Owned & Operated – The Publisher Leadership Series Melbourne 2026

Own the Operation: What Publishers Bring In-House, Automate and Rebuild in 2027

Tuesday, December 8, 2026

Hosted By

We're coming to Melbourne

One table. One lunch. Own the operation.

On Tuesday 8 December we’re bringing 14 of Australia’s publishing operators around one table in Melbourne. This invitation-only lunch gathers the people who run publishing businesses day to day: CEOs, Managing Directors, General Managers, Chief Digital Officers, Heads of Audience, and Product and Engineering leaders from news, lifestyle, sport and specialist-interest publishers. No panels, no pitches, no slides. One off-the-record lunch on what you will own, automate and rebuild in 2027.

Overview

In September, publishers in Sydney and Perth compared notes on owning their audience, their data and their platform. December takes the next layer: the operation itself. Most publishers have added AI tools to the workflow. Far fewer have changed how the team builds, ships and publishes because of them.

Over lunch, guests will compare 2027 plans: what is coming in-house, what is being switched off, and where a platform or workflow rebuild has paid for itself. Before the lunch every guest answers one question: what is the one thing you will bring in-house in 2027, and the one thing you will stop paying for? The anonymised answers open the conversation, alongside the owned-versus-rented benchmark from the September tables. You will leave with a candid read on where your peers are placing their bets, plus an attendee-only summary.

The Details

Date & Time

Tuesday, December 8, 2026, from 12:00 PM. Seated at 12:15 PM, close by 2:30 PM.

Location

Private Dining Room

Marameo

6 Russell Place, Melbourne CBD.

Closing Line

Fourteen seats, one per publisher. Applications close Friday 20 November.

Invite includes

Lunch, drinks and a working conversation with peers, plus the anonymised benchmark results shared only in the room.

Please note

The lunch is off the record under the Chatham House Rule. Insights may be shared, but nothing is attributed to any individual or company. This room is for publisher operators only. Capacity is limited to 14 seats.

Submit your details to apply for your seat/invite

Private Dining Room

Agenda

12:00 PM

Arrival & Drinks

Welcome drinks and informal introductions. Seated at 12:15 sharp.

12:15 PM

Welcome

The rules of the room, and what the September tables said about owned versus rented.

12:30 PM

Introductions

Round the table over entrées: the one thing you will bring in-house in 2027, and the one thing you will stop paying for.

12:45 PM

From the Hosts

A short joint frame from Kinsta and The Code Company. Conversational, no slides.

12:55 PM

Conversation One: Own the platform decisions

What to own, rent or rebuild in 2027.

1:35 PM

Conversation Two: Own the operation

Where AI has changed how the team works, and where it has not.

2:10 PM

Takeaways

Each guest shares one takeaway

2:30 PM

Close

Coffee and one-to-one conversations for those who can stay.