2 min read
LIVESTREAM Fireside Chat: Faster companies, slower people?
Compono
Updated on August 11, 2026
Andrew Banks hosts a fireside conversation with leaders at the top of the people business, in front of some of Australia's most senior HR and business leaders.
13 August 2026, Thursday
7pm AEST
10am BST . 9pm NZST . 5pm SGT . 5am EDT . 4am CDT
The gap
Companies have never moved faster. Their people move at a different speed.
Every quarter brings another restructure, another tool, another shift in priorities, and now AI on top of the lot. The people inside those companies move at a different speed. Culture takes time to shift, and trust takes time to earn back once it slips.
That distance, between how fast the business wants to go and how fast its people actually can, is where good organisations quietly come undone. It shows up as the change that never sticks, and the strategy that looked brilliant on the slide and stalled in the corridor.
The leaders who understand this gap best are the ones who have paid for it while building companies. On 13 August, they are on the stage and in the seats around you. That is the point of the evening.
Andrew is looking forward to seeing you Thursday
The conversation
A fireside chat in the proper sense.
Andrew Banks, who built two of Australia's largest HR & talent businesses, in conversation with a panel of leaders who operate at the top of the profession, on what is actually happening inside organisations right now.
Conversations at this level usually happen behind closed doors. For one evening, the door is open. It happens once, and the room only exists that night. If you are not in the room, you miss it.
Who you'll hear from
Your host and an award-winning panel
Your host
Andrew Banks
Andrew Banks is a serial entrepreneur who co-founded Morgan & Banks and Talent2, building two of Australia's largest HR & talent businesses with combined annual revenues exceeding A$1 billion. Today he is an active investor, mentor and one of Australia's best-known business leaders, recognised by many from Shark Tank Australia.
The panel
Every seat on the panel is an award-winning leader working at the top of the profession.
Matt McFarlane
Director of FNDN
Matt McFarlane
Director of FNDN and founder of the Startup People Summit, and one of the most-followed HR voices in the country. Matt has built people and culture inside some of Australia's fastest-scaling companies, and is an HR Influence Awards winner.
HR Influence Awards winner
Hassanah Rudd
Head of People at Preacta
Hassanah Rudd
Hassanah Rudd is a high energy People Leader with a career built on big thinking, bold moves, and brilliant execution. Currently Head of People for Preacta, Hassanah is an ex Canva talent leader bringing deep expertise across People, Global Talent Acquisition, Workforce Planning and Strategic Transformation.
Corporate Talent Leader of the Year 2021
Sharon Gray
Head of People and Culture at OzHarvest
Sharon Gray
Sharon leads people and culture where mission and stretched resources meet, where people and purpose intersect with an accelerating need to do more both at an organisational and community level.
HR Influence Awards winner2026 Fireside Chat
Faster companies, slower people?
Thursday 13 August, Sydney.
Andrew Banks and a panel operating at the top of the profession.
Add to calendar

Better hiring decisions, before the interview
Compono Hire helps you predict job-fit and team-fit using behavioural science, so you can shortlist with confidence.
Request a demoBuilt for mid-market hiring teams.

Practise your next tough conversation
Voice-first coaching that adapts to your personality. Get actionable steps you can take this week.
Start freeBuilt by Compono. Not therapy — practical behaviour change.
.webp?width=559&height=292&name=2026.07.21%20Fireside%20KV%20-%201200x627%20(event%20featured).webp)
.png?width=383&height=200&name=team%20(1).png)