. It allows designers, product managers, and developers to work together in real-time within the same file, acting as an all-in-one planning and visual sketchbook tool. **Thank you Notion!** [Notion ](https://www.notion.com/en-gb/product/notion-for-product-development)is where teams and AI agents collaborate to get work done. Your knowledge, projects, and AI tools live in one place, so AI has the context to summarize, draft, and take action. Automate busywork, reduce tool sprawl, and keep work moving with enterprise grade security and controls. **Thank you Middleton Executive!** [Middleton Executive ](https://www.middletonexec.com.au/)partners with technology leaders to build the teams and leadership capability required for growth. Combining AI-enabled hiring practices with experienced talent leadership, we help organisations improve hiring quality, strengthen decision-making and create the conditions for sustained business performance. **Thank you The Outlook!** **Thank you Preacta!** [Preacta ](https://www.preacta.com)is a specialist talent partner helping organisations build high performing technology, digital, product and executive leadership teams. We provide permanent recruitment, contract recruitment, executive search, talent intelligence and embedded talent solutions, combining deep market expertise with data driven insights to help clients make better hiring decisions. Our focus is on building long term partnerships, delivering exceptional candidate and client experiences, and helping businesses attract the talent they need to grow. **Thank you Product Academy!** [Product Academy](https://www.productacademy.io) helps PMs become AI Product Builders in the AI Era! We teach real-world work, builder blueprints and insider interview strategies. If you know someone trying to get ahead in the AI PM era, send them our way — we’ve helped thousands, and it’s all taught by a hiring manager (Dave Wang) so he knows exactly what’s needed to succeed. **Thank you Leading the Product!** [Leading the Product (LTP)](https://www.leadingtheproduct.com/conference/) is an Australian product community and events platform that helps product professionals learn, connect and improve how they lead, build and deliver products. At its core, LTP supports the community through leading the conversation, leading the craft and leading the connections.

English Conversation Thursday Class

We invite you to come and practise your English with people from all over the world in a friendly environment. We are open to all levels from beginner to advanced. We have classes in small groups and you will be placed in one of these groups according to your level of English. Our free conversational English classes are every Thursday evening (except term breaks). If you are coming for the first time, please come on time for registration. Please note: English Corner is for non-native speakers. Our team of facilitators is really looking forward to having a wonderful time speaking English with you! **Please scan the QR code upon arrival to register your attendance.** If this is your first time, we recommend arriving a bit earlier to complete your initial registration. In case you aren't able to join us face to face we have an Online Alternate English Conversation Thursday class option too! Sign up for this on Meetup.

From Conversation to Execution: Building Agents with ERP, Dataverse & MCP

**Melbourne Biz Apps User Group — Session 03** 🎉 We're back for our third event! After two fantastic sessions, this time we're going beyond chat — into the world of AI agents that actually execute business processes. 🤖 **From Conversation to Execution: Enterprise Agents with ERP, Dataverse & MCP** Generative AI is rapidly evolving from answering questions to executing business processes. In this session, we'll explore how AI Agents, Model Context Protocol (MCP), Dynamics 365 ERP, Dataverse and Power Platform can work together to automate real-world business operations. Using a practical business scenario, we'll demonstrate how an AI Agent can understand business intent, retrieve enterprise context through MCP servers, interact with Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management, update Dataverse records, orchestrate approvals, and complete transactions with governance and security controls. **What you'll learn:** ✅ What Agentic AI means for business applications ✅ The role of MCP in connecting enterprise systems ✅ How Dynamics 365 ERP and Dataverse become agent-enabled ✅ Designing business processes executed by agents ✅ Governance, security and human-in-the-loop considerations ✅ Practical architecture and implementation patterns By the end of the session, you'll understand how to move beyond chat experiences and build enterprise-grade AI agents that perform real business work. 🍕 **Food, Drinks and Networking** Good food, good drinks, and good people. Plenty of time to connect with your fellow Biz Apps practitioners in Melbourne. All experience levels welcome. Come as you are. See you there! 🙌

Welcome to the next 2026 AWS Melbourne Well-Architected User Group Meetup!

Hi Architects, Welcome to our next AWS Melbourne Well-Architected User Group Meetup for 2026, including more exceptional speakers and topics! :-D At each meetup we covered off various pillars in detail, best-practices and insights from industry leaders that specialise in the Well-Architected Framework. And giving away drones, of course. Lots of drones. **Please also note that AWS Security now requests a company name and company email where it is available. If you are a student, please list your institution and your student email address at that institution 👍** We'll be announcing more speakers on [https://well-architected.me](https://well-architected.me/) and previewing presentations during the coming weeks - our speakers and details this month include: * **Mystery Speaker** **AWS Partner Revenue Management; A New Dawn or... ;-)** Partner Revenue Measurement (PRM) is the biggest change to the AWS Partner Network (APN) and in this session we will dive deep into the details and importance - essential for any AWS partner or customer. This month's menu will include: * Pizzas * Beer: Nastro Azzurro * Wine: Big and red 🤤 NB: Please check in up the stairs from the ground floor to the Mezzanine Level. So come join us at 5:30 for a 6pm **SHARP** start, followed by beer, wine, pizza and friendly networking after our talks :-) Tired of Linkedin’s "thought leadership”, spam and advertising? Join https://well-architected.me/ , the AWS community built for architects, developers and cloud professionals. * Connect with experienced AWS practitioners * Preview upcoming AWS Meetups and relive past content * Create and review beautiful AWS case studies in minutes * Prepare for AWS certifications with curated quizzes * Show your manager and reports you’re well-architected (Please note that by registering to attend you agree to your details being shared as and where required with Amazon Web Services and AWS Well-Architected User Group partners)

From Search to AI: Building Smarter Applications with Elastic & GenAI

AI applications are only as good as the data behind them. Join us for an evening exploring how modern teams are using search, retrieval, and GenAI to build intelligent experiences powered by real-world data. ​ Whether you’re experimenting with LLMs, building RAG pipelines, or looking beyond AI demos into production systems, this meetup brings together developers and builders working at the intersection of search and AI. ​ Connect with the local community, hear practical stories from the field, and explore how Elastic helps bridge the gap between raw data and intelligent applications. ​ **What You’ll Explore: ​** * The Search Layer Behind Modern AI: See why search has become a key building block for AI applications and how retrieval, relevance, and indexing shape better user experiences. * ​RAG, Vector Search & LLM Workflows: Learn how teams are connecting language models with enterprise and application data using modern retrieval techniques. ​ * Building AI Systems That Scale: Go beyond prototypes and explore practical approaches for creating systems that are reliable, observable, and ready for production environments. ​ * Turning Data Into Intelligent Experiences: Understand how structured and unstructured data can work together to create smarter products, workflows, and applications. ​ **Location:** ​The Wharf Hotel Melbourne - Portside Room. 18/38 Siddeley St, Docklands ​ **Agenda:** ​ \- 16:00 Arrivals & Networking Drinks \- 16:30 Welcome Comments \- Chris Frost \- 16:45 Speaker 1: New features you can access \- Chris Frost\, Solution Architect \- 17:00 Speaker 2: Why your AI is lying to you and how you can fix it \- Mike Calizo\, Customer Architect \- 17\.15 Speaker 3: Customer Use Case presented by Insignia and Elastic \- 17:30 Networking Drinks \- 18:00 Farewell Comments **Who Should Attend:** ​ This meetup is designed for a wide range of participants: ​ * Developers and engineers exploring GenAI or search ​ * Builders working with LLMs, RAG, or vector databases ​ * Anyone curious about how AI works with real-world data * ​Elastic users looking to deepen their understanding ​ * Professionals interested in scalable AI system design ​ No matter your experience level — if you’re interested in the intersection of AI and data, you’ll feel right at home. ​​ **Interested in giving a talk?** Have you ever considered presenting on your Elastic use case? We welcome lightning talks of 5-10 minutes, 45-minute deep dives, and everything in between. If you're interested, please submit via our [CFP](https://sessionize.com/elastic-meetups) or email us at kartikay@elastic.co

🤖 Group Therapy: An Honest Session on How We Actually Feel About AI

We are finally doing it. A talk themed around AI. But we know it's session nobody wants to admit they need. We've all heard the AI buzzwords - "excited," "leaning in," "embracing the tools", "It's about Taste" But what's the version we tell our partner at 11pm? This session is a confession booth disguised as a meetup: no corporate talking points, no performative optimism, just a room full of professionals finally saying the quiet part out loud. What you'll hear: ✨ The mood ring check-in: Has your relationship with AI actually evolved - curiosity, to fatigue, to something like grudging acceptance? Or are you stuck on repeat? ✨ Empowered or expendable: The gap between the tools making us faster and the fear that "faster" was never really the point ✨ The honesty audit: Are we saying what we actually feel, or reciting the script we think we're supposed to perform? ✨ Slop or stealth: Is AI-generated mediocrity actually improving - or has it just gotten better at hiding in plain sight? ✨ The invoice after the honeymoon: Businesses got the discounted intro rate. Is anyone budgeting for what this actually costs once the novelty pricing ends? ✨ Who's actually watching the risk: How leaders are (or aren't) identifying, assessing, and managing AI risk before it becomes a headline 👉 The debate on the table: "Most people are more anxious than they admit" vs "People are largely fine and adapting" Pick a side. Defend it. Or admit you're not sure, which might be the most honest answer in the room. 📌 The details: * Date: Thursday 13th August * Host: Melbourne Design Thinking Meetup x Scyne Advisory * Refreshments included: Pizza and fizz! Our Speakers: **Liz Collins León** *Experience Architect \| Design Operations Strategist* Liz is an Experience Architect with over 15 years designing systems, campaigns, and communication solutions across retail, telecommunications, and front-to-back office operations. With tenure at Telstra, Google, and more recently Genesys, she is a design leader and mentor whose passion for creating inclusive experiences expands beyond delivering data-driven, digital products. Whether fostering a community effort to found a greenbelt reserve, designing learning spaces, or promoting psychological safety in the workplace, she endeavors to strengthen communities through online and offline connections. **Gemma Mooney** *Product Design Lead \| RACV* With over 20 years of experience spanning UX, digital product design and design leadership. She specialises in helping organisations understand customer needs and translate insights into improved products, services and experiences. At RACV, Gemma leads strategic discovery, research and experience design initiatives across a range of member experiences, including onboarding, emergency roadside assistance, payments, chat and AI-enabled digital services. She also led the design of the RACV app from concept through to launch, helping shape the vision, user experience and member proposition for one of RACV's most important digital products. More recently, she has been helping embed AI into the design practice, developing practical approaches for using tools such as Copilot to support research, synthesis, journey mapping and opportunity identification. Prior to RACV, Gemma was UX Manager at Intrepid Travel, where she established the company's UX practice and championed user-centred design across the organisation. She also led Intrepid's first innovation hackathon, bringing together cross-functional teams to solve customer and business challenges through design-led thinking. Throughout her career, Gemma has been passionate about creating evidence-based, customer-centred experiences and helping teams use research and emerging technologies to drive better outcomes for customers and organisations alike. Her work has been recognised with Intrepid Travel's Outstanding Achievement Award and Travel Weekly's Women in Travel Award. **David Cullen** *Managing Director, Scyne Advisory (GAICD)* David has spent two decades on the front line of Australia's cyber resilience — the kind of career where "incident response" isn't a slide in a deck, it's a 3am phone call. As Victoria's former Chief Information Security Officer, he built the state's Cyber Incident Response Service from scratch and led the response to Victoria's largest-ever public sector cyber-attack, all while establishing the frameworks that now coordinate cyber emergencies statewide. At the national level, David represented Victoria on the National Cyber Security Committee and built the National Operations Subcommittee to get states talking to each other before a crisis, not during one. He's now a Managing Director at Scyne Advisory, leading national incident response capability and helping organisations across the public and private sector get serious about cyber preparedness before they need to. David holds a Master of Public Policy and Management, is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and is a recipient of the Resilient Australia Award. He brings a rare thing to a stage: someone who's actually been the person picking up the phone when it all goes wrong — and has the scars, systems, and stories to prove it.

Tell better stories, or we are stuck with this…

* Topic: Tell better stories, or we are stuck with this… * Date: Thursday 20th August 2026 at 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm * Networking: 5:30 pm - 6:00 pm and 6:45 pm - 7:30 pm * Presentation Time: 6:00 pm - 6.45 pm *(includes welcome, presentation 30 mins & community marketplace)* * Location: Thoughtworks HQ Level 35/360 Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000 * Ticket: Free of cost, however, registrations and RSVP are required! * Sponsor: Thoughtworks **Precis** In a room at the Canberra Parliament in late 2013, a group of engineers and officials gathered to brief Federal Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull on the struggling NBN rollout. There was a hard choice to make - fibre to the node, or fibre to the premises. The topic was so complex, the explanations so extensive, the impacts so varied, and the powerpoint slides so detailed, that making a decision proved vexing to the Minister. In the end, he chose the 'hybrid' model, based on data he could fathom the meaning of. This proved famously costly to Australia's economic development. Nigel Dalton will relate this moment to the decisions being made in Boardrooms in 2026, about similar choices on the adoption of AI & ML tech that could be equally momentous. How can data professionals ensure the narratives they are producing provide the maximum clarity to decision-makers, and avoid another NBN? **About The Speaker** Nigel Dalton is a social scientist at Thoughtworks Asia-Pacific. He is well-known for his work in technology and innovation, stemming from his time as CIO of REA Group and GM of Technology at Lonely Planet, as well as a diverse background in government, startups, and private enterprise across multiple countries. Nigel joined Thoughtworks in 2020, and has continued his work speaking at conferences, writing articles, podcasting, advising executives, and mentoring. After witnessing the highs and lows of high-stakes story-telling around technology and business decision-making for 4 decades, he is passionate about improving the quality of tech communications. The AI era is providing plenty of opportunities to improve that.

Melbourne GRC Meetup

06:15pm Doors open 06:30pm Welcome Introduction by Abed and Jess 06:45pm Talk by Sohan Lokula 07:30pm Q & A and Networking 08:45pm Closing Welcome to our FOURTH Melbourne GRC Meetup!! This is a Cyber Security GRC Meetup. This event we have a very special guest and topic with one of Melbourne's top Cyber Security professionals: Sohan Lokula! The topic is: Threat Intelligence for GRC Professionals!