Date: Thursday, 12 November 2026
Time: 11:30 am–5:00 pm, followed by networking drinks
Location: Adelaide Festival Centre
Tickets on sale!
Date: Thursday, 12 November 2026
Time: 11:30 am–5:00 pm, followed by networking drinks
Location: Adelaide Festival Centre
Tickets on sale!
Shaping Adelaide’s Next Decade
The next ten years will shape where capital flows, which industries thrive and how cities compete.
Global shifts in technology, artificial intelligence, capital markets, workforce trends and geopolitics are already reshaping the decisions businesses make today. The challenge for leaders is not predicting a single future, but being prepared for multiple possible futures.
On Thursday 12 November, more than 200 senior leaders from business, government, industry and education will come together at the Adelaide Festival Centre for AEDA's premier new leadership forum.
Featuring a keynote from international foresight expert Dexter Docherty, lead author of the OECD's Strategic Foresight Toolkit, and facilitated by Professor Ariella Helfgott and the SA Futures Agency team, this immersive forum will explore the forces likely to shape Adelaide's economy over the next decade.
More than a conference
This is not a day of presentations and panel discussions.
Drawing on strategic foresight and scenario planning approaches employed by Shell, the OECD and governments around the world, you'll gain practical tools and insights that can be applied to strategy development, business planning, investment decisions and board discussions.
What you'll take away
- A clearer understanding of the global forces shaping Adelaide's future
- Future scenarios you can apply to strategic planning, leadership and board discussions
- Fresh perspectives on emerging risks, opportunities and competitive advantage
- Practical frameworks for navigating uncertainty and making informed decisions
- Valuable connections with senior leaders helping shape Adelaide's future
- The opportunity to contribute to a shared vision for Adelaide's next decade
Secure your place
Places are strictly limited.
Join Adelaide's leading decision-makers for an afternoon of strategic thinking, practical insights and meaningful discussion about the future of our city and economy.
Book now to ensure you have a seat at the table helping shape Adelaide's next decade.
Event Details
Date: Thursday, 12 November 2026
Time: 11:30 am–5:00 pm, followed by networking drinks
Location: Adelaide Festival Centre
Cost: $320 per person, or $290 per person for a table of 10
Lunch, afternoon tea, and post-event networking drinks are included as part of the ticket price.
Speakers
Keynote
Dexter Docherty , International Foresight Expert (Paris)
Facilitator
Professor Ariella Helfgott , SA Futures Agency (Adelaide)
Who should attend?
Business owners, executives, board directors, industry leaders, government decision-makers and professionals responsible for shaping strategy, investment and growth.
Whether you're leading an organisation, building a business or planning for the future, this forum will help you better understand what's coming next and how to prepare for it.
Speaker Bios
Dexter Docherty
International Foresight Expert (Paris)
Dexter Docherty is a foresight expert who specializes in geosecurity, geofinance and technology futures. He has led scenarios processes with senior level government officials from around the world. He was the lead author on the OECD’s Strategic Foresight Toolkit for Resilient Public Policy and a co-author and designer of OECD foresight work on AI, gold and global markets, geoengineering and the futures of multilateralism. Prior to the OECD, where he was from 2020 until October 2026, he worked at Policy Horizons Canada and the Canadian Justice Department. He has a masters degree in Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation from the University of Oxford and a bachelor’s degree in history from McGill University.
Professor Ariella Helfgott
Professor of Foresight, Adelaide University | Director, SA Futures Agency
Ariella Helfgott has spent more than twenty years helping governments, boards and global companies make sound strategic decisions when the future is anything but certain. She built scenarios with the Shell Scenario Team and the Oxford Scenario Programme, established South Australia's first whole-of-government foresight function as Director of Strategic Foresight in the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, and served as global Director of Foresight and Strategic Learning at the World Energy Council. Now Professor of Foresight at Adelaide University and Director of the SA Futures Agency, she sits on Australia's National Security College's Futures Council and is an Honorary Professor in the ANU School of Cybernetics.
About Adelaide Economic Development Agency
The Adelaide Economic Development Agency (AEDA) works closely with businesses, industry groups, state government agencies and other relevant organisations to deliver a range of programs designed to stimulate the city's economic growth. AEDA aims to attract investment, support residential growth, boost an annual events calendar and market the city as a whole, which includes promoting Rundle Mall as Adelaide's premier shopping destination.
