LinkedIn Turns 23, APAC Director to Headline Melbourne SME Summit
LinkedIn strategist Kylie Chown will mark LinkedIn's 23rd anniversary by launching Local Link in Melbourne, featuring LinkedIn APAC Director Susan Canny on AI integration for SMEs.
Harry Taruva 
Melbourne - LinkedIn will celebrate its 23rd anniversary next week, marking its transition from a legacy resume repository to a critical tool for business reputation and Artficial Intelligence-driven growth.
To coincide with the milestone, certified strategist Kylie Chown is launching the Melbourne debut of the Local Link networking series, featuring LinkedIn’s Asia-Pacific (APAC) Director, Susan Canny.
The event, scheduled for June 9 at the Pan Pacific Hotel, arrives as small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) increasingly utilise professional social networks during business hours to bypass the traditional stigma associated with office-based social media use.
With SMEs comprising 97% of Australian businesses, the forum aims to address both digital strategy and the isolation often felt by founders.
Kylie Chown, founder of Local Link, noted that the platform’s evolution has fundamentally altered professional connectivity since its 2003 launch.
“Business owners and leaders are looking for more than just another digital seminar,” Chown said.
“They want to know how to align their online presence with real-world growth. Bringing Susan Canny to Local Link enables us to offer the kind of high-level expertise usually reserved for enterprise boardrooms," she said.
Canny, a Melbourne native who oversees major organisational accounts across the APAC region, will lead a technical exploration into modern selling and the practical application of data.
The session is designed to help SMEs leverage artificial intelligence to strengthen buyer relationships in an increasingly digital-first economy.
Beyond technical strategy, the event focused on the necessity of peer support for small business owners, a demographic consistently identified as high-risk for mental health challenges due to the singular weight of operational responsibility.
“In the 23 years since LinkedIn launched, the way we connect has changed fundamentally,” Chown said, adding that “business owners are grappling with high levels of digital noise.”
To facilitate high-value industry insights over traditional networking "small talk," the organisers have capped attendance at 50 participants.
The in-person summit will be supplemented by Local Link Connect, an online extension providing ongoing strategy training and professional development resources.
