Australia, Brazil and the Global AI Race
About this Event
AI, DATA & DIGITAL SOVEREIGNTY
Australia, Brazil and the Global AI Race
Artificial Intelligence is becoming much more than a technology conversation. It is reshaping organisations, economies and the way countries think about data, innovation and sovereignty.
As part of Brazil Week 2026, this special Business Day will bring together leaders from technology, AI, data and academia to explore how Australia and Brazil can position themselves in the global AI race.
The conversation will explore data sovereignty, trusted AI, governance, national capability and the opportunities ahead, while asking an increasingly important question:
As AI becomes critical to our economies and organisations, who controls the data, technology and intelligence behind it?
Confirmed Speakers
Leonardo Pinheiro - Senior AI/ML Engineer - Microsoft
Leonardo is a Senior ML Engineer at Microsoft in Brisbane, where he builds agentic Copilot features for Clipchamp and works on the LLM evaluation platform now used across the product organisation.
He has spent more than a decade taking AI from prototype to production, including clinical radiology systems at Harrison AI, new ventures at BCGX and startups worldwide as an independent consultant.
Rodrigo Filev - Data Lead and AI Engineer - Casella Family Brands
Rodrigo has dedicated his career to supporting businesses to unlock the full potential of technology, and to contributing to technological innovation in universities. In Australia, he currently leads digital transformation at Casella Family Brands, and previously directed research transforming primary industries through intelligent, data-driven systems at Deakin Uni. Internationally, he also led EU and Brazilian-funded initiatives in research focused on IoT and AI. As an entrepreneur founded a venture delivering projects for critical systems, including Latin America's first driverless subway line. Venture acquired by a European group.
Allan Clempe - Founder Clocktopus
Allan is the Founder of Clocktopus, a platform that helps businesses understand the real impact of AI on their teams: what people and AI deliver together, what it costs, and whether they are getting the most out of it. Every company is adopting AI, few can measure how well they're using it.
He is also Managing Director of Blastin, a Brisbane software consultancy that builds digital platforms for enterprise and government clients across Australia, and has been running its own team with AI agents for the past two years. With over two decades in technology and connections to both Australia and Brazil, Allan brings a practical, measured view of what AI actually changes inside a business.
Allan speaks on performance in the age of AI: how to know whether your team is getting value from it, and what changes for organisations when doing the work is no longer the bottleneck.
Dr Eleanor Rieffel University of Queensland
Dr Eleanor Rieffel Director, Queensland Quantum Decarbonisation Alliance School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Cohosted by
Mila Guerra
Data & AI Engineer, AI Paper Reading Club Founder
Pedro Giesel
Technology Leader, Entrepreneur & AI Horizons Organiser
Event Details
Wednesday, 30 September 2026
2:00 pm to 5:00 pm
The Precinct, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane
Part of Brazil Week 2026, an initiative of the Australia Brazil Chamber of Commerce connecting business, government, academia and communities across Australia and Brazil.
Event venue & nearby stays
The Precinct, 315 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley, Australia
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.