2021 CofE Festival Guide

G U E S T entrepreneurs

Yasmin Grigaliunas Award-winning Yasmin Grigaliunas, CEO and Co-founder of the World’s Biggest Garage Sale (WBGS), is on a mission to turn Australia’s circular economy aspirations into reality while at the same time providing social good. In 2017 she ditched a lucrative salary to commit full-time to her role as CEO and Co-founder of WBGS, a Brisbane based impact enterprise designing solutions to commercialise the circular economy through the activation of dormant goods for good. Through this work, WBGS provides employment pathways and opportunities for disadvantaged youth. Yas is living proof that we can make a positive impact on people’s lives and the future of the planet.

James Guy A Somerset alumnus (Class of 2020), James is currently studying a Bachelor of Science at UQ. During university, he has spent time working for the Truffle Discovery Centre and had a rare behind the scenes experience of astute entrepreneurship and business smarts from entrepreneur Matt Hibberd. He joins the festival lineup for 2021 ready to shine light on the fascinating, complex and at times brutal entrepreneurship world, through a youthful lens. As James has learnt, there is never a dull moment and always an opportunity to take in the world of entrepreneurship. He is ready to share his knowledge and answer all of your burning questions.

Ben Har tney Ben moved to San Francisco in 2012 to start a health-tech company. After his startup was acquired, he continued working as an engineer and product manager at other startups and public companies in the US. He moved back to Australia in 2019, and spent 2020 designing the government’s programs to help Australian startups expand internationally. He is currently a product manager at Google in Sydney.

Clark Kirby Clark Kirby is the Chief Executive Officer of Village Roadshow Group. Clark was previously CEO of Village Roadshow Theme Parks and Village Roadshow Studios before his appointment to Group CEO in January 2020, expanding his portfolio to include the Village/Event Cinema circuit and Roadshow Film and Television Distribution and Production. Prior to joining Village Roadshow, Clark worked for UBS Investment Bank in the Technology and Media M&A team in Melbourne, Sydney and New York. Clark completed a Master of Applied Finance and Investment at Macquarie University in 2005 and also holds a Bachelor of Information Technology from Bond University. Clark is the Vice Chairman of the peak Tourism Body of the Gold Coast, Destination Gold Coast as well as a founding Board member of Major Events Gold Coast. Other Board positions include the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, the My Room Children’s Cancer Charity.

Matt Hibberd Matt is the owner of Lawdogs Australia Stanthorpe and the Truffle Discovery Centres located in South East Qld. After a management career across several industries, he found his passion in security dog handling and training and ten years ago combined the two creating an Australian first ‘Dog Show With Bite’ tourist attraction at Stanthorpe showcasing positive training and development of law enforcement dogs. Truffle growers on the Granite Belt sought out Matt’s detection dog training skills and through this process he uncovered a burgeoning and previously secretive truffle growing industry. He soon developed Queensland’s first ever truffle festival and he now owns three retail concept stores specialising in truffle products and gourmet delicacies which are located at Stanthorpe and the Gold and Sunshine Coasts.

Ben Hayden-Smith Ben Hayden-Smith has worked extensively throughout Asia and Australia/New Zealand over the past 20 years. Ben was previously a partner in More Super, an Australian based provider of compliance services for financial planning businesses and accounting firms until the company was sold to AMP. He is currently on the board of Arrow Health, a private medical group based in Melbourne. Ben is an adjunct lecturer at Bond Business School, where he teaches business model design and entrepreneurial finance. Ben has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and North East Asian Economies from Macquarie University and a Master of Business Administration from Bond University. He is often paddle boarding in the ocean or snowboarding in the mountains.