Speaker Biographies
Hon Stephen Patterson MP, Minister for Trade and Investment, Government of South Australia
Stephen Patterson was elected to the South Australian Parliament as the Member for Morphett in 2018.
He was appointed as the Minister for Trade and Investment in the Marshall Government in 2020.
Stephen graduated from University of Adelaide in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science (Physics) and Bachelor of Electrical & Electronic Engineering with 1st Class Honours.
Before politics, Stephen was an electrical engineer and co-founded a software engineering company, and worked with businesses in some of South Australia’s key growth sectors, including defence, space, and hi-tech. Stephen has also held a professional sporting career, having represented teams in both the SANFL and AFL, an experience which shaped his attitude to team work and collaboration.
Stephen is passionate about his local community, and served as a Councillor at City of Holdfast Bay from 2010 to 2014, and then as Mayor until 2017.
Stephen enjoys being involved in a range of local sporting clubs and community groups, including Glenelg Surf Life Saving Club.
He lives in Glenelg South with his wife Tammy and four children, who are also active in the community as volunteers.
Hon Christopher Pyne, Chairman, Pyne and Partners
Christopher Pyne was elected to the House of Representatives for the seat of Sturt in 1993. He retired from the Parliament in 2019.
He was the Australian Minister for Defence responsible for delivering the $200 billion build-up of Australia’s military capability, the largest in Australia’s peacetime history.
Christopher has also been a Minister in the Howard, Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison Governments serving as Minister for Ageing; Minister for Education and Training, Minister for Industry Innovation and Science and Minister for Defence Industry.
In his time as a Minister he has delivered the National Innovation and Science Agenda, reformed the National Curriculum, introduced compulsory literacy and numeracy testing for Australian teaching graduates and expanded phonics teaching in remote schools in northern Australia. In 2006 he founded “headspace: the Youth Mental Health Initiative”.
Christopher is the author of “A Letter to my Children”, published in 2015.
Before entering Parliament, Christopher practised as a solicitor.
Christopher is married to Carolyn and is the father of Eleanor, Barnaby, Felix and Aurelia.
Jamie Briggs, Adelaide Managing Partner, PwC Australia
Jamie Briggs is the Adelaide Managing Partner and South Australian Government leader at PwC.
He was previously a member of the Australian Parliament, serving in the capacity of Federal Minister for Cities and the Built Environment and the Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development. Prior to entering Parliament he was a Senior Advisor to the then Prime Minister the Hon. John Howard from 2004-2007 advising on workplace relations reform.
He has completed his MBA at the University of Adelaide and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is married to Estée and has three children Elka, Henry and Scarlett.
Serafina Maiorano, Global Connector, Ex CEO Advance.org
Born and educated in Adelaide, Serafina Maiorano works globally, and has played pioneering leadership roles in international organisations. Her unique skill set and diverse experiences as a global network builder, entrepreneur, consultant and organisation director have been applied in business, non-profit, creative, community, impact and political arenas around the world.
Whether managing global membership organisation of 50,000 leaders, innovators and change makers as the past Global CEO of Advance.org; overseeing programs to help Australian start ups scale globally, working with teams to provide the training and development plans for 45,000 personnel for the Asian Games; developing mentoring programs for government leaders and university students; developing social impact partnerships; to advocating and marketing Australian arts and cultural initiatives to the world. Serafina is able to see both the fine detail and the big picture. She has an extended network of friends and associates from all corners of the globe, and insightful knowledge of numerous world cultures, geography and politics that can only be learned by being there.
Serafina has been living and working globally from New York City for over 12 years, and prior to that the Middle East.
Awarded the 'Top 100 Women of Influence' by the Australian Financial Review in 2012, her passion for a better world has focused on positive, systematic transformational growth.
Dr Pamela Ryan, Ph.D,
Hon. D.Univ, OAM
A dual citizen of Australia and the USA, Dr. Pamela Ryan has lived in Austin, Texas, (and more recently, New York) for 30+ years. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin with award-winning research on the psychology of decision-making in the US venture capital (VC) industry. Pamela has served as a Limited Partner in American and Australian venture capital firms for those 30 years and acted as advisor and consulting psychologist to VC firms in the USA and Australia as well as VC funded portfolio companies—ranging from semiconductor manufacturing, health care, and retail to hospitality. She has advised the South Australian government on building an innovation ecosystem in South Australia, drawing on cutting edge research from around the world on the characteristics of VC firms/funds for optimal success. Pamela served on the Advisory Boards of True Wealth Ventures (a gender lens VC firm based in Austin) and South Texas Money Management ($4.5 billion under management). Her unique skillset and diverse experiences as a psychologist, entrepreneur, investor, manager, educator, researcher and author have been applied in business, political and psychosocial arenas around the world. Pamela is the Managing Partner of The Tingari Group, a portfolio of business partnerships, organizations and investments, including the Tingari-Silverton Foundation, Tingari Ranch (Texas), and Songlines Station (Australia). The Tingari Groupinvests in organizations whose products, services or processes maximize potential positive impacts on the world and minimize negative impacts. Pamela also co-founded and chaired international NGOs Psychology Beyond Bordersand Issues Deliberation Australia for ten+ years each. Pamela is the author of Impact Imperative, Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Investing to Transform the Future, an Amazon Best Seller in five categories and winner of the 2020 Axiom Book Awards prestigious Gold Medal. Pamela is also the author of numerous academic papers like “Why Some Venture Capitalists Escalate & Others Don’t”, “The Psychology of Microfinance,” “The Future of Entrepreneurship and Impact,” and the memoir, Magic Carpet Flying. Pamela has received an Honorary Doctorate (UniSA) and an Order of Australia Medal (Australian Government) for her contribution to psychology and Australia.
Jim Whalley, Chief Entrepreneur of South Australia
Jim Whalley is the Chair, an Executive Director, former CEO and Co-Founder of the Nova Group (www.novagroup.com.au), an engineering and project management professional services firm spanning defence, transport, utilities, energy and communications. Jim is a former RAAF fighter pilot and test pilot and among other qualifications holds a BSc, an MBA and is a Graduate of the Harvard Business School OPM Executive Education Program and the UK Empire Test Pilots’ School. Jim currently serves on several defence, industry and university boards and advisory committees. Jim is also the Chief Entrepreneur for South Australia and Chairs the Entrepreneurship Advisory Board. The Nova Group itself employs over 300 people throughout Australia and in the UK, NZ and Singapore with skills in areas ranging from flight testing and electronic warfare to system safety and satellite communications. Nova has been listed as an SA Top 100 company, a BRW fast 100 company, an SA Fast Movers Company and one of the BRW 50 best places to work in Australia.
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