The 2024 Spence Club Annual General Meeting was held at the Wakefield Hotel on Tuesday 22 October 2024, where we also shared our Annual Report.
Together with our members, and a spread of delicious nibbles and drinks, we reflected on the activities, efforts and achievements of the Club across the 2023-24 financial year. There was much to talk about, and much to celebrate – especially because Spence Club turned 10 in 2024!
We warmly welcomed new Board Members who had been voted in and announced new/continuing leadership roles. We also sincerely thanked the Board Members who had reached the end of their terms and/or were stepping away from the board.
Following the formalities, we were treated to an ‘in-conversation’ called: Powerhouses of Legacy & Innovation - Insights from Leaders Who Built & Transformed with two of Adelaide's most inspiring self-starters who told us about their career journeys, reflected on what they learned in starting and running their own businesses, and shared tried and trusted tips for building a professional network and leaving a legacy.
One of our speakers was the Founder of Spence Club, Lauren Zwaans, who shared why and how she started the Club 10 years ago and the challenges she faced as a not-for-profit entrepreneur. Lauren also shared stories from her highly successful career, which has included roles at Facebook/Meta, jobs in the US and London, stints in politics and journalism, as well as time starting and running her own business.
Also on our panel was Sara Siami, Spence Club Board Member and Founder of ‘The People Plugin’, which specialises in recruiting, retaining and developing talent across a number of industries. Sara was a key player in South Australia’s most successful startup - Sweat, where she experienced a 240% headcount growth as the head of People & Culture in a very short space of time!
Our discussion covered themes of founding stories, working in tech, running businesses, and how to achieve ‘work-life balance’.
After our discussion we had a Q&A and of course – networking and conversation!
We sincerely thank our members who participated in the voting process and came along to our AGM. Our members are our reason for being, the reason this Club has stood the test of time for a decade now, and is going from strength to strength.
The new Spence Club Board is looking forward to building an exciting and inspiring program of events in 2025 for our current and new members. We hope to see you soon!
View the event archive on Humanitix here.
