Meet the Purpose Team
Time to get to know the wider team at Purpose, who we are and what we do.
Meet our founder and program director Sally Hill.
Sally will be weaving together diverse themes for Purpose 2022 like, the race to net zero, First Nations wisdom in business, responsible tech, nature based solutions, and impact capital.
Here’s what Sal had to say about the context we are in as we prepare for the 2022 event.
“The last few years has been… a time. For all of us. A pandemic has awakened us to the systems we rely on. Fires and floods have brought the climate emergency to our doorstep. And Australia’s historic ‘climate election’ has brought many a renewed sense of optimism.
2022 is a time of both immense crisis, and very shiny glimmers of hope. The mainstream business world is waking up to what we’ve known for years, and purpose, sustainability and responsibility is on the agenda for every single company.”
Since 2015, Purpose has explored, celebrated and amplified the growing momentum around ethical, regenerative and social impact business. In 2022, we’re back with more world class speakers, boundary pushing ideas and life changing connections.
This year we focus on a range of themes:
Nature x Tech
Impact Capital
Climate Tech & Net Zero
Circular Economy & Regenerative Business
Health & Wellbeing
First Nations Wisdom
Responsible Tech
Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
Read more about our themes here.
Meet our Creative Director Kate Hurst
A graduate of fine art, and a respected Creative Director with over 15 years of experience working within the design, cultural and events industries. Kate oversees all of Purpose’s creative touch-points including brand, artist collaborations, graphic, spatial & experience design.
Kate is driven by working with organisations that have a positive impact on people and the planet and brings a calm resilience to the team, directing an incredible group of creatives to ensure the Purpose experience is artful and inspiring.
“Joining the Purpose team has been a truly life changing experience. Having worked in events and the creative industries for almost 2 decades it has been incredibly fulfilling to apply all of the knowledge and experience I have gained over that time to a project that will have so much impact.
I am thrilled to be part of bringing Purpose back this year. Never before has there been such a strong pull to connect with our fellow humans, to gather and to work together to solve the complex social and environmental issues that we are facing. Purpose 2022 will be a wonderful opportunity for life-changing connections to be forged and for ideas and solutions to be shared”
Meet our Strategic Advisor Andy Marks
Andy Marks is Strategic Advisor to the wonderfully complex project that is Purpose, guiding the team towards a successful and high impact event, in every sense of these words.
He’s a circular pioneer working with the hotel industry in the UK to transform end of life bed linen into premium bags and sleepwear and gained a lot of fans as the Impact Producer of the ABC’s War on Waste and as Program Director of ‘Fix and Make’. You can hear Andy speak about his approach here and check out his art practise encouraging us to rethink consumer culture on Instagram.
“I can’t wait for the magic that happens at Purpose - the inspiration, the connections, the energy to drive positive change.
I am drawn to people and ideas that create transformation and after loving working on the last Purpose I just had to be part of the team for this one and see how we can take it to the next level.”
Meet our Marketing & Partnerships Lead, Natasha Ritz
Tash spoke at Purpose conference in 2016 while Brand Lead for LUSH Cosmetics, and has been working in social impact for the last decade. Previous to this, Tash was the COO at Good Empire, a social app for good helping businesses and individuals take action and measure their impact towards the UN SDGs.
Tash's career has been dedicated to working in businesses that have a positive impact on the world and Tash has a particular knack for helping founders to bring their vision to life.
“I’m over the moon that Purpose is back in 2022, and it’s an honour to be working alongside such amazing people, in particular a group of fierce, hardworking and inspiring women.
This year, I’m really excited to see a new phase of Purpose enter the ESG stratosphere. We’ve been talking about this stuff for a long time, but now there is a huge shift across all businesses. We’re seeing CSR & ESG teams popping up everywhere from large enterprises to small businesses. Ultimately when the business world adds an acronym or 2, you know the conversation is becoming more mainstream and that is a good thing! We’re seeing groundbreaking new technologies surface, solving for climate, solving for social impact and finding ways to reduce waste.
I’m also particularly excited this year about some of the focus on impact capital and how VCs, founders & consumer demand interacts and engages to funnel the money to the right place at the right time for the most positive impact at scale and at pace.
Now is absolutely the time for businesses to be having these conversations, and not only that, taking action on the environmental and social impact we want to see in the world.”
Meet our Partner & Presenter Liaison, Holly Horne
Holly is known for having a voice that’s like honey, and the smoothest style of operating. She is the glue.
In the Purpose team, Holly is therefore (of course) the liaison between the conference and our sponsors, partners and presenters. Most recently, Holly has worked as COO at Mindfulness.com - an innovative mental fitness company for meditation, sleep, daily coaching and community connection. She’s delighted to join the team at Purpose and we’re equally excited to have her.
“I’m thrilled to be working on Purpose in 2022 where we are amplifying the work of visionaries, entrepreneurs and organisations who are addressing the world’s most urgent and complex challenges, and paving the way forward.
I believe in the power of community and I never underestimate the impact we can have as a collective when coming together for a transformative event experience that infuses cutting edge content, learning, tangible solutions and connection.”
You can see our board members and wider team here.
