Our Speakers & Experts
Description
The Hon Matt Kean
Chair
Climate Change Authority
Dr Saul Griffith
Founder
Rewiring Australia and Rewiring America
Bel Quince
GM Sustainability – Planet
Woolworths Group
Sue Lloyd
Vice-Chair
International Sustainability Standards Board
Sue Lloyd’s appointment as Vice-Chair of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), effective 1 March 2022, was announced in January 2022.
She served as a member of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) from 2014 and as IASB Vice-Chair from 2016. She also served as Chair of the IFRS Interpretations Committee from 2017.
In addition to her IASB responsibilities, she played a leading role in the establishment of the ISSB from 2020, including as a member of the Technical Readiness Working Group, which was created by the Trustees to give the ISSB a running start.
Prior to becoming an IASB member, Ms Lloyd worked for the IFRS Foundation as a senior technical director, leading the development of new IFRS Accounting Standards, and as director of capital markets with responsibility for the IASB’s reform of accounting for financial instruments. She also worked for the IFRS Foundation from 2002 to 2004 as a technical project manager.
Ms Lloyd has held various positions in investment banking both in the UK and in Australia and has served as a member of the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB). She has a Master’s degree in accounting and finance from the University of Auckland in New Zealand.
Mark McKenna
Global Sustainability Director
Arcadis
Mark is the Global Sustainability Director for Arcadis. He leads Arcadis Global Sustainability, driving the development and implementation of global sustainability programs that deliver on our strategy and purpose: accelerating a planet-positive future and ensuring quality of life for all.
As Chair of the Arcadis Sustainability Management Board, Mark oversees
sustainability performance, reporting to the Group Executive and Supervisory Boards. He also represents Arcadis in global sustainability partner forums, leading key advocacy initiatives in collaboration with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the Climate Group.
A highly respected sustainability expert, Mark brings extensive international and cross-sector experience in sustainability advisory, masterplanning, design, and engineering. With a deep passion for collaboration, he works closely with fellow Arcadians to seamlessly integrate sustainability into client projects, delivering meaningful impact on a global scale.
David Young
Director of Sustainability
Accor
David is the Director of Sustainability for Accor. His role is focused on developing and delivering the Accor Group Sustainability and ESG strategies across its over 400 properties in the region. Carbon Emissions Reduction , Single Use Plastic removal, Food Waste & Sustainability , Eco Certification and Diversity & Inclusion are the key programs David is leading across stakeholders including owners, franchisee’s, government, suppliers and guests. Prior to joining Accor David was the Sustainability Program Director for the oneworld alliance and Executive Manager Sustainability for Qantas . He has extensive aviation and hospitality, loyalty, catering and operations experience in Australia, New Zealand and Asia with Qantas , Air New Zealand and the Journey Group Plc in the UK. His governance experience includes current Board roles with YHA Australia and the Golden Stave Foundation. He is a former Vice President of the Bobby Goldsmith Foundation, Director of Bio Energy Australia and sat on the IATA Sustainability Council and oneworld Environment & Sustainability Boards. Trained as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst & Young, David holds post graduate degree’s in Hospitality Management and Commercial Law and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Amanda Robertson
Head of Sustainability Oceania
Nestlé
Amanda Robertson is Head of Sustainability Oceania at Nestle.
Nishi Vissamraju
Head of Sustainability
NextDC
Nishi is Head of Sustainability at NEXTDC.
Andrew Petersen
CEO
Business Council for Sustainable Development Australia (BCSD Australia)
Andrew is CEO of the Business Council for Sustainable Development Australia (BCSD Australia). He is also a Board Director of the Banksia Foundation, on the Board of Advice of the University of Sydney Business School, and on the Board of the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation, the national co-regulatory, not-for-profit organisation that partners with government and industry to reduce the harmful impact of packaging on the Australian environment. In 2014 Andrew secured BCSD Australia’s partnership with the world’s largest global CEO-led organisation on business sustainability, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. In 2018 the Natural Capital Coalition named BCSD Australia its Australian Focal Point; and the We Mean Business Coalition (comprising CDP, the Climate Group and WBCSD) welcomed BCSD Australia as its Australian Business Partner. In 2019 Andrew signed up BCSD Australia as the Australian Partner to the BusinessforNature Coalition, calling for action to reverse nature loss and restore the planet's vital natural systems on which economies depend.
Emma Forster
Climate Innovation and Sustainable Development Lead
City of Melbourne
Speaker Bio coming soon
Scott Edwards
Sustainability Lead
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Australia
Scott is the Sustainability Lead for Coca-Cola Europacific Partners in Australia. With 15 years' experience in environment and sustainability and over 20 years in FMCG he’s well versed in decarbonising supply chains, packaging circularity and water stewardship. Scott was formerly a chemical engineer out of Sydney University and has successfully blended his technical background and significant industry knowledge to engage everyone from the Board room to customers and those on the factory floor in the CCEP sustainability strategy. He lives in Sydney with his wife and two boys, loves to travel and yes has a house full of Coke paraphernalia.
Megan Wilson
Partner
EY
Megan is a Partner of the Sydney Assurance practice and has more than 20 years’ experience with multinational companies both in Australia and North America.
Megan’s international audit experience focuses on the larger ASX clients. Megan has significant experience in dealing with complex accounting matters including large transactions, including acquisitions, demergers, debt raising and goodwill impairment both in Australia and overseas. Megan has served as Oceania US Capital Market Leader as well as Oceania Real Estate Assurance Leader. Megan is currently Oceania Service Line Market Segment Leader – Assurance, Built Environment and Resources.
Sarah McElholum
Environment and Sustainability Manager
Lactalis Australia
Sarah is a dynamic leader in sustainability and ESG strategy with over a decade of experience spanning the retail, food, beverage, and manufacturing sectors. As the Group ESG & Environment Manager at Lactalis Australia, she leads national initiatives in decarbonisation, waste reduction, and circular economy transformation across multiple manufacturing sites. Her work is grounded in both strategic vision and practical implementation, driving measurable impact across complex supply chains. Sarah’s career began at Coles, where she laid the foundation for the Liquor team’s sustainability efforts, and later played a pivotal role in supporting Endeavour Group’s ESG transition during its demerger from Woolworths. One of her most innovative projects was the launch of ReCork, Australia’s first national cork recycling initiative. Sarah holds a Master of Sustainability, a Master of Journalism, and a Bachelor in Climate Science—a rare combination that reflects her ability to communicate complex environmental challenges with clarity and purpose. She’s also known for building robust ESG data systems from the ground up and aligning sustainability frameworks with both regulatory and commercial priorities.
Tony Hunter
World Renowned Food Futurist
Tony is a Food Futurist Speaker, food scientist, author and strategic foresight consultant specialising in the future of the food, beverage and agriculture industries.
He has spoken on four continents and regularly appears on podcasts, webinars, TV, radio and print as an expert on the Future of Food. He consults globally to food companies from PepsiCo to KFC, VC investors and top four global consulting companies on the impact of food technology and consumer trends.
He delivers a unique perspective on the Future of Food using his distinctive combination of scientific qualifications, business experience and detailed understanding of food technologies.
Emily Whelan
ESG, Investments
National Reconstruction Fund Corporation
Emily is an Associate Director at the National Reconstruction Fund (NRF), responsible for leading the Fund’s approach to ESG integration across investment activities. In her role, she works to ensure that environmental, social and governance considerations are embedded in both investment due diligence and portfolio management, with a specific focus on identifying material risks and opportunities that can contribute to investment value creation. Emily has deep expertise in ESG and sustainable finance, having previously led ESG Advisory at UBS, where she supported institutional investors on ESG integration.
Patrick Viljoen
Sustainability Leader
CPA Australia
Speaker Bio coming soon
Karen McWilliams
Sustainability and Business Reform Leader
Chartered Accountants ANZ
Tamara Somers
General Manager, Sustainability & Impact
Xero
Tamara, Xero’s Director of Sustainability & ESG since 2021, drives global initiatives embedding ESG practices, managing and reporting the company’s sustainability performance.
Doug Niven
Chair
Auditing and Assurance Standards Board
Doug is full-time Chair and CEO of the Australia's Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AUASB). He was previously Chief Accountant at ASIC, where he was responsible for financial reporting and audit strategy and policy, complex accounting and audit matters, stakeholder liaison and international. He also had operational responsibility for reporting and audit surveillances from 2008 to 2021 and continued to have a key role in those programs.
Doug has been a member of the International Organisation of Securities Commission's (IOSCO's) Committee 1 on Accounting, Audit and Disclosure, Auditing Subcommittee (past Chair), Accounting Subcommittee, IFRS Information Sharing Subcommittee (Chair), Sustainability Technical Review Coordination Group, Sustainability Assurance Working Group and ISSB Protocols Working Group.
He was also a member of the International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators (IFIAR), its Board, Global Audit Quality Working Group, Standards Coordination Working Group, Enforcement Working Group, International Cooperation Working Group (Chair), Inspection Survey Task Force and Sustainability Task Force.
Barbara-Anne Bensted
VP Sustainability (APAC)
Capgemini Australia
Barbara-Anne Bensted is Head of Sustainability for Cap Gemini APAC. She is recognised as an industry recognised technology influencer with more than 20 years’ experience leading digital transformation programs across Energy, Mining and Government organisations in Australia, USA, Southern Africa, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
Barbara-Anne is passionate about the role technology can play in advancing sustainable practices in the public and private sectors. She is a Foundation Board member for WaterStart, a Nevada-Queensland State to State initiative and the Founder of Women in Energy & Water (Qld).
Prior to joining Capgemini, Barbara-Anne has held executive positions at KPMG, Origin Energy, Rio Tinto and Energy Queensland.
Phaedra Deckart
CEO
Solstice Energy
Phaedra is CEO of the Solstice Energy Group and has successfully transformed it to a diversified energy business. She has previously served as a senior executive at AGL and Santos and with more than 25 years’ experience in domestic and global markets, Phaedra is one of Australia’s strongest advocates for the role gas plays in the transition to diversified and renewable energy in Australia. She began her career in law, before moving into the business side of energy, is the first female CEO of Solstice Energy and is a vocal advocate for women in leadership.
Dr Anne Kovachevich
National Sustainable Buildings and Precincts Lead
Mott MacDonald
Anne’s focus is on helping design and deliver sustainable buildings and precincts. Working closely with clients and design teams, typically starting close to the inception of a project, she sets sustainability vision and designs systems that result in successful and sustainable precincts.
She often uses rating tools including Green Star, LEED, WELL, LBC and NABERS to benchmark projects and guide sustainable outcomes.
Micheal Kilgariff
CEO
Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia
Michael is CEO of Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia. He has over 20 years industry association experience across infrastructure, transport, logistics, and energy, including as CEO of Roads Australia and the Australian Logistics Council. He has extensive knowledge of both policy development and advocacy at the federal and state level, and broad recognition as an industry leader and key influencer.
Emma Cowan
Head of Strategy & ESG
NRMA
Emma has a diverse work experience spanning various industries and is currently the Head of Strategy & ESG at The NRMA. Prior to that, they worked at McKinsey & Company in roles such as Manager, Environmental Sustainability, Engagement Manager, Associate, and Business Analyst. Emma also served as a Business Analyst at The Le Mac Australia Group and Deloitte Australia. Emma gained marketing experience as a Marketing Coordinator at The Le Mac Australia Group, where they developed and executed marketing strategies, conducted market research, and managed leads. Emma has also worked as a Liaison Producer at Sky News and a Sales Assistant at VIPARO.
Dr Hadi Vandchali
Consultant, ESG and Procurement Services
Local Government Procurement (LGP)
Dr Hadi Vandchali is an ESG and procurement services consultant with over 15 years of experience in ESG, research, and procurement, spanning both supplier and customer environments. His blend of academic research and hands-on industry experience enables him to lead innovative programs that embed sustainability practices across the procurement lifecycle. With proven expertise in procurement, Circular Economy, stakeholder engagement, and policy integration, he helps organisations achieve long-term value while driving measurable social and environmental outcomes. Hadi is an industrial engineer with a PhD in supply chain management.
Carol Adams
Chair of Global Sustainability Standards Board
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
Carol’s work is concerned with the role of accounting and reporting in the relationships between business, society and the environment. She has sought to advance practice and policy with respect to integrating sustainability considerations into organisations through applied research, leadership, voluntary work, standard setting, advisory work and educating the next generation of business leaders. Carol is currently Chair of GRI’s Global Sustainabilty Standards Board and a member of the A4S Technical Expert Committee. She is author of The Sustainable Development Goals, integrated thinking and the integrated report and the SDGD Recommendations.
Lee Sauerwald
Executive Director, Corporate & Commercial
Uniting Communities;
and President
Australasian Fleet Management Association
Lee has led Uniting Communities to be Certified Carbon Neutral since 2015 - the first Australian Registered Charity and first South Australian organisation to do so.
The multi-award winning U City is Uniting Communities latest innovation: a 6 Star Green Star Carbon Neutral vertical village bringing together residential, social, commercial and community services to create a vibrant, inclusive and sustainable community.
Uniting Communities most recent ambition is to reach Net Zero carbon emissions by 2035.
Tennant Reed
Director Climate and Energy
Australian Industry Group
Tennant is Director - Climate Change and Energy at the Australian Industry Group.
He has worked on these issues since 2008, advising Ai Group’s Leaders’ Group on Energy and Climate Policy; coordinating joint research and advocacy with wider energy stakeholders; facilitating the Australian Climate Roundtable; developing reports on energy prices, carbon border adjustments and business energy use; reviewing emissions targets for the State of Victoria and closely observing international climate negotiations.
Heather Bone
Director Sustainability
Team Global Express
Heather is the Director of ESG for Team Global Express - Australia’s largest intermodal business. She’s also the chair of the National Freight Industry Reference Panel, providing independent advice to the federal and state Ministers for transport and logistics, specifically around renewable and alternative fuels. Heather is also a board member of the Heavy Vehicle Industry Association and sits on the Audit and Risk Committee for Queensland's Transport and Main Roads Department.
Stan Krpan
CEO of Solar Victoria
Department of Energy, Environment & Climate Action (Vic)
Stan, CEO of Solar Victoria, is responsible for the delivery of the Victorian Government’s flagship $1.3 billion Solar Homes Program and a range of household incentive programs.
Prior to this, Stan was the CEO of Sustainability Victoria for eight years, where he led a significant expansion and grew the agency’s footprint and impact in the areas of climate change, renewables, energy-efficiency, and waste and recycling.
Stan has undertaken high-profile reform roles for the Victorian Government in building and planning, most recently as the Co-Chair of the Building Victoria’s Recovery Taskforce and as CEO of the Victorian Cladding Taskforce. In 2010, Stan undertook an independent review of EPA Victoria’s compliance and enforcement activity.
Jo Hynes
Manager Sustainability
Atlas Arteria
Jo heads Sustainability at Atlas Arteria in Australia. In 2024, she was names one of 50 most influential ESG corporate professionals in Australia. Atlas Arteria, an ASX100 company and a global owner, operator and developer of toll roads with a portfolio of five toll roads in France, Germany and the United States.
Kurt Gruber
Founding Director
WV Technologies
ACT Australian of the Year
Speaker Bio coming soon
Lee Stewart
CEO & Founding Director
ESG Strategy
Lee is the author of "How to Build Sustainability into Your Business Strategy." With over 20 years of experience in sustainability across Australia, the UK, Japan, and New Zealand, Lee has worked in startups, consulting, and as Head of Sustainability for large billion-dollar multinationals Fujitsu and Fonterra. His current clients include large manufacturing, retail, infrastructure and hospitality organisations across Australia, New Zealand. And the Pacific. In 2022, Lee founded his own consulting business, ESG Strategy, where he advises boards and senior executives on sustainability and ESG strategies. He also provides pro bono strategic advice on sustainability, circular economy, and climate change to the Kingdom of Tonga.
Linda Romanovska
Principal
Melomys Advisory
ISO/TC 322 Sustainable Finance Committee Member
Standards Australia
Speaker Bio coming soon
Magali Wardle
Head of Market Development
NABERS
Magali is the Head of Market Development at NABERS. She is a skilled professional with over 20 years of experience in Sustainability, Engineering, Project Management and Climate Change. Her work at NABERS is focused on building partnerships to influence the uptake of NABERS ratings. Her role covers a vast portfolio of project teams dedicated to supporting customers in their sustainability journey. This encompasses energy, water and waste efficiency as well as sustainable finance across several different building asset types.
Bernard Wiley
Sustainability Director
Who Gives A Crap
Speaker Bio coming soon
Jackie Spiteri
Managing Director
SESG
Jackie is an experienced Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) professional with a history of working in the maritime and infrastructure sector bringing a wealth of knowledge on sustainable development and operations.
With over 15 years’ experience and a gift for creating collaborative partnerships, alongside a strong ability to recognise and cultivate the potential in others, Jackie has a proven track record of accelerating organisational sustainability through strategy development, implementation, communication, and education.
In 2022, Jackie became the founder and Managing Director of ESG advisory company Sustainable ESG (SESG). SESG are focused on supporting organisations navigate the evolving ESG imperative. Helping organisations to understand their current state and develop relevant and tailored strategies that build upon existing foundations.
Jackie has sat on the Board for PIANC ANZ, a global not-for-profit body that brings together experts on technical, economic, environmental and planning issues pertaining to waterborne transport and infrastructure and is a former Chair of the Ports Australia Environment Planning and Sustainability Working Group and sits on the Mayor of Newcastle’s Sustainable Development Collaborative, an active group focused on localising the United Nations SDGs to the region.
During her career Jackie has been responsible for the development of a number of Sustainability Financing Frameworks in the export/import infrastructure sector, enabling over $750million of sustainability linked debt to be realised through a series of innovative sustainability financing transactions. More recently Jackie has been deeply involved in the development of the ASEAN Taxonomy V3, that has seen the introduction of the Transport & Storage and Construction & Real Estate sectors.
Paolo Bevilacqua
Group Head of Sustainability
Frasers Property Group
Paolo is Group Head of Sustainability at Frasers Property, overseeing its sustainability strategy across its multinational and multi-asset class portfolio in 20 countries. He has delivered industry leading programmes and solutions at both project and organisational levels across real estate and energy sectors in multiple markets. Prior to his current role, Paolo was the founding General Manager and Chair of Real Utilities, a green energy retailer and utilities business of Frasers Property. Before joining Frasers Property, Paolo held various sustainability and renewable energy roles at Lendlease.
With two decades of experience in the real estate sector, Paolo’s sustainability leadership credentials include serving as former Vice Chair of the International Living Future Institute and former Chair of the Property Council of Australia’s National Sustainability Roundtable.
Speaker TBA
ASIC
Speaker Bio coming soon
Prof Deo Prasad
CEO
NSW Decarbonisation Innovation Hub, UNSW
Deo is among the internationally recognised Australian experts in the field of environment and sustainability with a focus on net zero carbon innovations. His experience covers practice as a consultant, long standing experience as a thought leader and a distinguished academic, significant leadership and governance expertise, all with notable recognition from all levels of government and professions. His expertise is very much in science and evidence-based approaches with a very high level of understanding of the innovation processes, the energy and carbon ecosystem with a high level of understanding of the human behaviour and social change dimensions. He has published around 400 peer reviewed papers including 12 books on low carbon, sustainable and regenerative built environments.
Michael Elias
Co-founder and CEO
Upparel
Speaker Bio coming soon
Kiarne Treacy
CEO
Sustainable Choice Group
Kiarne is the Founder and CEO of Sustainable Choice, a digital platform where brands can publish their environmental actions and impact with full transparency, to help consumers make more informed sustainable choices.
Thierry Lotrian
CEO and Founder
Climate Decisions
Thierry is an energetic climate and sustainability data, AI and technology leader and disruptor with a focus on innovation and making an impact that matters for his clients and the community. An Executive Leader with over 20 years’ experience working with CxO’s to drive business-led transformations, enabled by data, AI, performance management and risk management capabilities across multiple industries. Thierry started his career with Capgemini in France, he has spent over a decade with Deloitte and 6+ years with SAP. He has worked with a client base across Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe.
Thierry is passionate about successful market Alliances to help have a bigger impact to solve client issues. He built and led Deloitte’s national Climate & Sustainability alliance program in Australia. Previously Thierry was the national leader for Deloitte's Data and AI Alliance program and had multiple direct Alliance leadership roles such as Anaplan, Workiva, Google and IBM.
Thierry is determined to make an impact in the world when it comes to climate and sustainability. The time is now and we all need to take responsibility for this
Dr Michael Battaglia
Mission Lead – Towards Net Zero Mission
CSIRO
Michael is the Mission Lead for Towards Net Zero Mission which looks to build capability to assist Australia's transition to net zero with particular focus on hard to abate sectors (like steel, agriculture, food supply chain and transport), regional economies and scaling negative emission technologies.
John Pabon
Founder & Chief Advisor
Fulcrum Strategic Advisors
John is Australia’s Leading Voice on Greenwashing! He’s a sustainability author, consultant, and content creator. Over his 20-year career, he’s had the privilege of working with the United Nations, McKinsey, A.C. Nielsen, and as a consultant with BSR, the world’s largest sustainability-focused business network. He is the founder of Fulcrum Strategic Advisors, Chair of The Conference Board’s Asia Sustainability Leaders Council, and advises the UN on issues of internet governance and greenwashing. John is also the author of “Sustainability for the Rest of Us: Your No-Bullshit, Five-Point Plan for Saving the Planet” and “The Great Greenwashing: How Brands, Governments, and Influencers are Lying to You.
Alex Kelly
Zero Emissions Delivery Lead
IKEA
Alex has been working in the electric vehicle industry in Australia since 2019. Currently, she is leading IKEA’s zero emission delivery strategy – with a target of 100% by 2025. IKEA’s ambitious target aims to reduce transport emissions for truck deliveries for a people and planet positive future.
Prior to this, she was Policy Manager at the Electric Vehicle Council advising government, the EV sector, and the broader sustainability sector on electric vehicle policy, with a focus on commercial fleets and heavy vehicles. During this time, Alex co-authored the EVC/ATA report Electric trucks: keeping shelves stocked in a net-zero world.
Tony Circelli
Head of Recycling Victoria, Department of Energy, Environment & Climate Action (Vic)
Speaker Bio coming soon
Mathew Munro
CEO
Australian Trucking Association
Speaker Bio coming soon
Andrew Richards
CEO
Energy Users Association of Australia
Speaker Bio coming soon
Andrew Davies
CEO
B Lab Australia and New Zealand
Andrew joined B Lab as CEO after a career spanning commercial law practice and executive management roles, and most recently running a family office and his own businesses in the finance and recreation industries. With experience across large and small business, in ASX-listed, family-owned and start-up models, Andrew is passionate about the role business can and should have in improving the world, contributing positively to change, and enriching the lives of everyone in our community.
B Lab is the organisation behind B Corp, transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet. A leader in economic systems change, their global network creates standards, policies, and tools for business, and they certify companies—known as B Corps—who are leading the way.
As CEO Andrew is responsible for the growth of the B Corp community in Australia and New Zealand.
Marissa Meyers
Head of Safety & Sustainability
Monde Nissin Australia
Marissa is a safety professional with 15 years’ experience across public and private sectors, including emergency services and global FMCG companies. Four years ago, Marissa took the same mindset and strategic risk management skills that drove long-term success in safety, to lead the development and implementation of Monde Nissin Australia’s sustainability strategy. Along the way Marissa had to rapidly adapt to just how broad sustainability can be, learn a lot, engage widely, then look for where the opportunities are. Approaching this challenge by identifying smart, practical wins that benefit the business, the environment, our people, and of course the bottom line has laid the path for success.
Toby Kent
CEO
Infrastructure Sustainability Council
Speaker Bio coming soon
Afonso Firmo
Co-founder and Director
NetNada
Speaker Bio coming soon
Travis MacLachlan
Commercial Solutions Manager
Flow Power
Speaker Bio coming soon
Paul Dunne
Director – Sustainability
Clean Energy Finance Corporation
Paul Dunne is Director of Sustainability at the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. Paul has over 25 years of experience in sustainable investment and development across property, infrastructure, and sustainability. Paul specialises in developing climate, ESG, and net zero strategies at a corporate level, supporting investment frameworks, and leveraging innovative technologies to secure long-term value for stakeholders. Prior to joining the CEFC, Paul held senior roles with the Google/Lendlease partnership in the USA, Lendlease Australia and Bank of Scotland, where he developed sustainable solutions for cities, including Barangaroo and the Google campuses in Silicon Valley. Paul is a Chartered Engineer and holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Engineering from the University of Dublin, Trinity College, and an ACCA Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Management.
Maria Sykes
CEO
The Jane Goodall Institute Australia
Maria is a seasoned CEO and COO with 30+ years across iconic organisations. She brings strategic vision, proven growth, and lifelong passion to lead JGIA in protecting animals, people and environment.
Justin Merrell
Group Environmental Director
Lion
Speaker Bio coming soon
Dr Steve Newman
Chief Sustainability Officer
EarthCheck
Steve has been a sustainability leader within the hospitality industry in SE Asia for the past decade. He presently heads technical advisory services for ESG, climate, carbon, and nature measurement, strategy and reporting. Prior to this, he spent a decade in academia specialising in ecological and climate change modelling, sitting on government advisory committees to advise SIDS on natural resource management. Combining academic and industry expertise, Steve employs a science-backed and stakeholder engaged approach to empower sustainable business operations.
Dr Aida Golneshin
Business Innovation Manager
Eldyn Foods
Dr Aida Golneshin is an executive innovation leader with over 20 years of global experience in innovation, R&D, new product development (NPD), and sustainability. She currently leads the Innovation and Sustainability strategy at Edlyn Foods, a national foodservice manufacturer, where she has spearheaded the launch of over 1,000 products and led more than 1,500 projects that have delivered significant commercial outcomes. Aida brings a deep understanding of how to embed innovation into business operations—from rethinking packaging systems to enabling waste upcycling and circular product development. With a PhD, multiple patents, and academic publications, Aida combines scientific expertise with commercial insight. She collaborates regularly with universities and industry partners to deliver high-impact, scalable solutions.
Scott Maynard
Managing Director
Polestar Australia
Scott is the Managing Director of Polestar Australia, bringing more than 25 years of experience in the automotive industry to his role.
Scott has walked a unique path through the Australian automotive industry.
He’s worked in sales, aftersales, and executive roles at retailers and OEMs, across some of the world’s best-known luxury carmakers and some of its newest, most innovative brands.
From the world of dealership aftersales departments to the boardrooms of luxury brands, he has a deep understanding of the Australian automotive industry and its evolution towards electrification.
Scott’s career started as a technician in a dealership and worked his way through various roles to be Service Manager in Launceston, Tasmania, before joining Audi during 2005 as Regional Aftersales Manager in Sydney.
During his 12 years with Audi, he served as Regional Aftersales Manager and Regional Sales Manager, before being promoted to Sales Director in Australia.
His time at Audi included the local debut of the mid-engined R8 supercar, the launch of a hero factory showroom, and the challenge of helping Audi Australia navigate the global Dieselgate crisis.
Scott took on the role of Aftersales Director at Jaguar Land Rover Australia in 2017, before moving to national Sales Director, and subsequently spending nine months in an interim position as Managing Director of JLR Australia.
More recently, Scott was a key part of the team driving BYD’s rapid growth in Australia as Executive General Manager of retail operations.
He joined Polestar Australia in July 2024 as Managing Director, since which point he’s overseen the launch of two new models: the Polestar 3 luxury SUV, and the innovative Polestar 4 coupe-SUV.
Brad Scott
Director
Transmutation
Brad is the founder of the recycling company Transmutation. He is a former Australian Army Captain who is now an entrepreneur focused on the circular economy. He developed a world-first process for upcycling waste materials like plastic bread tags and expanded polystyrene into valuable products, such as food-safe bowls and construction-grade materials.
Dilan Jayasekara
Chair, ESG Special Interest Group
Australian Computer Society
Consultant (Data and AI)
Pitcher Partners
Speaker bio coming soon
Patrick Manley
CEO
Cercle
Speaker Bio coming soon
Jackie McKeon
Program Director
Business Renewables Centre Australia
Jackie is Program Director at BRC-A. She has over 15 years’ experience in carbon and energy management, project development management, renewable energy procurement, decarbonisation strategy, strategic planning, corporate advisory and stakeholder engagement. Her career experience spans energy, property, infrastructure, retail, finance and government sectors.
Jack Bisset
Climate Implementation Lead
Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB)
Jack is Climate Implementation Lead at the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB). Jack’s focus is on engaging with Australian preparers and users to build capacity for the implementation of Australia’s climate-related financial disclosure standard and to understand shared challenges. Prior to joining the AASB, Jack was involved with writing the New Zealand Climate Standards at the External Reporting Board and supporting implementation in New Zealand. Before joining the standard setting world, Jack worked on a range of climate and sustainable finance related policy areas at the New Zealand Ministry for the Environment in the Office of the Chief Executive.
Daniel Bleakley
Co-Founder and Co-CEO
New Energy Transport
Speaker bio coming soon
Samantha Sing Key
Partner in Sustainability Reporting Advisory
Grant Thornton Australia
Samantha is a Partner in Sustainability Reporting Advisory at Grant Thornton Australia and a sustainability reporting technical specialist. She’s spearheading the interpretation and implementation of Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards, and is a member of the AASB S2 Implementation Advisory Panel. Sam is focused on helping her clients with technically sound solutions that are right-sized for their unique circumstances.
Jarrod Leak
CEO
Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity (A2EP)
After 20 years in industry working for Swedish engineering company, Alfa Laval, Jarrod has been the CEO of A2EP over the last 5 years. Over this time, A2EP has become Australia’s main industry association supporting energy productivity and renewable heating for the commercial and industrial sectors. A2EP has delivered industry defining publications, tools and webinars that are guiding the adoption of heat pumps, thermal energy storage systems, electric boilers and many other renewable heating solutions. With around 100 members and an audience of several thousand, the alliance plays a key role in supporting businesses to reduce their energy costs and decarbonise.
Ben McArthur
CEO
ARC Projects
Speaker bio coming soon...
Tom Field
CEO
Bearhug
Speaker bio coming soon...
Shaun O'Flaherty
General Manager, Global Fleet Management,
Toll Group
As GM of Global Fleet Management, Shaun leads a team of over 160 professionals, including fleet, design, maintenance, project management and mechanics across Australia.
He oversees Toll’s fleet, maintenance, manual handling equipment, supporting customers and divisions through an extensive network of workshops. He also manages
third-party service providers and strategic partnerships with key Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).
Shaun brings a wealth of experience from 3PL environments, where he supported various business units, customers, and stakeholders, including executive leadership teams and boards.
Currently, Shaun reports to the Chief Enterprise Services Officer (CESO) and is part of the Enterprise Services leadership team, contributing to Toll's strategic direction.
Before being appointed to his current role, Shaun served as the General Manager of Toll’s Supply Chain Solutions team for three years, supporting customers and the business with supply chain network design, transport design, distribution centre initiatives, and project management.
Prior to joining Toll in 2017, Shaun spent seven years at Linfox Logistics based in Melbourne and nearly four years at Coles Group in leadership roles including supporting Coles Online with their home delivery rollout.
Katy Barfield OAM
Founder & CEO
Yume Food
Speaker bio coming soon...
Caitlin Duggan
Sustainability Specialist
Custom Fleet
Caitlin Duggan is a Sustainability Specialist at Custom Fleet, passionate about driving change that matters. Since joining in 2019, she’s worked across marketing, product, and customer experience, shaping initiatives that reduce environmental impact, advance equality, support communities, and embed sustainability into Custom Fleet’s culture, with the aim of making it a more sustainable partner for customers and employer for its people.
Haris Murtaza
Energy & Utilities Manager
Alsco Australia
Haris is the Energy & Utilities Manager at Alsco Uniforms, working to decrease the businesses environmental impact and energy usage across Asia Pacific. Haris holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) and Master of Engineering Management from the University of Auckland. He has been actively involved in Alsco Uniforms transition away from coal, heat pump integration and uptake of solar energy for their facilities.
Rachel Alembakis
Stewardship Manager
U Ethical
and Director
Responsible Investment Association Australasia
Speaker bio coming soon...
Marc Sibbald
Managing Director
Fleet News Group
Speaker bio coming soon...
Barry Cosier
CEO
Soft Plastics Stewardship Australia
Barry Cosier has over 30 years’ experience in both the Resource Recovery Industry and in the Food and Grocery Industry. Like many, he started his working career packing shelves in
supermarkets while at university. Since then, he has worked for multinational grocery companies, was CEO of a privately owned Australian food manufacturing company and represented small to medium enterprises on the Australian Food and Grocery Council board.
He then moved into the Resource Recovery industry and was involved in Council contracts, collections, MRF processing and was a member of the NSW EPA Industry Advisory Panel for the China Sword Taskforce. Most recently he became the Director of Sustainability at the
Australian Food and Grocery Council and a member of the Federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water Resource Recovery Reference Groups. Currently he is on secondment as Co-CEO of Soft Plastic Stewardship Australia, a recently established entity he has been leading the development of since 2021.
Geoff York
CEO
Crystalbrook Collection
Geoff York is the CEO of Crystalbrook Collection, Australia's most innovative portfolio of upscale and sustainability-focused hotels and resorts. Since co-founding Crystalbrook Collection in mid-2017, Geoff has spearheaded the company's growth from its inception, expanding the group to include ten hotels, 16 bars and restaurants, Eleme Day Spa and managing over a billion dollars in assets. Geoff’s extensive industry experience includes key leadership roles across Asia Pacific with leading hospitality groups such as Accor, Hilton International, and Event Hospitality & Entertainment. Recognised with multiple awards for excellence, Geoff's distinguished career is marked by his contributions to various hospitality groups including his role as National Board Member of Tourism Accommodation Australia.
Sara King
GM, Purpose,
Intrepid
Sara King is Intrepid’s General Manager of Purpose and is responsible for delivering the company’s environmental, social and governance commitments, including as a signatory to the UN Global Compact and a certified B Corp. Her remit includes stakeholder engagement, social and environmental impact, and the B Corp certification . Prior to joining Intrepid, Sara held a number of roles at the International Finance Corporation, which is a member of the World Bank Group, including working on inclusive tourism development and sustainability in the Asia Pacific region. Sara holds a Master’s in International Relations and Affairs from Macquarie University and a Graduate Certificate of Management from the UNSW Business School.
Cameron Rimington
Senior Policy Officer – Heavy Vehicles
Electric Vehicle Council
bio coming soon
Josh Begbie
CEO
GECA
Josh joined the GECA team in 2023, bringing a breadth of experience from the not-for-profit, corporate and government sectors and a track record of creating lasting impact for organisations and communities. Having worked extensively across countries, cultures, and industries, Josh believes that inclusive and courageous collaboration is the best way to get things done. He is thrilled to be using this passion to develop partnerships within the GECA Family and beyond for the good of people and planet. Whether you're a business, not-for-profit, community organisation or in the public sector, Josh is eager to connect with you to improve social and environmental outcomes. Josh is proud to be leading an organisation that delivers positive environmental impact using globally-recognised best practice standards.
Martin Gleeson
Co-Founder and Managing Director
Serversaurus
Bio coming soon
Troy Pickwick
Co-Founder
Good Energy Minds
Bio coming soon