Travels From Victoria
Speaker Topics
Building Resilience in Business
Arron Wood shares the personal battles he has faced by providing inspiration to anyone who has ever felt as though they’re unable to overcome adversity. From facing schoolyard bullies, battling low self-esteem and ultimately having to deal with depression and anxiety while running a business. Arron's path to his current success has been filled with obstacles that many people will have experienced themselves, however he has managed to turn his business (most people think should be voluntary charity) into social entrepreneurism with millions in annual turnover.
Read lessFuture of Business
A look at macro issues and the changing global economy and what that means for sound business strategy. How to maximise the opportunities and minimise the risk in periods of uncertainty, with specific insight into emerging industries.
Read lessSustainability and Environment
Very popular with local government, community organisations and large state government department’s Arron has nearly 20 years’ experience in all aspects of the sustainability sector. His numerous Board positions and senior appointments at a relatively young age give him particular insight into how to make things happen and drive project success.
Read lessArron Wood
Clean Energy Leader & Former Melbourne Deputy Lord Mayor
Arron Wood AM is the former Deputy Lord Mayor of the City of Melbourne. Seven times the World's Most Liveable city. Named in the top ten education leaders nationally as part of The Weekend Australian Magazine, Prime Minister’s Environmentalist of the Year Award-winner Arron Wood grew up in Mildura, Victoria spending his early years campaigning to save the River Murray. Rather aptly titled his autobiography ‘Billabong Boy’ was inspired by those early years. Arron is an expert in sustainability and his company won the Victorian Telstra News Ltd Micro Business of the Year. He is founder of the award-winning education program Kids Teaching Kids that has seen over 145,000 students participate in the peer education model since 1999 and was the 3AW environment reporter for many years.
Arron received The Centenary Medal for outstanding contribution to conservation, awarded by the Governor-General. As a past winner of the United Nations Individual Award for Outstanding Service to the Environment Arron was also the 2001 Young Australian of the Year for the environment.
He served two terms as the youngest Board Member of the Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority. He served a term as a Sustainability Victoria Board Member and served a term as Councillor for City of Melbourne. He is currently on the South East Water Corporation Board and was Chair of the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute.
Arron is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and was Chair of the 2017 World Ecocity Summit Advisory Board. His Kids Teaching Kids Program won the prestigious 2010 People’s Choice Banksia Award chosen from 55 finalists across 10 categories.
Arron was one of the ten Friday Magazine’s Most Inspirational People for 2003, which included people like Steve Irwin and Troy Cassar-Daley. He's a former member of the National Council on Education for Sustainability and was selected to complete Al Gore’s Climate Change Leadership Program. Arron was honored to be a Clean Up the World Ambassador with David De Rothschild and Celine Cousteau.
In what was a huge career highlight Arron’s commitment to the environment was covered on ABC’s Australian Story. In 2008 Arron completed a Churchill Fellowship which took him to New York and Geneva working with the United Nations to research replication of environmental education programs on a global scale.
Arron has appeared on Network TEN’s Totally Wild, and Channel 7’s Sunrise and Saturday Disney. Previously he was chosen as the Australian representative for the 25 most inspirational 25 year olds from around the world as profiled in French Canadian Magazine, La Actualite’. Arron's first book ‘Inspiring the Next Young Environmental Leader. Kids Teaching Kids – Addressing Our Environmental Crisis’ has sold 5,000 copies.