ARI 56th Annual Conference kicks off with focus on leadership and experience management

After a two-year disruption the 56th ARI (Aquatic and Recreation Institute) Annual Conference and Trade Show returned this week to the Crowne Plaza, Hunter Valley.

An excellent turnout of delegates were treated on the first day to a program of fascinating speakers focussing on the conference’s key themes of Leadership and Sustainability, and how to lead and create sustainable organisations now and into the future.

Kicking off the conference, seven times World Champion Surfer and Chair of Surfing Australia, keynote speaker Layne Beachley focussed on a number of takeaways key to helping leaders elevate individuals within teams and how to enable individuals to reach their potential.

Beachley highlighted how she herself overcame a chauvinistic and sexist culture in her early days in the surfing world and was able to drive and influence pay equity in 2018. She also focussed on her new venture Awake Academy which enables people to detach from their fears and work towards their dreams.

Beachley’s keynote was complemented by a welcome and relevant presentation by Tom Scantlebury, Chief Executive at Sky Blue Customer Experience Services. Already established as an authority on experience management across the leisure and hospitality sectors, Scantlebury provided an insight into Experience Management (XM) and how it is proving critical to the success or failure of organisations. Scantlebury also provided an insight into how teamwork and inclusion prove vital to this by enlightening delegates to his latest project titles ‘the family party wave' where all of his three children ride the same wave with him.

The conference continues this week with presentations among others focussing on community engagement, wellbeing within communities, as well as a panel session on training packages and how to get the best employment outcomes.

Image: 56th ARI keynote speaker Layne Beachley