Further speakers will be announced as they are confirmed.

Confirmed Speakers

Mr Andrew Butterworth, Managing Director, Alcatel-Lucent Australia

Andrew Butterworth is Managing Director of Alcatel-Lucent Australia. Appointed to the role at the end of 2008, Andrew leads all of Alcatel-Lucent's sales and marketing operations across Australia.

Andrew joined Alcatel in February 2005 as General Manager of the Telstra Customer Account Team. He later became General Program Manager for TITAN and then Executive General Manager, Telstra. With extensive systems integration experience Andrew most recently headed Alcatel-Lucent's Services business in Australia and New Zealand.

Before Alcatel Andrew spent 12 years with consulting firm Accenture working across the computer and telecommunications industries. During this time he specialised in providing strategic analysis as well as the design and delivery of business support solutions for the telecommunications industry.

Andrew holds a Bachelor's degree in Science (Computer Science) and has completed the Advanced Business Management Program at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Mr Tim Ebbeck, CEO & Managing Director, SAP Australia and New Zealand (ANZ)

SAP is a market leading provider of business software solutions to small, midsize and large enterprises across more than 27 major industries including the public sector, manufacturing, mining, retail, utilities, telecommunications and financial services.

Tim first joined SAP in 2003 as Chief Financial Officer for ANZ, and in 2005 he expanded his role to include Chief Operating Officer for ANZ. In this role, Tim led the regional deal crafting and commercial development team, including strategy planning and execution. In January 2007, Tim was promoted to the position of Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer for SAP across Asia Pacific and Japan.

Tim has worked in the IT industry for almost 30 years. He joined SAP from TMP Worldwide where he held the position of Group Chief Financial Officer for the Asia Pacific region. Tim has also worked at Compaq Computer and Investment Vehicle, Unisys South Pacific Division, Tandem Computers and GEC ALSTHOM Australia Limited.

Tim is a graduate of Macquarie University, where he completed a Bachelor of Economics. He also holds a Fellowship CPA from CPA Australia, a Fellowship AIM from the Australian Institute of Management and a MAICD from the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Tim is a non-executive chairman for Insight Organisation Pty Ltd and is a professional mentor at CPA Australia.

About SAP

 Mr Lindsay Fox, Founder, Fox Group Holdings Pty Ltd

Lindsay Edward Fox was born on 19 April 1937 in Sydney, Australia and went to school in Melbourne at Prahran State School and Melbourne High School.

The son of a truck driver, Lindsay left school at the age of 16 and bought his first truck when he was 19. Today, Linfox is one of the largest Australian-based transport and warehousing groups with operations in 10 countries.

The Linfox Group employs more than 18,000 people, operates 1.8 million square metres of warehousing, a fleet of more than 5,000 vehicles and carries out distribution operations for leading companies across the Asia-Pacific region.

Lindsay has extensive involvement in Australian and International circles and apart from his business interests is well recognised and active in sport and charity work.

Some of his diverse roles include:

• Founder, Fox Group Holdings Pty Ltd
• Patron of Asialink 
• Non Executive Director of Premier Investments Limited 
• Honorary Board Member for the Committee for Melbourne 
• Patron-in-Chief of the Royal Australian Army Transport Museum Committee 
• Board member for the Intermodal Transportation Institute at the University of Denver 
• In January 1992 he was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for his contribution to Transport and the Community 
• In January 2008 he was awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for continued service to the transport and logistics industries, to business through the development and promotion of youth traineeships, and to the community through a range of philanthropic endeavours. 
• In 2010 Victoria University admitted him to the degree of Doctor of the University honoris causa 

From September 1992 to December 1993, Lindsay Fox together with Bill Kelty of the ACTU introduced a national campaign called ’Work for Australia’. This campaign encouraged companies and local communities to generate jobs for the unemployed with the aid of Government subsidies and programs. Upon conclusion, over 60,000 jobs were pledged through their efforts and Lindsay and Bill were awarded 'Victorians of the Year' by the Sunday Age. The success of this campaign set the foundations for NETTFORCE.

 Mr Yiping Huang, Professor of Economics at the China Center for Economic Research

Yiping Huang is Professor of Economics at the China Center for Economic Research of the Peking University and the Crawford School of Economics and Government of the Australian National University.

He was previously Managing Director and Chief Asia Economist for Citigroup, Director of the China Economy Program at the Australian National University, General Mills International Professor at the Columbia University and Policy Analyst with the Research Center for Rural Development of the State Council of China.

 Ms Ged Kearney, President, Australian Council of Trade Unions

Gerardine (Ged) Kearney commenced as ACTU President on 1 July 2010, and is the third woman to hold the position following the departure of Sharan Burrow to the Brussels-based position of General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation.

Ged believes that unions should not just be concerned with the experience of people at work but they should be advocates for change to improve all aspects of Australians’ lives. She wants to ensure that unions continue to be at the forefront of public debate in Australia.

Ged’s ambition as ACTU President is to build respect from political leaders and the broad community for the values of fairness and the role played by unions in delivering social change.

Ged was elected the Federal Secretary of the Australian Nursing Federation in April 2008. The ANF represents more than 175,000 nurses and midwives, and is one of Australia’s fastest growing unions. She had been an elected official with the ANF since 2003, also serving as Assistant Federal Secretary, Federal President and Victorian Branch President. She is a director of the HESTA Super Fund.

Ged became a registered nurse in 1985, and has worked in many settings across the public and private acute sectors, predominantly in Melbourne, and has also been a nursing educator, including manager of the Clinical Nursing Education Department at Austin Health. She has a Bachelor in Education.

As Federal Secretary, Ged saw substantial membership growth of the ANF and the first national combined strategic growth campaign in the private sector aged care industry. Her background in nursing and industrial experience advanced the profession and industrial rights of ANF members. In collaboration with ANF branches in every state and territory, Ged has worked to improve the working lives and conditions of dedicated nurses, midwives and assistants in nursing throughout Australia.

The year after qualifying as a registered nurse, she took part in the famous Victorian nurses’ strike of 1986 which resulted in substantial improvements to pay and conditions. Ged is a mother of four children aged from 16 to 23, and lives in Melbourne.

Mr Richard Martin, Managing Director, IMA Asia

Richard Martin has been assisting companies assess opportunities, risks and appropriate strategies in Asia for close to three decades. In his current role with IMA Asia he is the lead speaker at the quarterly Asia Forecast Updates in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney and Melbourne. He also takes part in the peer group strategy discussions for the Asia CEO Forum in all these cities. Each month his schedule includes several in-house sessions with clients working on their strategic plans as well as discussions with boards that are visiting Asia. 

His writing roles include editing the monthly Asia Pacific Executive Brief, the quarterly Asia Forecast Book, and many of the Asian Issues Management Papers produced by IMA Asia. He appears regularly on broadcast media in Asia and his forecasts and country assessments are quoted in the regional press. Prior to establishing IMA Asia, Richard served as the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Director for Southeast Asia based in Singapore in the mid 1980s. 

He moved to Asia at the end of 1980 to take up a role as regional research manager for the US-advisory firm Business International. From 1998 to 2000, Richard was one of the lead speakers for Investment 2000, the investment arm of the Sydney Olympic Games, speaking at more than 40 conferences in 22 countries. Richard holds an Honours Degree in Politics from Sydney University and a Masters Degree in Asian Area Studies from London University (SOAS and LSE).

Web: www.imaasia.com 

Ms Catriona Noble, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, McDonald's Australia

Catriona is Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer for McDonald’s Australia. In her role, Catriona is responsible for Marketing, Public Affairs, Operations, Supply Chain, the Pacific Islands and Business Planning whilst taking on a leadership role for the ongoing development and integration of McDonald’s Business Plan. 

Catriona has had a distinguished career progressing up through the ranks in McDonald’s. She is a member of the Corporation’s Top Management Team in Australia and was appointed an Officer of the company in 2001 and in 2007. Catriona was appointed to the Board of McDonald’s Australia after previously holding an advisory directorship during 2006.

Catriona Noble was appointed Regional Manager for the McDonald’s Corporation for the Southern Region of Australia in 2005 - 2007.

In this role she was responsible for all aspects of McDonald’s business in Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia including franchising, operations, advertising, marketing and sponsorship.

In 2003, Catriona was appointed to the role of National Marketing Manager and was instrumental in the appointment of a second advertising agency which saw the development of a fully integrated crew campaign launching with crew advertisements as well as the research and development of Deli Choices and potential dinner solutions.

Prior to this, Catriona spent 20 years in Operations. As Director of Operations in NSW McOpCo responsible for 127 restaurants. As Franchise Manager, Catriona was responsible for the approval and training of new owner/operators and liaising with existing licensees to improve their return-on-investment and contribution to the brand.

During her time as National Training Manager, The National Training Centre in Sydney was recognised as a centre of excellence for the Asia, Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) region.

In her role as an Operations Consultant, Catriona relocated to Newcastle for two years. During these two years she assisted in the acquisition of a group of licensee owned restaurants. She was responsible for executing a reinvestment plan in that region of over $5 million. The results included: Improving sales by 5% above the market average; Improving operating standards from an average graded visit of 86% to 92%; Retaining and developing the employee base and improving profits by 20%.

Catriona was promoted to Restaurant Manager at 19 years of age. She was one of the youngest Restaurant Managers in McDonald’s Australia and was responsible for a restaurant with turnover in excess of $4 million and 100 staff.

Catriona has undertaken study for a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) at the University of Technology Sydney as well as a Bachelor of Economics (Law) at Macquarie University. Catriona is still completing her degrees.

Mr Glenn Stevens, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia 

Mr Stevens is a graduate of the University of Sydney, and the University of Western Ontario, Canada. He joined the Bank’s Research Department in 1980, and held various senior positions in the 1990s, including heading the Economic Analysis and International Departments. From 1996 to 2001, he was Assistant Governor (Economic), responsible for overseeing economic and policy advice to the Governor and Board of the RBA. He was appointed Deputy Governor, and member of the Board, of the RBA in December 2001. His appointment as Governor was effective 18 September 2006. 

Mr Stevens is Chairman of the Reserve Bank Board and Payments System Board, and Chairman of the Council of Financial Regulators. He serves as Chairman of the Financial Markets Foundation for Children, and is a Director of The Anika Foundation. 

He has been a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and a member of the Advisory Boards of the Hong Kong Institute for Monetary Research, the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research at the University of Melbourne and the Australian School of Business at the University of New South Wales.

Mr Michael Symes, Chief Executive Officer, Triasx Pty Ltd 

Michael Symes is the Chief Executive Officer of Triasx Pty Ltd, a designer and manufacturer of high technology radio frequency products used in global wireless communication systems.

In 1995 Michael founded Filtronic Pty Ltd in Australia as a wholly owned subsidiary of UK publicly listed company Filtronic plc, which resulted in the establishment of Triasx Pty Ltd in 2005. During the course of his career with Filtronic and now Triasx in Australia, Michael has established businesses in the USA, China and Japan.

In 2001 Filtronic won the Premier of Queensland’s Export Award, the Queensland Exporter of the Year and the Australian Exporter of the Year in the "Large Manufacturer" category.

In 2002 Michael was awarded the Centenary Medal for "Distinguished Service and Achievements in Business."

He was a founding member and continues to serve on the Queensland Government's Manufacturers Leaders Group chaired by the Minister for Tourism, Regional Development and Industry, with specific responsibility as chair for the Exports and Supply Chain sub-group.

Michael is a member of the Queensland Government’s Export Connections committee chaired by the Minister for Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial Relations and an industry mentor for the Queensland Government’s Mentoring for Exports program.

In 2006, Michael and his wife Jacqueline established the 'Break-The-Cycle' private charitable organisation that continues to provide basic care including food and toiletries to significantly disadvantaged children and adults in Africa.

Michael’s involvement with the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) spans several years and he currently holds the positions of National Councillor as well as Vice President of the Queensland Branch.

Ms Deborah L. Wince-Smith, President & CEO, U.S. Council on Competitiveness 

Deborah Wince-Smith is the president of the Council on Competitiveness, a group of CEOs, university presidents and labor leaders committed to driving U.S. competitiveness.

She is internationally renowned as a leading voice on competitiveness, innovation strategy, science and technology policy, energy, education, economics, and business.

She is a Senate confirmed member of the IRS Oversight Board and a member of the Board of Directors of the NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. and the NASDAQ Stock Exchange. Ms. Wince-Smith also serves on the Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy, the Board of Governors for the Argonne National Laboratory, and the boards of several private equity startup companies. She has more than 20 years of experience as a senior U.S. government official, including as Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy in the Department of Commerce during the George H.W. Bush administration.

Ms. Wince-Smith earned a degree in classical archaeology and graduated Magna cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Vassar College, and earned her master’s degree from King’s College, Cambridge University. In December 2006 she received an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from Michigan State University.