James Waddell, Director, Corporate Finance, National Australia Bank

Founder and Director, Weiss Insights Pty Ltd

Michael Wheatley is the a/Head of Housing Portfolio, for the newly created Homes NSW Division. Prior to the creation of Homes NSW, Housing Portfolio was known as Land and Housing Corporation.

Lance Worrall, Economy and Industry Development Specialist

Travis Yap is a design engineer with over 26 years’ experience in the field of footings and foundations.

Wendy Steele is an Associate Professor in Cities and Sustainability at the Centre for Urban Research (CUR) at RMIT University in Melbourne. She is also an expert commentator on urban planning, policy and governance.

Tom Durick is a Business Development Manager (BDM) at CSIRO’s Data61 – Australia’s leading data innovation group, which was formed in 2016. Data61 combines data science, engineering and design to help Australia create new technology-based industries that can reach global scale.

As a BDM, Tom’s work centres around commercialisation, intellectual property development and applied research in the fields of digital innovation, data analytics and optimisation. He advises stakeholders – both internal and external – of impacts, opportunities and threats for digitally enabled enterprises. He has a particular interest in distributed ledger technology and blockchain, which informs his work at Data61.

Chris Garrard is a project manager, design manager and project engineer with over 15 years of experience in the construction industry. Over the course of his career, Chris has worked on a diverse range of projects, from Class 1 residential properties through to $500 million dollar towers in the Brisbane CBD. Some of the most iconic projects Chris has contributed to include 1 William Street with Multiplex and 111 Eagle Street with Leighton Contractors.

Having worked with various Tier 1 companies, Chris has broad expertise across all areas of project management. His experience spans a range of sectors including multi storey apartments, commercial, retail, defence and civil works. For the past 3 years, Chris has applied this knowledge to his role at Pointcorp Commercial – a builder developer company, where he has developed a team and systems from the ground up.

Dr Ehsan Gharaie is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Property Construction and Project Management at RMIT University. He is also a Civil Engineer, with a master’s degree in Construction Management and a PhD in Project Management. 

As an expert in the dynamics of the house building industry, Ehsan researches and analyses Australia’s capacity to supply new homes amid changing conditions in the property and construction sectors. The structure of Australia’s housing industry is Ehsan’s area of special interest. His analysis of long term data reveals a real and surprising constraint capacity, which becomes evident when demand for new homes is strong. 

Jens has been Managing Director of AMGC since 2016. He brings extensive experience from overseeing large manufacturing operations in Australia and Europe. Jens served as Managing Director of Airbus Group Australia Pacific and Airbus Helicopters. Before his seven-year appointment to Australia, Jens spent six years in Germany with the former European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), today known as Airbus Group. He was Head of the CEO’s office in Germany, and before that in charge of Soldier and Parafoil Systems within the Defence Division. Previously, Jens spent two years in Athens where he established and managed the Eurofighter Office of DaimlerChrysler Aerospace, one of the three founding partner companies of EADS. He began his career with Daimler-Benz AG in January 1996.

Andrew Harris is a Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at The University of Sydney. His research typically occurs at the interface between scientific disciplines, including chemistry, biology, engineering and materials science, and addresses pressing environmental and sustainable development problems.

Andrew is also the Australian director of Laing O’Rourke’s future engineering and innovation consultancy, the Engineering Excellence Group. Laing O’Rourke is Australia’s largest private engineering and construction business, with local turnover exceeding $3 billion per annum.

Throughout his career, Andrew has worked at the interface between industry and academia. He received his PhD from the University of Cambridge in 2002 and is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) and Engineers Australia (IEAust). 

Rob Ferrari is an experienced business manager with a demonstrated history of delivering business solutions for the construction and industrial sectors. He currently manages CSR Inclose – a division of CSR Building Products that designs, engineers, fabricates and installs a unitised commercial façade system. 

Since joining CSR Building Products 13 years ago, Rob has focused on developing integrated products that meet requirements for performance and buildability. That includes advocating the use of pressure equalised rainscreen façades, gasket interfaces and continuous insulation to improve thermal performance and air infiltration – and provide a watertight building envelope. 

James is a Director of Science & Engineering at Brookfield. For Brookfield and its entities, James and his team offer complete, end-to-end design solutions, forensic investigation, technical strategy, design concepts, technical & computational peer review, standards and code interpretations.

James is widely regarded as a world leader in high-load connection innovation and design. His unique design capabilities have influenced over 800 projects in the construction, energy and defence sectors. The design solutions he developed with the Brookfield team resulted in lighter weight structures, which minimise materials and are easier, safer and faster to construct.

Jeremy Tompson is a Senior Project Manager at Lendlease, where has been involved with prefabricated timber commercial buildings since 2012. 

Jeremy played a lead role in the design and delivery of several prestigious Lendlease projects, including International House Sydney and Daramu at Barangaroo. Both of these buildings have been instrumental in challenging the perceived limitations of prefabrication and the use of engineered timber. 

From his involvement in the origination of several other Lendlease timber projects, Jeremy has a strong grasp of what it takes to convert a prefabricated timber project. He is motivated by sustainable, innovative and desirable works spaces that combine form and function. 

Simon is a construction and infrastructure lawyer, who works with clients to procure and deliver a diverse range of building projects. He is currently a Partner at HWL Ebsworth Lawyers, located in Sydney. 

Simon’s expertise spans multiple sectors including building, road, rail and utilities. He has experience using a range of contract models including PPP, D&C, construct only, managing contractor, ECI, O&M and FM agreements. 

Denita Wawn is the CEO of Master Builders Australia – a national organisation that promotes and supports all sectors of Australia’s building and construction industry, including its 32,000 members. Denita was appointed CEO in March 2017, after a 12 month tenure as the organisation's General Manager of Operations.

With 20 years’ experience as a leading industry advocate, Denita has a wealth of knowledge in public policy and politics. Prior to joining Master Builders Australia, Denita held several influential executive roles, including CEO of the Brewer's Association of Australia and New Zealand (Brewer's Association), Executive Director of the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) Tasmanian Division, and Deputy CEO of the National Farmer's Federation (NFF).

Steve Appleby is the Digital Director at AECOM

Simonne is the General Manager of Connected Living, a strategic business unit within Lendlease.

David Blackett is a Director at Blackett Maguire + Goldsmith

David Chuter is the CEO and Managing Director at the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (IMCRC)