2019 – Speakers

MARK MATHEWS

As a world class big wave surfer, Red Bull Athlete and Surf Contest Director Mark Mathews has become obsessed with the relationship between personal growth, high performance and fulfilment.

Winner of an unprecedented 3 back to back Oakley Big Wave Awards, Mark has cemented himself as one of the best big wave surfers in the world.

As a highly sought after international speaker, Mathews’ surfer chill vibe and magnetic charisma, has graced the stages of leading companies worldwide.

From Google, Sony, Intel, to MasterCard, he instantly captures audiences with his epic tales and spectacular big wave surf vision.

His compelling story offers game changing tips to adapt to stress, harness resilience and perform when it counts. He has deconstructed, fine-tuned, and personalised emotional resilience techniques to successfully strengthen ones mindset and sustain long term performance.

CRAIG CHALLEN

Craig Challen is an Australian technical diver and cave explorer.

Notable explorations include the extension of Cocklebiddy Cave on the Nullarbor Plain of Australia in 2008 and the Pearse Resurgence in New Zealand over the last 10 years. He has additionally explored caves throughout Australia and New Zealand and in China, Thailand, Vanuatu and the Cook Islands.

After commencing cave diving in the 1990s he was an early adopter of closed-circuit mixed gas rebreathers.

Craig also has an avid interest in shipwreck diving and has explored sites over the last 15 years in the South China Sea, Solomon Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Mediterranean Sea, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

A veterinary surgeon by profession, he was a joint founder of the Vetwest Animal Hospitals (later Australian Animal Hospitals) in 1993 and managed it until selling his interest and retiring in 2017.

Craig is also an enthusiastic helicopter and aeroplane pilot.

In July 2018 Craig participated in the Tham Luang cave rescue of 13 people in Thailand. For his contribution he was awarded the Star of Courage and the Medal of the Order of Australia. He has been named as the joint 2019 Australian of the Year.

ANTHONY LOCK

  • DSM, Squadron Leader RAAF Res.
  • Director of Human Performance (Human Factors), Royal Perth Bentley Group (RPBG)
  • Director, Team Development and “NEXUS” Human Performance Training Programs, RPBG
  • RAAF, Reserve Squadron Leader Pilot at No. 25 Squadron, Perth, WA
  • Honorary Aide-de-Camp to His Excellency, The Honourable Kim Beazley AC, Governor of Western Australia
  • Air Transport Pilot’s License holder – Boeing 737 Domestic and International Operations

With over 6000 flying hours on various high-performance aircraft, Anthony has extensive experience within the aviation industry. During his military flying career, Anthony developed an expertise for working within high-stress – safety critical environments, whether during combat flying operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, humanitarian/peacekeeping missions throughout Asia or during instructional and training sorties in Australia. During this time Anthony saw immense value in Crew Resource Management (CRM) and became a facilitator for fellow pilots and air crew members. On leaving the RAAF, he flew for a well-known Australian airline and again facilitated CRM, or as it is known today – Non-Technical Skills, to fellow flight, cabin crew and other team members responsible for the safe and efficient operations within the airline.

Anthony gave up an airline career to work full time at the Royal Perth Bentley Group as the Director of Human Performance (Human Factors) and leads the Team Development and ‘NEXUS’ Human Factors Education Programs. These initiatives work to improve teamwork, leadership and ultimately patient safety while equipping healthcare workers with specialised training in communication, situational awareness, threat and error management and decision-making.