Former Australian Olympian Grant Hackett and renowned brand and culture expert Emma Harris will both speak at the company’s conference in Adelaide next month.
This year’s ‘Milestones and Momentum’ event promises to be one of MTA’s biggest yet. It will showcase Adelaide and its surrounds, bringing together 420 advisors and industry partners for a five-day program with keynote sessions and 14 breakout experiences.
The conference will deliver a mix of professional growth, community spirit and cutting-edge thought leadership, designed to inspire, educate and equip advisors for the next era of travel.
“Our advisors are at the heart of everything we do, they’re experienced, independent and deeply committed to their clients,” said Karen Merricks, co-founder of MTA.
“This year’s program reflects that, it’s about celebrating how far we’ve come over the last 25 years while continuing to invest in the tools, inspiration and support advisors need to thrive in a changing travel landscape.”
Widely recognised as one of the most influential voices in Australian financial services, Grant Hackett will share lessons from his corporate leadership journey, including his current role as CEO of Generation Development, a trusted investment service.
With a career that spans executive roles in travel at Eurostar and Virgin Atlantic, Emma Harris (below) is known for her no-fluff approach to building bold brands and authentic workplace cultures, bringing a global perspective and unfiltered insights to her sessions.
“Grant and Emma bring fresh, forward-thinking perspectives with insights that we know will resonate with the ambitions and challenges our advisors are navigating right now,” added Ms Merricks.
Complementing the keynote sessions is a curated breakout program featuring:
# Pascale Helyar-Moray – award-winning entrepreneur and founder of Grow My Money, a world-first platform converting shopping into savings. With a background in financial services and leadership roles at firms like JPMorgan and BT Financial Group, she’s also an advocate for gender equality
# Olivia Arezzolo – Australia’s leading sleep expert and bestselling author of Bear, Lion, Wolf, Olivia is regularly featured on major TV shows as an expert and works with leading wellness and lifestyle brands. She shares practical strategies for improving health, energy and performance through better sleep
# Nicole O’Sullivan – Director of Birds Eye View Consulting and a leading coach for travel professionals. With more than 20 years’ experience, Nicole specialises in psychology backed sales strategies that help advisors connect with clients, grow their business, and sell with confidence.
Traveltalk will be reporting from the 2025 MTA conference.
mtatravel.eventsair.com/mta-national-conference-2025.
