YOW!
Tech Leaders
Summit
Melbourne 2026

Bringing together tech leaders and experts to discuss & develop innovative strategies that will help build business, support sustainable personal and professional development, and look at what's on the horizon

Summit Date

Tue,
June 16

Venue

Cliftons Melbourne - Collins Street

Register today

Overall I was really pleased with this year’s YOW Tech Leaders Summit. I’d originally had some apprehension seeing that AI was mentioned in so many of the talk descriptions, but I think the speakers did a good job of being evenhanded in their approach and not just pushing trends and tools at us. The mix of topics was great, and the audience was clearly engaged with lots of questions and discussion happening in the breaks and after each talk.

Kris Howard

Overall I was really pleased with this year’s YOW Tech Leaders Summit. I’d originally had some apprehension seeing that AI was mentioned in so many of the talk descriptions, but I think the speakers did a good job of being evenhanded in their approach and not just pushing trends and tools at us. The mix of topics was great, and the audience was clearly engaged with lots of questions and discussion happening in the breaks and after each talk.

I generally dislike flying for work. So I REALLY like YOW! bringing in speakers I wouldn’t have access to locally. I feel YOW’s unique to the Australian tech conference scene, offering the big ideas and higher order thinking around software development. For me, it’s the conference for Leaders in technology and where I gain inspiration from the most.

Sammy Herbert

Head of Developer Experience at SixPivot

I generally dislike flying for work. So I REALLY like YOW! bringing in speakers I wouldn’t have access to locally. I feel YOW’s unique to the Australian tech conference scene, offering the big ideas and higher order thinking around software development. For me, it’s the conference for Leaders in technology and where I gain inspiration from the most.

What can you expect from a YOW! conference?

Get ready!

Tech Leaders Summit Tickets

starting from AUD $ 440.00

Earlybird - sold out

Full access to the 1 Summit day

AUD $ 440.00

AUD $ 550.00

Standard

Full access to the 1 Summit day

AUD $ 550.00

Register today!

YOW! Tech Leaders Summit Melbourne 2026!

YOW! Tech Leaders Summit is a forum for sharing successes and challenges with peers. It provides a unique opportunity for technical leaders to share their experiences with up and coming technical leaders. The Summit features short talks followed by discussions with time to meet and network fellow leaders as well as keynote speakers provided by YOW!.

A Note on This Year’s Keynote Lineup

In light of the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East, and with the safety of our international speakers as our highest priority,
YOW! has made the decision not to host an international keynote speaker at this year’s Tech Leaders Summit.

Our events have always been shaped by the perspectives our international speakers bring.
However, given the current uncertainty around travel and safety,
we believe this is the most responsible decision for this year.

We’re grateful to the exceptional local and regional leaders who continue to share their knowledge with the YOW! community,
and we look forward to the conversations and insights they will bring to this year’s Summit.

Trusted by Tech Leaders

Speakers

Technical leadership is a challenging balance of people management in the presence of demanding business and technology decisions.

Ben Taylor

Product Engineering Team Lead at Stile Education

How do we Engineer in a world where we no longer read code?

Callum Silcock

Head of Engineering

Low Battery: Why Your Team is Always Mentally Drained (And How to Fix It)

David Colls

Head of Data at MYOB

Building data and AI teams

Jon Eaves

Principal Staff Engineer at SEEK

How I learned to manage technical debt without talking about it

Julie Grundy

Level Up: next steps on your accessibility adventure

Justin Mclean

Open Source Community Manager at Datastrato

Scaling Teams Without Breaking

Lalitha Madhugundu

Senior Engineering Manager at Atlassian

Delivering Multi-Cloud: Redesigning Our Cloud Network and The Team Behind It

Olivia Burmester

Co-founder and Director of ProSocia

Architecting Culture: Moving from Unplanned Habits to Intentional Systems

Prakriti Mateti

Senior Director of Engineering at Culture Amp

One does not simply... rebuild a product

Selena Small

Staff Engineer / Fractional Engineering Manager at Fresho

Capability Before Performance: Scaling Growth in Product Engineering Teams

Simon White

Chairman of TOCICO and Senior Program Manager at WTG

Your Teams Aren’t the Problem — Your System Is: Why Most Software Leaders Optimise the Wrong Things

See our speakers

Our Sponsors

YOW! Tech Leaders Summit was previously known as the YOW! CTO Summit.

As a YOW! Tech Leaders Summit Melbourne Sponsor, you’ll have the chance to engage with technical leaders, coaches and managers; eager to learn more about your company.

We’ll give you the ideal platform to share your story, showcase your technology and generate quality leads at your designated exhibit area.

Email Sabine Wolf to discuss how you can get involved with YOW! Tech Leaders Summit Melbourne 2026.

YOW! Tech Leaders Summit Melbourne 2026 will be held at Cliftons Melbourne on Collins Street!

Cliftons Melbourne – Collins Street is located on Collins Street in the centre of Melbourne’s CBD, half-way between Town Hall and Southern Cross Station.

The venue features advanced technology, full event support services and premium inhouse dining. Relax between sessions in the breakout area, or enjoy post-event networking.

Learn more about the venue here.