CareerOne CEO announced as Expo keynote
April 16, 2014
In yet another coup for the Sunshine Coast business community, CareerOne CEO Karen Lawson will journey to the Sunshine Coast in May to take part in a series of presentations and panels as part of the 2014 Sunshine Coast Business Expo.
Ms Lawson’s keynote presentation at the opening breakfast on 28 May will cover ‘collaborative consumption’, regarded by Time Magazine as one of the Ten Ideas that will Change the World, and will explore how this trend will impact on everything — from travel to finance, retail to the labour market and all aspects of business in between.
“Traditionally, success and status has been displayed by accumulating possessions, but we’re now seeing a shift where consumers are less concerned about owning products; they are keen to rent, lend, swap, barter, gift and share products and services to bring their day-to-day costs down,” said Ms Lawson, who prior to being appointed CEO of CareerOne in 2013, held a number of senior roles at Yahoo!7.
“This will impact significantly on how we do business in the future as consumers and businesses are likely to change their spending in traditional ways and access products and services online by connecting with everyday individuals rather than businesses.”
“Our skills marketplace includes the ‘Task economy’ which is running at an annualised run rate of $2.5m of tasks performed by Australians for Australians, delivering services such as furniture assembly and deliveries, right through to data entry, IT support and copywriting at a price agreed on by both parties. This really is a fast-growing trend which all business owners should be aware of when planning for the future.”
“Whether you prepare to embrace collaborative consumption and integrate it into your product or service offering or whether you change the way in which you work by making use of the resources it offers, all business owners should be aware of the concept or be left behind.”
Ms Lawson said the new trend had the potential to negatively impact on many businesses if they did not adjust their business model but also posed excellent opportunities for the online business community.
“I expect we’ll see various sizeable global marketplaces for services emerging in the coming years. We’ve already witnessed the growth of eBay, Amazon and Alibaba, but we’re now entering a new dawn for the online marketplace.”
“The reality is that this is not a passing trend; it is a work revolution and existing businesses may need to evolve their business models to remain competitive.”
Sunshine Coast Business Expo Chair Ross Hepworth said he was delighted to be welcoming another high profile keynote speaker to the event, which has already added media personality Lisa Wilkinson to the line-up.
“It’s an honour to have Ms Lawson participating in this year’s Expo. We’re thrilled to have her not only involved in a large-scale corporate breakfast, but also contributing to a panel regarding ‘The Digital Revolution’ which will explore how businesses can improve productivity and boost profitability through the effective use of digital tools,” Mr Hepworth said.
“The CareerOne brand is a household name across Australia. This year has been pivotal given their business reinvention delivering a new skills marketplace and range of targeting and digital solutions for both employment and brand needs. We’re excited to have such a well-known and successful company represented at the Expo and to have Ms Lawson imparting some of her extensive business knowledge.”
Ms Lawson’s experience as a digital media executive will enable her to provide valuable insight into both working in the online realm and building a high-profile brand. Her roles at Yahoo!7 include overseeing the organisation’s data, advertising, publishing, technology, search, mobile and strategic partnerships including the Microsoft-Bing alliance. She has also held roles at Pitt Crew, Ernst & Young and Cable & Wireless in the UK. With tickets to the previously announced Lisa Wilkinson corporate lunch and FranklinCovey workshop already selling quickly, it is expected that seats at Ms Lawson’s presentations will also be in hot demand.
A limited number of sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities still exist for those businesses looking to have a presence at the Expo. For more information or to purchase tickets ($59) to see Ms Lawson speak, please visit www.scbizexpo.org.au.
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Media contact — Maya Gurry, Fresh PR & Marketing
P: 0410 109 102
E: maya@freshprm.com.au
Interviews available on request
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