Program speakers

Benson Saulo 

Managing Partner – First Australians Capital

Benson Saulo is a descendant of the Wemba Wemba and Gunditjmara Aboriginal nations of Western Victoria, and New Ireland Province in Papua New Guinea. Appointed in 2021, Benson was the first Indigenous person to be appointed an Australian Consul-General and Senior Trade and Investment Commission, delivered the Australian Governments diplomacy, economic and trade agenda in the US.

Benson has a background in banking, economic development and social impact, which provides a strong foundation for his role as Managing Partner at First Australians Capital, an Indigenous-led investment fund and Indigenous business advisor.

In 2011, Benson was appointed the Australian Youth Representative to the United Nations in which he undertook a national engagement tour to gain a deeper understanding of issues impacting Australian youth. Benson then represented Australian youth at the 66th Session of the United Nations General Assembly as an accredited member of Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Benson was named National NAIDOC Youth of the Year in 2014, and a finalist for Young Australian of the Year (VIC), and the Human Rights Medal for Youth by the Australian Human Rights Commission.