Keynote Speaker in Brisbane
Brisbane is a city where you can feel the growth, the energy, and the enthusiasm to try new things. If you are planning a corporate event, leadership summit, or industry conference in Brisbane, book a keynote speaker with genuine business experience and a message shaped for your room.
Book Naomi Simson
Brisbane Is Building Something Remarkable
Every time I fly into Brisbane, the city feels different. New towers in the CBD. New energy in Fortitude Valley and South Bank. New businesses, new industries, and a confidence that comes from a city that knows its moment is arriving. This is a city where you can feel the growth, the energy and the enthusiasm to try new things.
With the 2032 Olympics on the horizon, Southeast Queensland is not just growing — it is transforming. And the business community here is asking bigger questions. How do we scale? How do we attract the right talent? How do we compete nationally and globally without losing the collaborative culture that makes Brisbane special?
These are exactly the kinds of questions I love exploring on stage. If you are organising a corporate event, industry conference, or leadership summit in Brisbane and you want a keynote speaker who brings genuine business experience and a message shaped for your room, I would love to hear from you.
What Brisbane Event Organisers Want From a Keynote
Brisbane's business community has a distinct character — ambitious, grounded, and collaborative. The event organisers I work with here know exactly what they want.
Growth Mindset, Delivered Honestly
Brisbane is a city in growth mode, and the audiences I speak to here are hungry for practical insight on how to scale, lead, and compete. But they also value honesty. They do not want a speaker who makes it sound easy. They want someone who has lived the complexity of building businesses and can share the real lessons — including the ones that came from getting things wrong.
Practical Lessons From Someone Who Has Done It
I have built and scaled companies, co-founded Big Red Group, invested alongside Australia's best on Shark Tank Australia, and served as an independent director on multiple boards. When I stand in front of a Brisbane audience, I am not sharing theory. I am sharing what happened, what I learned, and what I would do differently. That practicality is what Brisbane event organisers tell me their audiences value most.
Energy That Matches Brisbane's Momentum
There is an optimism in Brisbane right now that is infectious. The best keynote for a Brisbane audience is one that channels that energy — not with hype, but with a genuine belief that the businesses and leaders in this city can achieve extraordinary things if they approach growth with discipline, courage, and customer obsession.
Speaking Topics for Brisbane Events
| Topic | Brisbane Audience Angle |
|---|---|
| Entrepreneurship and Innovation | Building scalable businesses in a city experiencing rapid growth — how to seize momentum without losing focus |
| Leadership in Uncertain Times | Leading teams through change in a region transforming faster than most — infrastructure, population, industry shifts |
| Customer Obsession | Creating experiences that earn loyalty in a market where competition is arriving fast — lessons from the experience economy |
| AI and the Future of Work | Practical AI adoption for Brisbane's growing tech and professional services sectors — what matters now, what can wait |
| Resilience and Reinvention | How to keep building when the market changes around you — relevant for Brisbane's evolving resource, tourism, and property sectors |
| Women in Business | Building careers and companies in Queensland — honest reflections on leadership, ambition, and the networks that matter |
Every topic is customised for your specific audience. The table above is a starting point — the actual keynote is built around the conversation we have about your event's goals.
Brisbane and Southeast Queensland Venues
I have spoken at many of Brisbane's premier event venues and regularly travel to the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast for events:
- Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre (BCEC), South Bank
- Howard Smith Wharves event spaces
- Emporium Hotel South Bank
- Brisbane City Hall
- Sofitel Brisbane Central and W Brisbane
- The Star Gold Coast Convention Centre
- Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre
- Sunshine Coast conference and retreat venues
Whether your event is a major industry conference at BCEC, a leadership retreat on the Gold Coast, or a team summit at a Sunshine Coast venue, I bring the same preparation, substance, and energy to every engagement.
Booking a Keynote Speaker in Brisbane
- Get in touch — Contact me with your event date, location, audience, and objectives
- Discovery call — We discuss your Brisbane event, your audience, and what you want the keynote to achieve
- Tailored proposal — I send a proposal with topic, format, duration, and investment details
- Preparation — I work with your team to refine the message around your specific industry and audience context
- Delivery — I arrive in Brisbane prepared and energised, ready to deliver a keynote your delegates will remember
I travel to Brisbane regularly and am available for multi-day engagements that combine keynote presentations with workshops, panel sessions, or programme hosting.
Workshops, Panels, and Extended Formats
Many Brisbane event organisers extend the engagement beyond a keynote. I offer:
- Interactive workshops — Small group sessions where your leadership team tackles real challenges using practical business frameworks
- Panel facilitation — I moderate panel discussions that draw out honest, valuable insight instead of safe, rehearsed answers
- Fireside chats — Conversational sessions that work well in Brisbane's more relaxed event environments, with audience questions throughout
- Full-day MC and hosting — For conferences and summits, I can host the entire programme, linking sessions and maintaining momentum
These formats work particularly well when combined with a keynote, giving your audience both inspiration and application. Explore keynote speaking across Australia or get in touch to discuss your Brisbane event.
Keynote Speaker in Brisbane FAQs
How much does a keynote speaker in Brisbane cost?
Speaking fees depend on the event format, duration, audience size, and whether additional services are included. I travel from Sydney for Brisbane engagements and factor travel logistics into every proposal. Investment is discussed transparently during our initial conversation.
What types of Brisbane events do you speak at?
I speak at corporate conferences, industry association events, franchise summits, leadership offsites, women in business events, government forums, and university programmes. If your Brisbane event has an audience that values substance and real experience, we are likely a great fit.
Do you speak at Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast events?
Yes. I regularly extend Brisbane trips to speak at events on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. The convention centres and retreat venues in both regions host excellent events, and I am happy to include them in any Brisbane engagement.
Can you tailor a keynote for Queensland industries like resources, tourism, or agriculture?
Absolutely. While my background is in building experience-based businesses and technology platforms, the leadership, innovation, and customer obsession themes I speak about are directly relevant to every industry. I work with your event team to shape the keynote around the specific challenges and opportunities facing your sector in Queensland.
How do I book Naomi Simson for a Brisbane event?
Contact me directly with your event date, audience, and objectives. I respond to every enquiry personally and will arrange a call to discuss how I can contribute to your Brisbane event. You can also learn more about my keynote speaking across Australia or my approach in other cities like Sydney and Melbourne.
Keynote Topics:
She speaks on entrepreneurship, leadership, customer obsession, AI strategy, business growth, and personal purpose.
While every presentation is tailored to your specific theme and audience, here are some topics often requested.
What to expect:
Every keynote is meticulously tailored to the client’s specific theme, audience, and desired outcomes. Ultimately, Naomi inspires action by equipping her audience with practical frameworks and memorable storytelling that resonates long after the event is over.
Introduction:
For more than 25 years, Naomi Simson has been bringing people together — through her experience businesses, her keynote speaking, and her writing. She is one of Australia’s most passionate advocates for business owners and entrepreneurs.
After a successful corporate career with Apple, KPMG, IBM and Ansett Australia, Naomi founded RedBalloon in 2001, growing it into one of the country’s most loved experience brands. In 2017, she went on to co-found Big Red Group, now the largest platform of experiences across Australia and New Zealand.
Beyond building businesses, Naomi is a prolific blogger at naomisimson.com, the voice behind the podcast Handpicked, and a regular business commentator. Many also know her as the #RedShark from four seasons of Shark Tank Australia.
With more than 2.6 million followers on LinkedIn, it’s clear that when Naomi speaks — people listen. She was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2026 for her services to business, entrepreneurship and leadership.
Please welcome… Naomi Simson.
The most valuable asset in any business isn't on the balance sheet — it's you. In an era of AI-driven acceleration, the pressure on leaders and founders is higher than ever. Productivity tools don't fix exhaustion. Strategy doesn't fix burnout. This keynote shares hard-won lessons on building resilience, mastering mindset, and making wellbeing a business strategy rather than a personal indulgence. Because the leaders who are thriving aren't just working smarter — they're building the physical and emotional foundations that make sustained, high-level performance actually possible.
Command-and-control is dead. The leaders winning right now know how to inspire, connect, and empower — especially when the ground is shifting beneath them. Using my 4 C's framework — Clarity, Capability, Confidence, Commitment — this keynote gives leaders the practical tools to build trust, foster psychological safety, and bring out the best in their teams. We also explore what AI means for leadership: not just the tasks it changes, but the human qualities it makes non-negotiable. Because AI doesn't replace great leadership. It makes average leadership invisible.
Shared Experiences
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