Speakers

Senior Research Engineer Rob Dent

rDME plans in Australia

Rob graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with a Masters in Chemistry before spending 5 years working in Materials Characterization for Mettler Toledo. Since 2019 Rob has been part of the Linde Group of companies holding positions in Applications Sales for BOC and to the present day resides in Buffalo, NY at the Linde Technology Centre as a Senior Research Engineer in energy. The role he currently has is split between support for internal businesses in decarbonization projects and fundamental ideation and development of products through to commercialization.

Amber Fennell

Amber is General Manager, LPG, for Origin Energy. With over 25 years' experience in the energy industry, she has end-to-end responsibility for Origin's LPG business, which employs 1,100 people across more than 70 sites in eight countries and three joint ventures in the Asia Pacific.

Her responsibilities include all aspects of the business including strategy, operations, supply chain management, compliance, logistics, sales and finance. Prior to this role, she was General Manager of Business Energy and Energy Services with Origin. She has held executive and senior finance and commercial roles with Origin, Simply Energy and AGL.

Amber has extensive experience driving and managing change and transformation initiatives, managing field-based operations and experience across all facets of financial management, including strategy, financial accounting, management reporting, planning, treasury, accounts payable and risk management.

She is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is a Director on LPG Boards where Origin holds an interest, including Papua New Guinea, Fiji and American Samoa. Amber also sits on the Board of Neighbourhood Watch Victoria.

Amber holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Diploma in Modern Languages (French), from the University of Melbourne, and is a Certified Practising Accountant (CPA).

General Manager Next Generation Fuels, AMPOL Mike Hart

Renewables: Sustainable Aviation Fuel, Renewable Diesel and BioLPG

Michael has 28 years' experience across the energy value chain with Ampol & BP. He has held leadership positions in bioenergy, trading and shipping, sales and marketing, and delivering major projects in upstream oil and gas. Michael has led teams internationally in Asia, Europe and the US.

Dr Keith Simons

LPG on purpose

Chief Technology Officer, Futuria Fuels
Chair of the Global Science Council of the World Liquid Gas Association

An Industrial Chemist by training, and experienced in innovation management in sustainable energy and carbon abatement technologies, a key as aspect his role is to advance the scientific base for producing solutions for Futuria Fuels, the latest of SHV Energy's group of companies. Through the development of a global collaborative Research and Development programmes, his role involves identifying and developing technologies to support the ambitious corporate goal to ensure that SHV Energy's products (such as bioLPG, renewable Dimethyl Ether and hydrogen) will be increasingly low carbon and renewably sourced.

Brad Bailey

GreenPower Renewable Gas Certification

To help establish a voluntary market for renewable gas, GreenPower has developed the Renewable Gas Certification. This new certification which was launched in August 2023 is enabling commercial and industrial gas customers to match their gas use with renewable gas certificates. GreenPower will ensure that each certificate represents accredited renewable gas that displaces fossil natural gas in Australia. This directly supports renewable gas projects and allows customers to match their fossil natural gas use with low-emission renewable gas. Projects around Australia can apply to be certified.

The objective of the certification is to accelerate new renewable gas projects being developed, enable a voluntary market for renewable gases, and provide independently certified renewable gas options for commercial and industrial gas users. The certification accredits biogas, biomethane and renewable hydrogen projects allowing producers to create and sell certificates for renewable gas produced. GreenPower is now considering expanding the list of eligible gases to additional renewable fuel types.

Katie Brown

Victoria's Gas Substitution Roadmap and LPG

Katie is the Executive Director of the Electrification, Efficiency and Safety Division in the Energy Group of the Victorian Government's Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA).  She leads the ongoing implementation of the Gas Substitution Roadmap, which aims to encourage energy efficiency and electrification, support the long-term development of renewable gas and maintain reliability and affordability throughout the transition. The Division also leads government policy development on energy demand management and efficiency, including through responsibility for the Victorian Energy Upgrades program and the Residential Efficiency Scorecard. The Division develops policy for energy safety, energy emergency management, energy security and preparedness and gas pipeline regulation, in consultation with Regulators and Industry, and is responsible for energy emergency response within DEECA.
 
She is passionate about renewable energy and making faster progress towards net zero emissions, whilst ensuring everyone has access to affordable and reliable energy. Prior to joining DELWP she spent almost 20 years working in the energy industry in numerous leadership and technical roles, She holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering and a Bachelor of Science.

David Stephens

LPG, bioLPG and rLPG a sea change for shipping

David leads the Maritime Emissions and Environment team in the Australian Government's Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts. The team undertakes Australia's engagement at the International Maritime Organization on GHG emissions policy, the development of Australia's National Action Plan for maritime emissions reduction and the implementation of green shipping corridors.

David's team also has responsibility for policy on Australia's Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) legislation through which MARPOL resolutions are implemented, and they work closely with Australia's maritime safety regulator and across the Australian Government on maritime environment policy.

Having been in the Australian Government for 24 years, David has worked on energy efficiency, alternative fuels and climate change issues across the energy, transport and emissions intensive industry sectors as well as infrastructure related project work. Prior to working on public policy, David worked in the mining and metallurgical industry for over 13 years and has a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering and a Masters of Environmental Management and Development.

Andrew Harpham

LPG path to zero emissions

Andrew primarily advises clients on the economics of the energy sector. He focuses on understanding and forecasting outcomes in wholesale energy markets. This includes advising on retail price regulation, assessing energy security outcomes and energy market reform and restructuring. Andrew's work increasingly involves the analysis of gas market outcomes using the Frontier Economics energy model Whirlygas.

He became an executive director of Frontier Economics Pty Ltd in 2014.

James Rockall

James Rockall is the CEO & Managing Director of the World LPG Association (WLPGA). Based in Paris, he has full responsibility for legal, financial, operational, strategic, governance and performance-related aspects of the organisation with over 300 clients operating in more than 125 countries around the world.

Mr Rockall has 30 years of global experience in the energy sector. He has a very strong energy and business development background having worked for Shell International in senior management positions in The Netherlands and Venezuela. Prior to joining the WLPGA, James worked as a Director of the global energy group ALSTOM SA.

He is a Fellow of the UK Institution of Chemical Engineers with a Master's degree, with Honours, from the University of Nottingham in the UK and an MBA from the Institute of Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland.

James has joint British and French nationality. He has a Dutch wife and two children. In his free time he is a keen sailor.

John Scales

The founder of JWS Research, John is a senior researcher with more than 30 years of experience. He has extensive commercial and public affairs research expertise and is quoted regularly and extensively in the media as a leading source on public opinion.

John has worked for a diverse array of clients across the government and private sectors, providing a wealth of knowledge upon which to base tailored advice to clients around contemporary issues. He has conducted research for numerous high-profile communications and advertising campaigns and his sage advice is often sought by corporate and political decision makers.

John is a career researcher, specialising in research on contemporary social and political issues and maintaining a focus on delivering clear and actionable results. John dissects what people are thinking and why, providing the insights needed to drive successful outcomes.

John is a full member of The Research Society.

Jennifer George

AI – it's not just about bots

Jennifer George is the CEO of Strategic Commercialisation Australia, SCA, a specialist in commercialising research-based deep tech innovation, and she is the founder and CEO of Nakoudu, www.nakoudu.com a network for digital  innovators that connects and proactively finds partners for Deep tech and B2B companies anywhere in the world. Her work is focused on solving big problems in Digital Health/Medtech, Smart Cities, and Climate Change tech.  Jennifer has been working in industry-based innovations for more than 15 years. She was an executive in US investment markets and is a serial founder. She has commercialised technical innovations in more than 50 different industry sectors, including biomass to  fuels, methane from waste and plug and abandonment technologies for the Surat basin. Jennifer has an MBA, a GAICD designation and is the Chair of IT-268-Smart Cities and Communities for Standards Australia, she is on the board of the Churchill Club, and she is the Co-Chair of Australia 4.0 an initiative to identify and build ICT solutions for Australia's Renewable Grid using GenAI technologies  Jennifer has commercialised more than 57 technologies, several of them are valued in the 100's of millions of dollars range and most of them use some form of AI . 

Phil Livingston

Driving Efficiency and Sustainability: Gasbot's Vision for the Future of LPG Telemetry

Phil is a serial entrepreneur with 20 years' experience within the energy sector. As an adaptive strategic thinker, Phil has a demonstrated track record of growing concepts into successful & profitable organizations, from sketch to scale. Phil's 4th venture Gasbot services the LPG industry, as well as Industrial Gas, Fuels and Lubes, Liquid Wastes, and Agricultural commodities, and residues.

Prior to Gasbot, Phil worked as Professor at the University of Queensland's School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering. Phil holds a MBA from Melbourne Business School, a Master of Science in Renewable Energy from Murdoch University, and an undergraduate in Environment Policy from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida.

Vanessa Tunjano

The smell of a safer greener future with DME and LPG

With over 10 years of experience in the gas and oil industry in Australia, Vanessa is a graduate of University of Adelaide, Australia, where she completed her Master degree in Petrochemical Engineering and holds a bachelor degree in Chemical Engineering.

In I.C.E., Vanessa is the Technical Solutions Manager. She is involved in designing means and mechanisms to carry out different petrochemical services. Highly skilled in heat transfer, fluid dynamics, thermodynamics and project management.

Chris Ulrik

The smell of a safer greener future with DME and LPG

Chris Ulrik is an industry leading expert within the Australian Gas odorant field. Chris is a mechanical engineer who began working with odorant injection systems back in 1980, specifically supplying the NGO Gas Odorants from Baytown Texas to the Australian market. In 1992 Chris formed 'International Chemicals Engineering' (I.C.E.) and today I.C.E. has nine employees based in Melbourne, Australia. Chris is now retired but continues to be the principal Technical adviser for all the I.C.E projects.

Aaron de Rozario

Reviewing the ADG and HVNL

Ross Guppy

Methodology for Comparing Dangerous Goods Risk in Road Tunnels to Those on Alternative Routes

Ross has over 39 years' experience in the road and transport infrastructure sector, including 28 years with the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads.

Ross currently chairs five Austroads Task Forces covering asset management and the more specific technical disciplines of bridges, tunnels, pavements, and project delivery.

Ross is a Registered Professional Engineer Queensland and a Fellow of the Institute of Public Works Engineers.

Ross is a Council member of the Centre for Pavement Engineering Education and member of the Australasian BIM Advisory Board.

Sal Petroccitto

National Heavy Vehicle Regulation update

Since joining the NHVR as Chief Executive Officer in May 2014, Sal has steered the NHVR to becoming a customer-focused, risk-based, data-driven modern regulator.

By driving significant programs of reform across the heavy vehicle industry, he has enabled a more streamlined approach to service delivery, education, compliance and enforcement, and a greater degree of consistency in how heavy vehicles are regulated.

He has led the NHVR far on its journey to becoming the single national body successfully transitioning regulatory services from five states and territories and improving compliance and safety outcomes.

From a Portal where, to date, the heavy vehicle industry can conduct all service transactions, to the utilisation of smart technology which identifies operators and vehicles who pose the greatest safety risk, Sal has championed data-sharing, new technologies and innovative practices to deliver enhanced productivity and safety outcomes for governments and industry.

Sal's contribution to the transport industry was recently recognised in the Order of Australia honours with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).

Trish Kerin

Soaring to failure: How leadership can make or break your business

Director, Institution of Chemical Engineers Safety Centre (ISC)
Trish Kerin is an award-winning international expert and keynote speaker in process safety and the inaugural director of the IChemE Safety Centre. She leads a team who help organisations share and learn in process safety. Trish leverages off her years of engineering and varied leadership experience to help organisations improve their process safety outcomes.
 
She has represented industry to many government bodies and sat on boards. She is a Chartered Engineer, registered Professional Process Safety Engineer, Fellow of IChemE and Engineers Australia and a Senior Member of AIChE. Trish also holds a diploma in OHS, a Master of Leadership and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Her expertise has been recognised with the John A Brodie Medal (2015), the Trevor Kletz Merit Award (2018) and Women in Safety Network's Inaugural Leader of the Year (2022). She has been named one of the "Superstars of STEM" for 2023/24 by Science and Technology Australia.

Andrew McColl

Reducing risk of Re-Injury with Wearable Technology

Dr Georgi Toma

Psychosocial risk management: What you need to know in 2024

Dr. Georgi Toma is an expert in stress, burnout, psychosocial hazards and workplace psychological health and safety. She is the founder of Heart and Brain Works, a consultancy that offers a comprehensive solution for mental health at work. She is also an honorary research fellow at the University of Auckland, where she conducts research on wellbeing at work.
She has worked with organisations such as RMIT University, Hitachi Energy, Christchurch City Council or Environment Canterbury to create healthy work environments and equip their staff with the skills required to thrive.

She is the creator of The Wellbeing Protocol, a scientifically-validated program to reduce burnout and improve mental wellbeing in the workplace. Research studies show that the Wellbeing Protocol can help employees reduce stress by up to 58%, burnout by up to 60% and improve mental wellbeing by up to 103%.