from the regional director

2024 has been an incredible year—perhaps even relentless at times! As business leaders, I know how tirelessly you’ve worked to support your organisation, teams, and the Northern Rivers region. Please know how deeply we appreciate your dedication and commitment (cue the pom-poms!). 

As Regional Leaders, your efforts in championing the priorities of the Northern Rivers have been outstanding. Your leadership has played a crucial role in helping our region recover, move forward, and thrive. 

We began the year in early February with a celebration of our first year delivering the Regional Leaders Program. It was a wonderful event filled with camaraderie and enthusiasm for our 2024 plans, including advocacy and thought leadership initiatives. Together, we’ve not only achieved those goals but exceeded them! 

For those who missed the celebration, I’ve included a link to our Year 1 highlights video: 

Celebration of Year 1 Highlights 

And yes, mark your calendars—we’ll be celebrating Year 2 on the 13th February 2025! Invite coming your way soon. 

economic breakfast

Our signature event, the Northern Rivers Economic Breakfast, held on Thursday, 14 March 2024, was a resounding success. Featuring Business NSW Chief Economist Dr. Sherman Chan alongside an expert business panel—Tracey Maisey (Northern Area Local Health District), John Williams (Summerland Bank), and Campbell Korff (Korff Wealth)—the event attracted 165 business leaders.

The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with attendees praising the valuable insights and practical takeaways to kickstart the year with a solid understanding of the numbers. 

A personal highlight for me was the complimentary tickets provided by our Regional Leaders, enabling local business and economics students from across the region to attend. This generous gesture fosters meaningful connections between students and the region’s leaders while promoting knowledge-sharing (thank you!).

Mark your calendar for the 2025 Northern Rivers Economic Breakfast, scheduled for Thursday, 13 March 2025. Invitations and calendar invites will be sent soon, and we look forward to seeing you there! 

northern rivers brand forum

In March we also hosted the Northern Rivers NSW Brand Forum, bringing together highly engaged leaders to help advance our regional brand. The forum focused on leveraging global best-practice research to create a successful model for the Northern Rivers. Participants embraced the NorRivean theme, and we celebrated those who stepped forward to become Brand Ambassadors. 

If you haven’t yet registered for the free brand license or would like to learn more, visit www.northernriversnsw.com.au 

If you missed the Brand Ambassador video, you can watch it here. 

For the Northern Rivers Brand video, feel free to watch, share, or use it via this link. 

Autism at work impact event

In April, we were thrilled to co-host the Autism@Work Business Luncheon on Tuesday, 9 April, alongside the Northern Rivers Autism Association. This event also marked their official launch.

Our guest speaker, Matt Rogers, delivered an incredibly inspiring presentation, and our panel of leaders shared valuable insights on embracing a neurodiverse workforce and driving positive change. 

The Northern Rivers Autism Association is doing outstanding work, and we’re proud to support their efforts to develop a directory of employers of choice. For more information, visit www.nraa.org.au. 


norco primex business luncheon

It felt like we had barely wrapped up one event before sending out invitations for the next—and that’s because we did! The NORCO Primex Business Leaders Lunch and the launch of the Sourdough Regeneration Connection Program on Friday, 16 May, was an outstanding success. The event featured another exceptional panel (though I think seven panelists might be my limit!). 

A big thank you to Bruce Wright and the Norco Primex team for being wonderful hosts, as well as our inspiring panel of regenerative agribusiness champions: Saadi Allan, Jon Wardle, Jackie Morrison, Pepe Fasos, Oliver Costello, and Andrew Rose.

Their insights and stories highlighted the importance of agriculture and regenerative business practices across the Northern Rivers region. 


PREMIERS luncheon

On Wednesday, 22 May, we had the privilege of hosting the NSW Premier, the Hon. Chris Minns, at Tropical Fruit World/Plantation House for a Regional Leaders Lunch.

It was a fantastic opportunity for the Premier to share his vision and insights while engaging in a meaningful discussion with our leaders about the region's needs and priorities. We look forward to welcoming the Premier again in 2025.

Sometimes, opportunities like these arise with short notice, and we truly appreciate your understanding and support, even with late invitations—we simply can’t say no! 

abla workplace updates & local chamber business awards

In June, our efforts focused on supporting local businesses in navigating new workplace laws through a series of Workplace Updates.

We also hosted the first Sourdough Regeneration Connection Community events in Byron, partnered with Destination Byron on their Annual Symposium, and collaborated with Gabrielle Oriel for the Exporters Workshop.

In July, we worked closely with Local Chambers of Commerce across the region to prepare for the Local Business Excellence Awards. This included hosting four fantastic events: the Tweed Shire Business Awards, Business Lismore Awards, Richmond Valley Business Excellence Awards, and Ballina Shire Business Awards. These events celebrated excellence and recognized the dedication of leaders and their teams.

Congratulations to all the award winners and their teams for their remarkable achievements!


skills & workforce development forum

In August, Regional Leaders addressed critical challenges around attracting and retaining skilled workers and developing the workforce of the future. This led to the Skills and Workforce Development Forum, a highly impactful event showcasing the incredible efforts of local businesses.

Two engaging panels provided valuable insights, enhancing our understanding of the issues. A heartfelt thank you to Michael Hampson, Tim Cohen, Damian Chapelle, Kerry, Andrew Rose, Jeffrey Cook, Kerrie-Anne Maunder, Jennifer Mossfield, and Tursa for their contributions. Special thanks to Dr. Nigel Palmer from Business NSW for presenting his insightful report and to Janelle Saffin MP for delivering the opening address.

We look forward to continuing our focus on Skills and Workforce Development in 2025, as we remain committed to supporting the needs of businesses in the region. 

ai tech & innovation summit & regional business awards

September was a bumper month with two major highlights: the Northern Rivers Regional Business Awards and the Northern Rivers AI, Tech & Innovation Summit.

On Saturday, 21 September, we celebrated over 100 exceptional finalists—the best of the best—at the Northern Rivers Regional Business Awards, held at the Ballina RSL. The evening was expertly hosted by Bruce Mackenzie as MC, and the audience was captivated by a stunning performance from the String Sirens, making it a truly memorable night of recognition and celebration.

The Northern Rivers AI, Tech & Innovation Summit, held on Thursday, 26 September, was an EPIC event that took over 12 months to plan. It was developed in direct response to Regional Leaders identifying the transformative impact of AI and digitalisation on current and future business models. 

Our MC, Adam Spencer, kicked off the day with a dynamic presentation that had everyone on the edge of their seats. He then facilitated outstanding panel discussions and an engaging conversation with Victor Dominello. A massive thank you to all our contributors—16 incredible speakers in total—who made the event such a success! 

acci summit & state business awards

In October, Regional Leader representatives attended the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) Summit in Canberra, followed by dinner with the Prime Minister. The visit also included a meeting at Parliament House with Kevin Hogan, Member for Page.

To close out October, Team Northern Rivers headed to the State Business Awards, and we were thrilled to bring home five State Awards! Congratulations to Social Futures, Cumulus VFX/Finn Design, Michael Hampson/Norco, Byron Bay Chamber of Commerce, and Potager! 

emerging leaders bootcamp

In November, we delivered on one of our promises to Regional Leaders by launching the Northern Rivers Future Leaders Program for emerging leaders.The two-day Future Leaders Bootcamp showcased the remarkable talent in our region. 

This inspiring and innovative group fully embraced the program, engaging in both personal and professional development sessions while forming strong relationships and a shared commitment to the region’s prosperity. 

A heartfelt thank you to our speakers and Regional Leader mentors: Vaughan Macdonald, Cate McQuillan, Zack Rook, Kevin Franey and Jennifer Scott. 


housing right now forum

We love collaborating, so we were thrilled to partner with the Living Lab Northern Rivers to host and facilitate the Housing Right Now Forum on 8 November at Invercauld House. The level of engagement and contribution from everyone in attendance was phenomenal.

During the event, we presented the Housing Futures Northern Rivers Manifesto, developed by our Regional Leaders group. By the end of the day, participants identified and championed six key projects to take forward. 

Following the Forum, we were honored to be invited by Janelle Saffin MP to present the manifesto and the Forum projects at a roundtable discussion with Minister for Housing Rose Jackson in early December. 

sourdough regeneration connection

Another significant partnership project this year was the Sourdough Regeneration Connection Program, which featured a series of Community Connection Events in Byron, Clarence Valley, Lismore, and Tweed, as well as an Expert in Residence-led Accelerator Program.

The program included two cohorts with a total of 23 participants and was delivered by Business NSW for Byron Community College in partnership with Southern Cross University. 

A huge thank you to Saadi Allan, our Expert in Residence, and Anne Stoven from Byron Community College for trusting us with the delivery of this impactful program.