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Futurist and social innovator Rachel Botsman: A 2013 World Economic Forum Young Global LeaderGeneva, Switzerland: Rachel Botsman was yesterday named among 199 young leaders from 70 countries by the World Economic Forum as part of the Young Global Leaders (YGL) Class of 2013, which recognises individuals for their professional achievements and commitment to society, individuals who will join and co-create a community of insight and action committed to improving the state of the world.

Becoming part of the YGL community is described by its members as a transformational experience. YGLs join as individuals, who are successful in their own field of expertise, but become part of a broader collective community that works to tackle a range of world issues.

2013 Australian of the Year Ita ButtroseAcknowledged for her brilliant and groundbreaking media career, Ita Buttrose AO OBE, who now dedicates her considerable energy and skills to the cause of medical education and health care, was tonight named Australian of the Year 2013 in a ceremony at Parliament House, witnessed by a crowd of thousands and a national television audience of millions.

Established in 1960, the Australian of the Year Award has throughout its more than 50 year history grown in significance to become Australia's pre-eminent award, profiling "leading Australians who are role models for us all." In her acceptance speech, Ita said that she was "truly honoured to receive this award" and "conscious of the fact that I am following in the footsteps of so many distinguished Australians", but noted that she felt "somewhat uneasy in that I'm being honoured for doing what I have enjoyed doing for most of my life: being a journalist and working for causes for which I have a genuine passion and commitment."

Saxton Managing Director Winston Broadbent argues that throughout her career "Ita has always challenged the status quo... quick to champion a cause, she is brave enough to speak up, often in the face of accepted public opinion. What stands out in my mind is the outstanding leadership that Ita brings to absolutely everything that she does."

2005 London bombings survivor and peace activist Gill Hicks and partner Karl Falzon is the mother of new baby girl Amelie.Peace activist Gill Hicks, who lost both legs from below the knee in the London bombings of 7th July, 2005, last Thursday gave birth to her first child at the age of 44 - Amelie - who she has called a 'precious miracle'.

Named Australian of the Year in the UK and awarded an MBE for her services to charity in establishing Making a Difference for Peace, a not-for-profit organisation which communicates the importance of our individual responsibility in creating a world in which extreme conflict is ended, Gill was not expected to survive after being severley and permanently injured in the Piccadilly line train explosion that killed 26 people.

National Finalist, Australian of the Year 2013 Ita ButtroseAcknowledged for her brilliant and groundbreaking media career, Ita Buttrose AO OBE, who now dedicates her considerable energy and skills to championing medical education and health care, was recently named National Finalist, Australian of the Year 2013.

Starting her career as a copy girl at the Australian Women’s Weekly, she quickly became a cadet journalist at the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph. At 23 she was appointed women’s editor at The Telegraph and in 1971 was promoted to founding editor of Sir Frank Packer's new women's magazine Cleo. It was an instant hit, becoming the top selling monthly women's magazine and propelling Ita to national celebrity status. Three years later Ita was appointed editor of Women's Weekly and in 1989 became the first woman editor of an Australian metropolitan newspaper - the Murdoch owned Daily Telegraph and later the Sunday Telegraph - and was the first woman appointed to the News Ltd Board.

Carolyn Creswell, 2012 Australian Business Woman of the Year

Carolyn Creswell, founder and Managing Director of Carman's Fine Foods, was on 21 November 2012 named Telstra Australian Business Woman of the Year, as well as the recipient of the Commonwealth Bank Business Owner Award.

Carolyn has grown the Carman's range and reach of the privately-owned Australian company that now stocks the country's major and independent supermarkets and airlines, and exports to 32 countries including Singapore, the UK and the US. The company supports Australian farmers and companies by using home-grown ingredients and local packaging suppliers.

Darren Percival pays tribute to his musical hero on A Tribute to Ray CharlesHot on the heels of the gold-selling Happy Home comes Darren Percival's phenomenal celebration of the music of a legend in A Tribute to Ray Charles. The soul sensation and star of The Voice Australia describes the late great singer as having changed his life. "He makes me smile and I sing the way I do as a result of learning from him. The songs on this album were selected for the story they tell and the impact they have had on my life and I imagine, on your lives too..."

You can pick up a signed copy of the album here, or download it from iTunes here.

Tansel Ali, the current and two-time Australian Memory Champion, in 2010 memorised 2000+ business names and 20,000+ digits from two Sydney Yellow Pages phonebooksIt's the Olympics, but not as we know it. Over 50 competitors from 20 countries will be striving for Gold throughout a three-day mental competition of the mind known as the World Memory Championships.

The yearly competition comprises of ten events over three days testing the memory of the very elite memorisers in the world. Remembering the order of a shuffled deck of playing cards, thousands of digits of numbers, hundreds of names and faces and 400 spoken numbers at every one-second interval are only a few of the events that are on the competition agenda.

One of those very elite who is representing Australia is Tansel Ali, who has recently memorised two Yellow Pages phonebooks in just 24 days and has won the last two Australian Memory Championships. Tansel, who represented Australia in the World Memory Championships back in 2003, believes he is a good chance of bringing Australia its first ever gold medal from London.

Darren Percival tours the east coast of Australia from September to December 2012Star of the first season of The Voice Australia, Darren Percival has embarked on a tour of Australia's east coast, including shows at The Palms at Crown Melbourne and the Sydney Opera House.

All tickets are on sale now and are expected to go fast so don't delay!

Darren's first album Happy Home featuring original compositions including its first single 'In The Blowing Wind', his contribution to the soundtrack for The Sapphires - 'In The Sweet Bye and Bye' - and songs from The Voice debuted at No. 3 on the ARIA Album Charts in its first week of release in July.

Athlete Liaison Officer Layne Beachley with
men's boxing captain Luke JacksonSeven-time World Surfing Champion Layne Beachley has been appointed as the fourth Athlete Liaison Officer (ALO) for the London 2012 Australian Olympic Team.

Beachley will provide support and guidance for individual athletes and teams by sharing her experiences from an illustrious sporting career.

She joins fellow sporting legends - five-time Olympic basketballer Andrew Gaze, World Cup winning Wallaby captain John Eales and former Australian Test cricket captain Steve Waugh on the AOL team.

Leadership lessons of the global financial crisis are being shared in a new book by renowned speaker, consultant and business coach, Avril Henry.

Leadership Revelations II, How Australians Lead in Crises was launched on 15 May 2012 by Professor Peter Shergold AC, Chancellor, University of Western Sydney who is one of 89 contributors to share how operating in a financial crisis changed their organisation and their personal leadership style.

The much anticipated book revisits Avril’s first book Leadership Revelations, An Australian Perspective, which was written in 2005 at the height of economic prosperity when jobs were plentiful and human resources scarce.

According to Avril, the economic environment both here and internationally has changed markedly since 2005, providing an opportunity to tap into the lessons learned by well known Australians in sectors as diverse as not for profit, small and large businesses and government.

Click here to watch Darren Percival's performance of 'Jealous Guy' on The Voice AustraliaDarren Percival, aka Mr Percival, wowed the judges of Channel Nine's hit new TV sensation The Voice Australia in his first performance on Sunday, 29 April. In a first for the show, all four judges - Keith Urban, Delta Goodrem, Joel Madden and Seal - turned to face Darren during his stunning rendition of John Lennon's "Jealous Guy" as part of the Blind Auditions, indicating their desire to include him on their teams, which in the coming weeks will compete against each other for the title of The Voice of Australia.

Progressing to the Battle Rounds, Darren ultimately chose a spot on Team Keith; viewers will have their chance to vote on their favourite performers as the competition progresses to the Live Shows.

Ita Buttrose is the new chairman of digital start-up Reddo Media ServicesAustralian magazine icon Ita Buttrose has been appointed chairman of Reddo Media Services, an iPad/tablet-specialist digital publishing start up that she predicts will help change the future of magazine publishing in this country.

“Magazine publishers are struggling with declining circulations and their revenues are under pressure," says Buttrose. “The old ways that once served us well are no longer the way of the future. Tablet publishing is a far more cost-efficient, modern way to produce a magazine.

“But like everything to do with publishing you have to know how best to take advantage of the new trends while at the same time not alienating your loyal readers’ needs."

Buttrose says that research shows that international consumers love tablet media, and that the same trend is becoming increasingly apparent among Australians.

Cosentino becomes the first and only Australian to win a prestigious Merlin AwardCosentino - Australia's homegrown Houdini  - has been awarded the prestigious international Merlin Award for the Most Original Magician 2012. No other Australian magician or illusionist has ever been bestowed this honour.

The Merlin Award is presented to those magicians who have achieved the highest level in their craft, both on the national and international stage. The Board of Directors of the International Magicians Society and its 37,000 worldwide members vote on talent, showmanship, originality, skills and above all, the rare ability to entertain under any conditions.

"The Merlin Award is to magic what the Oscar is to motion pictures, what the Emmy is to television and what the Tony is to theatre," says Max Toth, IMS Merlin Award Committee Chairman.

The Saxton Website has been relaunched with a new look and feel, and changes to the functionality to help make your experience easier when finding your next Speaker, Entertainer or Trainer for your next event.

New features of the site include:

• improved search
• better organised speaker profile information
• easier to use Enquiry List tool
• user friendly URLs
• a rebuilt home page
• integrated social networking tools

Celebrity Apprentice Australia winner Julia Morris
with CEO Mark BourisOur congratulations to host Mark Bouris, board members Brad Seymour and Deborah Thomas and ultimate winner Julia Morris for an enormously enjoyable first season of The Celebrity Apprentice Australia.

The Grand Final episode, which aired last night on Channel Nine and topped ratings around the country with more than 1.6 million viewers, saw the comedian beat out team-mate Jason Coleman in the challenge to produce a TV commercial and product launch for Mark Bouris' company, Yellow Brick Road Wealth Management.

Tim Cope and companion Tigon greet the new day
high in the Carpathian Mountains2006 National Geographic Australian Adventurer of the Year Tim Cope's epic three and a half year journey on horseback from Mongolia to Hungary, which became an incredibly popular six-part series on the ABC and a feature length film, was recently awarded the prestigious People's Choice Award at the Banff Mountain Film Festival in Alberta, Canada.

The Trail of Genghis Khan chronicles Tim's epic 10,000km journey in the footsteps of the legendary Mongol emperor, warrior and nomad and in 2010 was awarded Prize of the Jury at the Graz Film Festival in Austria, and Best Adventure Film at the Czech Mountain Film Festival in Prague.