Speakers

Fiona Balfour is a non-executive director with Metcash Limited, Salmat Limited and Airservices Australia. Previous roles include: Non-Executive Director SITA (Geneva), 2001-06; Trustee of the National Breast Cancer Foundation, 2007-10; Councillor of Chief Executive Women, 2006 -09 and 2012-13; Chair of the St James’ King Street Conservation Appeal, 2011-14; Council Member and Treasurer of Knox Grammar School, Wahroonga, 2009-15; and non-executive director TAL (Dai-ichi Life) Australia, 2010-16.

Fiona’s executive career was over thirty years in leading the design, development and deployment of customer-facing, global, real-time, operationally critical systems. She is a passionate advocate for the role of technology in business driven innovation. She has worked extensively in Aviation, Infrastructure, Technology Services, Distribution and Logistics, Education, Telecommunications, Financial Services and not-for-profits.

Fiona has lived in Sydney for 30 years. She holds a BA(Hons) from Monash University, a Graduate Diploma in Information Management from UNSW and an MBA from The University of RMIT. She has been a Member of Chief Executive Women since 2002; was awarded the National Pearcey Medal for ‘Lifetime Achievement to the Information Technology Industry’ in 2006; and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. In 2010, she was appointed a Fellow of Monash University in recognition of her service to the Information Technology Industry in Australia and the Status of Women.

Graham Bradley is a professional company director and is currently Non-Executive Chairman of HSBC Bank Australia, Stockland Corporation, EnergyAustralia Holdings and Virgin Australia International Holdings. He is a director of Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, GI Dynamics and Chairman of the Anglo American Australia Advisory Board. In July 2013 he was appointed Chairman of Infrastructure NSW.

Graham was Managing Director of Perpetual Limited from 1995—2003. Under his leadership, Perpetual grew to become one of Australia's leading listed funds management and financial services groups.

Prior to joining Perpetual, Graham was National Managing Partner of national law firm, Blake Dawson (now Ashurst). Before this, Graham was a partner of McKinsey & Company, a leading international firm of management consultants.

Graham was President of the Business Council of Australia from 2009–2011. He was formerly Deputy President of the Takeovers Panel. He is a member of the Advisory Council of the Australian School of Business at UNSW. Graham also devotes time to a range of non-profit organisations, including the State Library of NSW as a Foundation board member. Graham was made a member of the Order of Australia in 2009 in recognition of his contribution to business, medical research and the arts. He was acknowledged by the Australian Institute of Company Directors NSW as the Distinguished Fellow for 2012 in recognition of his contribution to good corporate governance in Australia.

The Hon John Brumby was the former Premier of Victoria (2007 – 2010) and has immense experience in public life serving for more than 10 years as Treasurer and then Premier of Victoria, 6 years as Leader of the Victorian Opposition and 7 years as Federal MHR for Bendigo during the period of the Hawke Government. Since retiring from politics, Mr Brumby has accepted a number of appointments in both the business and not-for-profit sectors. Mr Brumby is widely published on a range of issues including Federation, tax reform and China. He was Chair of the COAG Reform Council from January 2013 to June 2014 and over recent years has led a number of national policy reviews, including the 2012 GST Distribution Review and the 2013 report into the establishment of an Anti Dumping Authority. In 2015 Mr Brumby chaired a review into Regional Economic Development and Services for Victoria.

Mr Brumby is the author of the book ‘The Long Haul – Lessons from Public Life’ released by the Melbourne University Press in October 2015.

Elizabeth Bryan AM is one of Australia’s foremost corporate leaders, bringing more than 30 years of leadership experience and expertise from a diverse range of industries to the boards on which she serves.

Elizabeth is currently chairman of airline group Virgin Australia and insurance group IAG, and a director of Westpac Banking Corporation. Elizabeth is also a member of the takeovers panel and the board of governors for the Committee for Economic Development of Australia.

Elizabeth has also served as chairman of Caltex and UniSuper Limited and held directorships at Ridley Corporation Limited and Australia Pacific Airports Corporation. Elizabeth has extensive executive management experience, having held the positions of Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Asset Management Australia and General Manager, Investments of its predecessor organisation the State Super Investment and Management Corporation.

Elizabeth also currently serves as the president of the not-for-profit organisation YWCA NSW, which provides community services to women, children, young people and their families.

Lucia is Chair of South East Water Ltd and its commercial subsidiary IOTA Pty. Ltd, an independent director of the Energy Pipelines CRC and Chair of Australian WaterSecure Innovations. She site on the industry based Value Assessment Panel at the University of Melbourne School of Engineering and is a Global Advisor to the UN Global Cities Compact Program. She is a former Chair of Western Water, a past director and National President of the Australian Water Association and Advisor to the Connections Committee of the board of Goulburn-Murray Water.

Lucia has extensive executive and advisory experience in the utility, infrastructure and construction and professional services industries. She has held senior executive roles AECOM, Evans & Peck (now Advisian), Comdain Infrastructure, City West Water and Melbourne Water.

Lucia holds Bachelor degrees in civil engineering (honours) and economics from Monash University, a Masters of Engineering Science from Monash University and an MBA from the Melbourne Business School at the University of Melbourne. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of Engineers Australia.

Lisa Chung is a Company Director with several years’ experience in a diverse range of sectors, including commercial property and infrastructure, outdoor advertising and mass media, professional services, education and training, visual and creative arts and social and community services.

Lisa is a Non-executive director of ASX listed APN Outdoor Group Ltd and Chairman of privately-owned Urbis Pty Ltd. She is also Chairman of The Benevolent Society and Deputy President of Trustees of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences. The Museum has responsibility for the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney Observatory and the Museums Discovery Centre.

Lisa is a former Partner at Maddocks Lawyers where she is now a Consultant. Prior to that, Lisa was a Partner at Blake Dawson (now Ashurst) specialising in commercial property law and where she held a number of senior management roles, including Sydney Managing Partner, and Executive Partner with responsibility for the Property Projects and Government national practice and people development strategies.

Lisa has a Law Degree from the University of Tasmania and has completed the Advanced Management Program at INSEAD in France. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Whilst qualified as a lawyer, John Connor has spent over twenty years working in a variety of policy and advocacy roles with organisations including World Vision, Make Poverty History, the Australian Conservation Foundation and the NSW Nature Conservation Council.

Since joining The Climate Institute as CEO in 2007 John has been a leading analyst and commentator on the rollercoaster that has been Australia’s domestic and international carbon policy and overseen the Institute’s additional focus on institutional investors and climate risk.

John has worked on numerous government and business advisory panels currently including the NSW Government’s Climate Council. He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Corporate Directors and a Board member of the Environment Defenders Office and the Asset Owners Disclosure Project. He is also a “Governator” with the Australian Youth Climate Coalition.

Fabian Dattner is well known to many Australians. She is founding partner of Dattner Grant, highly regarded leadership experts, and founder of Compass, a national leadership initiative for women. She is also founder of Homeward Bound, a global initiative seeking to build a global collaboration of women in or taking up leadership roles with a view to influencing policy and decision making. The first coterie of women are already working together, and in December 2016, 77 women will go on an expedition to Antarctica. Dattner Grant are also the initiators of Women at their best, a Facebook site for ordinary women doing extraordinary things. Fabian is widely recognised for her commitment to helping hundreds of men and women, in as many organisations from Board to basement. She has multiple technical accreditations and has been included in as many books as she's written.

She's a speaker, educator and social entrepreneur and a regular commentator in the media on leadership and ethical issues in Australia today and the role of women in building a sustainable future.

She is has been three times a finalist in the TELSTRA Business women’s awards (last in 2016) and has been selected as one of the NAB 2016 100 Women of Influence.

Nicholas Davis is Head of Society and Innovation and a member of the Executive Committee at the World Economic Forum in Geneva, Switzerland. Nick leads the Forum’s work on “The Fourth Industrial Revolution”, focusing on how we can shape technologies and systems to empower communities and create a human-centred, values-driven future. Nick oversees a number of projects strengthening entrepreneurial ecosystems and the Forum’s team responsible for supporting NGO, labour and faith communities.

Previously a Director at Oxford Investment Research and the World Economic Forum’s Head of Europe, Nick is a Certified Professional Facilitator, a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA) in the UK and is on the board of the IMP3rove European Innovation Management Academy. He holds degrees in Arts and Law from the University of Sydney, and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Oxford.

Kathryn Fagg is an experienced chair and board member having worked in senior executive roles across a range of industries, from resources, to manufacturing and logistics, as well as banking and professional services.

Kathryn has been a member of the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia since 2013. She is also on the boards of ASX-listed companies Boral, Djerriwarrh Investments and Incitec Pivot.

Kathryn is Chair of the Melbourne Recital Centre as well as Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA). She previously served as Chair of Parks Victoria. Kathryn is a board member for the Australian Centre for Innovation and is a Fellow of the Academy of Technology and Engineering where she chairs the Industry and Innovation Forum.

Kathryn is currently serving on the panel for the Australian Government’s National Opera Review. She is also a member of World Vision's Business Advisory Council. Kathryn is a strong advocate for increasing the number of women in leadership roles and is an active member of Chief Executive Women (CEW).

Kathryn commenced her professional career as a petroleum engineer with Esso Australia (now Exxon Mobil), after completing her chemical engineering degree at the University of Queensland. As a petroleum engineer, her work was focused on maximising oil and gas production from the fields in Bass Strait.

From Esso, Kathryn moved into management consulting with McKinsey & Co working on engagements in strategy and change management. She then joined the ANZ Banking Group. Her roles at the bank included and General Manager, Retail Banking, in New Zealand and Managing Director, Banking Products.

However, Kathryn then chose to return to her industrial roots and joined BHP Steel. Her senior executive roles with BlueScope Steel included President, Australian Building and Logistics Solutions and President Asia, based in Singapore, where she had responsibility for BlueScope’s operations across the Asia region, including as Chairman of Tata BlueScope Steel in India.

From BlueScope, Kathryn was at Linfox for three years as President FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods), where she was responsible for providing logistics services to 9 of the world's ten largest FMCG companies in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Subsequently, she has pursued a career as a Non-Executive Director.

As well as her engineering degree, Kathryn holds an M.Com. in Organisation Behaviour from the University of New South Wales which has also awarded her an honorary Doctor of Business.

She was a recipient of University of Queensland’s Inaugural Vice-Chancellor’s Alumni Excellence Award in 2013.

Kathryn and her husband live in Melbourne and their son is studying at the University of Melbourne.

Sally is intrigued by the question "Why?" and seeks to challenge teams and organisations to embrace change confidently. She honed her skills on large IT systems implementations and rapidly moved on to assisting clients to successfully assess strategic risks, transform internal controls and achieve regulatory compliance. It is not surprising that Sally is energised as the Head of KPMG Australia’s Risk Consulting Group. “I like the challenge of dealing with the vast diversity of risks in business, from cyber threat to fiscal concerns, people and culture, climate change, social media exposure and sector disruption". "It is about problem solving and working with our clients to help identify and overcome obstacles that can prevent them from innovating and achieving their strategy,” Sally’s years of experience have taught her to expect the unexpected. "I am fascinated by what changes in risk and what stays the same, from understanding digital disruption, to the importance of ethics, culture and leadership in achieving outcomes". Sally happily spends as much of her spare time as possible flipping between her passions, horse riding and sailing, she just wishes there was a way to combine the two.

Leilani Frew is Executive Director of Commissioning and Contestability Unit at NSW Treasury and an industry expert in complex infrastructure projects that enable optimal service outcomes for Government and its users.

As a senior finance professional who has worked in finance and public administration for over 20 years, Leilani has market-leading expertise in providing strategic, commercial and financial advice to assist in the purchase, sale, procurement and/or financing of significant infrastructure, power and energy assets and businesses throughout Australia, UK, US and Asia. Leilani has previously held senior roles with Queensland Treasury, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, ABN Amro / RBS and Moelis.

Leilani was recently awarded the prestigious ‘Women’s Achievement in Infrastructure Award at the IPA National Infrastructure Awards.

Human Systems Advisory (HSA) is a for profit social purpose consulting firm that believes the majority of conduct issues within organisations are not caused by ineffective formal systems, but rather by ineffective human systems. It is by strengthening their human systems that organisations not only increase their ethical resilience, but create the conditions that feed future prosperity.

Dennis has had over 15 years’ experience in the financial services industry where he held a number of senior roles in financial markets and corporate strategy. Early in his career he was publicly named as a “whistleblower” in a FX trading scandal, an incident that was the catalyst for his interest in human and organisational behaviour.

Dennis is the author of The Origins of Ethical Failure, a book that has been shortlisted for the 2017 Management Book of the Year award by the Chartered Management Institute in the U.K. He has appeared on the BBC’s Business Matters program and contributes to a variety of blogs, newspapers and journals both in Australia and overseas on the topics of ethics, leadership and organisational purpose.

Dennis is an honorary fellow at the Centre for Ethical Leadership and holds degrees in psychology and banking and finance.

The Hon Nick Greiner was Premier and Treasurer of New South Wales from 1988-1992. Since his retirement from politics he has been heavily involved in the corporate world as Chairman of several large companies and as the Deputy Chairman and director of others.

Nick is also Chairman of The European Australian Business Council (EABC) and a Member of the Board of Governors, Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA).

Nick holds an Honours Degree in Economics from Sydney University and a Master of Business Administration with High Distinction from Harvard Business School.

In the Queen’s Birthday Honours List of 1994 he was awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia for public sector reform and management and services to the community.

He is a Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, an Honorary Fellow of CPA Australia and a Life Member of the South Sydney Rugby League Club.

Gideon Haigh has been a journalist since 1984, contributed to more than 100 newspapers and magazines, written 32 books and edited seven others. He has won Premier's Literary Awards in Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales, the last for his 2012 book The Office: A Hardworking History, and his 2015 book Certain Admissions won the Ned Kelly Award for true crime. His latest book is Stroke of Genius: Victor Trumper and the Shot That Changed Cricket. In 2016, Gideon produced a major essay for the Griffith Review on sports governance. He is experienced in both, as the games record holder and vice-president of the South Yarra CC.

Karin Halliday is Senior Manager, Corporate Governance at AMP Capital and as such is responsible for AMP Capital’s proxy voting and company engagement.

Prior to taking on the governance role in 2000, Karin spent 15 years as a portfolio manager and investment specialist. She finds companies generally appreciative of the perspective she can bring to discussions as a result of her years in portfolio management.

AMP Capital is afforded regular opportunities to engage with the Chairmen and Directors of Australia’s largest companies. This allows the team to delve deeper into environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues and consider how such risks and opportunities may impact each company’s ability to generate value for shareholders.

Karin publishes AMP Capital’s regular Corporate Governance Report and is often called upon to provide a shareholder’s perspective on a range of governance issues. Particular areas of focus have included remuneration, leadership succession, cyber security, shareholder engagement, activism, board composition and gender diversity.

Karin holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business, a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and is a graduate of the AICD’s Company Directors Program.

Peter commenced his career in the early 1960’s with the Victoria Police (VicPol) and after five years of operational policing; he was selected with five other officers to establish the new Information Systems Division, with the charter to introduce information technology into VicPol. Peter then followed his interest in computing, first with the Commonwealth Department of Transport and next with the Victorian Law Department where he was appointed as the inaugural Computer Manager.

In 1980, Peter was appointed the Director in charge of Management Consulting in the Victorian Public Service Board and in this role reported through the Public Service Board to Premier John Cain on a range of machinery of government changes, as well as, reviews of public sector efficiency and effectiveness.

In 1984 Peter was appointed head of a new management consultancy unit within the State Electricity Commission of Victoria and was involved in significant organizational and system reviews.

In 1986 Peter was appointed Deputy Director-General in the Office of Corrections and in 1988 was appointed Director-General responsible for the State’s 14 prisons and a network of 25 community based correctional offices. During his time with Corrections, Peter was responsible for developing major legislative change, the construction of four new prisons and the development of a range of improved systems and operating procedures.

In 1993 Peter was appointed head of the Office of Training and Further Education within the newly created mega Department of Education with responsibilities for TAFE and adult and further education across the State. It was a time when TAFE Institutes were made autonomous and were required to compete for the delivery of vocational educational and training programs against registered private providers of training.

In 1998 Premier Jeff Kennett appointed Peter as Secretary of the Department of Justice responsible for over 3000 staff and overseeing the Justice Portfolio budget of over $2b. In 2003 Peter was invited by Premier Bracks to become Secretary of the Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development to undertake a major change program.

In 2005 Premier Bracks appointed Peter as the inaugural Chairman and CEO of the newly created State Services Authority within the Premier’s portfolio, responsible for driving human resource and organizational efficiencies across the Victorian Public Sector.

In December 2006, Peter retired from the public service. Subsequently in 2007 he was appointed President, Public Records Advisory Council, a position he held until March 2012. Also in 2007 he was appointed as a Director on the CFA Board, a position he held until 2015. In 2008 he was appointed as a member of the Supreme Court (Funds in Court) Audit Committee. In 2016 Peter was appointed to the Board of the Bendigo Kangan TAFE Institute.

Since retirement Peter has also provided consultancy advice to the Victorian Auditor General’s Office, Victoria Police and several commercial and not-for-profit organizations. In 2011 he participated on a high level consultative panel to provide advice to the Baillieu Government on the establishment of the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC). In 2012 he completed a key stakeholder survey for the V/Line Board of the performance of V/Line. Also in 2012 undertook a review of the licensing criteria for participants of professional boxing and combat sports arising from Premier Napthine’s disquiet over the registration of Mr Mick Gatto as a boxing promoter. Following this review the Government commissioned Peter to undertake a full review of the regulation of boxing and combat sports within Victoria. In 2015 Peter was the project leader of a team to draft a detailed submission for the Country Fire Authority in response to the Government’s Formal Review of the State’s Fire Services.

Over recent years Peter has undertaken a mentoring role with the Victorian Leadership Development Programs.

Peter is a National Fellow and Life Member of the Institute of Public Administration Australia. He was awarded a Centenary Medal in 2002 and in 2008 he was made an Officer of the General Division in the Order of Australia.

Andrew Harris is a Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at The University of Sydney, and the Australian director of Laing O’Rourke’s future engineering and innovation consultancy, the Engineering Excellence Group.

Laing O’Rourke is Australia’s largest private engineering and construction business, with local turnover of ~$3 bn p.a.

Andrew received his PhD from the University of Cambridge in 2002 and is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) and Engineers Australia (IEAust).

Throughout his career he has worked at the interface between industry and academia.

Andrew is a non executive Director of Hazer Group (ASX:HZR), a listed clean tech and serves on the industry advisory board of the Australian Research Council Centre for Robotic Vision.

He was recognised as one of Australia’s 50 most innovative engineers by peak body Engineers Australia in 2016.

A former economist and investment banker, Christine has been a non-executive director and Chairman of a wide range of organisations, including industry and membership organisations, Commonwealth statutory authorities, research and development companies and Ministerial councils.

Christine is currently a non-executive director of Kimbriki Environmental Enterprises, a public/private partnership; the Plant Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre, the Fred Hollows and a private educational tertiary college. She is also the National Treasurer of Women Chiefs of Enterprises (Australia). Christine combines her director roles with the management of Cinnabar International, as a specialist adviser to boards and management on a range of complex governance challenges, including board performance, board reporting and risk and compliance solutions.

Along the way, Christine has been responsible for several entrepreneurial enterprises. Go Grains Health & Nutrition Limited and Wheat Quality Australia Limited, of which she was the inaugural Chair, were both innovative business models in industries requiring new thinking to meet the complexities of globalisation and rapidly changing consumer markets. Christine continues to support the AICD as a course reviewer and occasional speaker.

Dr Herbert Hermens is a highly accomplished executive, skilled in operating at the senior executive level with bottom line responsibility within large, multinational corporations. He is the CEO of Keech Australia, an 80 year old family company that manufactures and exports castings for the global mining and construction industry. He recently established Keech 3D Advanced Manufacturing and Keech 3D Medical that operate in the digital manufacturing space. He has wide experience in establishing and leading national and international marketing and sales, finance, production and administration functions in substantial consumer, manufacturing and industrial business enterprises, including TTi Australia/New Zealand and Atlas Copco Group.

Jennifer Hewett is the National Affairs Columnist for The Australian Financial Review, Australia’s national financial and political paper. She writes a daily column for page two of the paper focused on business and political issues. Jennifer has been a journalist for more than three decades, working in Canberra, Sydney and the US for major Australian papers owned by News and Fairfax. She also appears regularly on TV and radio. Originally from Western Australia, she now lives in Sydney with her family.

Dr Amantha Imber is an innovation psychologist, best-selling author, and founder of Australia’s leading innovation consultancy Inventium. Inventium has been recognised as one of Australia’s fastest growing companies in the BRW Fast 100 list, and was also awarded the BRW Client Choice Award for Best Management Consultancy in Australia. In 2016, Amantha was inducted into the Australian Business Women’s Hall of Fame.

With a PhD in organisational psychology, Amantha has helped companies such as Google, Coca-Cola, Disney, LEGO, Red Bull, American Express, Virgin Australia, Commonwealth Bank and many others innovate more successfully. Amantha was a finalist in the 2015 Telstra Business Women of the Year awards.

Amantha is the co-creator of the Australian Financial Review’s Most Innovative Companies list, an annual list that Inventium compiles, ranking Australia's top innovators. Her thoughts have appeared on The Huffington Post, Forbes, Fast Company, and The Australian Financial Review and she is the author of two best-selling books: “The Creativity Formula” and “The Innovation Formula”.

Launa Inman is Non-Executive Director of the Commonwealth Bank since 2011 and serves on three other public company boards as well as two Not For Profit boards.

Launa has served as Managing Director/CEO of Officeworks, Target Australia and Billabong International, where she was one of only six Woman CEOs in the ASX 200.

Launa's experience is recognised internationally as a leader of large corporations, multi-brand wholesale and retail, e-commerce, strategic planning, marketing and corporate restructuring. Launa is passionate about customer experience and using technology as an enabler of innovation.

In recognition of her contribution to business Launa was awarded Telstra Australian Businesswoman of the Year and Victoria Businesswoman of the Year in 2003. In 2015 the Australian Marketing Institute awarded her the prestigious Sir Charles McGrath Award for her significant contribution to the field of marketing and wider industry achievements.

Upon graduating Ross Kelly worked as a professional engineer in the fields of military radar design and broadband telecommunications in the UK and then Australia.

Seven years after graduation he joined PA Management Consultants. During a 20 year career he held various positions as a consultant, Manager - Western Australia, General Manager - South East Asia and Operations Director - Asia Pacific. Specialising in mining, construction and heavy process industries and has consulted to many of Australia’s largest companies in these fields. Ross has lived and worked in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and United Kingdom. At the time of leaving PA Consulting he was responsible for 15 offices in eight countries.

In 1991 Ross returned to WA and for five years worked as a self-employed consultant. Since 1996 he has acted as a non-executive director for a number of WA companies and government departments, and was awarded an Order of Australia in 2007.

Suzanne has held senior government and private sector executive and non-executive roles involving transport and energy, infrastructure planning and delivery, environmental assessment and sustainability, resource and asset management, property development, tourism and vocational education and training. All have involved considerable stakeholder engagement often in highly regulated environments.

Suzanne is the national Chair of Dial Before You Dig, a director of Urban Growth NSW and the University of New England Partnerships Pty Ltd, a director and past Founding Chair of Waste Aid, past Chair and current member of the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Council and the Australian Astronomical Observatory.

Suzanne holds a Bachelor of town Planning (Honours) from the University of NSW, a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Rochester (undertaken on a full merit scholarship), is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Member of the Planning Institute of Australia.

Suzanne has undertaken a business leadership course at Harvard and was awarded an international leadership fellowship by the United States government.

Dr. Robert Kay is a Co-founder and Executive Director of Incept Labs. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Macquarie University. His career has continuously moved between industry and academia. He was formerly the Head of Strategic Innovation at Westpac Banking Corporation; a Senior Lecturer in Information Systems and Organisational development at the University of Techology, Sydney, and a research analyst at Bovis Lend Lease. Robert has been commissioned to undertake multiple studies of senior leaders, including interviews with 100 Chairs for the AICD, on the relationship between governance and performance.

Andrew Klapka GAICD is CEO of Trans Chem, an importer and distributor of raw materials within the pharmaceutical and complementary medicines industry. Previously he spent 10 years in Paris managing global innovation for Lafarge, a leading European multinational manufacturing cement, concrete and plasterboard products across 64 countries. His innovation mandate was to develop a worldwide culture and capability in innovation for Lafarge’s global business by leading and mentoring worldwide teams at divisional and business unit levels. Innovation portfolios were built in each of the15 largest world markets. A global system of innovation renewal was created with revenues from new products increasing significantly. Andrew holds an MBA in International Business and has completed studies in Innovation Management at Lausanne’s, IMD Business School.

Martin is a co-founder of Ownership Matters, which commenced in 2011. Prior to that he was at RiskMetrics/ISS from 2006 to 2011 serving for most of this time as head of research for Australia & NZ. Prior to ISS he was head of governance at BT’s Governance Advisory Service from 2004 to 2006.

Simon’s distinguished career includes being named as one of AFR Boss’ True Leaders for the 21st century, with Carol Schwartz noting; "I don’t know one CEO or chairman in corporate Australia who has not worked with Simon Longstaff". Simon Longstaff began his working life on Groote Eylandt (Anindilyakwa) in the Northern Territory where he worked in the Safety Department of the then BHP subsidiary, GEMCO. He is proud of his kinship ties with members of the island’s Indigenous community. Following a period studying law in Sydney and a brief career teaching in Tasmania, Simon undertook postgraduate studies in philosophy as a Member of Magdalene College, Cambridge. Simon commenced his work as the first Executive Director of The Ethics Centre in 1991. Simon is a Fellow of CPA Australia and in June 2016, was appointed an Honorary Professor at the Australian National University – based at the National Centre for Indigenous Studies. Formerly serving as the inaugural President of The Australian Association for Professional & Applied Ethics, Simon serves on a number of boards and committees across a broad spectrum of activities. He was formerly a Fellow of the World Economic Forum.

As Partner for KPMG Innovate, James uses his strong leadership capability to work at CEO and Board levels on the strategy and marshalling of limited resources to drive profitable business growth with the aim of creating maximum value for key stakeholders. James played a key role with industry participants, government and industry associations to co-author the landmark piece of thought leadership into financial services technology startups: 'Unlocking the potential: The Fintech opportunity for Sydney' and has actively worked to establish Sydney’s first industry-led Fintech hub – Stone & Chalk.

James is also the key sponsor for KPMG’s elevate61, a rapid growth entrepreneur program delivered in partnership with Advance to help enterprise B2B startups scale and grow their businesses globally. He has co-designed a number of industry accelerator programs designed to build next generation products and services.

An active member of his community, James is creative and innovative with strong communication skills and is passionate about people and helping disadvantaged communities.

Karlene Maywald has extensive experience in the area of water policy development and reform across irrigation, environmental and urban sectors. She was elected as the Member for Chaffey to the House of Assembly in the South Australian Parliament between 1997 and 2010 - South Australia’s largest irrigated horticultural region.

Karlene served as a Cabinet Minister from July 2004 until March 2010. Her portfolio responsibilities included: The River Murray, Water Security, Small Business, Regional Development, Consumer Affairs, Science and Information Economy, and Assisting the Minister for Industry and Trade.

She is most noted for her significant contribution to progressing national reforms to the management of the Murray Darling Basin in Australia and setting the direction for long term water security in South Australia.

At the National level, Karlene was a member of the Murray Darling Basin Ministerial Council from 2004 to 2010 and she chaired the National Water Commission between 2012-2015.

Karlene is currently managing Director of Maywald Consultants, Chair of the International Centre of Excellence for Water Resource Management, a Board Member of SA Water and she holds number of other Board positions.

In Western Australia, Karlene recently chaired the Steering Committee for the Opportunities for the Water Portfolio project.

Simon McKeon is the Chancellor of Monash University and was also the 2011 Australian of the Year.

He has been with the Macquarie Group in a variety of senior roles for more than 30 years, including as Executive Chairman (Melbourne office). He is presently retained as a consultant.

Simon is also Chairman of the Group of Eight’s Industry and Innovation Board and is also a member of The Big Issue Advisory Board. He is inaugural President of the banking industry’s Review Panel for the Banking and Finance Oath and is also an Australia Day Ambassador for the Victorian Government.

He previously served as Chairman of AMP and CSIRO and was Founding President of the Federal Government’s Australian Takeovers Panel, as well as its Point Nepean Community Trust. 

He served as Founding Chairman of MS Research Australia and Business for Millennium Development. He was also Chairman of the Federal Government’s Panel which in 2013 completed a Strategic Review of Health and Medical Research.

Simon is the helmsman of Macquarie Innovation which in March 2009 became the first sailboat in the world to sustain more than 50 knots and in so doing, peaked at a speed of 100 kmh (54 knots). He is also a Founding Patron of the Australian Olympic Sailing Team and ParaOlympics which was the leading sailing nation at both the 2012 London and 2016 Rio De Janeiro Olympics. 

Mr Myers is one of Her Majesty’s Counsel in all Australian States and Territories (appointed 1986) and is a barrister in England, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. He was admitted to practice as a barrister and solicitor in 1971 and, in 1975, commenced practice as a barrister in Victoria. In 1985, he was admitted to practice in Papua New Guinea and in 1987 he was called to the Bar in England and, in 2012, was admitted to practice in New Zealand. His practice has been predominately in aspects of commercial law, with emphasis on company law, revenue law and anti-trust law. He has maintained chambers in Melbourne since 1975, and in London since 1988 and frequently advises in relation to transactions affected by the laws of Australia and of other countries. In addition to his practice as a barrister, Mr Myers has taught in undergraduate and graduate law courses in Australia (University of Melbourne), Canada (Osgoode Hall Law School, Toronto) and England (Oxford University) in the areas of equity, property law, taxation, bankruptcy and securities law. He has written many articles and delivered many papers in various areas of law and was assistant editor of the Australian Taxation Law Review for over ten years.

Mr Myers is a director of public listed companies in Europe and of many private and unlisted public companies in Australia and elsewhere. He has a long history of providing support to professional and charitable entities by membership and chairmanship of committees and foundations at the Grattan Institute, Victorian Bar, the University of Melbourne, Oxford University, Monivae College, the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, St Vincent’s Hospital. The Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation and others. He was President of the Council of Trustees of the National Gallery of Victoria for more than ten years. Mr Myers is Chair of the National Gallery of Australia Council, Chair of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, a Governor of The Ian Potter Foundation, a board member of Newman College and the Graduate Studies Advisory Board of the Law Faculty at the University of Melbourne and of the Law Faculty of Oxford University. He has been a member of the boards of many other charitable, benevolent and philanthropic organisations.

Peter Nash is the National Chairman of KPMG Australia and also serves as a member of KPMG’s Global and Regional Boards. His previous positions with the firm include Regional Head of Audit for Asia Pacific, National Managing Partner for Audit in Australia, and head of KPMG Financial Services.

Peter has worked in geographically diverse and complex operating environments providing advice on a range of topics including audit, risk management, internal controls, business processes, and regulatory change. He has also provided both financial and commercial advice to many Government businesses at both a Federal and State level.

In his current role as National Chairman, Peter is responsible for the overall governance and strategic positioning of KPMG in Australia.

Peter is a board member of Reconciliation Australia and Koorie Heritage Trust. He is a Member of the Advisory Council of The Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies and Honorary Auditor for Very Special Kids.

Deborah has worked as a professional company director for fifteen years. She is currently a non executive director (NED) of ASX listed entities Brickworks Limited, BT Investment Management Limited, GBST Holdings Limited and Service Stream Limited.

Deborah was previously the Chairman of Investa Office Fund and Ascalon Capital Managers Limited, and was a NED of Macquarie Generation, Investa Property Group and various APRA regulated subsidiaries of the Commonwealth Bank.

Prior to embarking on her career as a NED, Deborah qualified as a chartered accountant and was a partner in Touche Ross/KPMG Peat Marwick until 1992 and subsequently held senior executive positions with MLC Life, Lend Lease, IBM, Allen, Allen and Hemsley and the Commonwealth Bank.

Contributing to the Community has always been important to Deborah, and she was previously the NSW State Chairman of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Chair of the NSW Cancer Council and currently Chairs the Council of Wesley College at the University of Sydney.

Susan Pascoe is the Commissioner of the ACNC. She was previously a Commissioner at the State Services Authority in Victoria (2006–2011) focusing on regulatory reform and served as one of three Commissioners on the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission. Her earlier professional background was in education where she served as President of the Australian College of Educators, Chief Executive Officer of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and Chief Executive of the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria. She chaired the Australian National Commission for UNESCO, and was a Patron for the Melbourne Parliament for the World’s Religions. Ms Pascoe has served on a number of boards including the Board of Cabrini Health and the Senate of the Australian Catholic University.

The career of John Peberdy comes in two parts. The first 37 years of his working life was spent at Ansvar Insurance. He joined the company as a Junior Clerk in the Adelaide office in 1973. When he called “curtains” on this career, John had completed over 11 years as CEO and had been a member of the Head Office executive team for 20 years. During the final 4 years, John also served as a member of the Global Leadership Team established by the Parent Company, Ecclesiastical Insurance UK.

The first board to which John was appointed was that of Ansvar’s NZ subsidiary. After his appointment as CEO in 1999, John also served on the board of Ansvar Insurance in Australia. Appointments to the boards of the Insurance Council of Australia (2004-2010) and Insurance Inquires and Claims Ltd (2005-2009) also followed.

In 2009, John was nominated by the Insurance Council of Australia to fill one of the two positions on the Board of the Country Fire Authority of Victoria. This position was abolished on 30stJune 2013 when fires service levy moved from property insurance to local government rates. However, there was a desire on the part of the State Government of the day and CFA to retain John’s services on the CFA Board. He was appointed Deputy Chairperson in Oct that year.

John became Acting Chairperson on 29th August 2015 following the resignation of the Chairperson. He remained in that role until the entire board was sacked by the government on 17th June 2016.

Since stepping down from Ansvar Insurance, John has developed a portfolio of Board’s across a broad range of organisations. He has been the Chairperson of the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority since 2011. He is a Member of the Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation. He is also the Chairperson of the Australian Board of Mentor’s and Business Coaches International.

Another key component of John’s life is his service to the Christian community, where he serves on a number of national and local boards. He is Deputy Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Christian Super.

His passion is continuous learning both through education and trying his hand in new fields. He is an active member of AICD and greatly appreciates the opportunity to develop his skills as a director through their education programs and workshops. John is married and father to three adult children and has one grandchild at this stage.

Barry is an experienced financial services professional with experience as a director, CEO and consultant to significant financial services firms and superannuation funds.

Barry is a Fellow of the Actuaries Institute and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Barry works with boards and provides advice on board governance, board effectiveness, evaluation, and strategy development. Barry also facilitates courses for the Australian Institute of Company Directors including their flagship Company Director Course. Barry is a writer and reviewer of some of AICD’s courses.

Barry is currently a director of the Actuaries Institute, Greenpeace Australia Pacific and a small research startup business.

Barry provides strategic business advice to financial services businesses and large superannuation funds on issues such as product development, long range business planning and board governance. He also presents on professionalism to new actuaries, financial planner groups and other professions.

Holly Ransom is the CEO of Emergent, a company specialising in the development of high performing intergenerational workforces, leadership and social outcomes. Holly is renowned for generating innovative solutions to complex multi-stakeholder problems for corporations, governments and nonprofit organisations, and for coaching and professionally mentoring leaders of all generations around the world.

In 2014, the Australian Prime Minister appointed Holly to chair the G20 Youth Summit, resulting in the first summit to secure its policy demands from G20 leaders. Holly also co-author the strategy paper on youth entrepreneurship and unemployment for the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal agenda.

Her corporate career has involved working as Chief of Staff to NAB Wealth Chief Executive Andrew Hagger and for Rio Tinto CEO Sam Walsh, leading key organisational strategy and business improvement initiatives and integrated corporate affairs projects. Holly’s company, Emergent, has worked with the likes of INPEX, CBH, Conoco Phillips, KPMG, as well as local, state and federal government departments around the world.

Holly holds a Law degree and BA (Economics). In 2012, she was the youngest person to be named in Australia’s ‘100 Most Influential Women’, and also became the world’s youngest-ever Rotary President. Her work with Rotary has played a key role in the global efforts to lift youth participation in the organisation, more than doubling the organisation’s youth membership in the last five years. Holly is a Director of Layne Beachley’s Aim For the Stars Foundation and Global Voices, and is on the Advisory Board of Swimming Australia, Black Sheep Capital and RMIT’s Business School.

In 2016, Holly was appointed to Co-Chair of the United Nations Global Coalition of Young Women Entrepreneurs and became the youngest ever female Director of an AFL club with her appointment to the board of the Port Adelaide Football Club.

An accomplished global keynote speaker, Holly has presented across six continents, including delivering a Peace Charter to the Dalai Lama, presenting at the World Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in Monaco and addressing the G20’s Central Bank Governors and Finance Ministers. She is also a popular blogger, contributor to a number of leading publications and a regular radio and TV guest. She has featured on ABC’s ‘Q&A’, Reuters, Bloomberg Asia, Channel 7 News and Channel 10’s ‘The Project’, and is renowned for her commentary on intergenerational economic and social challenges.

Phil Ruthven is the Founder of IBISWorld, an international corporation providing online business information, forecasting and strategic services. IBISWorld now operates in Australia, the United States (NY and LA), Canada, China, United Kingdom and Indonesia. It plans to add the rest of the European Union, and Japan over the next five years or so. In 2014, Phil became a Member of the Order of Australia, in recognition of his significant service to business and commerce, and to the community.

Phil contributes regularly to radio, TV, newspapers, magazines and documentaries on business, economic and social issues. He continues to be one of Australia’s most frequent and prolific commentators in demand by the media, and is widely considered the nation’s most respected strategist and futurist on business, social and economic matters.

He addresses about 50-60 congresses, seminars and conferences each year and has done so for three decades. His involvement as a communicator takes him around Australia and occasionally overseas.

Phil is a science graduate with further studies in management and economics at various universities and institutes, and was a Rotary awardee to the United States in the late 1960s. He spent over 10 years in the food industry, including executive positions in research, production and marketing, before establishing IBIS in 1971.

Phil is currently an Adjunct Professor at The University of Technology (Sydney), and a member of the ANU College of Business & Economics Advisory Board. He is a recent past board member of the Melbourne Institute, CEDA and a past Director of Open Family Australia (the charitable foundation aiding street children) where he continues to help as an Ambassador for Whitelion/Open Family.

IBISWorld has earned the reputation as an astute forecasting and advisory corporation, based on its unique and comprehensive databases. Its website www.ibisworld.com.au is rated as one of the most sophisticated and powerful industry and marketing websites in the world today. Its foresight and insight of business trends is outstanding, with the most envious record of accuracy among its peers. Their clients include over 1600 of Australia’s large corporations and government authorities, and over 5000 major US corporate and institutional clients. IBISWorld has become the premier provider of industry information in the United States, Canada, Australia, China, the United Kingdom, Indonesia and other nations. It also produces global industry reports on selected industries and markets.

It is a privately owned company employing over 450 staff, growing at 15-20% per annum in revenue.

Eddie Sheehy has been CEO of Nuix since 2006. In the past decade, he has overseen the commercialisation of Nuix’s software and the global expansion of its business—from two developers in a grungy startup studio in Ultimo, Sydney to almost 400 people at offices around the world, including Sydney, Washington, London, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and New York.

Eddie has strategically guided the company’s investments in research, product development and recruitment to grow the software’s functionality and fuel the company’s market expansion. The results have been more than impressive: eight years of profitability and more than 60% annual compound growth over the past five years.

Before joining Nuix, Eddie held research and entrepreneurial roles in investment banking, mergers and acquisitions, and technology. He holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce and a master’s degree in finance.

Craig Stires is Head of Analytics, Big Data, and AI for Amazon Web Services, Asia Pacific. He works with some of the most innovative organizations across the region, as they architect analytics platforms and become data-driven. He specializes in designing customer engagement platforms, market acquisition solutions, and business automation. Upon moving to Asia, in 2001, he led the SAS APAC BI practice, designing and implementing analytics solutions for Customer Engagement, Risk Management, and Operational Analytics. He then founded a startup in Thailand building predictive intelligence software. Following that, he built the APAC Big Data research and advisory practice for industry analytics firm IDC. Today, with AWS, he brings industry best practices to organizations that use technology to enable their most exciting innovations.

Kate Thiele has over fifteen years Board and Executive experience working with a Top 10 public company, in the private sector and with two of Australia’s leading not-for-profits. She has wide-ranging experience across diverse industries including health, retail, manufacturing and the not for profit sector.

Kate was the 2015 South Australian Business Woman of the Year and the National Winner of the 2015 Telstra For Purpose and Social Enterprise Award. Kate was also the first South Australian to be bestowed a Fellowship by the Harvard Club of Australia in June 2015 to attend Harvard University and undertake the Strategic Perspectives in Non Profit Management Program.

Qualified with an MBA and as a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Kate is an experienced CEO and active Board Member. Currently she is CEO of Guide Dogs SA/NT, Non-Executive Director of the Royal Zoological Society of South Australia, Trustee of the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust and UniSA Post Graduate Advisory Board Member.

With a focus on delivering sustainable results Kate enjoys working with organisations and people that strive for outstanding performance, strong staff engagement and effective business development in order to deliver their strategic objectives.

She is passionate about leadership, business transformation, cultural change and governance. She loves building linkages between strategic objectives and business outcomes and is committed to effective stakeholder engagement.

Stephen Walters is chief economist for the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), based in Sydney. He joined the AICD in April 2016.

Stephen previously was chief economist with investment bank JPMorgan, from October 2001 until February 2016. Before joining JPMorgan, Stephen was Senior Economist with Access Economics in Melbourne and International Economist with Norwich Union in the UK. Stephen also spent 7 years as an Economist with the Treasury in Perth.

Stephen holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Western Australia and a Master’s Degree in Applied Finance from the University of Melbourne. He also has qualifications in journalism, and has published two books.

Robert Wickham leads Salesforce’s efforts to help companies experiment and validate new business ideas in partnership with some of the local incubators. Robert previously ran Salesforce's specialized sales team across Asia Pacific.

Prior to joining Salesforce, Robert led the Engineered Systems business at Oracle across Australia & New Zealand. He joined Oracle through acquisition in 2008 and initially ran Oracle’s System Management business in North America.

Prior to his tenure at Oracle, Robert held multiple marketing, product management and sales leadership positions at Empirix Web Test Division (which Oracle acquired in 2008). Prior to Empirix, Robert was a cofounder of Go Fly Limited (a low cost European airline that was eventually sold to easyJet) and a management consultant with the Boston Consulting Group.

He holds a Bachelor and Master’s Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as well as an MBA from the Harvard Business School. Robert was a member of the MIT Board of Trustees from 1996-2001 and the MIT Alumni Board from 2002-2004. He is a recipient of the MIT Bronze Beaver for distinguished service. He is an avid squash player, golfer and cricket fan. Fun Fact: Robert played for the Trinidad & Tobago under-19 cricket team captained by his classmate Brian Lara.

Fiona Wild has almost 20 years’ experience in multinational oil and gas and resources companies, ranging from frontline operational management to corporate strategic development across a variety of countries and businesses. Born in Liverpool, UK, she holds a degree and PhD in Chemistry from the University of Edinburgh. Her PhD, titled “The Photophysics of Luminescent Banding in Reef Corals”, focused on using coral skeletons as natural indicators of climate change.

She joined BHP Billiton in 2010 as Senior Manager, Environment and was successfully appointed to the role of Vice President, Environment and Climate Change in February 2013. In these roles, she has been accountable for developing and maintaining the framework that enables BHP Billiton to deliver excellence in environmental performance. She advised the Board and senior management on emerging environmental and climate change trends and represented BHP Billiton in engagements with both national and international stakeholders, including NGOs, academics, industry associations, governments and investors. She now leads the design and implementation of BHP Billiton’s climate change strategy, including activities in the areas of mitigation, adaptation, portfolio evaluation, stakeholder engagement and low emissions technology.

Fiona also holds several Board positions, including as a Director of IETA, which aims to build international policy and market frameworks for reducing greenhouse gases at lowest cost, and CO2CRC, one of the world's leading collaborative research organisations focused on CCS. In December 2015, she was appointed to the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, reporting to the G20.

Andrew Young has been the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Social Impact since early 2012. He is dedicated to improving the effectiveness of social impact across all sectors. He brings a systems approach and believes that the keys to improving social impact include an outcomes focus, evidence & measurement, innovation, collaboration and leadership development.

After completing a PhD in engineering at the University of Adelaide in 1995, Andrew worked as a strategy consultant with Andersen Consulting, providing strategy, business and marketing advice to large Australian and international companies. After moving to the not-for-profit sector with The Smith Family in 2000, Andrew was appointed CEO of youth cancer charity CanTeen in 2004, winning the Equity Trustees’ Not-for-Profit CEO First Year Achiever Award in 2005.

Andrew is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a non-executive director of the large non-profit organisation Uniting.

Andrew believes that the social purpose space is the place to be in the next ten years. Change is coming and it’s going to be painful, challenging and fun. And the best people will be involved.