After making the decision to postpone the ECEC Owners and Landlords Forum early last week as Cyclone Alfred’s long approach commenced, the team at The Sector are now back in countdown mode as life returns to normal in Brisbane.
“It has been a fairly traumatic few days in South East Queensland as Cyclone Alfred barreled down the coast and inflicted some major damage across the region,’ Jason Roberts, Founder of The Sector said.
“In hindsight it was absolutely the right decision to make an early call to postpone the Forum, but with the weather now beginning to stabilise and life returning to a semblance of normality we are moving our focus back to delivering the very best event possible on 28 March 2025.’
“We have been very fortunate with our venue, panels and panelists and are thrilled that the program will be exactly the same as previously billed, at the same venue (Lightspace, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane) with the same start and finish time.’
“The only difference, of course, will be the date, which, as noted, will now be Friday 28 March, 2025.’
Countdown continues with four high quality panels on the agenda
The ECEC Owners and Landlords Forum is the first event of its kind in the ECEC sector that will see a range of high profile subject matter experts and leaders, supported by our partners Burgess Rawson and CollinsSacre, convene to discuss topics positioned around the central theme of “Pathways to Success – Realising Ambitions in an Increasingly Uncertain ECEC World.’
The Forum has been intentionally designed to speak to community needs, and with so many policy and operating cross currents impacting the sector right now, and an election soon to be called, bringing together leaders who can share their journeys of success, through adversity, is a central objective of the gathering with the following four segments on offer:
1. The ECEC Policy Environment – Understanding the past, and preparing for the future
Jason Roberts, Founder of The Sector will be joined on stage by accomplished and influential president of the Australian Childcare Association, Paul Mondo, and respected and experienced policy analyst and researcher and Dandolo Partner associate Director, Stacey Fox, who will be tasked with unpacking the rapidly changing policy set up in the ECEC sector, and the inevitable volley of ECEC promises from political parties as the election approaches.
2. Business Ownership in ECEC – Development, Operations & Scaling Insights
Owning and operating an ECEC business is never easy but is always rewarding. For this panel, Sean Collins, principal at CollinsSacre Consulting, has pulled together a second to none all star panel of proven ECEC leaders to share their experience of developing, operating and scaling, during their extensive careers.
The panel consists of Lynda Salvo, Founder and CEO of Explorers Early Learning, Adrian Fonseca, Founder and MD of Oxanda Education and Simon Morris, Founder of the both Story House Early Learning.
3. Real Estate in ECEC – Unpacking freehold ownership in ECEC
Despite a period of relentless interest rate hikes, interest in ECEC real estate remains as strong fundamentals outweigh cost of funding concerns. But what happens next? And how can current and aspiring landlords stay one step ahead of macro trends?
To unpack these important questions Adam Thomas, senior director at Burgess Rawson will be joined on stage by Kate Robinson, Director at Savills, Carla Hayes, Deputy Fund Manager at Charter Hall and Mark Hamilton, Director of Early Education at NAB.
4. A Fireside Chat with an ECEC legend – Brendan McAssey, Founder, Only About Children
In the final session of the day Mr Collins will sit down with ECEC sector visionary Brendan McAssey, the pioneer of super premium, campus style early learning and founder of Only About Children for a no holds barred discussion about what it takes to succeed in the early learning sector.
To round off the day, networking drinks will be hosted by The Sector team to allow all delegates to relax and connect, unpacking key learnings from this one of a kind ECEC sector experience.
“The interactive component to all Connect+ Forums will be a key differentiator to other events in the sector,’ Mr Roberts said.
“We feel it is extremely important that our delegates have a voice and are able to seek answers to questions they may have in this space, as well as to influence where narratives go and we look forward to the ECEC Owners and Landlords Forum becoming a permanent fixture of the annual ECEC event calendar.’
To find out more about the Owners and Landlords Forum click here.
To register click here or contact Anna Boshell via email at anna@thesector.com.au for more information.
The Sector