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Artificial intelligence is no longer coming. It is already here, already reshaping how Australian businesses operate, how teams work and how leaders make decisions. The question is no longer whether AI will affect your business. It is whether you are ready.

This breakfast is designed to cut through the noise and give Southern Gold Coast business owners a clear, practical and genuinely useful picture of what AI means for them right now and what smart businesses are doing about it.

We are not here to sell you on AI. We are here to give you the full picture so you can make smart, informed decisions for your business. The risks. The pitfalls. The genuine opportunities. And the local businesses already making it work.

What You Will Walk Away With

A clear understanding of where AI is headed and what it means for your industry, practical insights on how to start automating the right things in the right order, a strategic framework for future-proofing your business and your team, the confidence to make informed decisions about AI without the overwhelm, and real answers to the questions Southern Gold Coast businesses are actually asking right now.

Your Presenters

Carly Woods
Founder and CEO, Ethical Edge Solutions
SGC Chamber Platinum Member

Carly leads Ethical Edge Solutions, a multi-award winning Australian AI technology company that has transformed 500+ businesses with average productivity increases of 300%. Her message is simple: your team is drowning in admin. She fixes that. Working across construction, haulage, healthcare and professional services, Carly and her team build custom AI operating systems, workflows and agents for Australian businesses in plain language with real results and no lock-in. On the morning, Carly will share how Southern Gold Coast businesses are already using AI to remove admin drag, connect disconnected systems and scale operations without adding more complexity. She will leave you ready to act.

Joshua Smith
Project Manager, Gold Coast Innovation Hub & Teaching Associate, Innovation Ecosystems, Southern Cross University

Josh opens the morning with a refreshingly honest take on AI. Rather than diving straight into the opportunity, Josh will start the conversation where many business owners actually are, acknowledging the very real concerns, drawbacks and pitfalls associated with current AI models and what happens when businesses lean in without the right foundations or protection layers in place. From there, Josh moves into the practical, sharing real-world examples of AI being used effectively to deliver genuine positive outcomes for businesses, including local success stories from right here on the Gold Coast. By the time he hands over to Carly, you will have the strategic context and the honest picture you need to make the most of everything that follows.

The Q&A Panel

Hosted by Hamzah Maharoof
General Manager, Technology, Queensland Airports

With a background spanning Queensland Airports, City of Gold Coast, Saudi Aramco and Xerox, and a Master’s degree in Cybersecurity from Griffith University, Hamzah brings a rare combination of enterprise technology leadership and cybersecurity expertise to the panel host role.

Joining Hamzah on the panel Carly Woods and Josh Smith returning for the open Q&A discussion.

This is your chance to ask the questions you have been dying to ask. Nothing is off limits and no question is too basic.

Who Should Attend

This breakfast is for business owners, leaders and decision-makers across the Southern Gold Coast who want to understand AI beyond the headlines and walk away knowing exactly what to do next. Whether you are already exploring AI tools or have no idea where to start, this morning will meet you where you are.

Open to Chamber members and guests. Everyone is welcome.