SPEAKERS

After a few years as the youngest fund manager in Australia at the time, David realised that technology is where his real passion lay and built a career in business and technology consulting that saw him work with banks, insurance firms, law and accounting firms across more than fifty countries, spanning over two decades.

Growing up in a home with many art works collected by his parents, David spent his second pay-check on buying a piece of original art for himself, and he hasn’t really stopped since.

One night after dinner in Bangkok, the conversation between David, Albrecht and Kiki turned to the wish of the latter two to move beyond their generous patronage to helping their artists develop a higher profile and recognition in the art world.

David grabbed a pen and a napkin and outlined his thoughts on a business plan and social media branding that he felt would work for their artists. Albrecht and Kiki wanted to move forward with the plan but only if David would take the lead.

Which is how David came on board, broadening IBEX’s support from fixed financial funding and artistic stimulation to include exhibitions at prime venues around the world and strategic and sustained online exposure.

David has taught business law, technology, branding and marketing at university level. He has an MBA, a Masters in Commercial Law and Graduate Diplomas in Managing Law Firms and in Managing Superannuation Funds.

He has been active as a social entrepreneur and advocate in social causes revolving around education, climate change, and mentorship. He is also a prolific reader, a staunch wine snob, a fussy foodie, and holds three black belts and an instructor’s certificate across multiple martial arts.

Lesley Thiel is an international award winning, figurative artist known for her highly detailed photorealistic paintings. Working in oils, her pieces focus on narrative portraiture and magical realism. She dresses her models – usually children – in imitations of the ruffs and collars of bygone ages, or headdresses of dead flowers and branches. Her paintings contain imagery designed to tell a story of the fate of our species and our relationship to the earth. They include feathers, flowers, and animals as a sign of hope for our collective future. They speak of the strength of the upcoming generation of young women and girls, who may well be our saviors. They question the accepted narrative of the female voice in society and the myths attached to this. Her paintings have been included in numerous exhibitions, and are represented in collections throughout the world.

Lesley’s work has been included in numerous exhibitions, including at the Museum of Modern European Art (MEAM), in Barcelona, Wassau Museum of Contemporary Art, The Mall Galleries, London, The Salmagundi Club, Terminal 5 Heathrow (as part of the Olympics), and Zhou B Art Center. She has received a Certificate of Excellence from the Portrait Society of America, and awards from the Art Renewal Center. Her work is part of both the Art Renewal Center Collection, and the Bennett Collection. Born in England, she now lives and works in North Carolina.

“Lesley gives us a piece of existence, of hope, of dreams, of desires – all encapsulated in her art work. Intrinsically stating the obvious that is commonly mistaken for acceptance and normality. Her art has the power to devour you with an insatiable hunger, with a need to recognize the purest form of human existence, the call for truth, for innocence, to revert to that state of mind where all was fine, all was good, all was perfect…because you knew no better. But it’s a better that can be achieved with a collective attitude of care, of hope, and of love.  Lesley’s art works penetrate your subconscious knowingness, distracting your current reality, throwing you back to what you and I want.  To bring out the child within, with no restrictions or inhibitions, with no ill intentions, with the purity only a child can contain.” – Artmoire