Speakers:

Session: Integrating Indigenous businesses into your supply chain

Deb Barwick is the CEO of the NSW Indigenous Chamber of Commerce Inc. Deb is also a national and international award-winning Aboriginal entrepreneur and business owner who believes that Aboriginal people themselves are the solution to social and economic parity and that enabling Aboriginal leadership regionally, nationally and globally is a strategic and wise investment toward a stronger Australian economy and nation.

Deb’s many professional achievements include:

Establishing Australia’s first Indigenous chamber of commerce in 2006 and leading the establishment of a new national peak body in 2015 to represent the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander business owners and enterprising communities. Today, the national body collectively represents over 5,500 members.

Deb received a NSW Premiers Award for Excellence in 2008 recognising the impact of her work over many years to support the establishment and growth of Aboriginal owned businesses in NSW and to advocate for their inclusion in the supply chains of government and industry. Today she is a Specialist Procurement Advisor for the NSW Government’s Business Connect program providing advice and guidance to small businesses seeking to improve their understanding of procurement and capacity to submit quality tenders.

Deb Barwick’s accomplishments as one of Australia’s leading grass roots advocates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander business owners are complemented by her accomplishments as a private businessowner. Her company Winya Indigenous Furniture, established in 2016, has won multiple awards including the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply Management Awards. Winya went on from this success to become the first and only Australian company to ever win a United Nations Sustainability Goals Award in 2018.

Session: Mitigating greenwashing and greenhushing risks: strategies for authentic sustainability

Josh joined the GECA team in 2023, bringing a breadth of experience from the not-for-profit, corporate and government sectors with a track record of creating lasting impact for organisations and communities. Having worked extensively across countries, cultures, and industries, Josh believes inclusive and courageous collaboration is the best way to get things done. He is thrilled to use this passion to develop partnerships within the GECA Family and beyond for the good of people and planet. Josh is proud to lead an organisation that delivers positive environmental impact using globally recognised best practice standards.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How can we work with Indigenous suppliers and First Nations businesses to drive positive social and business outcomes?

Donald Betts is originally from Wichita, Kansas, USA, known as the “air capital city of the world” for its manufacturing and aviation industry. In 2003, then State congressman Betts was nominated to visit Australia on a political trade mission with the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL) to learn about Australian federal and state politics. While on that trip, he met Tania, and in 2007 they were married in the United States.

When elected, Donald was the youngest Senator to be elected in US History. After a failed bid to the United States Congress, Donald moved to Melbourne, Australia with his wife, and enrolled in law school , where he earned a Juris Doctorate (JD), and was the first African American in Australia to earn a JD at Monash University.

Donald plays the double bass at church, and can be seen championing his son and daughter on the basketball court every weekend.

As an Australian Principal Lawyer, and CEO, he is driven to help Indigenous communities around the globe to be self-governing, independent, and growing.

Session: The evolution of ESG, sustainability reporting and the impact on procurement

Stephanie Bowen is the Group Head Sustainability & Community at Alinta Energy. She’s passionate about sustainability and believes that the connection to our community and the environment are critical to both individuals and organisations alike. 

Stephanie helps organisations to develop and achieve their sustainability ambitions. This is made possible by demonstrating the qualitative and quantitative value of sustainability and forging strong relationships across diverse stakeholders. Her experience as a chartered accountant and sustainability professional has been fundamental to successfully bridging the perceived gap between commerciality and sustainability. Stephanie is really fortunate to be able to say that she genuinely loves what she does. 

Stephanie works across every part of the business and at all levels – from operations, legal, communications, finance to engineering and beyond.

Session: Towards a circular economy for packaging and procurement

Session: Masterclass A: Maximising procurement impact: strategies for integrating ESG principles

Shruti is the Edge Impact Strategy Principal with years of experience in strategy consulting and sustainability advisory across the corporate, small business and NGO sector. She brings experience in delivering materiality assessments, developing sustainability strategies, creating cause campaigns and developing sustainability reports, working across the finance, hospitality, FMCG, fashion and retail sectors.

Session: Mitigating greenwashing and greenhushing risks: strategies for authentic sustainability

Clare Hobby leads purchaser engagement for TCO Certified, the independent sustainability ecolabel for IT products. A global sustainability advocate for 20+ years, she advises organizations and policymakers on how to reduce the environmental, supply chain and social risks of their IT hardware procurement. From lowering carbon emissions and modern slavery risk, to driving greater circularity, Clare’s message is that no matter how large or small your organization, there are ways we all can – and must – act for a more sustainable future for IT.

Clare currently serves in Board and advisory roles with the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council, the Clean Electronics Production Network, AASHE and SERI , with education from University of Melbourne, Northwestern, and Harvard. Her best day off is spent walking on the beach with her family and black Labrador, Ozzie.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How will future procurement leaders shape the ESG and business landscape?

Emily Dafter is a Human Rights & Ethical Supply Chain Specialist at Australian Retirement Trust.

A young professional with six years of experience working across responsible sourcing and human rights, Emily has worked with companies like CSIRO, Lion, Origin Energy, Uniting and ALDI Australia to mature their responsible sourcing approaches and embed due diligence into supply chains. 

Having worked in sourcing roles, consulting with major corporates, and now in the investment sector, Emily has a keen understanding of social, environmental and governance risk with an understanding of both stakeholder expectations and the nitty gritty, time-consuming nature of RFX processes. 

Her current work focuses on monitoring and engaging with investee companies on the maturity of their responsible sourcing and human rights activities. The philosophy Emily applies to all of her work is “nothing about us without us” – always looking for opportunities to use the feedback and perspectives of affected persons in procurement or investment processes. Uncertain whether a badge of honour or an embarrassing story, Emily once made the mistake of excitedly telling a room full of investors that social procurement was essentially another way of ‘redistributing wealth.’

Session: Practical steps to address the core challenges and risks of modern slavery

Ruth Furber has over 17 years of experience in global procurement risk, specialising in responsible sourcing, human rights compliance, and supplier risk management within the mining, resources, and oil and gas sectors. Her work with Domus 8.7, part of the Australian Catholic Anti-Slavery Network, and her academic background from University of Notre Dame Australia in modern slavery and human trafficking highlight her deep commitment to these issues and translating today’s regulatory requirements into pragmatic, logical procurement processes and activities that support organisations due diligence and reporting objectives.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How is sustainability reporting impacting procurement teams and their organisations?

With a background in Biotechnology, Ecology and Aquaculture, paired with a passion for decarbonising the energy we consume, Rodrigo co-founded Threadlet. Threadlet is the one place to manage your energy usage, spend, and pricing data.

By fostering strong client relationships, developing strategic industry partnerships and building tech-enabled products, Rodrigo ensures Threadlet is solving the most pressing challenges faced by sustainability and procurement teams.

Rodrigo is committed to promoting sustainability and environmental responsibility within the procurement landscape. By integrating Threadlet's automated data collection and Greenpower optimisation engine, Threadlet has helped thousands of businesses lower costs while lowering their carbon footprint.

At the forefront of energy data management and procurement, Rodrigo is dedicated to helping businesses achieve their financial and environmental objectives.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What needs to be in your ESG Procurement plan in 2024?

Session: Pivotal practices to successfully bring stakeholders on the ESG journey

Marea is a highly experienced procurement practitioner with a demonstrated history of working in the government industry.

Marea is skilled in negotiation, project management, business planning, training, and stakeholder engagement.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How is sustainability reporting impacting procurement teams and their organisations?
 

Andrea Gregory is the Head of Procurement at Frucor Suntory Oceania. She is known as an inspirational leader, with proven ability to drive transformational change and add value. She’s a strategic and innovative thinker who sees outside the square, thriving in challenging environments, and who places a real focus on continuous improvement. 

Intellectually curious with the desire to make connections between seemingly unrelated areas are key strengths, allowing Andrea to create new insights into how things could be done even better and/or differently.

Session: Masterclass A: Maximising procurement impact: strategies for integrating ESG principles

Tanya leads our Sustainable Procurement and Supply Chain team with 20+ years’ experience working in Australia, New Zealand, UK, LATAM, Africa and Asia with a multi-sector background leading best practice sustainability outcomes for clients, internal stakeholders, state, national and international public and private enterprises and value chain partners. She has led the integration of sustainability into governance, risk management, procurement and supply chains across 25 countries, was a co-founding Australian technical team contributor to the Sustainable Procurement – Guidance ISO20400, a current member of the Australian Circular Economy (ACE) Hub Procurement Working Group, New Zealand Green Building Council Technical Expert Panel, UN One Planet Network Public Procurement Expert Advisor and www.iso20400.org  International Steering Committee.

Session: Driving Social Procurement – Practical insights and applications

Heath has significant contracting and procurement experience in a wide range of sectors, including; Government, Oil & Gas, Construction & Maintenance, Transport & Logistics, and General Goods & Services.

Heath has managed all aspects of the procurement process and has demonstrated expertise in strategic sourcing, category management, stakeholder management, negotiation, probity, training, and post-award contract management.

Session: Charging Forward: Ethical energy supply chains for a sustainable future

Jessica has over 12 years Procurement experience across a range of industries including Energy, Financial Services and Manufacturing. Specialising in Procurement process improvement, governance and change management, Jessica currently leads the Procurement governance, risk and support function for Ampol Ltd.

Part of Jessica’s current role includes overseeing risk management throughout the supplier lifecycle, including qualification and due diligence for Ampol’s suppliers. Jessica has lead the implementation of a centrally managed supplier due diligence framework, including financial, reputational and ESG risk screening. Jessica’s approach to governance is pragmatic and seeks to mitigate risk whilst also making it simple for Ampol and their suppliers to do business.

Jessica is passionate about Procurement transformation, automation and technology, ESG, SRM and developing strong relationships to achieve best outcomes for stakeholders and suppliers. Driving excellence by influencing and making compliance easy are key areas of focus for Jessica in her role.

Session: Mastering leadership: Why ESG is crucial for effective procurement governance

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How will future procurement leaders shape the ESG and business landscape?

Rebecca is the ESG & Sustainability Director for Taronga Ventures. She is responsible for supporting the ESG ambitions our portfolio companies and institutional investors, and providing ESG advisory services to the market through Taronga Advisory.

Her career has spanned in-house ESG strategy development and deployment to consultancy and advisory. Rebecca has a passion for the intersection of ESG and real assets, and at Taronga Ventures is working with companies to leverage technology and innovation solutions to mitigate ESG risks and take advantage of sustainability related opportunities.

She has worked in ESG program design and implementation, with a specialist focus on real assets from reporting and disclosure to strategy and roll-out. Rebecca was previously Head of ESG & Sustainability, Asia Pacific with Cushman & Wakefield, guiding and supporting owners, investors and occupiers to realise their ESG visions through program deployment.

She has a passion for cutting-edge solutions to promote and advance responsible business practices in the industry.

Rebecca holds a Bachelor of Science, Environment (hons) from the University of Melbourne and a Masters Degree in Sustainability and Business Management from Monash University.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How can we work with Indigenous suppliers and First Nations businesses to drive positive social and business outcomes?

Sujata Karandikar is Head of Group ESG at The Lottery Corporation. She has over 13 years’ experience in sustainable procurement, supplier diversity and sustainability strategy roles, and has worked in national and multinational companies across a variety of industry sectors, including at CBRE, Rio Tinto, Anglo American, David Jones and Origin Energy. She was previously a Senior Manager at boutique sustainability consultancy Point Advisory, where she worked with clients such Coles, Orica, Lion and Bank Australia on projects that included developing whole of company sustainability strategies, sustainable procurement strategies, sustainability reporting, modern slavery and human rights gap analysis, and supply chain decarbonisation.

She has a strong interest in technology and innovation as an enabler to sustainable outcomes, previously co-founding tech start-up Unscrabble in 2015, and raising seed funding through one of Australia’s big 4 banks and various venture capital investors.

Sujata is a passionate advocate for diversity and representation, and has long believed in the power of procurement to create positive outcomes and address some of our biggest global challenges, including climate change, the biodiversity crisis and growing inequality.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How is sustainability reporting impacting procurement teams and their organisations?

Siobhan Leach is the Group Sustainability Officer at Ramsay Health Care, having previously held sustainability roles at NRMA and the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage. She has expertise in ESG, sustainability, shared value, CSR, environmental management including risk and compliance, EIS and due diligence, carbon management and energy efficiency, human rights and modern slavery, sustainability-linked loans, and sustainability and investor reporting and disclosure (e.g. TCFD, GRI, ESG ratings and indices).

Session: MASTERCLASS B: Winning government tenders: leveraging social value and ESG for competitive advantage

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How is sustainability reporting impacting procurement teams and their organisations?

Vanessa Lee is a procurement and commercial professional, currently serving as Group Manager, Corporate Procurement and Property Services for the Jemena and Zinfra companies.

Besides the evolving work practice to raise the partnership between Procurement, Property and the Jemena and Zinfra businesses, Vanessa looks for humour in everyday life, and balances work with raising a family, travel, yoga and reading.

Vanessa is endlessly curious about people and what drives them. She brings learnings from every aspect of her life to her work, and learnings from her work into her life.

Session: MASTERCLASS B: Winning government tenders: leveraging social value and ESG for competitive advantage

Session: Driving Impact in the Supply Chain through Buyer-Supplier Collaboration

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What needs to be in your ESG Procurement plan in 2024?

Jason has over 20 years of experience in Procurement, Supply Chain, and Finance in both FMCG and the Waste & Recycling industries. P2P transformation, a passion for ESG and driving positive outcomes with suppliers and stakeholders are all key attributes that Jason possesses. Driving Procurement excellence across the organisation and enhancing the profile of Procurement are some of his key motivators.

Session: Masterclass A: Maximising procurement impact: strategies for integrating ESG principles

Vanessa is a sustainability researcher with expertise in sustainable supply chains, modern slavery, and human rights risk assessments. She holds a Master of Sustainability and has several years’ experience in supply chains and category management in the Australian grocery industry. She is passionate about creating safe and sustainable supply chains across global industries.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How is sustainability reporting impacting procurement teams and their organisations?

Amy is a dedicated procurement leader with a career spanning 16+ years in industries including Industrial Engineering, Retail, FMCG and Franchise. 

Driven by a passion for developing people and partnerships, Amy has been a part of many high performing teams delivering a “Shared Value” approach for all parties.

With Amy’s procurement leadership predominately in food & beverage for the last 10 years, she has led teams that have been at the forefront of stakeholder engagement and business implementation strategies for ESG in both ASX listed to privately owned national entities.

The standards of which we as professionals have come to adopt over time are not something that Amy’s team take for granted, however more an ethos to ensure that the supply chain is better for the environment and for the people working within it… thus leading to greater sustainability!

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What needs to be in your ESG Procurement plan in 2024?

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How will future procurement leaders shape the ESG and business landscape?

Sharon Morris is the Group Regional Head, APAC at World Commerce & Contracting. She is a highly motivated leader who drives innovation and collaboration to achieve sustainable growth and a positive impact. Her track record includes successfully leading high-profile national and global initiatives across diverse sectors. Sharon strongly emphasises leadership, engagement, advocacy, commercial outcomes, ethics, and social impact. She aims to engage, connect, inspire, and effect positive behavioural change.

As an experienced executive, Sharon excels in building relationships, based on trust and innovative outcomes, while fostering strategic business solutions, always with the member’s best interests at heart. She drives successful outcomes with passion, boundless energy, and a dynamic yet practical approach.

Sharon’s advocacy extends beyond mere words; she leads by example and empowers those around me to embrace core values and vision. The embodiment of ethics, engagement, and leadership is who Sharon is, a leader dedicated to making a lasting difference.

Session: Procuring for net zero: moving closer to meeting the challenge of hitting net zero targets

Jessica Mottau is a Partner in Allens' Technology, Media and Telecommunications team, based in Sydney.  Jessica advises on complex procurements and outsourcings, critical supply chain arrangements, emerging technology and innovation projects (including the adoption of AI), and commercial data matters. Jessica frequently works with clients looking to develop or procure decarbonisation or sustainability solutions – whether that's procuring technologies to assist with carbon emissions reporting, licensing circular economy technologies, developing electrification technologies, or negotiating collaboration agreements for AI tools to improve operational efficiency.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What needs to be in your ESG Procurement plan in 2024?

Andrés Naranjo is GM Procurement and Purchasing (CPO) at Coates. He cares about delivering value for money through collaborative stakeholder engagement, sustainable innovation and structured negotiations. He didn't fall into Procurement, he fell in love with it!

Andrés has cut costs on portfolios up to a billion dollars in Technology/IT, CapEx, MRO, direct and indirect procurement categories. Working with diverse stakeholders, from Well Superintendents in Oil & Gas and Concrete Batchers to Executives and CFOs, he has helped companies in oil & Gas, Banking, Insurance, Consulting, Construction, Transport and Infrastructure make better commercial decisions. 

Andrés has built teams to over-deliver against Hard Savings targets with a strong focus on gaining stakeholders' trust and generating value in their terms - not Procurement's. Having worked on pioneering digital eProcurement transformations, operating model redesign projects, innovative Business Partnering and Category Management, he’s helped large companies reimagine what procurement does for them.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How can we work with Indigenous suppliers and First Nations businesses to drive positive social and business outcomes?

Jasmine Newman is the Managing Director & Co Founder of KILLARA Services. Her career developing young indigenous youth started as soon as she left school and naturally she knew it was in her blood to give back to her people and community. 

Jasmine continues to do this through her business by providing opportunities to the community and ensuring the appropriate support is in place to see sustainable social and economic advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, communities and the Indigenous business sector.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How will future procurement leaders shape the ESG and business landscape?

Alex lives and works on Kaurna Yerta (Adelaide, South Australia) and has over 15 years’ experience leading teams in large corporate organisations across dispute resolution, customer vulnerability, operations, finance and social responsibility. In his current role as the Ethical Procurement Manager at Origin Energy, Alex is responsible for leading Origin’s responsible sourcing program, managing supplier compliance and publishing the annual Modern Slavery Statement. Alex has been the Chair of Origin’s Modern Slavery Working Group and as well as holding various positions across other diversity and inclusion groups. In 2024 Alex completed his Executive Education in Corporate Sustainability Management at Yale’s School of Management.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How will future procurement leaders shape the ESG and business landscape?

Terry O’Brien works for AUS-QUAL as their General Manager overseeing Finance, IT, HR, Quality, and Health & Safety, as well the auditing services for Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) programs.

Terry is a qualified Chartered Accountant, is a Prince 2 project practitioner, has a Cert IV WHS, is a Certified Social Compliance Auditor (CSCA) and holds Lead Auditor qualifications to audit ISO 9001:2018, ISO 14001:2015, and ISO 45001:2018 standards.

Terry’s sensible approach to helping companies achieve and maintain their ESG obligations is supported by his knowledge of practical ESG solutions and a keen understanding of commercial business practices.

Session: Creating an effective ESG procurement plan

Vinay is a seasoned procurement and supply chain professional with 10+ years’ experience across FMCG and Retail. He is commercially minded and results driven, delivering financial productivity whilst managing business risk. In addition, a sustainability advocate and leader, delivering strong outcomes to grow long-term, sustainable business value. He is currently serving as the Senior Manager in the non-trade procurement team at Coles Group, currently overseeing the Energy, Resource Recovery, Packaging, Store and Manufacturing Operations categories along with the Sustainability program for non-trade procurement. He holds an Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical) and Bachelor of Biomedical Science from Monash University.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How can we work with Indigenous suppliers and First Nations businesses to drive positive social and business outcomes?

Session: CASE STUDY: Promoting Indigenous engagement and beneficial relationships through procurement pathways

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What needs to be in your ESG Procurement plan in 2024?

Charlotte leads a passionate team dedicated to raising the capability of procurement and supply management in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Charlotte has been part of CIPS for nearly 20 years and throughout that time has worked with a range of organisations within the public sector, private sector, as well as NGOs and education providers to further the profession around the world. She has worked in the UK and Europe, China, South Africa, Botswana, Ghana, Malawi and Zambia as well as Australia and New Zealand. She attained a Master of Business Administration from the University of Birmingham and holds MCIPS Chartered Professional certification.

Session: Practical steps to address the core challenges and risks of modern slavery

Alison is in her fifth year as Executive Officer of the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney’s Anti-Slavery Taskforce. The Taskforce coordinates, manages and facilitates the implementation of shared tools and resources as part of a comprehensive modern slavery risk management program across 40 Catholic organisations reporting under the Australian Modern Slavery Act 2018. The Taskforce founded the Australian Catholic Anti-Slavery Network (ACAN), a collaboration of almost 50 Catholic entities across a range of sectors including finance and investment, schools and universities, health and aged care and social services.

Alison has decades of experience building relationships of trust with workers, identifying and assisting victims of wage theft, labour exploitation, forced labour, debt bondage, deceptive recruitment and human trafficking.

Before commencing with the Sydney Archdiocese, she worked for the WalkFree Foundation as Pacific Consultant and the Salvation Army’s Freedom Partnership to End Modern Slavery, playing an active role in successful advocacy for Australia’s Modern Slavery legislation.

Alison is a highly experienced labour rights specialist having spent 16 years representing workers in wide range of sectors from airports, cargo terminals to abattoirs. I have represented workers in the prosecution of civil cases against employers for underpayment of wages and a myriad of workplace disputes from WHS to outsourcing and sub-contracting.

Session: Charging Forward: Ethical energy supply chains for a sustainable future

Kimberly Randle is co-founder and CEO of Fair Supply, a fast growing Australian ESG data-provider. Kimberly's deep conviction is that great data is mission critical to transforming how companies engage with people and the planet. Since inception, Fair Supply has been a hotbed of innovation, bringing to market two world-firsts: modern slavery footprinting and extinction-risk footprinting.

Fair Supply is a natural confluence of the strands of Kimberly's story: she has always been a justice-seeker.

Kimberly is an experienced and innovative human rights advocate specialising in modern slavery. Kimberly has over 15 years' experience working in law and human rights for top tier firms in Australia and the United States, previously holding the role of Senior Director of Corporate and Legal for International Justice Mission Australia. Kimberly is a sought-after expert and speaker in the field of modern slavery and has been called upon to provide evidence for both the NSW and Commonwealth Parliamentary Inquiries into Human Trafficking

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How is sustainability reporting impacting procurement teams and their organisations?

Paul Rawding has more than two decades of Ecolab commercial leadership experience across multiple geographies. Over the course of his 24-year Ecolab career, Paul has held several roles within Ecolab and Pest Elimination, including general manager, UK and Ireland, account executive, sales manager, branch manager, head of the Food & Beverage sales program, regional manager, and director of corporate accounts. Before his leadership role in Pest EMEA, he completed a three-year international assignment as vice president of Operations for Pest Elimination North America in 2018. Over the last three years in his current role in ANZ, Paul has been instrumental in building a strong culture of performance and diversity, equity and inclusion which has led to significant profitable growth and an expanded Operating Income.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How can we work with Indigenous suppliers and First Nations businesses to drive positive social and business outcomes?

Kate Russell is a proud Awabakal woman from Lake Macquarie and is committed to empowering her community. Kate draws on her extensive experience working across public and community sectors and is driven by a desire to promote opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples - making sure to approach all programs, policies and initiatives through an intersectional lens. Kate is passionate about engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities to co-design programs and services using international best practices to make tangible changes in policy.

As a consultant, Kate has worked across multiple policy areas to support the delivery of outcomes and community benefits, with a focus on people and culture programs. Prior to this, she held senior roles at the Department of Planning and Environment, where she oversaw the design and delivery of programs across a portfolio of agencies and over 15,000 staff.

Additionally, Kate has spent time working at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Sydney and Canberra and for the Catalan Department of Education in Spain. Kate returned to Australia to work in the community sector to focus on Aboriginal employment and leadership development, and eventually joined the NSW State Government in 2016. Kate’s broad expertise and experience in diversity and inclusion, organisational culture, leadership, human resources and knowledge, and project management enables her to develop programs that recognise the intersectionality of diverse experiences.

Currently, Kate is a Board Director at the Diversity Council Australia and has previously served as a Director for Yilabara Solutions and Interrelate. In July 2023, she commenced her role as Chief Executive Officer at Supply Nation, the Australian leader in supplier diversity. Kate holds a Bachelor of International Studies (Distinction), an MBA and an Executive Masters of Public Administration.

Session: Masterclass A: Maximising procurement impact: strategies for integrating ESG principles

Sebastian is a senior Sustainable Procurement & Supply Chain consultant. Sebastian supports organisations to develop, improve and achieve sustainability objectives and ambition by leveraging logistics, supply chain, procurement and effective strategies across the full gamut of ESG topics. Sebastians background in logistics, business, supply chains and procurement enable him to translate complex information into succinct, compelling, and evidence-backed actions to increase organisational impact.

Session: Driving Social Procurement – Practical insights and applications

Lea is an analytical and forward-thinking Procurement Professional with a background in Procurement and Supply Chain Management where she developed a passion for creating efficient procurement outcomes.

Lea has diverse experience across end-to-end procurement, process reviews and optimisation, visualisation and mapping, and ESG process implementation in the private as well as government sector.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How will future procurement leaders shape the ESG and business landscape?

Julie-Anna has over 20 years of experience leading international engineering, risk, and sustainability consulting and advisory services across the energy, renewables, construction, and tech sectors. She is a member of Bureau Veritas’ Global Executive External Consultive Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), responsible for ensuring our services evolve to meet the changing needs of customers. With a deep understanding of engineering projects, commercial market expectations, and ESG regulations, Julie-Anna supports decision-makers in identifying and mitigating risks to enhance investment and ESG performance.

Session: Reliable and Responsible Sourcing…Today not tomorrow

Emilio Tenuta’s 40-year tenure at Ecolab includes more than 25 years of technical, marketing and business management experience in various industries including Food and Beverage, Pharmaceutical, Lodging, Healthcare, Primary Metals and Automotive. For the past 15 years, Tenuta has led Ecolab’s strategic sustainability journey focused on corporate responsibility, internal environmental stewardship and helping customers operate more sustainably. He is actively involved in advancing global sustainability practices, with a significant focus on water stewardship and climate action. In partnership with Global S&P Trucost – and a multi-stakeholder advisory group – Tenuta led development of the Water Risk Monetizer, industry’s first financial modeling tool to assess water-related risk, and the Smart Water Navigator, a free online tool to help businesses improve water management and achieve their water reduction targets.

In recent years, he’s become a leader in corporate responsibility practices and reporting and has collaborated with a number of large impact investors. Partnering with investor relations and Ecolab’s Chief Executive Officer, Tenuta has advanced Ecolab’s reputation as a leading sustainability company. Tenuta is actively involved in advancing industry sustainability and corporate responsibility practices. He is chair of the board of directors of the World Environment Center, a global non-profit, non-advocacy organization, and on the leadership council of the Corporate Eco Forum. Tenuta also chairs the sustainability committee for the American Chemistry Council (ACC) and is on the executive sustainability committee for the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA).

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What needs to be in your ESG Procurement plan in 2024?

Ryan Thomas is a dynamic and visionary professional with a passion for research, innovation, and technology. With a diverse background in technology for health, education, and entertainment, Ryan is a champion of purpose-driven software that makes a tangible difference to the people and organisations that use it. His journey has led him to now focus on research and development of Modern Slavery and Human Rights technologies and shares invaluable expertise on leveraging software to facilitate sustainable business relationships and growth.  Together with his colleagues, Ryan is making cutting-edge ESG technologies more accessible and effective to provide businesses with affordable tools to fast track their annual Modern Slavery Statement.

Session: Overcoming the challenges of supply chain complexity in driving an ESG agenda

Clare Tubolets is CEO at SmartCrete CRC, a Cooperative Research Centre proudly partnering with the Australian concrete supply chain to undertake research to support the net-zero transformation of Australian concrete. Clare has a diverse background, previously managing research and investment in the agriculture and technology sectors.  She was Chief Operating Officer at the Food Agility CRC, Business Development Manager at sensor tech company, and The Yield Technology Solutions, and Research Manager at Sense-T, an IoT research program at the University of Tasmania. Clare is an agile practitioner, passionate about unlocking the collaborative potential by bringing together world leading research and industry specialists to solve real-world problems.

Session: Implementing procurement processes that will move you towards sustainable environmental impacts

Ken is the Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) at Fire Rescue Victoria where he has commenced a full review of the procurement framework and policies in this critical emergency service agency. Ken has previously work as the CPO at the Suburban Rail Loop, a major infrastructure development in Victoria. Prior to that Ken was the CPO at Public Transport Victoria and Court Services Victoria. With over 10 year experience as a CPO in critical service delivery agencies he has had many opportunities to improve service delivery and response times in procurement activities. He is alco keenly interested in improving social outcomes through procurement reforms such as improving Aboriginal business engagement and improving social and environmental outcomes through targeted policy initiatives.

Session: Leveraging government procurement to transition to the circular economy

Jessica Vorreiter, a Senior Project Officer in the Circular Economy Markets team at the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (NSW DCCEEW), has extensive experience in environmental sustainability across both public and private sectors. At NSW DCCEEW, Jessica has specialised in emissions reduction and improving circularity within NSW Government agencies. Her particular expertise is in sustainable procurement and her current focus is on improving sustainable procurement practices across NSW Government.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What needs to be in your ESG Procurement plan in 2024?

Session: CASE STUDY: Social procurement: delivering the ‘S’ in ESG by unlocking the fastest growing sector

Monique is an experienced executive level director with a passion for workplace inclusion. She has deep expertise across the spectrum of operational functions in large complex environments and extensive experience in strategic procurement, property strategy and all aspects of workplace operations. Her passion is people and culture - in particular bringing the best out of people and teams.

Monique does this by providing opportunities for people to work in their areas of strength and creating a culture where people bring their whole selves to work.