Event summary
IDEX 2025: Resilience – The Red Centre was a purpose-driven leadership retreat that brought together six senior execs from across tourism, finance, consulting and other industries, for three days of conversations that mattered. Hosted at Sails in the Desert, this three-day event sat proudly in the heart of the Red Centre, with Uluru in everyone’s sights.
Through a curated mix of keynote speakers, cultural exchanges, and open dialogue, the group explored what it means to be resilient - both personally and professionally.
At the heart of the experience was Andrew May, a global expert on navigating mental strength, leadership, and wellbeing. Andrew guided IDEX (Ideas Exchange) guests through his framework for energy management, mindset recovery, and building long-term resilience.
Goals & Objectives
Following the huge success of IDEX 2023, the primary goal was to dial up the depth and strip back the noise in an industry that’s been through it:
Deliver a retreat-style event focusing on life, leadership, and business resilience.
Create authentic moments for connection (without the name tags).
Keep it sustainable, respectful, and deeply rooted in place.
Showcase FCM Meetings & Events as a trusted partner in delivering thoughtful, high-impact events.
Uluru was chosen for its importance and natural symbolism: both the landscape and its Traditional Custodians, the Anangu, embody resilience. This made it the ideal setting for a program focused on endurance, adaptability, and strength through connection.
Our approach
Welcome
Guests were privately transferred to Sails in the Desert, where they had time to settle in and explore the resort. Each received a pre-packed and planned ‘desert survival kit’ in their rooms, including essentials like sunscreen, insect repellent, fly nets, water bottles, and more.
Hosted by Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia, the first evening was supposed to include the Wintjiri Wiru drone and storytelling show, but the weather had other plans. Instead, guests enjoyed gourmet hampers, native canapes, and a laser light show of the Mala story that was just as special.
Day two
The day began with a warm introduction and stories shared by a local Elder, followed by a keynote from Andrew May, who launched his 21-day resilience challenge and Triple H framework.
Lunch at Arnguli Grill, hosted by Virgin Australia, was flavour-packed and showcased what the region has to offer. Virgin Australia’s, Ashley Taylor, Manager, Sales, Operations & Enablement and Barry Connelly, Head of Operations, Guest Contact Centres shared candid stories about leading teams through COVID-19, operational challenges, and coming out the other side. It was a talk that hit home for many in the room who have also experienced similar uncertainty.
Later that day, guests sat down to Ilkari Restaurant's, Australian Native High Tea before hearing from Peter Graham, Director of Sales & Partnerships at Voyages. He, alongside Sails in the Desert General Manager, David Harper, spoke about the reality of running a resort in the middle of the desert. From sustainable operations to working respectfully with Traditional Owners. Peter’s account of bringing Wintjiri Wiru to life in partnership with the Anangu was a standout.
The day wrapped with a 4WD adventure to Tali Wiru. On top of a sand dune, under starlight and firelight, guests enjoyed a luxury dining experience, complete with Penfolds wines, and storytelling of Indigenous perspectives of the constellations. The evening ended with a yarn by the fire, traditional weapons and tools in hand, and connection to land and others.
What an incredibly special and memorable event.
– Ashley Taylor, Manager, Sales, Operations & Enablement, Virgin Australia.
Day three
The group rose early for a guided base walk around Uluru with AAT Kings. As the sun rose and the rock changed colour, guide Ebony brought stories of the land and Anangu teachings to life, encouraging quiet reflection. Back at the resort, guests wrapped up IDEX 2025 over a casual brunch and some downtime before heading to the airport.
Thank you for an amazing, empowering moment – I loved every second!
– Charles Boutet, Director of Marketing & Communications Asia Pacific, Ponant.
Challenges & learnings
Planning a high-touch leadership retreat in the Red Centre isn’t easy. Direct flights are few, cultural permissions are at the heart of everything, and it takes a lot of relationship-building to pull it off.
Flight access was tricky, with limited options available Uluru. Our group travel team had to map out individual routes for all attendees and get creative with logistics.
Weather grounded the Wintjiri Wiru drone show, but the team pivoted to a magical laser version with canapés and music that guests still raved about.
Cultural protocols required education, approvals, and respect. The team leaned on their partnerships and worked closely with the Uluru-Kata Tjuṯa National Park team to get it right and strengthen their understanding for next time.
Leaving the Red Centre how we found it meant every gift and piece of merchandise was chosen for its usefulness, minimal packaging, and environmental footprint, with a focus on locally made products where possible.
With limited infrastructure, our team packed, carried, and distributed everything from delegate kits to signage. Not glamorous, but absolutely essential.
Hosting in the desert meant having backups for every backup, including wet weather, heat, and flight delays. Luckily, most backup plans did not require action.
The results
Every guest left with something lasting. Stronger personal connections, a renewed focus on resilience, and a deeper understanding of the land in which they live, work and play. The small group format sparked ideas, created new sponsor relationships, and lit a fire under some seriously bold goals. Several guests even expressed interest in returning to Uluru with their own teams sometime soon.
Tali Wiru was the showstopper for many, but the quiet, reflective moments were just as impactful. As was the opportunity to meet peers from different industries and explore shared challenges through new lenses.
Resilience made this event one to remember. And for FCM Meetings & Events, it was another chance to show how powerful a well-planned, purpose-filled experience can be.
Everything was so well organised. It was clear how much care went into every detail. It’s something I won’t forget.
– Anthony Gattari, Group Marketing Manager, Activation (Woolworths Group).
Special thank you
Thank you to our valued IDEX 2025: Resilience partners. Virgin Australia, Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia, AAT Kings, and ICMI Speakers & Entertainers, who supported the program with both operational and thought leadership contributions. And, of course, thank you to Andrew May for his inspiring contribution.
We acknowledge and pay our respects to the Anangu, the Traditional Owners of the land on which this unforgettable event took place.
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