MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKERS | BUSINESS | INNOVATION

Dominic Thurbon

Behaviour change and AI leadership expert helping organisations turn disruption into real, lasting change

Overview

At just 23, Dominic Thurbon founded Karrikins Group, growing it into a 150-person behaviour change consultancy across Australia, New Zealand and North America before EY acquired it in 2019. He's now a Partner at EY, and brings a distinctive lens to one of the biggest challenges facing organisations today: AI adoption isn't a technology problem, it's a behaviour change problem.

Dominic has genuine first-hand credibility here — he built and sold Educator Impact, an AI-enabled tech company delivering teacher quality and student wellbeing solutions (acquired by Qoria in 2022). His signature keynote, The Truth About AI Disruption and Transformation, draws on real research showing that companies extracting the most value from AI invest twice as much in people as they do in the technology itself. Dominic has authored and researched bestsellers published in 15+ countries, and has delivered behaviour change programs reaching over 500,000 people annually.

Career Highlights

  • Founded Karrikins Group at 23; grew to 150+ staff across three countries before EY acquired it in 2019

  • Partner at EY

  • Founded Educator Impact, an AI-enabled tech company (acquired by Qoria, 2022)

  • Author/researcher of bestsellers in 15+ countries, including Matter, Talent Magnets and On Purpose

  • Forthcoming book, To Be Honest, on misinformation in the age of AI and algorithmic media

  • Designed behaviour change programs reaching 500,000+ people annually

  • Clients include Apple, IBM, Google, Johnson & Johnson, Commonwealth Bank and the ABC

  • World top-10 debater

Key Speaking Themes

  • AI adoption as a behaviour change challenge, not just a technology challenge

  • Driving real, lasting organisational and cultural change

  • Truth-telling as a performance and leadership driver

  • Innovation, disruption and future-proofing the workforce

  • Purpose-driven leadership

Signature Talks

  • The Truth About AI Disruption and Transformation — demystifying Gen AI, sharing real case studies, and showing why the companies getting the most value from AI focus on people first, technology second

  • Changenomics — a practical formula for making organisational change actually happen and stick

  • Truth-Telling — why honesty is a behaviour, not a value, and how mastering it transforms performance and leadership

What Your Audience Will Gain

Audiences leave with a practical, research-backed understanding of why AI initiatives succeed or fail — and it's rarely about the technology. Dominic's energetic, story-driven delivery is grounded in having actually built and sold an AI-enabled company himself, giving him real credibility most AI commentators don't have.

Ideal For

  • AI and technology transformation conferences

  • Leadership and innovation conferences

  • Corporate change and transformation programmes

  • HR and organisational culture forums

  • Executive retreats and high-performance leadership events

Testimonials

IBM

"Dominic presentations for our senior client audience were right on brief and really inspired people about the potential to unleash collaboration and innovation. He speaks the language of business, understands business models and tailors his message to suit the audience. His dynamic and engaging style affects real behavioural and attitudinal change and made him a hit with the audience."

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

"Dom Thurbon made us think very differently and we were all buzzing with new ideas at the end of the session. I would highly recommend Dom to work with your team – you will certainly be engaged, challenged and very creative with your approach"

Glaxo SmithKilne

"Dominic is a fantastic, dynamic presenter who really demystified the whole ‘technology’ thing for us. His presentation was engaging, entertaining and – best of all – really valuable to us in the way we work."