The program for the 2025 Pub Leaders Summit, brought to you by Australian Hotelier and Coca-Cola, has now been launched.
Set to take place 21-22 July at Eatons Hill Hotel in northern Brisbane, Australian Hotelier is proud to announce the program for the Pub Leaders Summit conference.
The conference program covers a wide range of topics affecting pub operations, looking at the challenges and opportunities that publicans are currently faced with, as well as looking ahead to how venues can future-proof their business.
“Australia’s pubs are incredibly diverse in their formats and operations, and this program and the speaker list covers a variety of experiences and operational streams. The throughline to it all is that the landscape pubs are working in is increasingly competitive and not without its challenges, and these sessions offer new opportunities, strategies, and best practice applications that can help your venues perform better,” stated Australian Hotelier managing editor Vanessa Cavasinni.
“We are very proud of this program, and think it will be of real and urgent benefit to publican.”
Topics to be covered include the crucial role entertainment is playing in pubs, and how the entertainment offer is evolving – with the national entertainment managers for both ALH Hotels and Australian Venue Co participating in that panel – the future of gaming as various jurisdictions grapple with how best to ensure responsible gaming, as well as a disinterested younger generation; and how to improve leadership wellbeing, so that burnout at the top doesn’t trickle down and affect your whole team.
Industry leaders
Some well-respected industry leaders have joined the program, both from within Queensland and across Australia. Paul Carew, the new managing director of ALH Hotels, will sit down for a one-on-one interview, outlining his priorities for Australia’s biggest pub group.
Richard Deery, owner of the famed Story Bridge Hotel and QHA president, will discuss the investment and growth opportunities in south-east Queensland, as well as participate in the gaming panel. He will be joined in both sessions by Albert Hakfoort, director of the Hakfoort Group. Hakfoort has just reopened the Lord Stanley Hotel in the heart of Brisbane, after a $15m renovation. Lucinda Dowling-Black, owner and operator of Full Moon Hotel, will discuss leadership wellbeing, while Adonis Ghanem, managing director of Ghanem Group will bring a whole-of-hospitality perspective to pub operations.
On the national front, Tom Francis, managing director of Francis Venues, with pubs in Victoria and New South Wales, will participate in a couple of sessions, while Ben Turner, Redcape’s GM of food can talk about F&B opportunities from a national lens.
Future thinking
One of the most rapidly-evolving areas of pub operations is the tech side, and two sessions at the Pub Leaders Summit will focus on this. Celia Harding, founder of LEOPRD – the world’s first LEO (language engine optimisation) advisory – will discuss how the public is moving away from traditional search engines, and relying increasingly on LLMs like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. What does that mean for venue visibility, when you want your pub to be found online? Harding will break down what you can do to make sure ChatGPT and the like mentions your business in appropriate queries.
Also in the tech space, a panel session will break down what the ideal tech stack for venue operations looks like now, and where its heading. We’ll look at everything from loyalty management, at-table ordering, business intelligence software and, yes, AI. Our panellists providing insights come from a broad spectrum of experiences, including publicans and tech providers. Also joining the panel is Andrew McDonald, CIO of ASM Global (APAC), operator of multiple convention centres and stadia in the region, including Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, ICC Sydney, and Suncorp Stadium. McDonald will be brining his insights from operating these larger venues, and what lessons can be applied to pubs.
Keynotes and publican challenges
Keynote presentations are also dotted throughout the program. These sessions will provide pub operators with insights and inspirations from experts outside of venues who can bring new ideas and takeways to your venue.
Kicking off proceedings is Shelly McElroy, CEO of Dream Culture. McElroy is an executive leadership coach, focused on creating the ideal workplace culture, and how it happens by design. McElroy has worked with many pub and hospitality groups in the past.
McElroy will deliver a keynote titled ‘Creating a Culture of Innovation for Pubs to Thrive’, looking at how pubs can foster a culture of innovation to stay competitive and drive long-term success. From empowering teams to think creatively to leveraging technology and improving customer experiences, this session will provide practical strategies to challenge the status quo and enhance hospitality.
Later in the day, Craig Woolford, senior analyst for MST Marquee (ex-Citi) will deliver a keynote on how the FY26 macro-economic outlook will influence your pub. Analysing global and domestic factors, Woolford will break down the opportunities and challenges for the year ahead. Woolford’s keynote is brought to the program by Pub Leaders Summit Principal Partner, Coca-Cola.
Later in the day, Tom Graham, industry insights lead – BevAI for NIQ, will make an address titled ‘Full View Liquor – Where Beverage is Headed’, drawing on NIQ’s vast data resources fro the on- and off-premise both in Australia and across the UK and US.
Also taking place throughout the day is a series of publican challenges, encouraging attendees to get back to basics and test the skills essential to running a public bar. More information on that to be revealed at the Summit!
More speakers will be added to the program in the coming weeks, so keep an eye out on the Pub Leaders Summit website for more updates.
The conference will take place on Monday 21 July, with a Study Tour of three venues around Brisbane to be held on the Tuesday 22 July. Tickets to the Study Tour are limited, are only available to venue operators, and can only be purchased in conjunction with a conference ticket.
Save on tickets now!
Earlybird tickets – with savings up to $110 per ticket – are available now until 2 June, or until sold out. Study Tour tickets can only be purchased in conjunction with a conference ticket, are limited in number, and exclusive to pub operators. For more information on the Summit, and to buy tickets, visit the Pub Leaders Summit website.