Gary Bertwistle

Leading creative and innovative thinker

Gary Bertwistle is an expert on unlocking creativity and building brands, using his straightforward, challenging, unique yet simple style to help people and organisations to think differently.

Gary began his career in the competitive world of retail before winning Young Executive of the Year in 1981. After several years in retail he moved into the music industry managing and promoting bands and artists.

In 1988 he returned to shopping centres and won three BOMA Awards: Best Shopping Centre Positioning, Best Shopping Centre Promotion and Best Shopping Centre Charity Event. After this, it was time for something new.

Gary moved into commercial radio in 1990 where he spent the next 7 years with Australia's largest radio network, Austereo. Gary became Group General Manager for Promotions and Marketing, overseeing the marketing and promotion of thirteen radio stations on the 2Day and Triple M Networks in Australia and five stations in Kuala Lumpur while creating ideas for some of Australia's best known brands.

In 1997 Gary founded Blue Moon Creative to assist organisations and individuals to challenge their traditional way of thinking and unlock their great ideas. He worked on the Sydney Millennium celebrations on Sydney Harbour.

In 2001 Gary designed and built The Ideas Vault, Australia's first ever dedicated creative space, designed specifically for the generation of better ideas. Located at The Entertainment Quarter in Sydney, The Vault's octagonal shape, natural light, outdoor space, furniture and facilities make it a unique and exciting venue for thinking, problem solving, meetings, strategy and workshops.

In 2004 Gary recorded and released an audio program called the Studio of the Mind which covers how creativity works, how to remove barriers to creative thinking, and techniques for unlocking ideas and imagination. He also developed his own Thinking Tools - The Spider Web, BiGNOA, The Spin Cycle, Ask Einstein and Hocus Pocus (the world's first edible creative thinking tool).

Gary was named 2007 and 2008 Speaker of the Year for TEC (The Executive Connection), the world's leading CEO membership organisation. He was also the only two-time winner of the Mick Robertson Award for Marketing and Brand voted on by 14,000 CEOs around Australia.

Gary is a keen athlete and cyclist who in 2007 co-founded a cycling charity called the Tour de Cure which so far has raised close to $2 million for the fight against cancer and the search for a cure. In 2009, the riders cycled from Brisbane to Cairns and raised over $800,000!

Gary has so far written six books: The Keys to Creativity (2006), Who Stole My Mojo? (2008), What Made YouThink of That? (2009), The Vibe (2010), My Dad's Got Mojo (2010) and What I Wish I Knew About Cancer (2011). 

Gary Bertwistle speaks about:

Who Stole My Mojo: With the economic climate the way it is right now, there's change, uncertainty, unpredictability. With the frantic, frenetic and fast pace in business, people and brands are losing their mojo. Based on Gary's best-selling book, Who Stole My Mojo, this presentation helps release the ceilings that are holding you back, to help you live out the dream you have for your company, your team or yourself. If your team has lost its zip, its pizazz, its direction and feels stuck in the mud, then this is the ideal topic.

Leading Innovation: Whether working by yourself or with a group, Leading Innovation shows you how to unlock your great ideas. It takes practical tips and tools from the world's great creatives, brands and innovators, then simplifies them to help you unlock the great ideas that currently exist around your office or company. Gary's straightforward, simple and practical approach to unlocking great ideas has struck a chord with many of Australia's biggest names like Lexus, Nintendo, Macquarie Bank, News Limited, Westpac and Optus.

Brand: Gary's topics cover the very fundamentals that need to be taken care of in this uncertain economic time right through to the world's latest trends that are dictating how people buy your company or brand. Gary guarantees to get you and your company thinking differently about how you present yourself in order to find, grow and keep your market share profitably. He will show you the essential thinking you need today in order to win and how to truly engage your entire team in order to create a powerful brand in your category. Most companies have a logo they bang on a letterhead, they don't have a brand.