Cairns Crocodiles Presented by Pinterest has added another major voice to its 2026 mainstage, announcing Amy Kean, the UK psychosociologist and CEO of Good Shout, to the slate.
Kean, who was listed as one of Campaign’s top 10 diversity trailblazers and ranked the third most influential person in the marketing industry in 2025, has worked with clients ranging from Channel 4, Lego to CNN and more, and has built one of the most unconventional and influential careers in the creative industries.
Her past roles include global head of creative and innovation at Starcom, head of strategy and insights APAC at Mindshare, head of futures and founder of Havas Media Labs, and VP of strategy and planning at Beamly, where she helped connect marketing science, content, ecommerce and beauty innovation across Coty’s digital portfolio.
If that wasn’t enough, she’s the author of Amazon bestseller The Little Girl Who Gave Zero Fcks* and the poetry collection House of Weeds. Last year she wrote, produced and starred in Group, a sold-out London play exploring the darker side of the life-coaching industry.
Kean, who will be jetting in from the UK, has also appeared in Grazia, The Guardian, HuffPost and on Woman’s Hour. As cultures editor for shots magazine, she routinely challenges the industry on mental health, bullying, bias and workplace behaviour, and she was inducted into the British Interactive Media Association’s Hall of Fame.
Her recent piece for Stylist, which examined the emotional toll of “likability labour” placed on women in the workplace, reflects the cultural sharpness and social relevance she brings to every platform.
Kean joins the recent announcement of keynote Paula Bloodworth from Alien Baby (formerly Nike and Uncommon), along with the news that Adam Smith, the visionary visual director behind The Chemical Brothers, will also appear at the landmark event.
A slew of Asia-Pacific speakers has also been revealed, including Lev Kroll, CEO of Nuanu Creative City, Ida Ayu Astari Prada, brand and communications director at Nuanu Creative City, Rajeev Raja, founder and sound-smith of BrandMusiq and Subhash Kamath, ex-CEO of BBH Mumbai and brand consultant, trainer and advisor; and Aseem Puri, digital CEO of Unilever International.
Cairns Crocodiles Presented by Pinterest is Australia’s fast-rising festival of creativity, media, culture and brand innovation, taking place from Tuesday 12 May to Thursday 15 May 2026 in tropical Cairns, Queensland. Across three packed days, content unfolds throughout the Cairns Convention Centre, and each afternoon in ‘Hemingway’s, Powered by News Australia’ – which takes over the heritage-listed Hemingway’s Brewery with on-stage sessions, conversation and connection.
In addition to the main conference program, the Masterclasses Presented by News Australia, the Cairns Crocodiles Awards and Cairns Hatchlings, presented by Yahoo, all take place on the Thursday, celebrating excellence and emerging talent across the region. Cairns Extra, a series of partner events and activations that run before and after the on-stage content, further brings the festival to life across the city. See here for more on Cairns Extra.
