Services

Speaker

Madonna has become an in-demand MC and compere for everything from legal hypotheticals, to medical conferences, university and political debates, to government seminars, property forums, community summits and charity events. She will work with you – and host your event whether it is over breakfast, lunch, dinner, or the weekend, anywhere in Australia. She will also speak – and has – on issues as wide as being a busy mum, the future of the media, the current political climate and the state of popular opinion in Australia.

Here are what others, who have used Madonna, have to say:

“Madonna conducted two hypotheticals for our local government managers’ conference in Yeppoon. They were excellent – providing serious content in an entertaining, engaging and fun way. Madonna flawlessly researched the issues, contacting all speakers beforehand, and her journalistic rigour, ability to think on the spot and dose of good humour meant the session was also full of valuable lessons. We’d certainly recommend her.”

Peta Irvine, LGMA CEO

“As the CPD Event Manager for the Queensland Division of the Australian Property Institute (API), I have had the pleasure of working with Madonna King on a number of occasions. In her role as Master of Ceremonies, for the largest event on the API calendar, Madonna brings an exceptional level of professionalism and enthusiasm. Madonna is always well researched in the subject matter and is extremely thorough and hands on with preparation leading up to the event. I would not hesitate in referring someone to Madonna King when looking for a Master of Ceremonies.”

Julianne de Groot, Australian Property Institute

“Madonna went above and beyond our expectations in her role as MC at our 2011 Mining Industry Skills Centre Conference. She took it upon herself to call speakers to get background research, and helped support our event team in managing the flow of the day. We all enjoyed working with Madonna and would wholeheartedly recommend her for any corporate events.”

Mining Industry Skills Centre

Journalist

Madonna’s agenda-setting morning radio program covered the full range of issues while keeping in touch with the human side of the news. It has made her one of the state’s best known journalists, a profile carved from experience around the nation, including coverage of the last five prime ministers. Every day for six years, she talked to politicians, business people, sports people, social advocates, lawyers, judges and, most importantly, the public of Queensland.

She has written almost 500 columns in the state’s biggest selling newspaper, The Courier-Mail with commentary ranging from politics to social justice, to crime and drugs policy, picking up a host of state and national awards. Her column appears each Thursday on www.brisbanetimes.com.au

“She’s become the voice of current affairs in Brisbane.”

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh

Facilitator

Madonna believes that a good facilitator’s strength is to listen and encourage those in a debate to use their expertise to identify answers that often evade them. Madonna’s experience in corporate Australia is wide and varied. Regularly for the last four years, she has questioned Australia’s top CEOs over business lunches.

Some of those include:

Mr Richard Goyder, managing director and CEO of Wesfarmers Limited,
Mr Matthew Quinn, managing director of Stockland,
Mr Alan Moss, CEO of Macquarie Bank,
Mr Wal King, chief executive of Leighton Holdings
Mr John Mulcahy, CEO of the Suncorp Group
Mr Terry Davis, group managing director of Coca-Cola Amatil,
Mr Geoff Dixon, managing director and CEO of Qantas
Ms Sue Morphett, CEO of Pacific Brands,
Mr Mike Smith, CEO of the ANZ bank,
Mr Peter Ritchie, former deputy chair of the 7 Network and chief executive of McDonald’s Australia,
Dr Ken Henry, Federal Treasury secretary,
Mr Tom Albanese, chief executive of Rio Tinto,
Mr David Stewart, CEO of Leighton Holdings Ltd.

The type of functions she has helped facilitate range from internal government seminars, to public property and political debates, from urban development and local government hypotheticals, to mining conferences and economic reviews.

The value of Madonna King's work is not just in her extensive research and publication of her findings but in her ability to run workshops which are informative and generative. She has the ability to convey statistics and information while engaging her audience and inviting discussion and exploration of the very relevant and often tricky topics she writes about.
Angela White, Adolescent Success
Madonna equips parents with useful tips on what our tween and teen girls need from us and wish we knew. I cannot recommend Madonna more highly. She's one of the best speakers I've had the pleasure of listening to.
Rebecca Sparrow, author of Ask Me Anything
Madonna is a long-standing and valued friend of our school and her warmth, accessibility and authenticity allow us to bring our teens and now our ‘tweens’ and their families to her presentations, knowing that it will be within a thought-provoking yet nurturing environment.
Toni Riordan, Principal, St Aidan's Anglican Girls' School, Brisbane
We laughed and were spellbound. I found Madonna an absolute delight when organising the event. Thanks to Madonna the Medical Equipment required was purchased. What a wonderful person. I only wish we had a few more people like Madonna King.
Betty McGrath OAM
Her command of such events is without peer: she is engaging with the audience, judicious with panellists and keeps a rein on the discussion to ensure the target outcome is achieved. We intend on using Madonna for further events.
Susan De Vries, Urban Development Industry Association
From her research and prior preparation with our guest speakers to her willingness to engage with our guests, she brings a level of professionalism to this role that ensures the luncheon series maintains a place as one of the key business functions in Brisbane.
Richard Moore, Australian Institute of Company Directors
Madonna flawlessly researched the issues, contacting all speakers beforehand, and her journalistic rigour, ability to think on the spot and dose of good humour meant the session was also full of valuable lessons. We’d certainly recommend her.
Peta Irvine, LGMA CEO
Madonna King facilitated the hypothetical session at the Medico-Legal Society of Queensland conference in 2010. This session is like the conference finale with all speakers taking part, audience debate, interaction and comments from all welcome and encouraged. The feedback we received following the hypothetical was outstanding, particularly about Madonna’s involvement. She researched the very specific medico-legal topic thoroughly, showed a great understanding of the issues, kept the discussion moving and added humour and warmth. The hypothetical was a great success and Madonna was one of the key contributors to that success.
Kate Bartley, BE Event Management
Madonna is a true professional. She understood our panel topic with minimal explanation, conducted thorough research and proposed an interview format which matched our brief perfectly. Her presence was well received by panel and audience members and was a key factor in the success of our event. High Distinction.
Novella Moncrieff, QUT External Relations Officer, Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering
Madonna was a brilliant moderator managing to get a very stimulating conversation going between the panellists in a short time frame. I’ll make contact regarding future events – we’d definitely like to have Madonna moderating again.
Beth Phelan, conference director, Vajrayana Institute, which hosted the Dalai Lama in Australia.
Madonna has provided MC and moderator services for events hosted by the Gold Coast Logan Urban Development Institute of Australia. As an industry body representing one of the region’s largest workforces, we host events that tackle big picture issues and inspire passionate discourse. Her command of such events is without peer: she is engaging with the audience, judicious with panellists and keeps a rein on the discussion to ensure the target outcome is achieved. We intend on using Madonna for further events.
Susan De Vries, UDIA
The Australian Institute of Company Directors – Queensland Division has used the services of Madonna King for four years now and it is with pleasure that I provide this testimonial. Using Madonna as the MC for our Leaders Edge lunch series contributes much to the success of these events. From her research and prior preparation with our guest speakers to her willingness to engage with our guests, she brings a level of professionalism to this role that ensures the luncheon series maintains a place as one of the key business functions in Brisbane. Madonna is a delight to work with, and the quality of her work is also evidenced by the number of guests who provide very positive feedback on her role.
Richard Moore, AICD state manager
The St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland has been delighted to work with Madonna King for our annual Vinnies CEO sleepout event over the past two years. She worked closely with our event team to deliver a professional, successful and enjoyable event. Her natural ability to engage with an audience of high level business, community and government leaders kept the night flowing, and her facilitation skills brought out the best of all the speakers. Madonna was an absolute pleasure to work with, and we look forward to working with her again.
Peter Maher, St Vincent de Paul
The Mater Hospital Auxiliary had the privilege of having Madonna King as their guest speaker at Tattersalls. The Auxiliary was holding the function to get funds to buy Medical Equipment for the Mater Public Hospital. When Madonna knew that her attendance would do so much good for sick patients she did not hesitate to say yes. The guests knew that they would be hearing the best speaker as they had heard her on Radio and read her newspaper articles and in a few days of sending out the Invitations the function was booked out. The guests were not disappointed as Madonna kept the guests entertained with stories of journalism, lightly poking fun at the powers that be, and taking us inside what happens when a big story breaks. We laughed and were spellbound. I found Madonna an absolute delight when organising the event. Thanks to Madonna the Medical Equipment required was purchased. What a wonderful person. I only wish we had a few more people like Madonna King.
Betty McGrath OAM
Madonna went above and beyond our expectations in her role as MC at our 2011 Mining Industry Skills Centre Conference. She took it upon herself to call speakers to get background research, and helped support our event team in managing the flow of the day. We all enjoyed working with Madonna and would wholeheartedly recommend her for any corporate events.
Mining Industry Skills Centre
As the CPD Event Manager for the Queensland Division of the Australian Property Institute (API), I have had the pleasure of working with Madonna King on a number of occasions. In her role as Master of Ceremonies, for the largest event on the API calendar, Madonna brings an exceptional level of professionalism and enthusiasm. Madonna is always well researched in the subject matter and is extremely thorough and hands on with preparation leading up to the event. I would not hesitate in referring someone to Madonna King when looking for a Master of Ceremonies.
Julianne de Groot, Australian Property Institute
Madonna conducted two hypotheticals for our local government managers’ conference in Yeppoon. They were excellent – providing serious content in an entertaining, engaging and fun way. Madonna flawlessly researched the issues, contacting all speakers beforehand, and her journalistic rigour, ability to think on the spot and dose of good humour meant the session was also full of valuable lessons. We’d certainly recommend her.
Peta Irvine, LGMA CEO