 ERIC BEECHER, Founder & Chairman, Private Media Partners
Eric Beecher started his media career as a journalist on The Age in Melbourne and later worked at The Sunday Times and The Observer in London and The Washington Post in the US. In 1984, at age 33, he became the youngest editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and in 1987 was appointed editor-in-chief of The Herald and Weekly Times newspaper group.
In 1990 together with Di Gribble he co-founded Text Media, a public company that produced newspapers, magazines and books and was acquired by Fairfax Media in 2003. He and Di then formed Private Media Partners in 2003, acquiring the infamous Crikey.com.au in 2005. He is also a founding shareholder and chairman of three further online media ventures – SmartCompany.com.au, EurekaReport.com.au and BusinessSpectator.com.au. In 2007 he was presented with the Walkley award for Journalistic Leadership for his “ongoing entrepreneurialism and his commitment to innovation and investment in the future of quality journalism”.
 BRADLEY BROWN, Director and CEO, Fletchers
Bradley Brown has held senior management positions in accounting, human resources, marketing, quality and strategic planning and is considered one of Victoria's most experienced industry leaders.
His experience has given him a great insight into the people side of business and how to best tap into them to create organisational value and a quality experience for clients. Over the last 6 years with Fletchers, he has overseen its transformation into one of the leading independent agencies in Australasia.
 SHAUN Di GREGORIO, General Manager – Asia Pacific, REA Group
Shaun has been with the REA Group since 2002 and is responsible for nine brands spanning the Asia Pacific region. He has worked in the online industry for 10 years in both management and business development roles and speaks at a variety of high-profile events.
 MARK EARLE, Director, Buxton Sandringham
Headhunted into real estate at an early age, Mark has been in the business for 13 years. At 27 he reached his goal of writing in excess of $1 million in gross fees and established himself as one of the top agents in Victoria. Two years ago, he became a Buxton franchisee in Sandringham. He now manages this office as well as being involved with the running of Buxton’s 13 offices.
 GARY GANNON, Principal, Ray White Broadbeach
Gary has owned and operated Ray White franchises for more than 20 years and his success as owner of Ray White Broadbeach has firmly established him as a leader within the Ray White Group.
 DR FRED GROSSE, Business Psychotherapist & Coach
As an internationally recognized Business/Life Coach/Mentor, Dr Fred Grosse teaches, guides and inspires achievers on how to create a magnificent life bountifully funded by dollar-productive activities and investments. Dr Fred's key theme is, "LIFE is primary and WORK funds life." He is author of Black Belt of the Mind: A Conscious Approach to Wealth.
 RICHARD JELLIS, Principal, Jellis Craig and Company
In 1992, Richard started a small real estate business with co-partner Alastair Craig. By 1995, the business had changed its name to Jellis Craig and Company and begun to overtake its long established rivals. His 33 years of real estate experience in the inner-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, coupled with the success of Jellis Craig, have earned Richard the respect and client-following accorded to only the most outstanding people in his field.
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|  PETER KNIGHT, CEO, Phoenix plc
Peter Knight is an entrepreneur, international author and expert on the real estate market. Based in the UK, he was Sales Director with the UK’s most successful house builder Barratt Homes, and then Managing Director of leading UK agency Halifax Property Services, responsible for a team of 1,500 real estate agents. In 1989 he founded Phoenix plc, one of the UK property industry’s leading advertising, marketing, design and PR agencies.
Phoenix clients include 2,200 estate agents, several of the largest UK house builders and many other property companies.
 JOHN McGRATH, CEO, McGrath Estate Agents
Considered one of the most influential figures in the Australian property industry, John McGrath is CEO of McGrath Estate Agents. He took the company from a start-up in 1989 to become one of Australia's largest property services groups selling over $3 billion in residential property in Sydney in the last year. From 2003-2007, as chairman of Australia’s most popular real estate internet site realestate.com.au he presided over its transformation from a single residential website in Australia to one that operates 15 residential and commercial real estate websites in eight countries. A spokesperson for the industry both in Australia and internationally, he has also authored five bestsellers.
 NIGEL MARSH, Chairman, Leo Burnett Australia
Best-selling author of Fat, Forty and Fired and Observations of a Very Short Man, Nigel Marsh is described by The Examined Life Institute as “one of Australia’s most outstanding writers and commentators”. He is disarmingly honest and speaks from direct personal experience. During his advertising career, his clients have included Virgin, McDonald’s, Pepsi, British Airways, Philip Morris, Proctor & Gamble and Mars. This experience has given him strong views on what does and doesn’t lead to peak performance in the business world. He is also one of the founders of the globally renowned environmental initiative Earth Hour.
 BARRY PLANT, CEO, Barry Plant Group
Barry has worked in the real estate industry for 40 years. Today, the Barry Plant Group is the largest residential real estate group in Victoria, with a team of more than 750 people, having sold in excess of 10,000 properties last year with a value in excess of $9 billion. The network includes 74 franchised offices mainly in metropolitan Melbourne and Geelong. The first Queensland office on the Gold Coast opened in March this year.
 JULIA ROSS, Managing Director, Julia Ross Recruitment
Julia is the founder of Australia's largest independent recruitment company. Her sound business acumen and entrepreneurial approach has successfully led the business through challenging economic times and substantial industry rationalisation, resulting in a recruitment company that now lies in the top 10 in Australia. Her business philosophy is characterised by a commitment to provide a market leading service driven by integrity, innovation, flexibility and responsiveness.
 ROSS SMITH, CEO, Mindshelf
Ross describes himself as a “face in the furnace” brand strategist. From his home in Bali, he works on three continents with clients in a wide range of industry sectors including retail, construction, financial, manufacturing, services, technology, and engineering. Mindshelf, the business he founded in 1999, has become a highly respected brand consultancy with a growing list of clients including The Royal Bank of Scotland, now the world’s 4th largest bank by market capitalisation. He is in the process of writing his first book Mission to the Mindshelf due for publication in mid 2009.
 FIONA BLAYNEY, Managing Director, Blayney Potential Plus
Fiona Blayney is the Managing Director of the consultancy, coaching and training business Blayney Potential Plus, specializing in estate agency services in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the US. Fiona regularly performs keynote presentations for many of the leading industry groups both in Australia and abroad including the National Association of Realtors Conference (NAR) in the U.S.She is also the author of two top selling CD Series, “Fiona Blayney's Property Management Essentials” and “Ten Top Agents Million Dollar Ideas”. Demand for Fiona’s services has extended further into the UK market with the launch of her business “The Estate Agency Academy”, a training, coaching and educational resource for the UK market.
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