Greater Western Sydney Summit Speakers

Hon Stuart Ayres MP Minister for Enterprise, Investment and Trade Minister for Tourism and Sport Minister for Western Sydney Stuart Ayres was elected to the NSW Parliament in 2010, representing the seat of Penrith. Since his election, Stuart has held various portfolios including Minister for Fair Trading, Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events, Minister for Sport and Minister for WestConnex. In April 2019 Stuart was appointed as Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism alongside his existing role as Minister for Western Sydney.  Stuart is committed to achieving the NSW Government’s target of creating 250,000 jobs over the next four years. As Minister for Tourism, he is responsible for delivery of the Visitor Economy Strategy 2030. The strategy sets a bold vision for NSW to be the premier visitor economy of the Asia-Pacific.  As Minister for Western Sydney, Stuart is responsible for delivering the strategy to make the Hawkesbury-Nepean a more flood resilient community, driving the NSW Government’s engagement in the Western Sydney City Deal, and the development of the Western Sydney Aerotropolis, which will shape the development of Australia’s first 21st Century city based around the new airport.     He is also responsible for the delivery of the Government’s 24 Hour Economy Strategy.

Chief Executive Officer April Palmerlee April Palmerlee was appointed CEO of AmCham in 2017 after an international career in government, education, and the corporate sector. American-born, Palmerlee has lived in Sydney since 2003 and is a dual citizen. She is a member of Chief Executive Women and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She received a BS from Georgetown and a Master’s from Columbia. In Australia, she has worked for the University of Sydney’s US Studies Centre, the Lowy Institute for International Policy, the Centre for Independent Studies, and Potomac Partners. In the US, she held the rank of Assistant Secretary at the Department of State with the remit for international women’s issues. Before that, she was a senior executive at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. She has also worked for couturier Oscar de la Renta, financial publisher The Bank Credit Analyst, and not-for-profit The Spanish Institute. She is on the boards of CIS and Georgetown University Australian and New Zealand Centre. She also chairs a scholarship selection committee at the Fulbright Commission.

Duncan Archibald Channel/Business Development Manager US Commercial Service/Select USA Duncan has over 15 years experience working for the U.S. Department of Commerce at the U.S. Consulate in Sydney. He is responsible for assisting Australian companies that want to set up in the North American market through Commerce’s SelectUSA Program. SelectUSA is the U.S. Federal Government’s principal investment attraction agency. It can assist foreign companies by providing market analysis: information on labour hubs, transport clusters, as well as guidance on federal government regulations. SelectUSA also provides concierge services: introductions to state level economic development agencies and third-party multipliers.

Kirsten Andrews Vice-Principal, External Relations University of Sydney Kirsten Andrews is the Vice-Principal (External Relations) at the University of Sydney. The role is the University's strategic lead for externally facing activities, with responsibility for industry, government and community engagement, marketing and communications, media and public relations, museums and cultural engagement, events and student recruitment, admissions and mobility Kirsten joined the University of Sydney in 2013 as Head of Media and PR before becoming Director of Media and Government Relations.  She then spent three years as Chief of Staff to the Vice-Chancellor. Prior to joining the University, Kirsten held senior positions in government and the not-for-profit sector, including at the National Heart Foundation, as Chief of Staff to a federal minister, and Deputy Director of Communications to the Premier of New South Wales. She began her career at the University of South Australia where she worked in public affairs and student recruitment.  Kirsten holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies (Hons) from the University of South Australia and a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Sydney.  She has also completed a residential leadership course at the London School of Economics.

Kate Boorer Partner Pearman & Partners  Founder of Young Professional Women Australia, Kate is one of Australia’s leading experts on career, confidence and personal brand. Kate is dedicated to enabling women to face, manage and navigate the personal barriers standing in the way of creating the career and life they want. Kate draws on her results with clients, her passion for driving change and the collective voice of her tribe (YPWA) – this makes her a powerful thought leader for gender equality. In 2018, Kate co-authored Core Confidence which was the result of years of research and insights working with courageous women willing to challenge the status quo. This research revealed that despite there being lots information about confidence generally – there is very little that provides a practical how-to guide to address this issue. Having shared her work at conferences, forums, panels and within organisations both in Australia and internationally, Kate has learnt how universal this topic of confidence is. Both men and women find there are times when their confidence wavers and affects their presence and influence which then has an impact on their career. In addition to leading the YPWA tribe, Kate leverages her expertise and experience with organisations on specific interventions that address the systemic and structural dynamics that influence the gender imbalance present in many leadership pipelines.

David Borger Executive Director Business Western Sydney David is the Executive Director of Business Western Sydney, a not-for-profit business group representing more than 110 of the region’s largest organisations in government, industry and community. It advocates for public and private sector investment that will make the region a better place to live, work, play and learn.    David has also served as a NSW Government Minister for Roads, Housing, and Western Sydney.   He currently serves on several boards including Placemaking NSW, NRMA, Evolve Housing, and the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences.

Duncan Challen General Manager - Business Development Celestino Property Development  Duncan is a global and future oriented leader with significant commercial expertise in building and managing sales and marketing businesses across Asia Pacific, including having spent 3 years in China creating Shell Oil and Gas retail businesses with Chinese Joint Venture Partners across China.   He also has extensive international trade and investment experience, having led the NSW Governments International Investment and Export organisations across 10 international markets.   Duncan is now leading Celestino’s business development and curation for the $5Billion Sydney Science Park greenfield mixed-use development.

Lorraine Cherry-Nguyen Co-founder/CEO Minnow Designs

Peter Collins AM QC Chair Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District Board Peter Collins was NSW Liberal Leader and Leader of the Opposition for almost four years from 1995, having previously been one of the most senior ministers in the seven-year Greiner/Fahey Coalition Government. He delivered two budgets as Treasurer of NSW and served terms as Minister for Health, Attorney General, Minister for State Development, Consumer Affairs, and-for 7 years- the Arts between 1988-1995. He was a Member of the NSW Parliament for more than 22 years and famously gave Gladys Berejiklian her first job in politics! Prior to entering Parliament, Peter was a Barrister-at-law (a founding member of Edmund Barton Chambers). During the Whitlam era, he worked as an ABC television journalist, and later Policy & PR Manager for the NSW Liberal Party. He has a life-long interest in Defence and been an officer in both Army then Navy Reserves reaching the rank of Captain before retiring in 2012. His is the only former Minister- Federal or State- to see active service in the ADF having served a three-month operational deployment in Iraq in 2007. He established the highly successful Barton Deakin Relations 2009-2017 while a non-executive Director of the high performing Super fund HOSTPLUS 2006-2021. His several Board positions have included Chairman of Industry Super Australia 2013-2018 where he is now Deputy Chair. Since moving to Western Sydney to restore historic Werrington House with his wife Jennine in 2012, the NSW Government appointed him as Chairman of Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District overseeing the $1 Billion redevelopment of Nepean Hospital; and also President of the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences with a $1.35 redevelopment of the Powerhouse Museum. Peter was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2004.

 

Liz Dibbs Western City District Commissioner Greater Sydney Commission Liz Dibbs is a non-executive director in the government and for-purpose sectors. She is Deputy Chancellor of Western Sydney University and Chair of its Audit & Risk Committee, Chairman of United Way Australia and a Governor of the Centenary Institute of Cancer Medicine and Cell Biology. She was the President of YWCA NSW from 2007-2011 and a director of YWCA Australia from 2009 to 2013. Liz has also previously served as a Council Member of Chief Executive Women and Chair of its Scholarship Committee. Liz was a partner and General Counsel of PwC until 2005 and also previously worked with major law firms Mallesons Stephen Jaques (Sydney) and Linklaters & Paines (London). Liz holds a Bachelor of Arts and Law (University Medal) from Sydney University and a Master of Laws (Hons1) from Cambridge University.

 

Trent Donnelly Director, Private Capital Ord Minnett Trent has 20+ years financial services experience across accounting, corporate recovery, investment banking and asset management.  Since May 2020 Trent has been the founding Director of Ord Minnett Private Capital, a division of Ord Minnett that was established to cultivate, assess and manage investments in unlisted assets.  Immediately prior to this Trent was the Managing Director of Aura Capital, which is part of Aura Group, a boutique Asia Pacific alternative asset manager. Previously Trent has held senior ECM and M&A roles focused on Australian small & mid-market cap companies including Co-Head of Corporate Finance for Baillieu Holst and Head of Corporate Finance for Ord Minnett.  During his career Trent has been actively involved as a board member, investor (directly and as portfolio manager) and advisor to a significant number of early stage and mid-market private and listed companies. Trent holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Sydney, Masters of Applied Finance from Macquarie University and qualified as a Chartered Accountant.

 

Andrew Donohoe Head of Communications JP Morgan Andrew is the head of Marketing and Communications for J.P. Morgan in Australia and New Zealand. He is responsible for building, managing, and protecting J.P. Morgan’s reputation, including the strategic design and development of the firm’s internal and external communications programs. He also manages the firm’s corporate responsibility and philanthropy activities in Australia and New Zealand, in concert with the objectives of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation. In addition, Andrew has responsibility for the marketing and communications activities for J.P. Morgan’s Securities Services business across the Asia Pacific region.     Andrew is a highly skilled communications professional with experience working across corporate and executive leadership communications, media relations, internal communications, brand and community sponsorship, and corporate responsibility.  He joined J.P. Morgan in 2007.

 

Angela Foley Managing Director Foley & Associates Angela has worked in the field of international trade and investment attraction for over 30 years. She established Foley & Associates Pty Ltd in Sydney in 2002. Today her firm acts as the authorized trade representative for 9 American States (Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia & Wisconsin) and several European economic development agencies. In this capacity she assists organizations from those regions to successfully enter and grow their export sales in the Australian and New Zealand markets.  For the US State of Pennsylvania Angela’s firm also acts as their authorized investment attraction representative and has done so for ~ 18 years. Through this program, which is funded by Pennsylvania’s Office of International Business Development, Angela and her team support local Australian and New Zealand companies that are considering establishing a U.S. presence.  Angela is an expert on advising local firms on how best to access the services of American State and regional economic development agencies to assist with US market entry strategies and site selection. She regularly provides advice on Pennsylvania’s capabilities; infrastructure strengths; available sites; business assistance programs; access to US suppliers and clients; workforce capabilities and labour / office set-up costs etc. Further she offers comparative data between Pennsylvania and other US States to assist local firms select a US location that fits best with their business model and US market entry requirements.

 

David Gwyther Assistant Secretary Investment Campaign Management Global Business and Talent Attraction Task Force Austrade David Gwyther trained as a Navy ship’s watch-keeping officer before sub specialising as a pilot. He graduated dux of his pilot’s course and helicopter conversions. David was Navy’s Instructor of the Year in 1993. David held a number of mid and senior level positions in joint operations, aviation safety, long range strategic planning and analysis, career management, airworthiness, project governance and management and logistic support. He held leadership roles at: Garden Island dockyard, the Navy’s Sea King helicopter squadron during operations in Timor and the Pacific, the Defence aviation security group for the Sydney Olympics and the Navy’s Aviation Group. David’s final appointment was Commander Northern Command leading 1000 people and deploying Navy, Army and Air Force assets on northern operations. He led maritime security liaison with Indonesia and Timor Leste and was the architect of Australia’s first joint maritime patrols with Indonesia. As the senior ADF Officer NT he was accountable for whole of Defence coordination and engagement with Government, industry and the community.  David joined INPEX as Deputy General Manager Darwin in 2011. He played a key role working collaboratively and with influence across corporate and Project teams, Government, business and the community to assure the success of the US$40BN Ichthys LNG Project. He focused on NT whole of project coordination outside the construction fence including safety, marine, air, and road operations, Government agreements, renewables and public utilities, major approvals, infrastructure investment, environmental offsets, stakeholder relationships, logistics, company strategy and Defence liaison. David was a key negotiator and problem solver across INPEX’s business interests in the NT. In 2013 David led the development of the award winning Ichthys Transport Management Plan. David was President Director’s Employee of the Year for 2016.  From mid 2019 he consulted to industry in his own business across energy, resources, defence, infrastructure, government, transport and industrials; including working on a micro LNG start up. David then completed a three month contract as Director Bid Coordination with LifeFlight.  David joined Austrade in November 2020 as a Senior Investment Specialist working on large foreign direct investments in Infrastructure, Future Transport, Circular Economy, Space and Defence. In March 2021 David became the Head of Onshore Investment for the Americas, working on inbound foreign investment attraction, facilitation and reinvestment from countries from the tip of Alaska to Tiera Del Fuego. David Joined the Global Business and Talent Attraction Task Force in June 2021 where he leads, synchronises and coordinates the teams delivering over 25 investment campaigns. David is based in Brisbane.  During his time in the NT David served as a Cancer Council NT non-executive director for 6 years; 3 as Chairperson and volunteered with the Starlight Children’s Foundation, Ronald McDonald House and Total Recreation NT charities. During his 11 years in the NT he raised nearly $150,000 for charity. David also served as an NT Justice of the Peace.  He holds a BSc (Mathematics), an MBA (International Business), is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors domestic and international courses and enjoys the learning journey. David enjoys cycling and skiing, watching sport, travel, food and wine, his Labradors, and being with his family and friends.

 

Sarah Hill CEO  Western Parkland City Authority Dr. Sarah Hill has a great passion for creating thriving cities.  As CEO of the Western Parkland City Authority, Sarah is delivering the vision for ‘a metropolis of three cities’, a vision she co-created as the inaugural CEO of the Greater Sydney Commission, to fundamentally change the way we think and plan for Greater Sydney. Sarah led the Commission to develop new ways of engaging with citizens, to measure and monitor key planning outcomes and to better align growth with infrastructure through new methods such as Australia’s first Place-Based Infrastructure Compact.  With this legacy, Sarah is well-placed to lead the Western Parkland City Authority in its ambition to build a city in a parkland: Australia’s newest citizen-centric city and its smartest and most sustainable. A place that will attract national and international investment, deliver high quality jobs and education, and drive economic recovery in NSW and Australia.  Sarah will continue to build on the strong culture of collaboration she fostered at the Commission and during her time at Hill PDA Consulting and in London, though partnering with local councils, NSW Government agencies, the community and industry to deliver the Western Parkland City. Sarah has a strong focus on the economics of cities and the feasibility of development, completing her Doctoral thesis on the topic in 2018.  Sarah is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Technology Sydney in the Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building. She is a Fellow and a past-President of the NSW Division of the Planning Institute of Australia. She has received numerous professional awards locally and internationally, including the 2015 NSW and 2016 PIA Australian Planner of the Year.

 

Yvonne Homoncik Key Account Manager  Amazon Yvonne is a Key Account Manager in Amazon’s Global Selling team based in Sydney, Australia. Her team educates Australian and New Zealand businesses about the benefits of selling on Amazon in the US. She connects Amazon Selling Partners who have registered to Sell on Amazon in the US with the educational resources they need to be successful. Yvonne has worked at Amazon for nearly three years and worked in the Fulfilment by Amazon (Australia) team prior to her current role.

 

Song Hong Executive Director, NSW Procurement NSW Government  Song Hong is currently Executive Director, Commercial & Advisory at NSW Procurement (part of NSW Treasury). He is responsible for teams managing Whole-of-Government Category Management across Goods & Services and Human & Professional Services (approximately $4bn spend p.a.), Advisory Services, Spend Analytics and Fiscal Repair & Reform. Prior to joining NSW Government, Song enjoyed a successful 20-year career in funds management in Sydney, Melbourne and London at AMP Capital, NAB Asset Management, J.P. Morgan and a number of boutique hedge funds. Most recently, he was Chief Operating Officer, Public Markets at AMP Capital, where he was responsible for (among other things) driving transformational change, leading strategic cross-business line initiatives and managing key outsourced providers across its $140bn FUM business. Song began his career as a solicitor with KPMG.

 

Craig Kemp  Applications Specialist DXC Technology

 

Joanna Kubota Executive Director Western Parkland Councils

 

Blair Lucas Co-Founder and CEO Acclime Australia

 

Nicki Luther Senior Director - Human Resources Stryker  Nicki Luther has been in HR for 17 years and has been part of Stryker since February 2012. Stryker is a $14B+ Fortune 500 company and one of the world’s leading medical technology companies. Driven to make healthcare better, Stryker offers a diverse array of innovative medical technologies that include orthopaedics, medical & surgical, and neurotechnology & spine products to help people lead more active and more satisfying lives.  The company has over 40,000 employees who set high standards for themselves and one another. Having been named as one of Australia’s best workplaces since 2014, Stryker work from the belief that every person has innate strengths which the company focuses on identifying to enable employees to “soar with their strengths”.  Nicki works with Stryker as the Senior Director Human Resources where she leads the HR team in the alignment of strategy and people practices to drive business results. Working in a culture where talent is part of the DNA has ignited her passion for strengths coaching where she has helped employees grow and develop through helping them leverage their strengths. Nicki has featured on two Gallup podcasts, on Called to Coach in 2015 and on Theme Thursday, Developer Season three in 2017.

 

Peter Mackey Executive Director, NETM Western Parkland City Authority Peter Mackey joined WPCA in August 2021 from Investment NSW to head up the New Education and Training (NETM) team.  The NETM is NSW Government funded four-year pilot of a ‘flipped’ model of industry led skills training with a focus on existing workers across the Western Parkland City. Since commencing with NSW Government in 2015, Peter has worked across various agencies including Trade and Investment, Industry, Treasury, Premier and Cabinet and Investment NSW. His roles have included leading the State’s export, small business, and international education teams. In his most recent role with the Trade team, Peter led the State’s response to the impact of the pandemic on NSW exporters and international students. Prior to joining NSW Government, Peter spent seven years with Austrade, posted as Trade Commissioner to Hanoi in 2010 and later to Singapore. During this time, he also held a regional role, as Education Commissioner, ASEAN, leading Austrade’s regional education team promoting Australian education, training and research expertise across South-East Asia. Over the past 20 years, Peter has worked primarily in the education and training, ICT and government sectors.

 

Scott Mackillop Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Western Sydney Airport Scott leads the team responsible for reputation management, media, stakeholder and government relations, community engagement, partnerships and social impact, and corporate communication for Sydney’s new international airport.     Before joining Western Sydney Airport, Scott was an agency-side marketing and public relations consultant, providing advice to some of Australia's biggest brands and events. He has also held public affairs roles for Transport for NSW and the NSW Department of Planning and Environment, including periods as media and comms advisor for senior NSW Government ministers.    Scott started his career in broadcasting, including as a producer at leading news/talk station 2GB and writing for News Australia’s digital channels.

 

Andy Marks  Professor and the Pro Vice-Chancellor of Strategy Government and Alliances Western Sydney University Director Centre for Western Sydney CEO NUW Alliance Dr Andy Marks leads major Western Sydney University strategic and development initiatives with government, industry and the community. He has a PhD and first-class honours in political science and literature. Andy writes regular columns for the Sydney Morning Herald and the Daily Telegraph. He is also a panellist on ABC Sydney’s ‘political forum’. Andy is also the Director of the Centre for Western Sydney, Chair of the Western Sydney Community Forum and a Non-Executive Director with Wentworth Healthcare Ltd. He is the founder of the CatalystWest interactive policy forum, and co-founder of the Launch Pad start-up incubator. Prior to his current role, Andy was a researcher in the social services sector, a Council member at the University of New England, and an ARIA nominated professional musician and composer.

 

Paul Perrett Director Corporate Services Liverpool City Council  Paul has over 20 years leadership experience working for large ASX-listed and government-owned corporations in the electricity, renewable energy and water industries. More recently, Paul has worked in the local government sector for two of New South Wales’ largest and most prominent Councils.    Paul’s professional interests lie in leading the development of corporate capability in financial, investment, asset portfolio and procurement management.   Paul has an undergraduate Commerce degree in Accounting and Finance and is a full member of CPA Australia. However, he likes to think that his undergraduate Arts degree in Scandinavian and Chinese Literatures, and his postgraduate degree in English Literature, has been far more beneficial to his professional development and career growth than his Commerce degree and half-completed MBA.

 

Amanda Rose Founding Director Western Sydney Women  Amanda Rose is Australia’s foremost Strategic Connector, Founder of Small Busi-ness Women Australia, Publisher of Business Woman Media and Founding Director of Western Sydney Women, Western Sydney Executive Women & Managing Partner of Western Sydney Advisory.  As one of the most influential people on LinkedIn, Amanda Rose (#BossLady) is quoted as an “internet winning blogger” by TIME.com and contributes regularly to ABC The Drum and has a weekly #BossLady Careers Column in the Daily Telegraph. A passionate keynote speaker, Amanda Rose works with The Australian Defence Force, CPA Australia, Law Institute, UTS, UBER, ANZ, Western Sydney University and the Royal Australian Navy on the areas of confident leadership, conflict resolu-tion & relationship building via connection.  Amanda has a degree in Business majoring in Marketing & Psychology from Mac-quarie University, a Masters of Communications Management from UTS & Post Grad in Educational Leadership from Macquarie University and is a non executive direc-tor at Excelsia College and on the NSW Government’s Council for Women’s Econom-ic Opportunity.

 

Dries Venter Head of Origination Australian Business Growth Fund Director of Origination at the Australian Business Growth Fund (ABGF)  Dries comes from 10 years in leveraged finance with Commonwealth Bank and HSBC where he had the privilege of leading Commonwealth Bank’s middle market leveraged finance business. Previously, he worked in advisory roles with Deloitte in Australia and Africa. He leads ABGFs business development efforts and works closely with the bank secondees to find the fund’s next great investment.

 

Professor Glenn Wightwick Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise) UTS Professor Glenn Wightwick is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Innovation and Enterprise at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) where he has responsibility for the university’s innovation, entrepreneurship, enterprise learning and industry engagement.  Prior to this he was Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research for 3.5 years.  He spent 27 years working at IBM in Australia, the USA and China in a variety of technical and leadership roles in systems engineering, development and research.  He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering and a Senior Fellow of the IEEE.  He is Co-Chair of 2SER, a community radio station jointly owned by UTS and Macquarie University and is on the board of the Sydney Quantum Academy, Sydney School of Entrepreneurship and SCECGS Redlands.