Speakers

Session: Panel Discussion: Addressing the benefits, challenges, and opportunities virtual power stations provide to the grid

Greg Abramowitz is the Head of Orchestration – Platform and Operations at AGL Energy and leads the operations and expansion of AGL’s VPP platform to include a range of new technologies and participation in new markets. Greg has been at AGL for 10 years, in roles ranging from energy efficient infrastructure upgrades to LNG virtual pipelines, all with a focus on behind the meter resource management and optimisation. Greg began his career as a chemical engineer having completed an undergraduate degree at The University of Cape Town, and a PhD at The University of Sydney

Session: Panel Discussion: Addressing the benefits, challenges, and opportunities virtual power stations provide to the grid

Saad Akbar, Principal Engineer Future Networks at Evoenergy, is a long-term energy professional with graduate and postgraduate qualifications in Electrical Engineering and Renewable Energy Technologies. Over the years, Saad has managed the delivery of various services from Virtual Power Plants (VPPs), including network support, FCAS and RERT. He has also been involved in several award-winning VPP trials and projects including the CONSORT Bruny Island Battery Trial in Tasmania, Carnarvon DER Trials in WA, Networks Renewed in NSW, and the Canberra VPP in the ACT.

Currently, Saad is working on Evoenergy’s Distribution System Operator (DSO) Strategy aimed at both effectively integrating Distributed Energy Resources (DER) into the network and leveraging DER to support and optimise the way network is operated. He is also responsible for delivering key pilots and trials, including the EVGrid Trial and the Ginninderry Residential Battery Trial.

Session: Overcoming the technical challenges of integrating renewables into the grid

Daniel has almost 20 years experience across a wide range of the electricity network supply chain including network planning and investment, asset management and long term strategy development. In his current role, Daniel is responsible for the development of long term network and strategy focusing on future and changing requirements of customers.

Session: Opening remarks from the Chair

National Hydrogen Commercialisation Manager working in the Hydrogen Department at Sumitomo Australia, focusing on development of hydrogen ecosystems, net zero society and pathways for commercialisation.

Previous extensive in-house legal and in private practice experience, focusing on international trade, energy and mineral resources industries.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What are the best ways to use demand response programs to match generation and usage?

Rosemary Barnes is founder and director of Pardalote, a boutique consulting service for clean energy technology developers and investors. She is an engineer specialising in new technology development, with a PhD and over 15 years’ industry experience in the field. She produces and presents the YouTube channel Engineering with Rosie and co-hosts the weekly Uptime Wind podcast, through which she educates and excites her audience about renewable energy technologies and how the engineering development process works.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What is required to facilitate the gas sector moving to low carbon alternatives?

Hugo was appointed as our Managing Director in Australia and California after delivering great results as our Head of UK Renewables, managing our UK consulting team.

He is the author of several major cross-industry energy studies, and advises on all aspects of the Australian and European power markets. He has led buy and sell-side energy due diligence for over £5bn of UK, Ireland and Australian assets, and led our National Electricity Market modelling – including modelling the evolution of Middle Eastern energy markets for a major client.

Hugo has previously worked as Project Leader for energy and resources at McKinsey & Co. in Sydney and New York.

He has a Law degree from the University of Melbourne and an MBA and MPA from the University of Oxford.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How does the energy sector balance retailer viability with the need to support vulnerable consumers?

Dr Ron Ben-David is currently a Professorial Fellow with the Monash Business School and Monash Sustainable Development Institute. In this role, his attention is focussed on policy, regulation, market- and institutional design – with a particular interest in markets for essential services.

Between 2008 and 2019, he served as the full-time chair of the Essential Services Commission (Vic), the state’s economic regulator. In this role, he was the architect of far-reaching reforms in many areas of regulation. These reforms focussed on modernising institutional and regulatory settings in pursuit of ambitious consumer outcomes.

Prior to this time, Ron held senior roles in the Departments of Premier and Cabinet and Treasury and Finance in Victoria. He also headed the national secretariat for the Garnaut Climate Change Review. In 2019-20, he was an independent panel member for a review of the local government rating system where he strongly advocated for the adoption of best practice assistance arrangements for ratepayers facing payment difficulty.

Ron has written and presented on a wide range of topics including water reform, energy markets, competition policy, sustainability and economic philosophy.  He is known for powerfully arguing that markets exist for the benefit of consumers, and not the converse.

Alongside his role at Monash University, Ron is a board member at the Consumer Policy Research Centre, ClimateWorks Australia and the Regulatory Policy Institute (Aust-NZ). He is a member of a number of consumer representative panels and advisory boards. Ron is also the principal of Solrose Consulting.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Defining which projects offer best returns on investment and how will they fit into the future system

As CEO of $66 billion industry super fund HESTA, Debby leads an organisation passionate about making a real difference to the financial future of every member while supporting a healthier planet and society.

Having held senior positions across financial services, Debby believes the industry has a vital role in helping meet global challenges. Under her leadership, HESTA pioneered investing with impact to deliver strong, long-term returns and positively contribute to global sustainable development goals.

The first major Australian super fund to commit to an ambitious Climate Change Transition Plan, HESTA is targeting total portfolio cuts in emissions of 33% by 2030 and ‘net zero’ by 2050.

More than 80% of HESTA’s 880,000+ members are women. Debby is a prominent voice for advancing gender equality. Her advocacy for systemic change highlights that when women do better everyone benefits from a more resilient economy and a fairer society.

Prior to leading HESTA, Debby was Deputy CEO and previously headed the Fund’s financial advice team. Her wealth of experience in financial services includes running her own business as an Employee Benefit Consultant for 12 years.

Debby is President of the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors and holds directorships at The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia Ltd and the International Corporate Governance Network. Debby is also a WGEA Pay Equity Ambassador.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How do we re-invent the way energy is sold with consumers at the centre of the equation?

The Energy Collective creates and scales digital start-up companies to disrupt global energy markets, and owns Electric Kiwi (NZ) and ReAmped Energy (Aus). Electric Kiwi has been the fastest growing electricity retailer in New Zealand for over 5 years, now serving 75,000 customers.

In 2018 Electric Kiwi won the Deloitte fast 50 as the fastest-growing company in New Zealand and was NZ Energy Retailer of the year in 2018.

ReAmped began trading in Australia in mid-2019 and is now Australia’s fastest-growing electricity retailer with over 67,000 customers.

Blincoe has previously held executive positions within New Zealand vertically integrated energy companies working across Residential, Industrial and Metering roles. Blincoe has been a vocal critic of many of the market rules in New Zealand.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What policy is needed to ensure affordability, reliability and security in the future energy system?

Phil is an accomplished practitioner in technology commercialisation, as a research and development scientist and engineer, as a founder and entrepreneur, and as an experienced senior executive to build and grow technology companies in new and emerging markets.

Core interests and domain expertise in energy markets, electricity networks, energy and carbon policy, renewables, risk management, decision psychology and climate change adaptation.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What are the best ways to combat anti-transmission line sentiment?

Richard has led organisations ranging from a community-based advocacy group to a large government department.

His achievements include lead roles in national carbon and energy policy reform; driving technology innovation in energy, resources and agriculture; tackling corruption in education; gaining justice for victims of child sexual abuse; and building inclusion and collaboration in large government departments.

Before joining Nous, Richard’s roles included running Victorian Government departments, leading strategy for Swinburne University, regulating privatised energy industries, policy research and negotiation for a Senate party, and public advocacy.

Richard’s previous board and council memberships include the Stakeholder Advisory Group to the Chief Scientist on a National Hydrogen Strategy; the Advisory Board at the Australian Centre for Renewable Energy; the National Consultative Committee on Peace and Disarmament and the Victorian Secretaries Board. He was previously the Victorian rural assistance commissioner, the chair of the Grampians Regional Management Forum and the Animal Welfare and Product Integrity Committee, director of Schools connect Australia and the Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership, and deputy chair of the National Emissions Trading Task Force.

Richard holds a Master of Public Policy Management from Monash University, a Bachelor of Engineering (electrical engineering) from the now University of South Australia, and a Diploma of Company Directorship from the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is an adjunct professor of energy transformation at Swinburne University.

Session: Masterclass A: Australian Energy industry boot camp

Dr Carol Bond is an accomplished researcher in the resources and energy sectors. Her methods include social impact assessments, social services evaluations, stakeholder engagement tool development, socio-economic baseline studies, and related social due diligence. Carol currently researchers business opportunities in the emerging hydrogen economy including micro-grid development.

Carol is Lecturer in Management at RMIT University, Australia. Over the course of her career, Carol's work has been concerned with investigating and analyzing how government policy and investment in the energy and resources sectors in Australia affects socio-economic factors in SME operating environments. Core research themes are policy impacts on businesses, energy-related equity & distributive justice issues, and circular economy opportunities.

Session: Supporting all customers through the energy transition

Jon Briskin joined Origin in 2010 and was appointed Executive General Manager, Retail in December 2016. Jon leads the teams responsible for energy sales, marketing, product development and service experience for Origin’s residential and SME customers. Jon has held various roles at Origin, leading customer operations, service transformation and customer experience and prior to Origin worked as a management consultant.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How do energy companies secure intelligence systems and data against cyber security threats?

Catherine Buhler leads Cyber Security at EnergyAustralia ensuring appropriate security programs, controls and processes are implemented and maturing the cyber security practice.

Additionally, Catherine has a broader role across the China Light and Power (CLP) Group as the Head of Cyber Risk Assurance and Advisory. This includes the management of risk assessment and technical assurance (red team) teams and the provision of cyber risk and assurance reporting metrics across the region.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Which technologies are going to be the game-changers?

Ben Burge leads Telstra Energy, part of Australia’s largest telecommunications provider and a participant in the Race to Zero campaign. In 2020 Telstra committed to enabling renewable energy generation equivalent to 100% of its consumption by 2025, and to reducing its absolute emissions by 50% by 2030. The organisation has already achieved carbon neutrality for its operations and network.

Session: Opening remarks from the Chair

Dr Jill Cainey MBE is the founder and CEO of Erne Energy, supporting the energy sector to understand the impacts and risks of climate change as Australia electrifies the future.
Jill advocated for the interests of the electricity transmission and distribution networks in Australia and the interests of electricity storage in the UK and Europe, influencing the development of policies and regulations to support low carbon electrification.  This included developing low-cost approaches to supporting decentralised community electricity markets and local flexibility.

Jill ran Australia’s climate monitoring station at Cape Grim in Tasmania and as a climate scientist she focusses on the impact of extreme weather on electricity systems to ensure that customers and networks are resilient to future change.

Session: Digitalisation, decarbonisation and decentralisation - examining the impact of energy transition on consumers

Frank Calabria was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Origin Energy, a leading Australian energy company with interests in retail, generation and natural gas, in October 2016.

In that time, Origin has committed to halve its direct emissions by 2032 and an aim to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, doubled the amount of renewables in its portfolio and launched a new brand and values under the banner of “good energy”. Frank has also been a leading advocate on behalf of more than 4 million Origin customers for energy policy that encourages investment in a clean energy future and improves affordability.

Prior to becoming CEO, Frank was responsible for leading Origin’s Energy Markets business which comprises a retail business with a broad range of energy products and solutions and a diverse gas, power generation and renewable energy portfolio. Frank was also Origin’s chief financial officer from 2001 to 2009.

Session: Panel Discussion: Designing new infrastructure to support and decarbonise energy generation

Nick is Principal at Akaysha Energy, with more than 25 years’ experience in the energy and engineering sectors. Akaysha Energy are focused on assisting developers and investors in bring utility scale energy technology solutions to market. Primary focus areas for Nick and Akaysha Energy are large scale battery storage, variable renewables and Hydrogen production assets.

Nick previously worked at Macquarie Capital in the energy technology and solutions team, working on a range of large-scale battery storage and commercial electric and Hydrogen vehicle projects. Prior to this, Nick worked at Tesla in a range of roles include business development for large scale battery storage, behind the meter storage and autonomous bidding software services. Nick is passionate about energy technology and the energy transition in Australia but also across other global markets.

Session: Using renewables to modernise the grid and improve energy reliability

Session: Panel Discussion: Designing new infrastructure to support and decarbonise energy generation

Kate is Research Manager working in the CSIRO Energy Systems (ES) Program. Kate leads the cluster of work managing the ES research facilities. Kate's research focuses on addressing the challenges in the Australian energy sector to navigate its transition to future net-zero emissions.

Kate's current research priorities include:

- Renewable energy Australian grid integration and support (including battery energy storage systems - identifying and pursuing best practice in Standards adoption. with BESS performance and capability testing)
- Building Energy Efficiency through use, design, development and testing HVAC&R technologies with the National Heating, Ventilation & Air-Conditioning (HVAC) Performance Test Facility.
- stakeholder and data engagement to ensure appropriate and trusted resources in the National Energy Analytics Research (NEAR) Program, enabling insight and evidence-based decision making for the Australian energy system.

Session: Opening remarks from the Chair

Lisa Chiba was appointed Managing Director of Momentum Energy in January 2022.

Lisa has worked in a range of leadership roles across the retail energy, utilities and financial services sectors throughout her career, including as Customer Services Director at iSupply Energy in the UK; Director in the Customer & Digital practice at management consultancy Baringa Partners; and as Group Manager Retail Growth and Governance at Origin Energy. Lisa holds a Bachelor of Laws with honours and a Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications) from the University of Melbourne.

Momentum Energy is a leading mid-tier energy retailer owned by Hydro Tasmania, Australia’s leading generator of renewable energy. Lisa is passionate about the role energy companies can and should play in Australia’s transition to clean energy.

Session: Managing the impact of increased demand from EVs

John is an experienced Chief Executive Officer with comprehensive executive and non-executive experience with large and complex organisations in the infrastructure (rail, ports, energy transmission and distribution), resources and logistics sectors.

John is a director of Essential Energy and a member of its Board Regulatory Committee, and the Deputy Chair of Energy Networks Australia.

John previously held the position of Head of Infrastructure, Coal Division at Anglo American PLC and prior to that he was the CEO of WestNet Infrastructure Group.

Session: Offshore wind farms - getting buy-in from all stakeholders

Erin Coldham is the Chief Development Officer at the Star of the South project, which seeks to harness Bass Strait winds to power more than a million homes with clean energy, while creating thousands of jobs.

Erin is proud to be part of the team progressing this critical infrastructure project for Australia, bringing her extensive experience working with all levels of government on major, multi-billion-dollar infrastructure projects.
In her role at Star of the South, Erin is currently responsible for all development activities required to bring the project to construction and operation, working with industry, regulators, policy-makers and local communities to bring offshore wind to regional Gippsland and the State of Victoria.
Included in A Word About Wind’s Top 100 Women’s Power List 2021, Erin is a champion for female talent in the energy industry and is driven by the positive opportunities offshore wind represents for Australia.

Session: Leading and meeting the challenges of the accelerating clean energy transition

Mark was appointed EnergyAustralia's Managing Director in July 2021.

Mark joined the organisation in 2003 and has deep executive experience in both the retail and wholesale energy markets.  Prior to his appointment as MD he served as Chief Customer Officer from May 2019.

Mark is expert in managing the complexities of the energy transition and has been instrumental in developing tools and services at EnergyAustralia to help accelerate the uptake of cleaner forms of energy. His insights into how retail and wholesale market opportunities can be harnessed for customer benefit was enhanced through his four years as Energy Executive, where he was responsible for EnergyAustralia’s wholesale business. In prior executive roles, Mark led teams responsible for Trading, Corporate Strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions, Policy and Government Affairs and Sustainability.

He is a director of the board of the Australian Energy Council, a former member of the Reliability Panel (responsible for reviewing and reporting on the safety, security, and reliability of the national electricity system) and a former director of the Australian Financial Markets Association.

Mark holds degrees in Aerospace Engineering, Business Administration and Economics.

Session: Implementing the ESB's post-2025 redesign of the National Electricity Market (NEM)

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Net-zero: Uncertainty or opportunity for energy leaders?

Anna Collyer is a leading energy expert and the Chair of the Australian Energy Market Commission and Energy Security Board. She has more than two decades of public and private sector experience in energy and has worked extensively on industry reform with energy ministers.
Anna has a passion for leadership and change and is a big believer in a learning culture, where experimentation is a necessary part of creating something new.

As a partner of Allens law firm from 2001 to 2020, Anna focused on the energy sector throughout its evolution, advised a broad range of clients in the public and private sectors on major projects, and fostered innovation at all levels of the firm, not only in technological developments but also in new ways of working and addressing disruption.

Anna has a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne.

Session: Hydrogen, electrification and Net Zero: the capacity behind the targets

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How quickly can hydrogen become a mainstream fuel?

Blair joined EY Port Jackson Partners in January 2018 following a distinguished public sector career.

He was CEO of four public sector organisations, including Secretary of three departments at both Commonwealth and State levels. Blair played key roles in the design of Australia’s competition policy framework, the GST, the rationale and design of the Future Fund and the design and implementation of emissions trading in Australia. He was the head of the largest State public sector in Australia and has undertaken complex multilateral negotiations both domestically and internationally.

Since joining Port Jackson Partners, Blair has led projects across various industries including energy, government, transport, water and human services.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How does the energy sector balance retailer viability with the need to support vulnerable consumers?

Anna Crabb is an optimist who has a deep commitment to fairness and integrity. As the Chief Executive Officer, Anna leads the Australian Energy Foundation team who are at the forefront of finding practical solutions to climate change. Anna provides visionary leadership, builds effective relationships to deliver shared goals, and represents the AEF in the media and public forums. Anna models the AEF’s values – inclusive, inspiring, bright – in service of an engaged and effective team and organisation.

Prior to AEF, Anna was Head of Strategy and Partnerships at B Lab Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, the not-for-profit behind the global movement of people using business as a force for good, Certified B Corporations.

Anna’s commentary has been featured in the Australian Financial Review, ABC, The Age/SMH, BBC, The Mandarin and Australian Policy Online.

Anna holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and Sciences (University of Melbourne), a Master of Management (Australian National University). She has recently completed the Mastery of Business and Empathy (Small Giants Academy).

Session: Empowering customers to manage their energy needs and take advantage of new technology and market offerings

Andrew joined Aurora Energy in October 2019 to lead the Aurora+ business unit. As the accountable executive for this space, Andrew is tasked with supporting his team in the reimagination of the energy experience for all Tasmanians and is focused on developing a customer-centric approach to building our new capability.

In his role, Andrew is responsible for how we evolve our engagement with customers, how we best service their transactions with us, how we develop products that are aligned to their unmet needs and how we develop our technology to be an enabler for our future ambitions. In addition, Andrew is also accountable for how we develop our relationship with our community partners.

With over 15 years’ experience working across Europe and Australia, Andrew has held senior roles in organisations large and small and has worked across industries such as software, financial services, health insurance, and digital marketing services. With a big passion for building and developing products and services that make a real impact on customers, and also deliver great returns for the business, Andrew is motivated by a desire to always exceed expectations and to look for ways to wow our customers by creating exceptional experiences.

Session: Discover how a systematic approach to retaining customers works

Libby Dale is a digital professional passionate about all things related to customer experience and customer success. Having worked in technology for 25+ years, Libby became frustrated with the lack of solutions to solve the problem of customer churn. She left corporate life to co-create the groundbreaking churn prediction and treatment software SmartMeasures, enabling large customer-centric organisations to predict and control customer churn.

Libby is passionate about keeping customers happy through clever technology. She believes customer churn can be avoided in a way that delivers both happy customers and improves the business bottom line.

Session: FIRESIDE CHAT: Lessons from the pandemic for energy retailers

Michael Dart is the Executive General Manager - Customer at Energy Queensland.

Energy Queensland is a $26B Government Owned Corporation and Australia’s largest electricity distribution company, connecting electricity supply to 2.3 million customers across Queensland. They develop and deliver innovative solutions for the energy challenges faced by customer and communities.  Energy Queensland includes Ergon Energy, Energex, Ergon Energy Retail and Yurika.

Michael has championed Energy Queensland’s customer and community strategies, engaging with our significant stakeholders and customers to implement energy policy on behalf of the Board of Energy Queensland.  His portfolio includes customer and community strategy, media management, Government and investor relations, internal communications, marketing, brand and customer digital needs.  His portfolio includes the businesses Customer and Market Operations which covers connections, metering services, market transactions and customer contact centres across the state of Queensland. He is the Chief Customer Officer (CCO) and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO).

Michael has executive management, stakeholder relations, policy development, media, social media and communications experience reaching over 20 years. He is also an experienced Non-Executive Director and Chair in the government, arts and environmental health fields. Michael is a trustee of the Centre for Economic Development Australia (CEDA). Michael has also worked for State and Local Governments and as a private sector consultant.

Michael is a proven leader, policy and communications specialist, having spent more than a decade as an Energy industry leader as well as significant roles in the public and private sectors.

Michael is also involved in several volunteer organisations including the Arts, Business and Environment sectors.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What will it take to accelerate energy decarbonisation?

Session: Successfully introducing hydrogen into domestic settings

Craig joined the business in 2005 and became Chief Executive Officer of the AGIG entities in November 2021. Craig is an experienced executive and, prior to being appointed CEO, had responsibility for a broad range of key corporate functions, including business strategy, our low carbon strategy and transition, hydrogen growth and development, ESG, corporate affairs, media, communications, regulation, customer service and business development, community engagement, risk and compliance and people and culture. He brings over 20 years of industry experience and currently Chairs the Australian Hydrogen Centre. Craig holds a Master of Economics

Session: Building intermittency into the electricity market whilst maintaining reliability

Jeff has been CEO of Alinta Energy since 2011 and Managing Director since 2017. Jeff has approximately 25 years of experience in the energy and water resources industry, including 15 years at AGL prior to joining Alinta Energy.

Alinta Energy is a leading Australian utility with an owned and contracted generation portfolio of 3,000MW, over 1 million combined electricity and gas retail customers, and around 1,000 employees across Australia and New Zealand. Alinta Energy provides generation, retail and wholesale supply of gas and electricity across Australia and offers local service through customer experience hubs in Perth, Western Australia and Morwell in Victoria. With a 2025 target for 1,500MW of owned and contracted renewable energy generation nationally, Alinta Energy continues to support the development of renewable energy generation,

Jeff is a board member of the Australian Energy Council and his previous energy industry directorships include the National Generators Forum, the Australian Wind Energy Association, the Renewable Energy Generators of Australia, the Clean Energy Council and the Australian Energy Market Commission’s Reliability Panel. Jeff holds a Bachelor of Business from RMIT University and has completed the Executive Learning Program at IMD Business School in Switzerland.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Protecting users from increased infrastructure costs as the states ‘go it alone’

Gavin has been as a consumer representative in the energy sector for over 25 years. During this time, he has undertaken research electricity disconnections; documented changes in energy pricing and its impacts on households; and been involved in the development of state and federal energy consumer protection and concession frameworks. Gavin is currently a representative of a number of industry and government committees including: gas and electricity distribution companies’ customer consultative committees; AGL’s national customer council; the AER’s customer consultative group; AEMO’s Integrated System Plan consumer panel and board member of Energy Consumers Australia.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Which technologies are going to be the game-changers?

Session: Engineering approach for a functional and future proof grid

Rod Duke commenced as Chief Executive Officer of Energy Queensland Limited on 1 April 2020. Prior to this he held the role of Chief Executive Officer of the Gladstone LNG project operating company for Santos and its partners.

Rod is also the Chief Executive Officer and a Board Director of all subsidiary companies of Energy Queensland Limited.

Rod brings extensive executive and energy industry experience working in senior roles at Santos, Singapore LNG Corporation, the Energy Market Authority of Singapore, and Woodside.

He has a strong commercial and safety focus with more than 35 years professional international experience in operations, commercial, marketing, trading, development, projects, engineering, construction and commissioning areas of the natural gas industry as well as leading transformational projects.

Rod holds a Graduate Diploma of Management and a Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical) with Honours. He is a member of the University of Queensland School of Chemical Engineering Industry Advisory Board, a Board Director of the Clean Marine Fuels Institute, and a Board Director of Energy Networks Australia.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What is required to facilitate the gas sector moving to low carbon alternatives?

Damian is responsible for APPEA's economic, trade, climate and energy markets analysis and policies. His 25-year public policy career includes positions as an economist at another industry association and in the Australian Public Service.

Session: Carbon light: Australia's energy future

David Dyer is a leader in McKinsey and Company’s Sustainability Practice across Australia and New Zealand and Managing Partner of the Melbourne Office. He serves private and public sector clients across Australia and Asia on ESG issues, particularly decarbonisation and the energy transition.

At AEW 2022 David will build on ‘Carbon light’, a perspective co-authored with sustainability colleagues, which explores how the global move toward low carbon energy and materials will profoundly reshape Australia’s economy, and how Australia can make substantial economic, employment and industrial gains if it seizes the opportunity.

This opportunity is a core tenet of David’s work with clients across the public and private sector. It has been built on two decades with McKinsey, helping clients identify emerging economic, societal and policy issues, and to develop capabilities to respond, so that organisations can achieve sustainable returns for the benefit of their stakeholders now, and well into the future.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What are the best ways to combat anti-transmission line sentiment?

Andrew commenced in the role of National Wind Farm Commissioner in November 2015. The role and name of the Commissioner was expanded to the Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner on 26 March 2021.

Andrew is an experienced executive, chairman and company director. He serves on a number of boards and advisory boards and is a Professorial Fellow at Monash University.

His professional career includes executive and operational roles in the utilities, telecommunications, information technology and professional services industries, primarily in Australia and North America. Andrew was also the Victorian Government Commissioner to the Americas, based in San Francisco.

A former McKinsey & Co. consultant, Andrew holds a Bachelor of Engineering with first class honours from Monash University and an MBA from Georgetown University in Washington DC.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Defining which projects offer best returns on investment and how will they fit into the future system

Nick Easingwood is Executive Director, Corporate Finance at ANZ, based in Sydney.

Nick has close to 20 years’ banking experience across structured finance, debt capital markets and mergers and acquisitions. 

He is responsible for leading the execution of project finance mandates in the energy sector (power through to oil & gas), acting in the capacity of advisor or arranger.  Nick has had a lead role on LNG financings in the region and expertise in multi-finance solutions across commercial banks, export credit agencies and debt capital markets.  He has a focus on the energy transition including renewables, utility batteries/long duration storage, hydrogen, carbon offsets and oil & gas companies transitioning into lower carbon businesses.

Prior to joining ANZ in 2010, Nick was a Director in Société Générale’s Energy Project Finance team and previously Deputy Head of Securitisation Australia where he advised on the structuring and global syndication of A$18 billion equivalent of asset-backed bonds.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What are the best ways to combat anti-transmission line sentiment?

Tim is the Managing Director of CutlerMerz.

He has enjoyed working on large and complex energy infrastructure projects, and has developed technical, commercial, and engagement aspects of projects across all phases including definition, planning, design, procurement, and construction.

Tim’s role as project director on transformation assignments has seen him lead large, cross-functional teams to reform energy businesses in readiness for change. His area of specialisation involves synthesising several complex and competing priorities to reset systems, structures, and processes to effectively alter the business models of energy organisations.

Tim has been accountable for the success of multi-billion dollar transmission developments, which included responding to major project metrics and milestones, and specifically leveraged his background knowledge of working closely with key stakeholders to achieve shared desired outcomes.

He has paid particular attention to addressing key concerns and issues raised which impact social licence to operate, and has done so by engaging directly with the community and key government, regulatory and industry bodies.

Session: Chairperson Welcome

Dr. Daniel Eghbal is the Manager Future Network Strategy at Energy Queensland. In his current role, Daniel leads a team that develops grid transformation strategies and roadmaps for Energex and Ergon Energy Network. This includes identifying and prioritising the key capabilities required to operate the future grid with high penetration of Distributed Energy Resources (DER) and electrification of transport. In his role as Senior Adjunct Research Fellow at The University of Queensland, Daniel supports UQ in developing research projects and supervising post and undergraduate students. Daniel is a Fellow Member of Engineers Australia, Senior member of IEEE and the Chair of IEEE Australia Council.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Which technologies are going to be the game-changers?

Rod Farmer is a leader within McKinsey’s Design and Green Business Building practices, part of McKinsey Digital, in Asia. He helps clients build new businesses at the forefront of the energy transition, develops world-class customer and employee experiences, and drives innovative new business models and the organisational capabilities required to execute them.

Rod brings two decades of experience leading customer-led transformations and driving digitisation programs in public and private sector. Prior to McKinsey he was a successful entrepreneur and led Isobar Australia (part of Dentsu Aegis).

Outside of McKinsey, Rod is a proud Board Member of SANE Australia, a national mental health charity making a real difference in the lives of people affected by complex mental health issues.

Session: Smart grid solutions with customer participation

Eli Fratkin is a systems engineering manager of multi-disciplinary technological systems with more than 10 years of experience in managing the full system development life cycle and finding new solutions to unexpected problems. From scoping and specifications, to design and development, testing and deployment, he has an extensive background resolving complex technological and project management issues. He is a senior systems engineer based in Australia for Generac Grid Services. Prior to joining Generac, Eli was in the defense sector, where he led a team of engineers in the development and deployment of a military defense system that saved countless lives. In the private sector, he managed the development of an electric vehicle battery, a fiber optic sensing system, a digital PCR and many others.

Session: Modelling networks to enable renewable energy and energy storage in microgrids and isolated systems

Lyndon Frearson is a leader in the field of remote and regional infrastructure development and deployment, policy and financing. He is the Managing Director of Ekistica and the Project Director for Alice Springs Future Grid.

A chartered electrical engineer, Lyndon’s career experience includes heavy industry and automotive manufacturing, and more than a decade in the energy sector with a focus on renewables.

Lyndon has led advisory, engineering design and project delivery activities for clients including government agencies, regulatory bodies, utilities, regional development agencies, community organisations and commercial and private investment firms across Australia, South-Asia, the Pacific and in Africa. He has also provided critical input and leadership into some of the largest public and privately financed renewable energy projects and programs in Australia, and has established knowledge partnerships with CSIRO, Google, NREL, the IEA, the UNDP, AEMO and others.

As Ekistica’s Managing Director and Principal Consultant, Lyndon has overseen its development as regional and remote Australia’s leading advisory and technical consultancy firm. Ekistica is a founding Consortium Member of the Alice Springs Future Grid project - a multi-stakeholder systems project which designs and delivers interventions that will increase capacity for renewable energy hosting on the isolated Alice Springs grid. In these roles, Lyndon continues to be one of Australia’s thought-leaders in the energy sector.

Session: Keeping consumers at the heart of a just energy transition as we work towards a modern, flexible and resilient future system

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Protecting users from increased infrastructure costs as the states ‘go it alone’

Lynne is an economist/econometrician by qualification and has substantial experience in economic modelling and policy reform processes, including working with the Council of Australian Governments, and in strategic issues management in the corporate sector. Her career has seen her spend 15 years in a technical environment, followed by 12 years in practice and as an adviser. Prior to her appointment as ECA's Director of Research, Lynne was Executive Director, Industry Development at Energy Networks Australia. Lynne brings to ECA strong insights, a strategic focus and a consumer advocacy perspective which has been honed from her work with network businesses, retailers and regulators.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Sharing the benefits of renewables - distributed energy to reduce consumer costs

As General Manager Energy Services, Renae is leading innovation and growth in RACV’s clean energy services and solutions for the home, business, motoring and mobility. Renae has an outstanding record in delivering impactful programs that lead to positive and commercially sustainable growth.  Prior to RACV Renae held senior leadership roles at Horizon Power and Synergy leading customer centric programs such as Project Symphony, community battery rollouts and creating the Schools Virtual Power Plant for the WA Education Department. In 2019, her Integrated Energy Program with Vicinity Centres won awards from both the Clean Energy Council and the Property Council Australia.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How do we re-invent the way energy is sold with consumers at the centre of the equation?

Damien has 18 years’ experience in senior management, logistics, and Executive Director roles. He engineered the business case for the deployment of the Sunshine Coast 16MW Solar Farm. Damien is co-founder and architect of the electricity retail model that successfully enabled LPE to obtain their Australian Energy Regulator Authorisation. Damien is the CEO of LPE and the listed responsible person for the management components of the Australian Energy Regulator Authorisation to retail electricity.

Session: Decarbonisation begins with technology and ends with customers

Matt has been working within the utility industry for 23 years as a key advisor to customers and partners on energy business transformation and innovation. He’s supported a tide of deregulation transitions in markets across Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas, working alongside customers and partners to enable better outcomes – from grid performance, customer engagement, and everything in between. His passion is seeing utilities tap in to the enormous potential they have across their business to improve customer experiences, optimize utility performance, and accelerate decarbonisation goals.

Matt is passionate about:
• Helping energy companies truly unleash the power of their AMI and grid data to drive positive change
• Creating a new relationship between energy company and consumer that drives mutual benefits (financial and carbon-based)
• Challenging the traditional power-planning models for peak load, but creating alternatives such as demand response and behavioural change to avoid unnecessary additional generation and GHG emission

Session: What is required for a smooth & fast re-engineering of the grid?

Cara Graham is a Power & Utilities Partner in EY’s Economics, Regulation and Policy team.  Cara has over 18 years of experience in the energy industry.  She joined EY from electricity distributor Energex where she held a number of senior roles, including representing Energex on executive-level national workgroups responsible for managing changes to market procedures used within the National Electricity Market. 

Cara has worked for numerous Power & Utilities clients around the world, focusing particularly on electricity generation, retail and distribution clients preparing for energy reform.

Session: Digital enablement to deliver a seamless customer experience

Iain is CEO of Red Energy, the multi award winning retail arm of Snowy Hydro Limited. Red Energy also encompasses Lumo Energy and Direct Connect Australia and collectively employs 1200 staff most based in its Melbourne contact centre.

Prior to founding Red Energy in 2004 Iain had 25 years of experience in the information technology industry in New Zealand, Australia and Brazil and has held senior roles in the telecommunications, insurance, research and development and banking sectors. Iain took a lead role in the integration of the nine separate retail energy businesses acquired by Contact in New Zealand in 1998. In 2003, Iain’s achievements were recognised by being awarded New Zealand’s Chief Information Officer of the Year.

Session: Delivering the systems and infrastructure to deliver competitively priced, dispatchable, high volume renewable electricity for export

David Griffin has been active in developing utility-scale solar and wind farms in Australia since 2000 and South Africa since 2010, through his own development companies and during his time as General Manager of Development at Infigen Energy. Some of his projects include the 64MW Warwick Solar Farm (QLD), 30MW Corowa Solar Farm (NSW), 89.1MW Alinta Wind Farm (WA), 80MW Nojoli Wind Farm (South Africa) and the 96MW Jasper Solar Farm (South Africa). Of the projects David has developed to date, 1GW has been commissioned, and approximately 2 GW are in the advanced stage of development or under construction.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Net-zero: Uncertainty or opportunity for energy leaders?

Session: Ampol’s future energy and decarbonisation journey

Matthew Halliday was appointed Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer in June 2020. He joined Ampol in April 2019 as Chief Financial Officer.

Prior to joining Ampol, Matthew enjoyed a successful career with Rio Tinto spanning 20 years, where he held senior finance and commercial roles across several divisions and geographies.

Matthew is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Western Australia and an MBA from London Business School.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Which technologies are going to be the game-changers?

Sophia Hamblin Wang is a cleantech COO, circular economy expert, speaker, university lecturer and diversity advocate. She is the Chief Operating Officer of Mineral Carbonation International (MCi), a technology platform that transforms CO2 into building materials and other valuable industrial products.

Sophia grew up in Far North Queensland and completed a Bachelor of International Business with First Class Honours at the ANU College of Business and Economics. Sophia showcased MCi’s technology at the Australia Pavilion at COP26 and won first place in the Net Zero Technology Centre COP26 Pitch Battle in Glasgow.

In 2022, Ms Hamblin Wang has been appointed to the forum of Young Global Leaders by the World Economic Forum. Sophia is co-founding Director of CO2 Value Australia, a member of the Australian Capital Territory Climate Change Council and a board member of the Climate Ready Initiative. Sophia is also a Lecturer at the University of Sydney Business School and was awarded Resource Innovator of the Year at the New Materials Summit in Berlin in 2018. Sophia has been featured in ABC TV’s Q&A, The New York Times, Time Magazine, TEDx, The Australian Newspaper’s The Deal Magazine and was a delegate at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020, WEF Pioneers of Change Summit 2021 and the UN Youth Climate Summit in New York 2019. Sophia was also an Australian Delegate to the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in India in 2017. Sophia is a Global Shaper Alumni, has an Australian Red Cross long-service medal and was awarded an Order of Australia Student Citizenship Award for work in aged care, sustainability, diversity and inclusion.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How quickly can hydrogen become a mainstream fuel?

Lars is a driven business leader with over 20 years of extensive experience in international project leadership, strategic contracting structures and account management in complex environments within the engineering and renewable energy industries. Lars has structured and negotiated turn-key and long-term service agreements for some of the largest wind turbine manufacturers in the world across Australia, Asia and Europe and has successfully managed a range of joint venture and partnership agreements. Lars has worked closely with federal and state government stakeholders in the USA and Australia to develop and drive policy setting, enabling developments and supply chain investments for the renewable energy industry and has been a presenter and panellist at energy conferences in the USA and Australia. Lars is now Director Upstream Energy for one of the world’s largest green fuels projects developer; InterContinental Energy.

Session: Meeting Australia’s growing demand for reliable baseload power with pumped hydro

James has 30 years’ experience in the international project business, having been involved with the development, financing and implementation of major capital projects around the world. Prior to joining Genex, James was a Director and Head of Business Development at Abengoa Solar Power Australia, a world leader in commercial solar thermal energy and photovoltaic technology.

He has previously worked in Australia, Europe and Asia, as General Manager Renewables with IPS Australia and MAN Ferrostaal (part of MAN AG), with the German utility RWE as Regional Director for development projects in South-East Asia, and in a variety of business development and management roles with the Kloeckner Group. He started his career in the project and export financing division of Kleinwort Benson, the UK merchant bank.

Session: Masterclass D: Hydrogen Cost Modelling: Understanding The Costs And Financial Benefits

Rohan Harris is an economist who has worked in the energy, water and consulting industries for more than 20 years. Rohan has significant experience in the areas of: tariff design; regulatory strategy and analysis; cost benefit analysis; energy and water policy; and electricity, gas and water demand forecasting. Rohan’s focus has predominately been on either the theoretical, economic, aspects related to these topic areas, or on the quantitative assessments (modelling) required to support the decisions or outputs related to these topic areas.

In recent assignments Rohan has been advising on options for a potential national hydrogen support scheme design (renewable energy certificates), on the regulatory barriers to hydrogen uptake in Australian markets and on the retail markets for hydrogen, and the cost benefit of various development scenarios. He has also presented several papers on hydrogen development. Key clients have been water authorities who have a special interest in hydrogen and oxygen production from waste water and gas network businesses as they look to green their product.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Sharing the benefits of renewables - distributed energy to reduce consumer costs

Martin is leading Oracle's business in Asset and Operational Technology for JAPAC. His goal is to support the energy transformation to distributed and renewable energies with Oracle as the leader in operational technology.
Previously, he led Nokia Networks for Energy in Asia Pacific, supporting the communication and analytics requirements of Utilities, Oil & Gas, and Mining companies.

Martin has over 20 years of experience in the Utilities and Energy industry and has led many strategy and transformation projects for his clients. Before joining Nokia, Martin consulted with Workato and KISTERS and led Accenture's Smart Grid Services for Asia Pacific, working with clients in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Australia on asset management, Smart Grid, AMI roadmaps, and new business models.
Martin holds a master's degree specializing in Industrial Engineering from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany, and he studied International Marketing at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How do we re-invent the way energy is sold with consumers at the centre of the equation?

Steve Hoy is a global utility industry executive and recognized subject matter expert in smart grid and distributed energy resource management systems. As a founder and CEO of Enosi he leads a team developing retail energy trading solutions using the latest technologies including cryptography for proof of provenance. He has over 35 years experience in engineering, IT and strategy concentrating on the utilities sector, having started his career in the early 1980s as a power engineer with the local distribution utility (now AusGrid). His career has evolved from power engineering through SCADA and control systems at Megadata and Honeywell, into mainstream enterprise IT solutions at Logica, PwC Consulting and IBM where he led a global group of smart grid and utility industry subject matter experts in IBM’s Energy, Environment & Utilities Centre of Competency.

Steve is now CEO of Enosi Australia, which aims to disrupt the power industry through the development of innovative energy traceability, trading and settlement solutions.

Session: Using REZ schemes to co-ordinate the energy transition

Jess has over twenty years' experience in energy regulation, both in Australia and in the United Kingdom. She specialises in reforming electricity markets to integrate renewable energy. Jess currently leads the Energy Security Board's work program to reform the National Electricity Market to support REZs. From 2013 to March 2020, she held a range of roles at the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), including Group Manager, Planning & Network Regulation, and Group Manager, Future Energy Systems. Prior to this she worked for the Australian Energy Regulator, Ofgem (the British energy regulator) and the NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal. Jess has a Masters in Energy and Resources Management from University College London and a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) from the University of Adelaide.

Session: The control question – how customers, retailers and markets can run the same race toward net zero

Shannon is Chief Executive Officer at Simply Energy and has been with the business since 2010 leading General Management functions in both Operations and Sales & Marketing. Shannon has led significant operational efficiency and transformation programs for Simply Energy, a retailer growing energy customers and services on the east coast and Western Australia, and is part of the ENGIE Australia & New Zealand business.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How does the energy sector balance retailer viability with the need to support vulnerable consumers?

Kane was appointed Chief Operating Officer in November 2020 and leads the Customer Success business unit which is responsible for the delivery of the segmented end-to-end customer experience to complement our products.  This includes responsibility for the key customer touchpoints of connections, billing, payments, market interactions, inbound and outbound contacts, large customer sales and account management, energy purchasing, collections, and supporting vulnerable customers (via our Your Energy Support (YES) Program).

This business model enables the focus to be on the provision of a consistent application of customer service standards and keeps customers at the heart of everything we do.

Kane joined Aurora Energy in 2008 and has experience across a range of areas including finance, strategy, and project management. Kane holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance and Accounting) and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Governance Institute of Australia.  Kane is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Session: Using advanced grid edge and machine learning technologies to reduce energy consumption for consumers and operating/capital costs for suppliers and networks

Session: One small step for smart meters, one giant leap for climate change

Michael is the Managing Director of International at Sense, chartered with expanding the company’s global footprint into Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific.

Michael brings over 20 years of experience in consulting, strategy and leadership in energy and technology companies.  Michael began his career with Accenture before serving as Head of Strategy for two of the UK’s largest energy retailers, British Gas and SSE. He then built and led SSE’s Smart Home business unit, “Home Intelligence”. 

Before joining Sense, Michael was Managing Director at Verv, an IoT technology scale backed by British Gas and Innogy. Michael holds an MBA from the University of Warwick as well as a BA in History from Birmingham University.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeljary/

Session: MINISTERIAL ADDRESS: Energy update from Western Australia

The Hon. Bill Johnston is Western Australia's Minister for Mines and Petroleum, Energy, Corrective Services and Industrial Relations.
He has been a Minister for the McGowan Labor Government since March 2017, and was previously Minister for Commerce, Electoral Affairs, and Asian Engagement.
So far, his achievements include cutting red-tape for the mining industry, introducing the Work Health and Safety Bill (industrial manslaughter provisions) and assisting in revolutionising Western Australia’s energy system.

In Opposition he served as Shadow Minister for State Development and Energy from 2012, and Shadow Minister for Mines and Petroleum from 2013.
He was a Member of the Economics and Industry Standing Committee and Deputy Chair of the Inquiry into Domestic Gas Prices from 2010 to 2011.
Prior to entering Parliament, he was the State Secretary of WA Labor from 2001 until 2008, with responsibility for all State and Federal election campaigns.

Session: Addressing sustainability in Australia’s power generation assets

Laura Jones as a senior analyst at the BSGIP program. She is an experienced innovator and engineer with a demonstrated history of working across multiple industries and has been central to delivering on large customer-focussed projects such as Bruny Island Battery Trial. She has had a diverse work history spanning field testing, power system analysis, planning, innovation, and most recently economics & business models. On this project Laura will be the lead investigator.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How can we build diversity, equality, and representation into a net-zero world? Could there be a parallel power transition?

Marie has more than 35-years of gas and electric transmission and distribution operations experience.  She serves as a board of director for Duquesne Light Company.

Marie was President and CEO of Peak Reliability in Vancouver, WA.  Peak Reliability provided reliability coordination for transmission companies in the Western US as well as Baja California, Mexico and British Columbia, Canada. 

Prior to joining Peak Reliability Marie was at National Grid, where she held a variety of positions including SVP of Network Strategy and SVP of Gas Construction and Operations. Marie started her career with Pacific Gas & Electric Company in San Francisco where she acquired an extensive knowledge of the regulatory environment and stakeholder engagement.

Session: Pathways towards long-term emissions goals: fossil fuel phase-down in Australia’s electricity supply

Frank Jotzo is Professor of environmental economics and climate change economics at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy, where he directs the Centre for Climate and Energy Policy.

Frank Jotzo as senior authorship roles with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and is joint editor-in-chief of the journal Climate Policy. He leads research on topics including decarbonisation strategies, economics of energy transition, policy instruments for climate change and environment, and international trade and investment. He has advised national and state governments, international organisations and businesses.

Frank Jotzo teaches the Masters courses Domestic Climate Change Policy and Economics and International Climate Change Policy and Economics, and supervises PhD scholars.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Defining which projects offer best returns on investment and how will they fit into the future system

Shara is an experienced Non-Executive Director and Senior Executive with a demonstrated history of working in the construction, resources and energy industries. He is a qualified engineer, and holds an MBA from the University of Western Australia.

Prior to joining LUMEA, Shara held various senior roles with international firms in Middle East, Europe and Australia.

Shara’s area of expertise is in the development of enabling infrastructure projects. He has been involved in the design and construction of electrical infrastructures and pipelines in remote areas.

Shara is a qualified engineer, and holds an MBA from the University of Western Australia. He is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Shara has also served as a non-executive director for indigenous owned Pilbara based construction group Gumala Enterprises.

Session: Ministerial Address: Policy and national direction for the energy sector

Matt Kean entered Parliament in 2011 and spent his early years advocating for stronger mental health policy.

Elevated to the NSW Cabinet in 2017, he was Appointed Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation in 2017 and then appointed Minister for Energy and Environment in 2019.

An outspoken critic of “climate denialism” he has campaigned for greater and national action on climate change, arguing it’s not only good for the environment but it’s also good for our economy.

He has committed to increasing the size of the NSW National Park estate by over five per cent or 400,000 hectares by the end of 2022 and in 2020, he delivered the biggest renewable energy policy in Australia’s history.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What policy is needed to ensure affordability, reliability and security in the future energy system?

David Leitch is principal at ITK, specialising in analysis of electricity, gas and decarbonisation drawn from 33 years experience in stockbroking research & analysis for UBS, JPMorgan and predecessor firms. He is a regular contributor to Renew Economy.

Session: Planning and developing new energy generation assets

Trevor has been in the energy industry for 12 years after graduating with a Science and Electrical Engineering degree from Monash University.  He began his career as a power system engineer with AEMO working on generation connections and network modelling.  Trevor also spent a couple of years in Toronto, Canada, working in distribution generation connections at Hydro One.  Trevor joined Total Eren in 2019 and currently manages the grid connection process for new projects and also the electricity market trading for the Kiamal Solar Farm.  Trevor also served as Deputy Chair of the Clean Energy Council’s Market and Grid directorate in 2021.

Session: Examining the Microgrid and Isolated Test (MIST) Facility and the role it will play in modelling networks to allow renewable energy and energy storage to form a greater part of the microgrid

Alan has over ten years of experience in the distribution supply industry and a technical lead in researching and developing new technologies for the modern power system. Currently, he is a Principal Engineer in the New Technology group within Energy Queensland and is the lead engineer of an advanced test laboratory in Cairns called the MIST Facility. His experience relates to integrating distributed energy resources into the distribution and isolated networks, focusing on the modelling and controlling power converter and energy storage technology alongside traditional network assets. He was heavily involved in the first solar farm connections in Queensland and PSCAD modelling due diligence requirements. He has expertise in modelling packages such as PSCAD, RSCAD, Powerfactory and Matlab/Simulink, and conducting both power and software hardware in the loop testing.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Protecting users from increased infrastructure costs as the states ‘go it alone’

Jamie Lowe is Head of Regulation, Compliance, and Sustainability for ENGIE in Australia & New Zealand and has 20 years’ experience in economic, strategy, and policy roles in the public service and in the energy sector.

In his current role, Jamie is responsible for managing company positioning on government policy and regulatory risk, influencing and responding to market developments, managing the company’s compliance framework, and providing strategic support to key projects.

Jamie has bachelors’ degrees in Arts (Hons 1) and Industrial Relations from the University of Adelaide, a Bachelor of Management (Commerce) from the University of South Australia, a Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment from Finsia (SIA), and, an Executive Masters of Public Administration from the University of Melbourne

Session: Utilising innovation for a distribution grid fit for the future

As Western Power’s Distribution Grid Strategy & Planning Manager, Janica Lukas is charged with planning for the rapidly changing future of the distribution network for Western Australia’s South West Interconnected System. Janica is responsible for the distribution network strategy including the development of performance and transformation strategies based on scenario modelling tools with a 30 year outlook. She leads the Distribution Grid Strategy and Planning Area in the development of network related investment proposals with a distribution CAPEX project pipeline of $25M-$30M per year. Her team actively investigates enabling the DER revolution and pilot projects across the network including stand-alone power systems, microgrids and utility scale battery energy storage solutions.
With more than 17 years’ experience with Western Power, Janica and her team are using engineering expertise to drive an innovative and optimised evolution of the network to support customers’ energy choices.

Owned by the Western Australian Government, Western Power’s vast transmission and distribution network connects more than two million customers to a wide range of both traditional and renewable energy sources across an area of around 255,000 km2. The South West Interconnected Network incorporates more than 103,000 kilometres of wires, 152 substations and more than 860,000 poles and towers.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What are the best ways to combat anti-transmission line sentiment?

Anh is the Executive Director of VicGrid Division at DELWP. VicGrid is responsible for establishing Renewable Energy Zones. This includes managing the $540 million REZ Fund to drive the modernisation of Victoria’s transmission grid to enable the transition to a cleaner energy mix. Anh has extensive experience across Government and industry in policy, transmission, capital management and economic regulation. Before joining VicGrid Anh held various leadership roles at AusNet Services and the Australian Energy Regulator.

Session: Security, reliability and resilience from and for energy communities and microgrids

Energy Systems Program Leader at the Melbourne Energy Institute, University of Melbourne
Chair of Electrical Power Systems, Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Pierluigi Mancarella is Chair Professor of Electrical Power Systems at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and Professor of Smart Energy Systems at the University of Manchester, UK. His key research interests include techno-economic modelling and analysis of multi-energy systems, grid integration of renewables and distributed energy resources, energy infrastructure planning under uncertainty, and security, reliability, and resilience of low-carbon networks.

Pierluigi is the Energy Systems Program Leader at the Melbourne Energy Institute, an IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Power and Energy Society Distinguished Lecturer, the Convenor of the CIGRE (International Council of Large Electric Systems) C6/C2.34 Working Group on Flexibility Provision from Distributed Energy Resources, holds the 2017 veski innovation fellowship for his work on urban-scale virtual power plants, and is a recipient of the international Newton Prize 2018 for his work on power system resilience in Chile. He is author of several books and over 300 research papers and reports, and is a journal editor of the IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, the IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, and Oxford Open Energy.

In the past few years, Pierluigi has supported the Finkel Review panel, the Australian Energy Market Operator, the Australian Energy Market Commission, and the Australian Energy Regulator on relevant research and consultancy projects on power system security, reliability, and resilience, and has led and been involved in several projects via the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and Cooperative Research Centres.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How do energy companies secure intelligence systems and data against cyber security threats?

Keith Marriner is the APAC Vice President of PAS by Hexagon. He has held a range of leadership roles at major operational technology companies, namely Invensys (Schneider Electric) and Rockwell Automation across Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific and Oceania.

An evangelist for operational integrity effectiveness, helping customers identify the value in abnormal situations, automation configuration and knowledge management solutions within their digitisation strategies. More recently applying his experience in critical control, safety and process functional safety to the OT (ICS) Cyber Security needs of industrial owner / operators.

Keith holds an electrical/electronic engineering diploma and an MBA from the Heriot-Watt University.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How quickly can hydrogen become a mainstream fuel?

Mark is an experienced advocate and communicator on resources and energy issues.

Prior to joining LETA he was Managing Director of a public relations and communications agency with clients in the resources and energy sectors. Previous roles also include Australian Head of Government Relations with Shell and the Deputy Chief Executive of APPEA — Australia’s peak oil and gas industry association. Mark has also held roles as a senior manager in resource industry representative bodies and as an advisor to the Federal Government.

Mark has a Masters of Environmental Law (ANU), Bachelor of Science (ANU), and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How do energy companies secure intelligence systems and data against cyber security threats?

Sarah joined Essential Energy in 2018 as the Head of eTech Operations and was the Acting Chief Information Officer from 15 April 2019.

Sarah is an experienced Information Technology (“IT”) and Innovation senior leader and certified Organisational Change Manager, with over 20 years’ experience in the IT industry.

Sarah previously held the position of Head of Applications at Pacific National and Asciano, an ASX top 50 company.

Session: Delivering successful energy projects in the renewable revolution

As a Partner in PwC Australia’s Integrated Infrastructure - Environmental Transactions & Advisory team, Fiona provides lead financial and commercial advisory services to clients in the infrastructure, energy & utilities sectors, with a strong focus on renewables.

A former senior banking executive with over 20 years’ experience, Fiona leads teams that originate, structure, and execute financial solutions that deliver bespoke solutions for clients. This includes corporate and project finance, capital markets, working capital solutions, hedging and advisory.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Defining which projects offer best returns on investment and how will they fit into the future system

Jackie is Program Director at the Business Renewables Centre Australia (BRC-A), the leading national and not-for-profit organisation facilitating corporate uptake of renewable energy in Australia. Established in 2018 by Climate-KIC, WWF-Australia and the Institute for Sustainable Futures (UTS) with funding from ARENA, NSW Goverment and Victorian Government, the BRC-A now has over 250 corporate members and is launching a new phase - including a new diagnostic tool and more resources and training for members.

As part of the team that established the BRC-A and having spent the past 2 years consulting in renewable energy procurement and carbon management, Jackie has returned to the BRC-A to expand corporate renewable energy procurement further. Jackie's key skill areas are carbon and energy management, renewable energy procurement (especially corporate PPAs), decarbonisation strategy & business cases,  corporate advisory, outreach & adcovacy. Her experience spans a range of sectors including energy, property, infrastructure, mining, retails, finance and government. 

Session: Opening remarks from the Chair

Catriona heads the Australian office of European Energy. European Energy develops, finances, constructs and operates wind and solar farms as well as large-scale Power-to-X plants. Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, the company has a strong track record as a renewable energy operator across Europe and other select global markets.
During her career Catriona has brought more than 50 utility-scale renewable energy projects to financial close, totalling over 1GW.Catriona heads the Australian office of European Energy. European Energy develops, finances, constructs and operates wind and solar farms as well as large-scale Power-to-X plants. Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, the company has a strong track record as a renewable energy operator across Europe and other select global markets.

During her career Catriona has brought more than 50 utility-scale renewable energy projects to financial close, totalling over 1GW.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What policy is needed to ensure affordability, reliability and security in the future energy system?

Sarah McNamara was appointed as Chief Executive of the Australian Energy Council in July 2018.

Sarah joined the Energy Council as General Manager of Corporate Affairs in January 2016. She is an industry leader with more than a decade of experience working with policy and regulatory frameworks across the resources and energy sectors.

Prior to the Energy Council, Sarah was Chief of Staff to the then Minister for Industry, the Hon Ian Macfarlane, and has also worked as a senior policy adviser to the Prime Minister.

Between 2008 and 2013 Sarah worked in AGL’s Corporate Affairs team as Head of Government Affairs and Community Engagement. Sarah began her career as a corporate lawyer, and has a Bachelor of Arts/Law from the University of Melbourne.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What are the best ways to use demand response programs to match generation and usage?

Dr Andrew Mears is an engineer and entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience in renewable energy and innovation management, covering APAC, Africa and Australia. He was a Chief Technical Advisor for Renewable Energy and Climate Change for the United Nations in Southern Africa and SE Asia, delivering more than 40 major assignments in 18 countries directly mobilising investment in excess of $200 million. Andrew is the founder and CEO of SwitchDin, an energy software company that bridges the gap between energy companies, equipment manufacturers and distributed energy asset owners to help create a cleaner, more distributed electricity system.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How do we re-invent the way energy is sold with consumers at the centre of the equation?

Adrian was born in Melbourne and grew up in Adelaide before his parents moved to the UK when he was nearly 14. Since leaving home at 16 to join the Air Force, Adrian has quite literally dug holes to bury other people’s crap, served on a mountain rescue team, lived and worked in India, been part of a dot-com startup at the turn of the Millennium, started a teddy bear business (but don't tell anyone about that), turned around a $700 million energy business, got an MBA, and spent 4 years running one of Australia’s largest energy retailers.

After 15 years in the energy sector, Adrian wanted to put his experience to good use to create something that genuinely helps customers and great organisations. And here it is: Energy Locals, which aims to kill off the traditional retail model by dismantling the things that customers find oh so frustrating about today’s energy.

Adrian is a self-confessed workaholic who finds work more of a hobby than a job. This can displease the team at times, who often wake up to a little collection of new Slack messages. He relaxes – well, never really – and loves his hobby of DJing, even though he’s really quite bad at it.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What are the best ways to use demand response programs to match generation and usage?

Dr Terese Milford is a Senior Engineer in Energex and Ergon Energy Network’s Intelligent Grid New Technology team with a PhD from QUT and Bachelor of Engineering from UQ. Terese is committed to delivering innovative solutions to emerging network challenges. She has worked in the area of an intelligent grid for the past 10 years having led trials of new low voltage regulation and battery technologies.Her recent work focusses on developing and deploying advanced network analytics tools to support a data-driven, digitally-enabled and cost-effective integration of renewables and distributed energy resources into the electricity network. She was awarded the 2021 Women in Technology ‘Rising Star Technology Award’ and her collaborative work on ‘Maximising Distributed Energy Resources using State Estimaton’ won Energy Networks Australia’s 2021 Industry Innovation Award.

Session: Discussing the role of virtual power plants in the future of the energy grid

Session: Panel Discussion: Addressing the benefits, challenges, and opportunities virtual power stations provide to the grid

Jacqui Mills is the Head of Virtual Power Plants at Clipsal Solar (Schneider Venture) in Australia. She joined Clipsal Solar mid 2021, following an extensive career as a chartered engineer in the power system sector, working most recently as Virtual Power Plant Lead at the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO). Her expertise in the field is further accentuated with three knowledge sharing reports under her belt, presenting empirical evidence that Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) can respond to power systems and market events effectively.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How can we build diversity, equality, and representation into a net-zero world? Could there be a parallel power transition?

Jane has 25 years’ experience in the energy sector, leading teams across the diverse functions of sales & marketing, customer services, HR & corporate services and operations at numerous energy companies - Alinta Energy, AGL, EnergyAustralia and Ausgrid.

Beyond the energy sector, Jane also held the position of Chief Operating Officer at the City of Parramatta Council and Human Resources roles at IBM.  

In her role as General Manager Sales & Marketing at Alinta Energy, Jane’s responsibilities include national residential and small business sales, marketing, brand & partnerships and customer experience. Jane is also a Director of the NSW Energy & Water Ombudsman Scheme (EWON).

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What policy is needed to ensure affordability, reliability and security in the future energy system?

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Protecting users from increased infrastructure costs as the states ‘go it alone’

Elizabeth (Liz) is an executive with over 20 years experience in the energy industry, skilled in policy, regulatory and governance spaces.
Energy is pervasive in our lives, and making energy accessible and affordable through efficient market design is a challenge that needs to be solved!
Sharing this responsibility across industry, government and customers themselves and embracing diverse views and opinions is what drives Liz’s passionate approach to leadership.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How do energy companies secure intelligence systems and data against cyber security threats?

Nathan Morelli is the Head of Cyber Security and IT Resilience at SA Power Networks. SA Power Networks is the state’s sole electricity distributor, building, maintaining and upgrading the poles, wires and substations that deliver power to around 900,000 homes and businesses.

As a member of the IT Leadership Team at SA Power Networks, he is responsible for leading the capability responsible for protecting the reliability and integrity of SA Power Networks systems through the delivery of the following;
- A leading cyber security risk management capability
- Resilient IT systems and supporting processes
- A modern digital identity management capability

As a successful cyber security professional, Nathan has worked across defence, consulting, private and public organisations. Prior to SA Power Networks, Nathan held management roles within Naval Group Australia, the Adelaide JCSC and the SA Department for Education. Nathan has experience in leading large and small cyber security teams, delivering to strategic goals, with measurable cyber security outcomes.

Nathan plays an active role in the growth of the cyber security community in South Australia, through roles as the Adelaide branch chair for the Australian Information Security Association (AISA) and a member of the Privacy Committee of South Australia.

Session: Opening remarks from the Chair

Elysse Morgan is an award winning journalist with a specialist business and finance background. She has been at the ABC for almost a decade, and before that in the Sky News Parliament house bureau. After joining the ABC her specialist knowledge saw her appointed as ABC News’ national finance reporter. After 2 years of co-hosting, Elysse is now the host of the ABC’s business programs on ABC1, ABC News channel and radio current affairs program Business PM.

Session: International Keynote: Highlighting the lessons for Australia from international energy markets about maintaining energy security

Gayathri Nair is Associate Programme Officer for Renewable Energy Grid Integration at the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)’s Innovation and Technology Centre in Bonn, Germany since 2018. Her work has been to coordinate grid assessment studies for several Small Island Developing States and contributing to technical capacity building programs on grid integration of variable renewable energy sources from the agency. She holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and worked as an academician prior to joining IRENA.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Which technologies are going to be the game-changers?

Emma-Jane is a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley covering the General Industries sectors. Her experience includes advising on mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt capital raisings and growth strategies working with corporates, private equity and venture capital businesses. She has advised a broad range of clients including Woolworths, Telstra, Seven Group Holdings, Carsales, Virgin Australia as well as Government and Private Equity clients. She previously held senior finance roles at Telstra as Head of Corporate Development and as CFO of Telstra’s Consumer & Small Business division. Prior to Telstra, she worked at Credit Suisse in New York, London and Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) First Class Honours in Finance and Econometrics from Monash University.

Session: Re-engineering the business of energy as Australia (and the world) moves to decarbonise

January 2020 marked the start of a new role for Tony, as EVP Integrated Gas Australia and Country Chair. Tony describes it as an honour and a privilege to lead the Shell business in Australia through the energy transition, where our purpose is to power progress together to provide more and cleaner energy solutions, for Australia and the world.

With degrees in Land Resource Science from the University of Queensland and Law from the University of New England, Tony joined Shell’s QGC business in 2008 as Legal Counsel, just prior to the Shell and BG integration. Since then he has held a variety of land, community, asset management and legal roles. In 2015, Tony became QGC Managing Director as the business commenced production operations. Following Shell’s acquisition of BG, he was appointed Vice President QGC for Shell Australia, and then VP East, Shell Australia, until his appointment as EVP Integrated Gas Australia and Country Chair.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How do energy companies secure intelligence systems and data against cyber security threats?

Session: Increasing investor confidence in new generation projects

Luke is a business leader with a diverse, multidisciplinary background and 20 years’ experience in the renewable energy industry. He is a Fellow of Engineers Australia with an MBA, his technical background overlaid with decades of commercial and management experience. Luke has deep, practical understanding that spans the renewable energy sector – from commercial, engineering and electrical to community relations, network connections and market fundamentals – for both supply and demand. This allows him both unique insight and strategic overview of individual projects and the renewable energy sector as a whole. Over the course of his career, he’s developed an extensive network that allows him to break down silos and overcome roadblocks to establish successful, results-driven coalitions.

Luke has led commercial success at innovative renewable energy companies across the world. He was in the founding team and Chief Operating Officer of two market-leading companies: wind farm developer Windlab, and Reposit, a technology leader in virtual power plants.

Session: Masterclass C: Upgrading NEM design to manage a more decentralised industry

Hugh Outhred is Managing Director of Ipen Pty Ltd, a company established in 1998 to provide consulting and educational services and undertake research in the interdisciplinary area of energy, society and the environment. He holds the degrees of BSc (Mathematics & Physics), BE (First Class Honours) in Electrical Engineering and PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Sydney and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Energy.

After a 35-year career at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Hugh retired in September 2007 as Presiding Director, Centre for Energy and Environmental Markets and Head, Electrical Energy Research Group, School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications.

During his career, Hugh has been a Fulbright Senior Fellow at the University of California Berkeley, a Board Member of the Australian Cooperative Research Centre for Renewable Energy, an Associate Director of UNSW’s Centre for Photovoltaic Devices and Systems, a Member of CSIRO’s Energy Flagship Advisory Committee, a Member of the National Electricity Tribunal and a Member of the New South Wales Licence Compliance Advisory Board. He has held visiting positions at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the USA, the University of Liverpool in the UK, the Universidad Pontificia Comillas in Spain and Roskilde University Centre in Denmark. He has contributed to the development of techniques for renewable energy integration into the electricity industry and was a Lead Author for the IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy and Climate Change Mitigation, which was published in 2011. He has taught over 100 short courses on electricity industry restructuring and renewable energy integration for governments, non-government organisations, the electricity supply industry and private industry in many parts of the world.

Session: Panel Discussion: Designing new infrastructure to support and decarbonise energy generation

Brent has a strong background in manufacturing and new product introduction in multiple countries. His focus on product improvement has led to improved output, yields and reliability ensuring the improvement of my employer’s bottom line.

Brent’s specialties include Test Engineering, manufacturing, electronic testing environments (Hardware and software), Slope stability Radar, yield improvement, new product introduction, Contract manufacturing, GSM mobile testing, Test and Assembly documentation.

Session: Opening remarks from the Chair

Mark Paterson is a globally-respected energy system transformation leader with over 25-years of experience in power systems, applied science, systems architecture and thermal and fluid systems. Mark is known for his expertise in leading the navigation of complex and contested issues, systems thinking and the co-design of transformation pathways that foster social license and deliver future-resilient outcomes.

Mark’s theoretically robust but pragmatic approach is grounded in his electro-mechanical technology origins together with Engineering, Business and Master of Enterprise qualifications. Mark has been formally trained in Systems Architecture & Engineering disciplines at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Power Systems Architecture methodologies developed under US Department of Energy’s Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortia (GMLC).

Working with strategic clients, Mark leverages his experience leading several national energy system transformation projects and technology innovation firsts. At CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, he chaired the Future Grid Forum and directed the Electricity Network Transformation Roadmap program At Horizon Power and Energex he led technology innovations for deploying new energy technologies in large meshed networks, regional microgrids and remote off-grid applications.

Session: Optimise utility construction management with digital tools

Danny is the VP Electric Industry Solutions at Locusview and leads the efforts on digital as-builting for the electric utility market. He has 20 years of experience in the utility IT space having worked with Miner & Miner, Telvent and Schneider Electric and has vast knowledge of the Graphic Work Design>As-Built>GIS>ADMS workflows at utilities throughout the world.

Session: Moving towards commercial sustainability in hydrogen projects

Dr Amy Philbrook the Manager of Future Fuels and Renewable at ATCO and is the Project Director of the Clean Energy Innovation Park (CEIP). She is a chemical engineer with a PhD in chemistry and has experience in academia, industry and government. Her expertise in alternative fuels stems from her time at the Australian National University as the Principle Investigator of the Biofuels Research Cluster in the CSIRO’s Energy Transformed Flagship. Amy is a Board Director at Our Atmosphere and is the Australian representative for International Energy Agency Task 44: Flexible Bioenergy and System Integration.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Defining which projects offer best returns on investment and how will they fit into the future system

Experienced Equity Analyst with a demonstrated history of working in the investment management industry. Skilled in Equity Research, Asset Management, Equities, Capital Markets, and Bloomberg. Strong finance professional with an MBA focused in Finance and Strategy from University of Melbourne - Melbourne Business School.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How quickly can hydrogen become a mainstream fuel?

Warner’s experience spans 29 years in the energy sector both in Southern Africa and Australia; 24 years spent with Siemens. His responsibilities ranged from commissioning engineer, design engineer, sales executive, business development manager to business unit head. He also worked for two specialist consulting companies, Test-A-Relay (Eskom Specialist Engineers) and Parsons & Brinkerhoff (now WSP), where he was the Principal Engineer for secondary systems. In addition to his vast knowledge in the areas of power transmission & distributed energy systems, microgrids and embedded networks, Warner has become a world leader in the integrated hydrogen solutions value-chain.

He has advised both federal and state governments in Australia and worked closely with government organizations in the drafting of both state and national hydrogen strategies / roadmaps, to developing and delivering Australia’s first and largest renewable hydrogen solution in South Australia. His in-depth knowledge of both the technical and commercial drivers associated with the development and management of renewable hybrid energy solutions has led to bankable project outcomes in this emerging sector. Warner has also authored and delivered CIGRE papers and he holds a National Higher Diploma in Electrical Engineering from the Technikon of Natal and a Postgraduate Certificate in Business Management from Macquarie University, Macquarie Graduate School of Management.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Sharing the benefits of renewables - distributed energy to reduce consumer costs

David Prins is a highly accomplished consultant and project manager, with extensive international consulting experience and expertise in strategic, regulatory and commercial issues.  He has a keen understanding and thirty years of practical experience spanning four continents, specialising in the application of effective regulation and competition in electricity and gas industries.  David thrives on understanding how regulation and competition inter-relate in energy markets, and helping his clients to navigate the often difficult environments in which they have to participate and engage.

David has provided advice to public and private sector clients – industry participants, governments, regulators and consumer organisations and vendors who would like to improve their understanding of energy and utility markets – throughout Australia and New Zealand, as well as in Europe, Asia, and North America.

Much of David’s recent work has focused on advice on consumer facing issues in energy and water industries, including regulatory proposals of energy network businesses, smart metering in energy and water industries, and energy pricing and margins.  Within Australia, he has worked extensively on national energy market and regulatory arrangements, and also jurisdictionally in all of Australia’s states and territories.  He is a recognised international expert in the areas of cost-benefit analysis, the regulatory and commercial challenges of the rollout of smart meters, consumer engagement, and benefits realisation for consumers.

Session: Examining the role emerging technologies will play in the future of the energy market

Dr Mahbub Rabbani is currently working for X-Elio as the Grid Connection Manager responsible for large scale Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and solar farms integration across Australia. Prior to joining X-Elio, he worked as a Lecturer and Post-doctoral research fellow at Deakin University. Mahbub received PhD in Electrical Engineering from the same university.

His area of expertise and research interests includes stability of low-inertia electric grid with high penetration of inverter-based resources. During his academic years of his career, his work was focused on the challenges and mitigation of renewable integration into the grid.

Session: Examining the impact of electric vehicles on Australia’s existing energy infrastructure

Adeel is responsible for leading network innovation portfolio at TasNetworks, ensuring network of the future is ready to accommodate low carbon technology transition and changes from customer choices.  Adeel holds Bachelors in Electrical Engineering and Masters in Environmental Management. Adeel has over 20 years’ experience in managing complex business improvement initiatives, transformation programs, technical and digital projects across broad range of industries including IT, Telecommunications, Utilities, Automotive and Education sector.

Session: FIRESIDE CHAT: Lessons from the pandemic for energy retailers

Ayesha Razzaq was appointed Executive General Manager of Retail in March 2020.

She is responsible for leading Energy Queensland’s Retail business, Ergon Energy Retail. This includes delivering a positive customer experience, managing wholesale energy procurement, and the ongoing development of products and service choices for customers.

With over 20 years’ experience in senior executive roles within the energy industry, Ayesha is committed to customer-centricity, operational and transformational excellence, and driving innovative strategies to deliver profitable growth. Her prior experience in navigating a Retail business through significant energy industry change will help continue to move the Retail business forward in its customer-centric approach.

Ayesha holds a Bachelor of Engineering with Honours and more recently graduated from Harvard Business School where she completed the Advanced Management Program. She was awarded the 2017 Corporate Telstra Business Woman Award.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What will it take to accelerate energy decarbonisation?

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Net-zero: Uncertainty or opportunity for energy leaders?

Brett Redman is a highly experienced energy industry executive with more than three decades of leadership experience. Today Brett leads Transgrid, who build and operate the high voltage network for NSW and ACT.  Transgrid sit in the middle of the National Electricity Market and are at the leading edge of transition, building the connections needed for Australia’s clean energy future.

Brett’s past experience includes nearly 15 years at AGL Energy where he was ultimately appointed CEO and Managing Director.  Under his leadership, AGL grew into Australia’s largest energy retailer, assembled Australia’s largest electricity generation portfolio and founded Australia’s largest renewables developer.

Brett is a former Chair of the Australian Energy Council and former Director of the Finance Executives Institute of Australia.  He was a founding signatory of The Energy Charter and is a former Male Champion of Change.  Brett is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

Brett is a passionate believer that corporates must build their social license as well as the bottom line to be truly successful. He is committed to working across the community to help build an energy market that is reliable, affordable and sustainable.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Protecting users from increased infrastructure costs as the states ‘go it alone’

Tennant Reed manages Climate, Energy and Environment Policy at the Australian Industry Group.  Since 2008 he has been deeply involved in Australian climate and energy issues, 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 and developing reports on energy prices, natural gas supply and business energy use.  He has also advised Ai Group on a range of issues related to manufacturing and innovation.  Previously he was an adviser in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, working on fiscal policy, stimulus and infrastructure.  Tennant lives in Melbourne.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What are the best ways to combat anti-transmission line sentiment?

Gerard has more than 17 years experience in strategic communications, media relations, government communication, investor relations and community engagement.

At Powerlink, his role involves the strategic direction and management of the company's internal and external communications functions including corporate communications, stakeholder engagement, government relations, change communications and leadership communications.

His role with the Office of the Premier saw him develop and drive wide ranging media relations activities across Ministerial offices.

He was worked with some of Australia's leading publicly listed companies and investment organisations, organising activities from financial results reporting, through to organising investor roadshows.

Gerard is also regarded as one of Australia’s leading experts in community and stakeholder engagement having developed and delivered training programs across the country.

He has developed community engagement frameworks and training programs for a range of government organisations and resoures companies including TransLink Transit Authority, Xstrata Coal and ENERGEX.

Gerard has provided media relations services to some of Australia’s most well known organisations including QIC, Hilton Hotels, BDO and Springfield Land Corporation.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How do we re-invent the way energy is sold with consumers at the centre of the equation?

Jaryd is an experienced engineer, project manager and product manager who currently leads Horizon Power’s Customer Solutions team focusing on the development and implementation of a suite of DER products and services in pursuit of Horizon Power’s strategic objective to widen community access to renewable energy and storage.

Session: Examining options for the hydrogen export train

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How quickly can hydrogen become a mainstream fuel?

Phil Richardson has 15 years’ experience developing strategy and executing commercial projects and economic policy reforms, with a focus on the energy sector. As General Manager New Energy Projects at Stanwell Corporation, Phil is delivering a range of renewable energy, energy storage and hydrogen projects as part of Stanwell’s portfolio strategy. Phil is the project owner for Stanwell’s Central Queensland Hydrogen Project. Prior to joining Stanwell, Phil held senior roles in the Queensland Government in energy and economic policy. Phil holds a Master of International Economics and Finance, Master of Governance and Public Policy and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How quickly can hydrogen become a mainstream fuel?

Elise is a chemical engineer with over 18 years in energy industry, joining Origin in 2014. With a background in asset management and performance and operations, Elise brings deep experience in the successful design and implementation of strategies including operations, optimisation of assets across their lifecycle, digital and innovation. As a founding member of Origin’s future fuels team, Elise is passionate about building a world class Hydrogen Industry for Australia.

Session: Practicalities of hydrogen as an energy source – hype vs reality

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What is required to facilitate the gas sector moving to low carbon alternatives?

Emma Roberts leads CS Energy’s Future Energy division, which is spearheading the development of a new low-cost, decarbonised and flexible energy portfolio for the business. The division includes business development, future energy asset design and project management, retail sales, customer products, and policy and regulatory advocacy.

Her in-depth knowledge of the National Electricity Market, coupled with her commercial acumen and leadership skills, has seen Emma hold a variety of senior roles since joining CS Energy in 2012. These include Senior Legal Counsel, Acting Executive General Counsel and Company Secretary, and Head of Future Energy.

Emma has developed a strong reputation for leading cross-functional teams to deliver positive business outcomes. She led the establishment of CS Energy’s retail function and has driven CS Energy’s pivot towards a customer-focussed culture as the business diversifies in response to the transformation of the energy system.

Emma holds degrees in law and applied science. Prior to joining CS Energy, she was a senior associate at McCullough Robertson Lawyers for eight years, working in the corporate and intellectual property teams.

Session: Unlocking the critical benefits of substation automation for the energy sector

Session: Masterclass A: Australian Energy industry boot camp

Steve Rodgers is admittedly a reluctant explorer of our changing world context. His passion is in understanding what it means to be human today and developing know-how for making shared satisfaction a contribution to society. Steve is co-founder of thepeopleproject institute and has practised at the intersection of Australia’s national energy policy, sharing and economic reform.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Sharing the benefits of renewables - distributed energy to reduce consumer costs

Session: Opportunities arising from the changing nature of energy retailing and demand-side evolution

Julie Romanet-Perroux - After 20+ years in the Resources industry in France (Energy, Utilities, Chemical and Natural Resources), Julie is leading the Australian Energy Transition practice for this industry. She is deeply experienced in driving transformational change and businesses to higher levels of performance, including Digital and focused on renewables and energy transition in the last few years in France.

Session: Smart engineering the future of Energy Transformation

As Modis’ National Energy Lead - Smart Engineering, Data and AI; Parijat ‘Roy’ Roychowdhury is responsible for developing service offerings and solutions for multiple industries across Product Engineering, R&D, Digitisation, Automation & Analytics. As an Energy & Utility Consulting Partner contributing to thought leadership and innovation towards a net zero future.

Roy’s other activities include: Develop software and application services across various domains including Automotive & Transportation, Clean Energy and Renewables, Telcom, Healthcare, Financial Services, Industrial Manufacturing and Defence. Active participation for end to end pre-sales activities in coordination with cross functional teams such as sales, delivery, marketing. Leading the Analytics, AI & Cognitive Centre of Excellence in Australian geography. As the SME, prepare and review responses to Request For Information, Request for Proposals ,technical capability presentations. Ideate and develop Proof-of-Concept and Proof-ofTechnologies within various customer accounts. Spearhead the Cognitive Innovation Hub activities applying concepts of analytics , AI and machine learning within the broader business unit. Spearhead the Smart Engineering and Product testing service offering.

Outside work, Roy is a keen follower of astrophysics and philosophy. he likes to spend time with his family, play football and read novels.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What are the best ways to use demand response programs to match generation and usage?

Scott is a senior executive with a track record in transforming people and the business to provide a step change in organisational performance.

As Endeavour Energy’s Chief Asset and Operating Officer, Scott has responsibility for grid transformation, asset management and delivery operations for the safe and reliable supply of electricity to over one million customers. His team consists of 1,100 staff comprising backgrounds such as engineers, project managers, technicians, designers and field staff.

He brings a deep knowledge of the energy industry to the executive team, having started career as a Cadet Engineer and having worked in many aspects of the business including asset management and operations, combined with commercial experience in regulatory and retail.

Scott’s people leadership capabilities have led to major reform of our workforce and business across areas such as safety, reliability, delivery, productivity and customer focus.  In addition, he also established the successful unregulated growth business Ausconnex, leading the entire end-to-end operations from business development to delivery, growing revenue 25% - 70% year on year across a three-year period.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What are the best ways to combat anti-transmission line sentiment?

Damien joined AusNet Services in March 2020 from AEMO where he was the Chief Operations Officer. Over the past 14 years, Damien has held senior executive positions shaping and operating the national electricity grid, Victorian gas transmission system, and electricity and gas markets in Australia. As part of AusNet Services Development and Future Networks division, Damien is now focussed on delivering major transmission infrastructure projects including wind, solar and storage in support of Australia's transition to a sustainable energy future.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What will it take to accelerate energy decarbonisation?

Session: Answering ‘the gas question’ – and the long-term consequences of electrifying everything?

Clare Savage was appointed Chair of the Australian Energy Regulator in September 2019 and is a member of the Energy Security Board.

Over the last 18 years Clare has acquired significant leadership experience in the Australian energy industry. She has a passion for the energy sector and a commitment to its development, particularly through this current transition.

Prior to joining the AER, Clare was Deputy Chair of the Energy Security Board. Prior to joining the ESB, Clare was an Executive Director at the Business Council of Australia.

From 2012 to 2015 Clare held senior executive positions within EnergyAustralia spanning corporate strategy; business development; policy & government affairs; and public affairs. Prior to this Clare held several roles at the Energy Supply Association of Australia including Chief Executive Officer. Clare commenced her career in the public service – initially in the UK and then at the Federal Department of the Treasury.

Clare has a Bachelor of Commerce (Economics) and a Bachelor of Arts (Politics and History) from The University of Melbourne and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Session: UK energy crisis: how energy retailers supported customers out of the dark

With more than 20 years experience in the industry, Sigma Connected’s Director of Energy Services, Rob Sawle, has learned to put the customer first.

Rob, who joined Sigma Connected in July 2021, brought with him a background of two decades involved in energy retail and across the whole customer lifecycle from acquisition to collections.

"Getting the best outcomes for customers, while ensuring they have to use minimal effort, is really important to me. I'm also driven by finding ways to support customers in fuel poverty."

Session: Pursuing NEM post-2025 design and state emissions policies to achieve progress in emissions reduction

Dr Kerry Schott AO is the previous Chair of the Energy Security Board, overseeing critical reforms in the National Electricity Market during a period of significant transition and decarbonisation. Dr Schott has worked in numerous senior executive roles including as Managing Director and CEO of Sydney Water, Managing Director of Deutsche Bank and Executive Vice President of Bankers Trust Australia.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Which technologies are going to be the game-changers?

Vik is the GM for Renewable Energy Development in Rio Tinto’s Pacific portfolio charged with developing renewable energy solutions for 6 major industrial assets with a total electrical load of 3GW.

Prior to this he was an Associate Partner with McKinsey where he led work across all elements of the energy transition with major energy players, governments and investor groups. He holds a PhD from UWA and BSc from ANU.

Session: Successfully introducing hydrogen into domestic settings

Vikram leads hydrogen development at the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG), driving the transition of the gas sector towards a zero-carbon future. Having delivered the largest renewable hydrogen production facility in Australia (HyP SA), Vikram is also leading several feasibility studies and projects (Hydrogen Park Murray Valley) to blend renewable hydrogen into selected Victorian and South Australian regional towns and developing plans to transition AGIG’s networks to 100% hydrogen networks.

Prior to AGIG, Vikram was a partner at Deloitte, Australia and specialised in the energy and utilities sector advising leading energy companies and government agencies on strategy and investments, energy policy and decarbonisation. He has also held senior management positions at Singapore Power and Powercor Australia.

Vikram has a bachelors degree in Physics and a MBA. Vikram is on the board of the Australian Hydrogen Council.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Net-zero: Uncertainty or opportunity for energy leaders?

Tarandeep Singh Ahuja co-leads McKinsey & Company's Energy Practice in Australia and New Zealand and leads the Product Development and Procurement Practice across the Asia Pacific region. He is a Partner based in McKinsey’s Melbourne office.

Tarandeep is passionate about helping industry lead the way on the energy transition. He works with leading public and private sector organisations across the energy value chain on a variety of topics including strategy, growth, M&A, transformation, digitisation, and decarbonisation.

Tarandeep has served as a knowledge advisor to Australian Energy Week and for the last half decade, hosted multiple panels on the annual event’s main stage.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What are the best ways to use demand response programs to match generation and usage?

Stacey joined Tomago Aluminium in 2019 as Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary. Tomago Aluminium is the largest aluminium smelter in the Asia Pacific region producing 600,000 tonnes of aluminium annually. Tomago is also Australia’s largest electricity load – using 12% of NSW power (950MW) and plays a critical role in maintaining NSW energy grid stability.

Stacey is responsible for the management and delivery Tomago’s key commercial outcomes and manages the Finance, Procurement, IT and Continuous improvement functions including management of the Tomago energy contract and future energy strategy.

Before joining Tomago, Stacey gained 19 years’ experience in professional services focussed on transaction due diligence, mergers and acquisitions and also held a variety of financial, commercial and operational improvement roles in the mining and resource sectors across various geographic jurisdictions including Australia, South Africa, UK, Laos, PNG and China and multiple commodities (coal, copper, gold).  Stacey holds a Bachelor of Business, Accounting from the Queensland University of Technology (Australia) and is a Chartered Accountant.

Stacey is a Board Member on the NSW Renewable Energy Sector Board and a Member of the Distributed Energy Resources Advisory Group formed by the Energy Security Board in 2021.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Sharing the benefits of renewables - distributed energy to reduce consumer costs

Colin has been with Synergy for over a decade and has served as member of the Executive team since 2019. Specialising in transformational change, Colin has over 20 years’ experience across the retail, financial services, business improvement, and energy sectors.

As head of Customer Experience, Colin leads Synergy’s Retail business unit delivering exceptional customer service and innovative solutions to enable and support customers to meet their changing energy needs. His team works to leverage market insights for application across sales, distributed energy resources, marketing, operations, and customer experience.

For more than five years Colin has represented the electricity industry as a Director on the Energy and Water Ombudsman Board of Western Australia.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Protecting users from increased infrastructure costs as the states ‘go it alone’

Tamatha Smith is the General Manager, Corporate Affairs and Western Australia at Energy Networks Australia.

She is an external affairs and government relations professional with a career that has spanned government and public relations, corporate affairs management, journalism and executive positions at senior levels of the Commonwealth and Western Australian governments.

Tamatha has worked in leadership roles managing internal and external communications for private and publicly listed companies across a range of industry sectors including resources and infrastructure, government and not-for-profit organisations. Tamatha’s expertise includes issues and crisis management, strategic planning, policy development and brand and reputation management.

Session: Masterclass D: Hydrogen Cost Modelling: Understanding The Costs And Financial Benefits

Jim is the Executive Director of expert consulting firm Oakley Greenwood and is an Adjunct Professor with the UQ Energy Initiative, a Graduate of the Mt Eliza Management College, a Fellow of the Institute of Chemical Engineers a past Chair of the Australian Chemical Engineering College and a long serving Executive Director.

Jim is a well credentialed Chemical Engineer with and has spent some 40 years in the energy sector working in all facets of the industry and has not only built assets in gas and electricity but is also recognised as an expert in regulatory economics and market design, gas markets, and regularly delivers public talks and workshops on industry issues.

He has also held senior executive positions with Energy Developments Ltd running their Development and Construction Group, was CEO of Hunter Electricity, CEO of Consulting for Energetics Pty Ltd and was a founding Vice President in Australia of the Boston based consulting firm Charles River Associates which evolved to become Oakley Greenwood in Australia.

Jim has spent over 25 years consulting to water and energy companies in Australia, South East Asia and the Middle East. He has extensive expertise in regulatory matters (particularly networks), modelling and pricing of embedded generation options and large-scale generation developments; energy efficiency, business restructuring and improvement; greenhouse emission matters and demand side management, water; government policy on energy and water matters; business development, market entry, business cases and plans and energy marketing; project development and implementation; gas, LNG and CNG; training. Jim also has designed and implemented in recent years extensive (and often very sensitive) stakeholder engagement processes for the DoEE and AEMO.

Jim also spent 12 years in the Natural Gas Industry (AGL) holding several senior executive positions involved with the technical end use of energy, regulations and tariffs, contract pricing, wholesale gas procurement, analysis of energy projects investment for Board submission, gas price resent arbitrations, growth strategies – including developing and implementing mergers and acquisitions and extensive retail management. He also has extensive experience with hydrogen.

He has also acted for investors in assessing an extensive range of investment opportunities in innovative start-up and developing businesses, has undertaken wide-ranging merger and acquisition tasks as well as regularly undertakes due diligence projects for major investment houses.

Jim has also undertaken large assignments internationally including spending more than two years restructuring the entire electricity industry of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and advised on the restructure of the Malaysian electricity supply industry and associated incentive-based regulation of the key monopoly assets of the country.

As Adjunct Professor he has been assisting Master’s Graduates to use their thesis to develop projects and business opportunities with some success over the last 2 years.

Session: Masterclass A: Australian Energy industry boot camp

Peter Sokolowski builds connectedness through shared direction to unlock people’s strengths. He works with strong characters on uncomfortable truths to create impact for the long term. Peter is a collaborator of RMIT University, co-founder of thepeopleproject institute and a leader of Engineers Australia. He practises across electrical engineering, artificial intelligence, pre-natal medicine and endocrinology, music, mathematics, philosophy and business.

Session: Overcoming procurement challenges occurring during global supply chain disruption

Rakesh is an experienced senior leader with over 18 years of experience in the electricity industry in both private and public sectors. His experience ranges from distribution through to transmission and generation of electricity.

Prior to joining Powerlink in 2018 as General Manager Design Solutions, Rakesh held a number of roles within Contracting Entities wherein his role included the delivery of medium to large electrical infrastructure projects.

Rakesh now holds the role of General Manager Supply Chain Services in Powerlink and is  responsible for leading Powerlink's materials procurement, contracts, warehouse and logistics functions.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Sharing the benefits of renewables - distributed energy to reduce consumer costs

Before devoting his time to Reposit Power, Dean served as the Head of Technology for Energy Response which was acquired in by EnerNOC in 2011. Dean has a background in financial institutions, enterprise software and technology startups and uses his experience to deliver high-performance grid services to modern electricity systems.

Session: Ensuring that renewables do not drive the bus - putting security at the centre of a re-engineered system

Craig is responsible for the safe development and delivery of Transgrid’s maintenance and capital programs. Craig brings to Transgrid more than 25 years of experience in heavy industry including mining, manufacturing, and oil and gas, working in the United Kingdom, United States and Australia.

Prior to joining Transgrid, Craig held senior executive roles in commercial, operations and projects, leading large and complex divisions in the oil & gas, and energy infrastructure industries.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How does the energy sector balance retailer viability with the need to support vulnerable consumers?

Kathie Standen was appointed to the AER in March 2021.

Prior to the role, Kathie held a number of Senior Executive positions across the in the Queensland Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy with responsibility for, regulation and pricing within the retail market, consumer issues and large scale renewables, energy emergency, biofuels, regulation and governance of Queensland’s government owned corporations.

Kathie has worked in a number of economic portfolios including Transport and Main Roads and Health.  She holds a Bachelor of Economics (Hons) from the University of Queensland and a Masters of Public Administration from the Australia New Zealand School of Government.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How do we re-invent the way energy is sold with consumers at the centre of the equation?

Felicity has over 25 years of experience in the energy and environment fields, with a track record delivering innovation and high-performing projects to Australian businesses, energy utilities and government agencies. Her expertise is in electricity markets, emerging energy technology, innovation, energy efficiency, renewables and carbon markets in Australia.

Former roles have included Operations Manager for Enova Energy, Commercial Manager at Jemena Gas Networks, Head of Retail Markets at Pooled Energy, Senior Product Manager at Australian Power & Gas, National Business Development Manager at Low Energy Supplies & Services (LESS) and Program Manager with the NSW Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA).

Felicity is a current Associate Director on the Northern Rivers Community Foundation and has held Board positions at the Association of Building Sustainability Assessors and LESS.

Session: Panel Discussion: Addressing the benefits, challenges, and opportunities virtual power stations provide to the grid

Dor Son Tan is an Electricity Utilities Leader that is passionate about exploring the commercial potential of new technologies such as Demand Response/Management, EVs, Distributed Energy Resources (DER) and integrating them into the long-term strategic plans of Electricity Utilities.

His skills lie in delivering expert technical knowledge to problems through effective communication between stakeholders and continuous learning in both technical and commercial fields.

He understand the importance of teamwork and am passionate about building strong working relationships within multi-discipline groups to create safe, innovative and cost effective solutions.

As a former graduate of the CitiPower Powercor Graduate Program, he loves finding and supporting future talent enabling them to reach their full potential and regularly volunteer his spare time to graduate mentoring programs.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What is required to facilitate the gas sector moving to low carbon alternatives?

Miranda is a strategic and adaptive leader at the forefront of collaboration and innovation across the Australian energy resources sector.

Chief Executive of NERA since its inception in 2016, Miranda brings a deep and broad range of energy and resources industry experiences, skills and capabilities. Her leadership of NERA is bringing together the country’s best minds from technology, research and enterprise to achieve NERA’s vision of Australia as a global energy powerhouse, a sought-after destination of investment and leading source of knowledge and solutions.

NERA is working with industry, universities and researchers, entrepreneurs, innovative SMEs, skills initiatives and governments to support the cultural change and new thinking required to overcome barriers to collaboration and innovation, and to ensure Australia’s energy resources sector is staying ahead of the global automation technology transformation.

Session: Unlocking the critical benefits of substation automation for the energy sector

Gordon is an experienced industry leader, having held executive management roles at Thiess Construction, Ergon Energy, Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) and Ventia Infrastructure Services.

Starting his career as a transmission network planner, Gordon has extensive experience in infrastructure design and construction, energy regulatory processes and utility operations and maintenance.

Gordon has bid for and delivered more than $25 billon of projects in roads, rail, civil and utilities, including some of the largest PPP projects in South Africa and Australia. These projects include the Victorian Desalination Project ($3.5 billion) and the Suburban Roads Upgrade project ($2 billion). He has also delivered environmentally sensitive and live infrastructure work within communities across Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia.

Session: Supporting the deployment of renewable energy through the installation of battery energy storage systems

Session: Hydrogen to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors: heavy industry, mining and transport

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How quickly can hydrogen become a mainstream fuel?

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How can we build diversity, equality, and representation into a net-zero world? Could there be a parallel power transition?

Felicity Underhill joined Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) as Director East Australia and New Zealand in July 2021, leading the company’s Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and New Zealand projects.

Felicity has over twenty years’ experience in the upstream energy industry, spanning strategy, innovation, operational excellence, business development and joint venture management. Passionate about decarbonisation and combating climate change, Felicity shifted her career focus in 2018 and has been working with hydrogen ever since. Most recently she held the role of General Manager, Future Fuels at Origin Energy with responsibility for investigating how hydrogen and other fuels would fit within the company’s future energy mix.

Felicity holds a Master of Arts (international relations and conflict resolution) from the Brussels School of International Studies and a Bachelor of Arts (international relations and affairs) from Victoria University of Wellington. She is also Director and Deputy Chair of the Australian Hydrogen Council. As a proud New Zealander living in Australia, Felicity stays connected to her roots by supporting New Zealand rugby and attempting to support NZ cricket.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Net-zero: Uncertainty or opportunity for energy leaders?

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How can we build diversity, equality, and representation into a net-zero world? Could there be a parallel power transition?

Sophie is an Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company and a leader in the firm’s McKinsey’s Sustainability Practice, focused on climate strategy, climate risk, ‘green’ opportunities, and the transition to net zero. She serves a broad range of clients including financial institutions, mining companies, NGOs & governments, and telecommunications & technology companies, across Australia, Asia and Europe.

Sophie is energised by spending quality time with clients and colleagues to work through challenging problems in the sustainability space and figure out how we are going to solve them. She is also the leader of the Brisbane office, focused on attracting the best talent and making a difference to the community in Queensland.

Session: Matching new expectations of energy consumers in the energy transition – serving a participating consumer

Matthew van der Linden is the Director of transformative energy retailer Flow Power and energy management practice Utilacor. Matthew’s vision is to transform the way Australian industry interacts with energy and to create better energy retail options.

Using knowledge and experience of the UK’s deregulated energy market, Matthew became heavily involved in the deregulation process in Australia through 1994. This led to Matthew starting Utilacor and the creation of the powerful and unique energy management tool kWatch, which continues to provide quantifiable benefits to customers today.

More recently Matthew began Flow Power, formerly known as PG Energy. The Licensed Electricity Retailer specialises in addressing the needs of large customers across the National Electricity Market, in South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales and Queensland. This innovative business works with customers across industries as diverse as cold storage, quarries and agriculture to leverage the wholesale electricity market.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What is required to facilitate the gas sector moving to low carbon alternatives?

Dennis Van Puyvelde is Energy Networks Australia’s Head of Gas. In this role he manages work programs and strategic projects for the Gas Committee and it’s related technical, marketing and carbon policy reference groups. He leads the development and implementation of advocacy strategies for gas distribution businesses.

Dennis led the development of Gas Vision 2050 – an industry-wide future vision for the gas industry. This vision describes a pathway for gas involving the adoption of hydrogen, biogas and carbon capture and storage. He has also secured support from Australia’s gas networks businesses for the Future Fuels CRC.

Dennis has over 20 years’ experience in the energy sector, with particular emphasis on low emission technologies, including gasification, biogas, carbon capture and storage and hydrogen.

Dennis has a PhD and Honours degree in Chemical Engineering and a Graduate Certificate in Public Sector Leadership.

Session: Real-time, grid parameter measurements for weak grids of the future

Founder of CT LAB. Under his watch CT LAB developed into a world class PQ monitoring technology supplier and became the preferred supplier in the Southern African market. Willie is a subject matter expert in the field of power quality and grid performance monitoring. He is an electronic engineer and is intimately involved with research and development, while managing the company and contributing towards business development.

Session: The flexible grid – a demand side transformation

Mark has more than 35 years' experience in the energy industry and has been engaged in many areas within the electrical sector, including Regulation, Operations Management, Asset Management and Business Transformation. Mark is currently charged with developing SA Power Networks' strategy to deal with the opportunities arising from customers' continued take-up of distributed energy resources, and the increasing challenges and risks posed by SA's ageing network infrastructure. The strategy is seeking to support the State's transition to a decentralised, decarbonised energy system, while continuing to deliver a safe, reliable and affordable distribution service.

Mark holds a degree in Electronic Engineering and several post-graduate qualifications. He is also a Director, and Chairs the Corporate Governance Committee of the ElectricSuper and sits on the Energy Industry Roundtable, providing advice to the Federal Government on energy policy.

Session: Delivering an effective transmission system to match supply and demand

Laura Walsh studied Electrical & Electronic Engineering at University College Cork and worked for 11 years at EirGrid, the Irish Transmission System Operator. In Australia, she held various roles over nearly nine years with AEMO including managing teams in Operations, Markets and Planning. Laura started at Ausnet in August 2021 as a planning and engineering lead in the Development and Future Networks division. Her role is focused on the infrastructure, rules and policies required to support the transition to renewable energy while maintaining a secure and reliable grid.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What will it take to accelerate energy decarbonisation?

Matthew Warren is a leading commentator on climate and energy in Australia. Matthew has spent the past 25 years inside Australia’s energy and environmental policy debates. He has represented coal, renewables and major energy companies, running the Australian Energy Council and the Clean Energy Council. He is author of the Walkley nominated book Blackout, and is a regular contributor on energy and climate for the Australian Financial Review. He is a Principal at Boardroom Energy, a business advisory on energy and climate.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Which technologies are going to be the game-changers?

Peter Wells is an accomplished power industry executive, bringing over three decades of global leadership experience in renewable energy products and services and manufacturing.

Peter joins Smart Wires from GE Renewable Energy, where he served as Chief Executive Officer of Onshore Wind for the Europe and Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) Region for two years. During his tenure, GE went from sixth to third in the market, doubling its volume and market reach.

Peter had previously held the role of Senior Vice President and COO for Services and Projects with Vestas Americas. In this role, he was responsible for all Projects & Services operations in the US and Canada and led the integration of UpWind Solutions into the broader service organization, improving top-line growth and margins, establishing the Vestas repowering model for the US, and introducing new operating models with digital tools. Prior to Vestas, Peter had spent five years with UpWind, where he was CEO, growing the business 10X to create the leading Independent Service Provider in the US, before successfully selling the business to Vestas in 2015.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What will it take to accelerate energy decarbonisation?

Session: Orchestrating the pace of change so the energy system stays functional through the transition

Daniel Westerman commenced as CEO and Managing Director of AEMO in May 2021. He oversees AEMO’s strategy and operations, including collaboration with market participants and policy makers.

Daniel is a chartered engineer and a skilled business leader with significant experience in the energy sector.

Prior to joining AEMO, Daniel held a variety of senior executive roles with London-listed electricity and gas utility, National Grid Plc. Most recently he served as Chief Transformation Officer and President of Renewable Energy, where he led the company-wide transformation program, and grew a large-scale renewable energy business in the United States. In previous roles he has been responsible for engineering, planning and operational control of the electricity transmission network across Great Britain, as well as the development of distributed energy systems, such as rooftop solar, storage and energy metering.  

Prior to joining National Grid Plc, he held positions with McKinsey & Company and Ford Australia.

Daniel holds degrees in Engineering and Mathematics from the University of Melbourne, and an MBA from Melbourne Business School. He is a Fellow of the Energy Institute and the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and a Fellow of the Institute of Directors.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Defining which projects offer best returns on investment and how will they fit into the future system

Mr Whalen is responsible for internal and external risk management at the CEFC. This includes credit analysis and risk assessment of new investment opportunities, as well as the management and reporting of the credit and investment risks within the existing investment portfolio.

Mr Whalen has more than 25 years’ experience in finance. He has worked across transaction origination and execution, as well as portfolio management, and been responsible for innovative debt transactions. Mr Whalen is an experienced director, having been on the boards of several renewable energy projects, as well as Flinders Ports, where he was also the chair of its Treasury Committee.

Prior to joining the CEFC, Mr Whalen was an Executive Director at Infrastructure Capital Group, and also held positions at ANZ, Macquarie Group, Bankers Trust and King + Wood Mallesons.

Mr Whalen holds Bachelor of Commerce and Law degrees from the University of Queensland, is admitted to the Supreme Court of Queensland and is a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Session: Unlocking Tasmania's renewable energy and storage resources through Marinus Link

Benjamin White joined TasNetworks in February 2018 as Head of Stakeholder Relations, Land, Environment and Planning for a new $3.5B undersea and underground electricity interconnector in Victoria supported by transmission developments in northern Tasmania. Marinus Link is one of Australia’s largest energy infrastructure projects that will unlock Tasmania’s renewable energy and deep hydro storage potential, supporting the rest of Australia transition to a more affordable, reliable and cleaner energy future.

Benjamin brings extensive senior leadership experience in project management, infrastructure delivery, strategy, investment attraction and engagement, covering renewable energy, water and natural resources. He has led a number of significant and innovative reform projects for government in partnership with industry sectors, business and the community, including the development and delivery of the Victorian Government’s Renewable Energy Action Plan (launched by former Vice-President Al Gore). 

Benjamin is renowned for his entrepreneurial and collaborative approach to business, and is also a proud member of a sixth-generation beef and wool farming family.

Session: Masterclass D: Hydrogen Cost Modelling: Understanding The Costs And Financial Benefits

Bill has worked for or consulted to a range of large international energy and resource sector majors as well as Australian energy sector participants including start-ups. A qualified Engineer with MBA Bill brings the capability to engage collaboratively with all project functions and insure an integrated approach to project development and execution.
Bill is recognised for his detailed and robust approach, insightful analysis and ability to close difficult transactions.

Session: Identifying the key policy choices (or lack thereof) that will have a long-term impact on Australia’s energy market

Tony has been Director of the Energy Program since 2011 after 14 years working at Origin Energy in senior executive roles.

From 2009 to 2014 he was also Program Director of Clean Energy Projects at the Clinton Foundation, advising governments in the Asia-Pacific region on effective deployment of large-scale, low-emission energy technologies. In 2008, he was seconded to provide an industry perspective to the first Garnaut climate change review.

In January 2018, Tony was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in recognition of his significant service to conservation and the environment, particularly in the areas of energy policy, climate change and sustainability. In October 2019, Tony was elected as a Fellow to the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering.

Session: How does the energy system transition towards a 100% renewable system?

Gordon joined Snowy Hydro in 2003 and has over 25 years’ experience in the energy industry.

In 2018, Gordon was appointed Chief Commercial Officer with responsibility for the wholesale portfolio and risk, corporate strategy, M&A, finance and credit rating, and IT strategy. Prior to this, Gordon was Chief Financial Officer and played a leading role in the development of Snowy Hydro’s risk management framework and the company’s evolution from generator to its position as the fourth pillar in the National Electricity Market.

Before joining Snowy Hydro, he held corporate advisory roles specialising in mergers and acquisitions with Fay Richwhite and UBS. During this time, Gordon was an advisor to the shareholders on the corporatisation of Snowy Hydro.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What policy is needed to ensure affordability, reliability and security in the future energy system?

Christiaan Zuur is the Director of Energy Transformation at the Clean Energy Council. His work focusses on improving the regulatory and technical architecture of the National Electricity Market, to deliver a safe and rapid decarbonisation of the Australian economy. With a background in government regulatory, economic and technical design, his work has focussed on developing new system services to keep the grid stable, facilitating faster connection of renewables, and finding ways to enhance the resilience of the system. Hailing from Sydney, he is the sole northern outpost of the CEC, and spends his time in between endless videoconferences playing with his two kids and pontificating on LinkedIn.