Keynote Speaking

Keynote Speaker

About Irene

Irene Liakos is a dynamic and insightful speaker who brings over 20 years of expertise in Product Management, Marketing, Innovation and Growth within the technology and telecommunications sectors.

With a warm, authentic approach and practical wisdom drawn from her extensive career with leading organisations including Optus, Telstra, Virgin Mobile, and Citibank, Irene captivates audiences with her unique ability to blend strategic thinking with genuine human connection.

As a trusted advisor to executives and a passionate advocate for product innovation, Irene delivers presentations that inspire action and create lasting impact.

Her consulting experience with Airmap, Spectus.ai, The Climate Risk Group, Qantas, and Sage has equipped her with diverse industry insights, while her teaching roles at AGSM@UNSW and as the creator of the ICAgile Certified Product Management course reflect her commitment to developing the next generation of product leaders. 

Irene's engaging storytelling style makes complex concepts accessible and immediately applicable for any business looking to drive growth and transformation.

Popular Speaking Topics

  • Discover the inspiring journey behind one of Australia's most innovative product launches and the strategic thinking that made it possible.

    Irene shares insider insights from her product leadership role at Telstra launching the Hiptop, revealing powerful lessons in product strategy, innovation pathways, and the art of influencing key stakeholders to champion bold new ideas.

  • Explore how customer-centric product development drives business growth through the compelling case study of Virgin Mobile's Award-Winning Data Gifting experience.

    Irene reveals the strategic thinking, customer insights, and implementation challenges behind this innovative feature, offering valuable lessons for product teams seeking to create meaningful differentiation in competitive markets.

  • Learn practical approaches to embedding product thinking across your organisation based on Irene's experience guiding transformation initiatives across multiple sectors.

    This presentation offers a roadmap for shifting from project to product mindsets, establishing effective product operations, and building the organisational capabilities needed to sustain innovation at scale.

  • Explore the powerful psychological factors that influence purchasing decisions and how they can inform more effective pricing strategies.

    Irene combines insights from behavioural economics with real-world examples from her product leadership experience to help teams develop pricing approaches that resonate with customer perceptions of value while supporting business objectives.

  • Join Irene for an honest, insightful look at the entrepreneurial journey through the lens of her personal experience building an ecommerce venture.

    This talk delivers valuable lessons about customer discovery, personal growth, challenges and learnings, offering practical wisdom for aspiring entrepreneurs seeking to step off the corporate path.

  • Drawing on her extensive experience driving innovation within established organisations like Optus, Telstra, and Citibank, Irene presents practical frameworks for fostering creativity and entrepreneurial thinking within corporate environments.

    Learn actionable strategies to navigate organisational complexity, build cross-functional alliances, and create space for breakthrough ideas to flourish.

  • Discover practical applications of AI technology that can transform your productivity and streamline operations.

    Irene demystifies AI implementation with actionable examples from her technology leadership experience, showing how organisations of any size can leverage these powerful tools to reduce manual effort, enhance decision-making, and create capacity for higher-value work.

  • Go beyond traditional "jobs to be done" frameworks to understand the deeper human motivations that drive purchasing decisions.

    Irene introduces Eckhart Boehme’s transformative Wheel of Progress, illustrating how understanding customer struggles creates opportunities to develop products that genuinely help people make progress in their lives.

    This presentation offers a fresh perspective on customer research and value proposition development that can revitalise product strategy.

  • Uncover the transformative nature of product management as a discipline that drives organisational change.

    Irene explores how successful product leaders operate as change agents, building on her real world experience at numerous other organisations.

    Walk away with strategies to navigate resistance, build coalitions for change, and deliver products that meaningfully impact both customers and businesses.

What To Expect

When you book Irene for your event, you're not just getting a speaker – you're gaining a thoughtful partner committed to your audience's growth and development.

Irene's presentations are:

Tailored: Each presentation is carefully customised to address your specific challenges, objectives and audience needs.

Action-oriented: Attendees walk away with practical tools and strategies they can implement immediately.

Evidence-based: Drawing on both research and real-world experience, Irene delivers content grounded in proven approaches.

Engaging: Using a blend of compelling storytelling, interactive elements and thought-provoking questions, Irene creates memorable learning experiences.

Warm and authentic: Audiences connect with Irene's approachable style and genuine passion for helping people and organisations thrive.

What Others Have Said…

  • "Highly recommend Irene to other product organisations."


    Irene completed 3 remote sessions of product training for the team at Class Ltd covering a huge amount of content in an engaging and interactive way, drawing on her own extensive experience and other case studies to bring the learning to life. We really valued what was delivered and highly recommend to other organisations looking to build capability on good product management.

    Amy Johnson
    Former Head of Product, Class Super

  • “Her work is incredibly impactful.”


    Irene is an outstanding leader, educator and product professional.

    Her work with our team has been incredibly impactful in a very short amount of time, and has brought clarity to product strategy and delivery.

    I highly recommend Irene.

    Craig Boshier
    Former COO, Airmap

  • "Quickly Understand Issues. Provide Quality Advice"


    Meeting Irene was certainly delightful. Not only was she able to quickly understand the landscape of my issues, she expertly gave quality tips/advice to help me navigate the world of product. I highly recommend Irene!

    Adannia Eze
    Hilti North America

  • “Irene had a wealth of information to present, however her great strength was communication.”


    Irene had a wealth of information to present, however her great strength was communication. Irene was able to engage with a very large group of inductees in a personable way, while still engaging the whole group. I learned so much, I couldn’t recommend her more!

    Elric Marshall
    Westpac

  • "Instrumental in delivering Transformation"

    Irene played a major role in the transformation of Telstra.com. She was instrumental in delivering fundamental changes to the site and was always positive, innovative and collaborative in her approach - highly regarded by the team.

    Omar Khalifa
    Former Director, Telstra

  • "Recommendations backed with in-depth research and thought"

    Irene is incapable of performing any task in a less than disciplined and thorough manner. All recommendations she brings to the table are backed with in-depth research and thought. She is adept at managing priorities and has never failed to meet a deadline. Irene is a joy to work with as she approaches all tasks with enthusiasm and is a highly co-operative team member.

    Mei Sien Loke
    Former General Counsel, Melbourne IT

  • "She has the ability to command a room and get buy-in on ideas"

    I was impressed by Irene’s ability to deal with clients, effortlessly. She has the ability to command a room and get buy-in on ideas. These skills often take years to develop among consulting professionals, but they seemed to come perfectly naturally to her. She is also one of the hardest workers I have ever work with and would be honoured to work with her again.

    DeVilliers Malan,
    Senior Product Manager, Cover Genius

  • "Highly engaging and insightful in navigating and overcoming problems"

    Irene is very knowledgeable and always willing to share her deep expertise in Product Management linked to her experience in Telecommunications as well as Financial Services. She is highly engaging and insightful in navigating and overcoming common problems that product managers face in implementing product change including engagement with key stakeholders. I look forward for the next opportunity to collaborate with her and always enjoy her enthusiasm and passion in delivering great outcomes for customers.

    Trevor Lee

    Service Owner, Group Product Chapter Capability and Rhythm, Westpac

  • "Irene takes her job very seriously and goes above and beyond"


    She takes her job very seriously and goes above and beyond, like when she spent hours patiently listening to me on the state of the company, providing a sounding board to help us clarify our thinking on the next steps.

    She is also very flexible with timezones, which played a central role for us since we had to connect 3 continents with over 16h of gaps.

    I highly recommend her

    Francesco Guglielmino

    CEO, Cuebiq

  • "Practical Advice with Rich Industry Experience"

    Irene's thoughts and ideas have created a richer understanding of product management for me. Specifically, she has impacted the way I think about product management in small companies compared to large companies.

    I felt empowered to make important career decisions with confidence. Her practical advice comes with rich industry experience. In every meeting with Irene I came with big questions and always left with concrete solutions and plans.

    For anyone that is stuck and is seeking clarity and confidence, I highly recommend speaking to Irene.

    Amaar Iftikhar

    Product Manager, Optus

  • "Irene is an outstanding mentor and guide in the field of Product Management"

    Irene Liakos is an outstanding mentor and guide in the field of Product Management. I had the privilege of being mentored by her, and the experience is truly invaluable to my professional growth.

    If you get the chance to have Irene as your mentor or coach take it. She knows her stuff, is super motivating, and will definitely give your career a boost.

    Samriddhi (Sam) Shrivastava
    Product Manager - Wilson AI

  • "What doesn't she know?!"

    What an amazing course! I'd love to take more courses with Irene. What doesn't she know?!

    She presented complex concepts in a clear and understandable manner, with the latest trends and developments in the field of product management, as well as a solid set of models and history of what has come before and how we got here. For example, I didn't know that product management actually came out of marketing!

    Katherine (Kat) Widomski Mohn

    XDI

Book Irene for Your Next Event

Whether you're planning a corporate conference, leadership retreat, industry event or team development day, Irene will work closely with you to create a presentation that delivers exceptional value and resonates with your audience.

Contact us today to discuss how Irene can bring her unique perspective and expertise to your next event.

Irene is based in Sydney, Australia and available for speaking engagements throughout Australia and internationally.