Plenary 1: Tuesday 24 November 2026 | 10:30am - 12:00pm
Keynote One
Welcome to Congress 2026
With Sarah Abood
FAAA CEO
Aligned to the 2026 Congress theme, Sarah will take a forward-looking view of the profession—exploring where we are today, the disruptions shaping our future, and the opportunities ahead to strengthen and grow.

Keynote Two
EXPLORE THE FUTURE
Technology for Humanity
With Dr. Jordan Nguyen
Founder, Psykinetic

Session Overview
What turns a breakthrough in technology into something that can change a life? It's the question Dr Jordan Nguyen has spent his career answering through adventures across the globe. He's a biomedical engineer, inventor, author of A Human's Guide to the Future, and award-winning documentary-presenter for the ABC and Discovery Channel.
In this opening keynote, Jordan invites the room to EXPLORE the frontier of what's possible, and what exploration truly asks of us. The boldest ideas come from curiosity and the courage to step past what's familiar. Jordan shares where those ideas come from, how innovators turn them into reality, and what it takes not just to venture out yourself, but to bring your team with you on the journey.
He'll demonstrate ground-breaking inclusive technology of his social business Psykinetic, where AI, biomedical technology and robotics are reshaping disability and aged care in life-altering ways, and he'll be joined on stage by Koobo, the small companion robot he built for positive technology-humanity impacts, inspired by his grandmother.
Taking you on a global adventure, this is a keynote about the human side of transformation: the ethics of AI, the inclusive opportunities, the rise of embodied intelligence, and a bold, hopeful vision for the professionals who will decide how it's used.
For a profession built on trust and relationships, Jordan makes the case to push past viewing AI as a threat to the human touch at the heart of advice, and instead see it as a tool that can let you protect and deepen it.
You'll leave with the curiosity to EXPLORE what's coming, the courage to act on it, and a clear sense of AI as a force for advantage through trust and positive human impact.
Please note, this session will not be recorded
Meet your speakers

Sarah Abood
CEO, Financial Advice Association Australia
Sarah has over 25 years’ experience working in the financial services industry and she is a passionate advocate for financial planning.
Sarah has a deep understanding of the financial planning profession, and the demands of running a financial planning practice. This was gained from her nine years as CEO of Profile Financial Services, a privately-owned and self-licensed financial planning firm and FPA Professional Practice.
Prior to commencing as FAAA CEO, Sarah held the position of chief operating officer at HOPE Housing Funds Management. She has also worked in senior change and transformation, and marketing roles for some of Australia’s leading financial institutions. Sarah holds a BA from the University of Sydney, an MBA from Macquarie University (MGSM) and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Dr. Jordan Nguyen
Founder, Psykinetic
Dr Jordan Nguyen is a leading Australian engineer, inventor and innovator, committed to improving as many lives as possible, and becoming a driving force behind both human and technological evolution as we move into the future.
An internationally renowned engineer for humanity, Jordan designs life-changing technologies to transform the lives of people with disabilities and the elderly through his role as founder of Psykinetic, a social business committed to bringing positive, sustainable and life-altering change. He also shares his adventures through documentaries across the world. Inspired by human endeavour, Jordan has big ambitions to see our world step consciously and creatively into a better future.
Jordan is Founder and CEO of Psykinetic, a social business creating futuristic, inclusive and empowering technologies to improve independence and quality of life for disability, aged care and beyond. Dr Jordan and his team have successfully created a mind-controlled wheelchair, numerous Virtual and Augmented reality applications, inclusive gaming, an instrument that enabled a friend with cerebral palsy to perform live music with her eye movements and blinks, and devices that make it possible to control household appliances or even drive cars using only the tiny electrical signals created from eye movements.
Author of the book 'A Human's Guide to the Future', Jordan is also an award-winning documentary maker and presenter. In 2016 he collaborated with the Australian-based production company, The Feds, and the ABC Catalyst to create and present his first TV documentary Becoming Superhuman, which went on to win many prestigious awards both locally and internationally. His work is regularly featured in the media. He has since gone on to present a second ABC Catalyst documentary Meet The Avatars exploring the impacts of Virtual Reality, including creating virtual interactive avatars to preserve memories of loved ones. He has also presented numerous documentaries with Discovery Channel and National Geographic “ including Frontiers of Science, Smart China Start-up Revolutions, Vietnam: Connecting East Africa, and Tibet: Living On The Roof Of The World. He recently founded his own media company and aims to continue creating world-changing content on the intersection between technology and humanity.
Jordan is a passionate ambassador for STEAM education, adaptable mindsets and big-picture thinking, and holds a degree in Electrical Engineering, First-Class Honours, Diploma in Engineering Practice, and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering (Chancellors List) from the University of Technology Sydney. He has taught university engineering masters students and overseen PhDs in Artificial Intelligence design and Biomedical instrumentation and has supervised many more research students. He believes our young generations are the change-makers of tomorrow and has the potential to create solutions to the world's greatest challenges.
In November 2022, the Dr Jordan Nguyen Innovation Centre at Baulkham Hills North Public School was officially opened - named by the school's students. Jordan was a finalist for NSW in Australian of the Year in 2017, and a finalist in the AmCham (American Chamber of Commerce) awards for Artificial Intelligence. He was named in the six Harper's BAZAAR Visionary Men of 2019, has made the list of Australia's Most Innovative Engineers by Create Magazine, was named twice in Onalyticas Top 100 Global Influencers on Virtual Reality, travelled on a Think Inc tour with Steve Wozniak, won the Australian Computer Society's (ACS) ˜ICT Professional of the Year Digital Disruptors Award, and has had the honour of being MC for An Evening With President Barack Obama on his last visit to Sydney.

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