At 8:15am this morning, Russ Stephens and Sky Kolade walk out on stage at Sofitel Sydney Wentworth to open APB Summit 2026.
What follows is one of the most ambitious days of content APB has ever put on a stage...
A high-performance scientist. A Formula One veteran. Two carpenters who changed the conversation around mental health in Australian construction. And a mystery panel whose names won't be revealed until they walk out.
Here's how day one unfolds.
After the opening keynote, Dr. Paul Taylor takes the stage with The Hardiness Effect. Paul is a psychophysiologist and former Royal Navy officer with a PhD in psychology, separate master's degrees in exercise science and nutrition, and a postgraduate qualification in neuroscience. His research focuses on hardiness, the science of how the right relationship with stress can sharpen your performance, improve your health and extend your life. If running a building company has ever felt like a stress test, this session reframes what that stress is actually doing for you.
After the first networking break, Richard Hopkins shares what nearly three decades inside Formula One taught him about building high-performance teams. Richard joined F1 at 16 and went on to become Head of Operations at the Red Bull F1 Team, where he was instrumental in turning an energy drink company into consecutive world champions. The gap between a pit crew and a site crew is smaller than you'd think, and the lessons about accountability, speed and standards transfer directly.
Then, APB's Head Coach Andy Skarda presents AI From The Top Down. Andy has owned and led companies across four continents and worked with thousands of builders, and his argument is a confronting one for any owner who's been delegating AI to the office. The building company owners who lead the next decade will be the ones driving it personally.
After lunch, Daniel Allen and Edward Ross of TradeMutt deliver If We Can, We Must. Two best mates and carpenters by trade, they built a social enterprise workwear company and TIACS, a free counselling service for blue-collar workers, after Dan lost a close mate to suicide in 2015. Their session is about leading real conversations about mental health, on your sites and in your office. Expect this one to stay with you long after the event.
Next comes the Mystery Expert Panel, a deep conversation on building company financials and profitability. The people taking the stage have seen the full range of financial challenges this industry can throw at an owner, and they'll be digging into the decisions that determine whether a busy year becomes a profitable one.
Charmaine Keegan follows with Rewiring Sales. With over 30 years of international sales and training experience, Charmaine blends NLP, neuroscience and psychology into practical strategies for influencing buying behaviour, without a single pushy tactic in sight.
Explorer Justin Jones closes the day with Adventure Thinking. Justin has kayaked across the Tasman Sea from Australia to New Zealand, become the first person to ski unassisted to the South Pole and back, and holds two Guinness World Records. When he talks about operating in the unknown, he's speaking from experience most of us can barely imagine, and the parallels with running a business through uncertainty are exactly the point.
The day winds down with a networking reception. Some of the most valuable conversations of the whole Summit happen over a drink after the last session, so stick around.
The breaks are where the rest of the Summit happens.
Your event guide has raffle tickets in the centrefold, and two VIP tickets to APB Summit 2027 are on the line. Write your name and company on a ticket, visit the sponsor stand named on it, collect a sticker, and drop it in the barrel at the APB stand. Every stickered ticket is a separate entry, so the more stands you visit, the better your odds. And keep an eye out, because bonus entries are hidden around the event.
While you're moving, ask APB Brain the hardest question in your building company, and grab one of APB's Executive Business Coaches at the APB stand, or book a slot so you don't miss out.
When something resonates today, share it with #APBSummit2026.
Doors open at 8:00am. See you in there.