2025 AXIS Speaks
Our annual injection of creative inspiration and thought leadership. It's a morning of world-class creative experts sharing their knowledge, and should appeal to everyone working in advertising, marketing and communications.
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Brent Smart
Chief Marketing Officer, Telstra
“The biggest risk for marketers is taking no creative risk.”
Brent Smart is the Chief Marketing Officer at Telstra, Australia’s largest telco and third most valuable brand. Previously, he was CMO at insurance giant IAG, where he led the creative transformation of the NRMA brand, taking it from the 36th strongest brand in Australia when he joined to 5th, and picking up over 100 major creative awards along the way.
He spent 20 years in the agency business, leading NZ Agency of the Decade Colenso BBDO and serving as CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi New York, where he worked on iconic American brands such as Cheerios, Tide, and Walmart.
Chelsea Winstanley
Filmmaker, This Too Shall Pass Ltd.
"Story Sovereignty and creating and curating audiences - creatively"
An Oscar® nominated producer and award-winning filmmaker with over two decades of experience across multiple genres as a producer, writer, and director.
As a p.g.a. producer on Jojo Rabbit, she became the first Indigenous female Oscar® nominee for Best Picture. She also produced Night Raiders, the first Canadian/NZ Indigenous co-production, and the acclaimed documentary Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen, now on Netflix.
Under Matewa Media, Chelsea produced the first-ever Disney reo Māori film, Moana Reo Māori, and has since reimagined six films. In 2024, Matewa Media became the first Indigenous company to release a Disney film in an Indigenous language alongside its English version.
She co-produced What We Do in the Shadows, now an FX series, and has had multiple films premiere at Cannes. As a director, she contributed to Waru and is in post-production on her documentary debut, Toi Tū Toi Ora Toitū!
Through her company This Too Shall Pass, she develops new projects while advocating for Indigenous storytelling and independent distribution. A member of multiple industry organizations, Chelsea was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2022.
She is of Ngāti Ranginui and Ngāi Te Rangi descent through her mother and Pākehā through her father.
Kevin Chesters
Founder/MD, Kevin Chesters Consulting - Why Creativity is vital in work (and how to get more of it)
Kevin Chesters has 30 years of experience leading strategy on both agency and client sides. He has served as CSO at W+K London, Dentsu mcgarrybowen, and Ogilvy, as well as Head of Strategy at BT.
A prolific industry commentator, trainer, and lecturer at six UK universities, he specializes in creativity and storytelling. His first book, The Creative Nudge, was an Amazon bestseller.
Kevin now runs his own strategic consultancy, working with a select group of clients.
