In today’s episode of the Influence Unlocked, I catch up with the indomitable Maria Halasz. The multilingual former ASX-listed company CEO and leading venture capitalist board director is now CEO and co-founder of Stride Equity, Australia’s first venture capital backed equity crowdfunding platform. As an 18-year old, Hungarian-born Maria abandoned her medical studies following the sudden death of her beloved brother in an accident. Adventure – and Australia, where the siblings had dreamed of...

Misha Zelinsky is a Fulbright Scholar, lawyer, war correspondent, and a leading authority on the rise of global authoritarianism. Born and raised by a single mother in the NSW coastal city of Wollongong, famed for its mining industry and surfing beaches, Misha decided to put aside a promising young legal career to pursue his passion for Labor and trade unionism, where he spent 12 years as the leader of the Australian Workers’ Union. Ultimately, it was this inherent drive to make an impact...

*Trigger Warning: this episode contains discussions about eating disorders and pregnancy loss It’s great to be back after a little time away from the podcast and what better time that to do things a little differently with me in the hot seat! In this episode, I’m interviewed by my long-time client and more importantly dear friend, the amazing, inspiring and unstoppable, Taryn Williams, an award-winning founder, brand ambassador, board director and business advisor. In this episode Taryn...

If there is anyone who understands the dance between brand strategy, the power of authentic storytelling and content production, and what audiences want, it’s my guest for this episode, Adam Bub. Head of Commercial Media at leading digital media and TV production company Pinstripe Media by day, social media influencer by night, and doer of cryptic crosswords in all the moments in between, Adam Bub has built an impressive 15-year career with major news sites including Nine Digital and Mamamia...

If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to be doing what you really love – that thing you felt called to do, even as a young child – for a living, you won’t want to miss this episode.  I first crossed paths with my guest, Ali Lowe, when she wrote an amazing cover story on one of The PR Hub clients, James Spenceley, for the Mosman Daily/North Shore Times a few years back (listen to my interview with James this season in episode 6, the link is below). Like most good stories, Ali’s is one...

I am thrilled to introduce one of our The PR Hub clients in this episode of the Influence Unlocked. Nicho Plowman is the co-founder of the world's #1 meditation app, Insight Timer, with 23 million active users worldwide and Vedic meditation teacher. Attracted from a young age to the excitement and adrenaline of doing business, Nicho worked with some amazing international organisations like ESPN and was the co-founder of a multimillion-dollar tech software company in his 30s.As he approached...

At just 27 years old, representative Australian rugby union player Sera Naiqama’s star is well and truly on the rise. But don’t let her age fool you. We can learn so much from Sera’s effervescent outlook on life, her incredible work ethic, and her insatiable thirst for self-improvement Like most success stories, it hasn’t all been plain sailing. Growing up in comparative hardship in Sydney’s southern suburbs, and with parents whose marriage ended when she was very young, Sera is the first to...

James Spenceley is arguably one of Australia's most successful entrepreneurs turned venture capitalist, local politician and philanthropist. He is also someone Samantha and The PR Hub has had the pleasure of working with over the past six years.  The three time Young Rich lister and two time EY Entrepreneur of the Year winner is one of the youngest Australians to found and lead an ASX 100 company, Vocus Communications. He's Chair of publicly listed companies Airtasker and Swoop, along with...

After leaving her corporate career as a tax adviser in banking & finance at PwC, Alina Gozin’a built a career as a globally in-demand portrait photographer and interdisciplinary artist with commissions spanning Sydney, Berlin, New York, and LA. She is known for some of the most iconic Australian Financial Review Magazine covers of notable figures such as Frank Lowy, Andrew Forrest, Judith Neilson, Scott Farquhar, Kevin Rudd and Canva cofounders Mel Perkins and Cliff Obrecht, to name a...

My guest for Season 4, Episode 4 is the remarkable Jimmy Galvin; seasoned sports administrator, globally acclaimed house DJ, music label founder and event/festival producer, and now, cofounder and CEO of Raydel Aqua Rugby, Australia’s first floating rugby tournament. Described as the ‘Hong Kong Sevens meets the Monaco Grand Prix’, Aqua Rugby is making an almighty splash in Australia’s live entertainment scene at Manly Cove in November ‘22, the festival’s second season after its launch event...

My guest for Season 4, Episode 3 is an exceptional woman. Krystal Barter has lived most of her adult life in the spotlight. Her moving personal story, from her BRCA1 gene diagnosis and preventative double mastectomy as a young mum to purpose-driven entrepreneur and startup founder, has made headlines around the world. In 2009 at the age of 25, she launched the not-for-profit Pink Hope from her hospital bed as she recuperated from her life-altering surgery, even attracting the attention of...

It’s Episode 2 of Season 4 and my guest is Scott Purcell, cofounder of Australia’s largest men’s lifestyle platform, Man of Many. Scott co-founded Man of Many with his housemate Frank Arthur in 2012 and the pair have since grown their weekend side hustle into a multi-award winning business and one of the country’s fastest growing media companies, with a global monthly audience of 5 million. Their growing stockpile of accolades includes the prestigious AFR Fast 100 list and Deloitte’s...

We’re back for Season 4 and our first episode is a beauty as we talk life, leadership, and the law with one of Australia’s most prominent female legal minds, Rebekah Giles. An accomplished litigator with specialist expertise in reputational risk and over 20 years’ top tier experience in Australia and the United Kingdom, Rebekah has a diverse portfolio of non-executive directorships in government, sport, and private enterprise. She’s an ambassador for the Fertility Research Clinic at the...

As an advisor to some of the world’s most powerful people, Cassandra Kelly AM has experienced a life of influence that’s been unlocked by traits that may surprise you – softness and compassion: “I think there's an assumption that when you've achieved so much and you're pushing and you overcome and you're resilient…that there [must be] a harshness that comes with that”. Cassandra pushes back against this idea and instead highlights the importance of kindness and authenticity, and how these are...

After two years grounded, Australia's frequent flyers are itching to get back out there. None more so than The Points Whisperer Steve Hui, the founder of iFLYflat. If ever there was a go-to expert in getting bang for your travel buck, it's Steve, and his hopeful, passionate and ambitious outlook is just what business founders need to make it through the challenges of COVID – especially when you’re in the travel business. For Steve, ongoing Lockdowns were just another day in the office, after...

From a back-row rebel to front-row style entrepreneur, looking back on her younger days, businesswoman Sali Sasi sees ambition and resilience as the common threads woven through her story. Leaving school early to channel her wild ambition and hands-on attitude into an apprenticeship in business set the tone for an award-winning career across e-commerce, retail and hospitality. Working with sister Julie to found popular e-store StyleRunner, the duo have just launched luxe style app Her Black...

Robyn Foyster’s lived a life that could be pulled from the big screen. She even admits it herself (“It [was] very English Patient actually!”) chatting with Influenced Unlocked host Samantha Dybac about her times traipsing through the desert, or gate-crashing in Hollywood in search of stories to tell. Because that’s what she is – a storyteller. Getting her start in the notorious journalism world of London’s Fleet Street, Robyn’s boldness and fearlessness are partly to credit for where she is...

Trailblazing her way to becoming an Australian Women’s Cricket Captain seems a fitting role for Lisa Sthalekar, after getting her start playing boys cricket at a local club as a kid – back then, she didn’t even know women’s cricket existed. After travelling the world with the Aussie women’s cricket teams and being recognised as one of the best all-rounders in the game, Lisa has established a career in commentating across some of the biggest games in cricket including the BBL, WBBL and Indian...

Losing a loved one to cancer is everyone’s worst nightmare. When that nightmare came true for Scott Maggs and the friends and family of his mate Wes, he knew he had to turn his grief into meaningful action that would honour Wes’s life, and save others. Enter: Jimmy Niggles Esq. Jimmy Niggles was a persona created by Scott and his friends as part of the Beard Season, a social movement started in 2010 that sought to grow awareness of the risks of the skin cancer that took his mate Wes, and...

As a self-confessed consumer of all things luxury and the editor-in-chief and publisher of T Australia, The New York Times style magazine, Katarina Kroslakova has a surprising confession to make. “I consider myself neither important nor particularly stylish.” For Katarina, being an influencer is so much more than the glamour, the freebies, the clothes or the overseas trips. It’s about actioning something “that will actually make the world a better place, or that will make people’s lives...

Having crossed paths several times over the past decade, I finally got to sit down with multi-talented #BossLady herself, Amanda Rose. In addition to penning her weekly careers column in the Daily Telegraph, Amanda is also a business consultant, media commentator, women in business advocate, keynote speaker, workplace trainer, and entrepreneur, founding no less than six businesses. As one of LinkedIn’s most influential people, Amanda has built a personal brand based on influencing people in...

Bringing you the next episode of Influence Unlocked during lockdown in Sydney, I am joined by renowned dietician, business owner and media personality Susie Burrell. A leader in her field with over 20 years’ experience as a paediatric and sports dietician and a Master of Coaching Psychology, Susie currently runs her own clinic in Bondi Junction. In addition to running a successful consulting business, she appears regularly on Channel Seven’s Sunrise program and writes articles on healthy...

Deanna Depetro is the Creative Director and co-owner of Mossman Clothing, an Australian label known for an aesthetic that is at once fashion-forward and timeless, with a European twist. Since taking over the label with business partner Ben De Rango, Deanna has transformed the business from a small, Melbourne-based clothing company into an emerging label with a national profile, with her designs worn by celebrities such as Jennifer Hawkins, and securing key distribution deals with Myer and The...

For Todd Liubinskas, being fit goes way beyond wanting to look good. As a fitness entrepreneur, personal trainer, and the fitness director of Men’s Health magazine, Todd believes the real benefits of fitness lie in providing people with an outlet for self-care and connection, both with themselves and the community. His qualifications as both a personal trainer and strength & conditioning coach have seen him train elite athletes including the Wallabies, New Zealand Rugby and the Aussie...