Net Zero Futures: The DNA of Climate Partnerships

Speakers

• More details about Denise Cheng, GAICD, Senior Philanthropy Advisor, Australia and NZ Social Impact and Philanthropy, UBS

  Denise Cheng, GAICD, Senior Philanthropy Advisor, Australia and NZ Social Impact and Philanthropy, UBS

  Denise is a member of the Australia and New Zealand Social Impact and Philanthropy team at UBS.  A key part of her role is to work with Client Advisors to provide strategic philanthropic advisory services to UBS clients to maximise their impact through philanthropy.   Denise has been in the philanthropy and impact sector for more 13 years.  Before joining the UBS team in November last year, Denise was a member of the Charitable Trusts and Philanthropy Team at Equity Trustees, an Australian professional licensed trustee company.  She has extensive experience and knowledge of the for-purpose sector: she is a former fundraiser and has also been a non-executive director of Loreto Normanhurst, Dress for Success NSW/ACT and Project ROCKIT Foundation. She is currently the Co-Chair of an Australian initiative called Pay What It Takes, a movement which seeks to address underfunding of the for-purpose sector, advocating for full-cost funding. Prior to her career in the for-purpose sector, she was a marketing and business development specialist in the professional services sector and member-based associations. She is also a Bachelor of Business graduate of UTS.

• More details about Marion Duquesnoy, Director, Clean Energy Finance Corporation

  Marion Duquesnoy, Director, Clean Energy Finance Corporation

  Marion Duquesnoy is a Director in the investment team at the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, focusing on agriculture, forestry and carbon investments. Marion works across deal origination, strategy, structuring, and execution to drive sustainable initiatives and foster responsible investments. Marion has experience across equity investments, unlisted funds, merger and acquisitions, and project finance transactions in various sectors including natural capital and renewable energy. Marion holds a Master of Science from EDHEC Business School (France) with a double major in Finance and Management.

• More details about Scott Edwards, Associate Director Sustainability, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Australia

  Scott Edwards, Associate Director Sustainability, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Australia

• More details about Arielle Gamble, Co-founder & CEO Groundswell

  Arielle Gamble, Co-founder & CEO Groundswell

• More details about Rebecca Hazell, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Advancement

  Rebecca Hazell, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Advancement

  As Pro Vice-Chancellor, Advancement at the University of Technology Sydney, Rebecca Hazell leads the university’s strategy for philanthropy and fundraising, alumni engagement and community partnerships. In this role, she is responsible for driving sustainable growth in philanthropic support and strengthening engagement with alumni, donors and external partners to advance UTS’s education and research priorities. Rebecca has built a distinguished career as an executive leader in external engagement across the university and non-profit sectors, spanning alumni, philanthropy, community and industry partnerships. Over more than two decades, she has held senior roles with QUT, Western Sydney University, the University of Newcastle and the Children’s Hospital at Westmead, in addition to leading her own advisory firm. Known for her strategic perspective, sector credibility and commitment to purposeful partnerships, Rebecca is recognised for building the relationships, programs and cultures that enable institutions to deepen philanthropy, strengthen community engagement and deliver long-term impact.

• More details about Gibson Farmer Illortaminni, Chair, Tiwi Plantations Corporation and Port Melville Pty Ltd

  Gibson Farmer Illortaminni, Chair, Tiwi Plantations Corporation and Port Melville Pty Ltd

  Gibson Farmer Illortaminni is a Senior Tiwi Aboriginal man who has dedicated his career to the forestry sector on the Tiwi Islands, Northern Territory. As Chair of the Tiwi Plantations Corporation and Port Melville Pty Ltd Mr. Illortaminni continues to play a key role in the development of the 30,000 hectare forestry industry on the Tiwi Islands, providing income and jobs for Tiwi people. He was born in Milikapiti on Melville Island, educated in Darwin and Mackay, (QLD) and began working in forestry at the age of 17. Mr Illortaminni has previously served on the Tiwi Land Council including as Chairman for 11 years.

• More details about Amy Kean, Chair, NSW Decarbonisation Hub

  Amy Kean, Chair, NSW Decarbonisation Hub

  Amy has more than 25 years’ experience in energy markets across the public and private sectors, nationally and internationally, and has a background in Science, Arts and Law. Amy is a Director of ASX MPower, Chair of NSW Decarbonisation Hub, and Chair of Electrification & Energy Systems Network.  Amy was the NSW Government Renewable Energy Advocate and Program Director for the Emerging Energy Program. She has also worked at REEEP, Clean Energy Council, Pinpoint Mastercard, Accenture, Hydro Tasmania and was a board member of Renewables SA, Renew and REEEP. Amy is a recipient of the NSW Green Globe award for Public Sector Leadership, the Energy Minister's Leadership Award, and Services to the Duke of Edinburgh Award from HRH Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.

• More details about Dr Giedre Kligyte, Senior Lecturer & Program Director, Transdisciplinary Electives Program, UTS

  Dr Giedre Kligyte, Senior Lecturer & Program Director, Transdisciplinary Electives Program, UTS

  Dr Giedre Kligyte is a Senior Lecturer and Program Director of the Transdisciplinary Electives Program in the Transdisciplinary School at UTS. Her work focuses on advancing more sustainable and equitable futures through transdisciplinary education. Giedre is particularly interested in how diverse perspectives and relationships across boundaries can generate 'third spaces' that foster creativity, mutual learning, and new ways of thinking.

• More details about Derek Lath, Corporate Affairs Director, Ferrero Australia

  Derek Lath, Corporate Affairs Director, Ferrero Australia

  Derek Lath manages Corporate Affairs for Ferrero Australia. Ferrero is a global leader in sweet-packaged foods, focused on sustainable and responsible growth. In Australia, it has locally produced and sold Nutella from its Lithgow factory for close to 50 years, and markets this together with its iconic brands Ferrero Rocher, Kinder and Tic Tac. Derek completed the Cambridge’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership course in 2015 which awakened a passion to advance the need for sustainability in business. This has led to a postgraduate degree, and the application of these insights into his daily role.

• More details about Bill Lilley, Chief Executive Officer, RACE for 2030

  Bill Lilley, Chief Executive Officer, RACE for 2030

  Dr. William (Bill) Lilley, Chief Executive Officer joined RACE for 2030 in February 2023. Bill is a proven multi-disciplinary leader with over 25 years' experience in research, government and industry. Bill delivered CSIRO’s ‘Intelligent Grid’ research program, which showcased the value of distributed energy for Australia. He was a principal advisor on the federal government’s ‘Smart Grid Smart City’ initiative. Bill spent over a decade working for Aramco and the Ministry of Energy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He was instrumental in the development of a national energy strategy and led its implementation within the power and water sector.

• More details about Hamish Little, General Manager Plantation and Carbon, Midway Limited

  Hamish Little, General Manager Plantation and Carbon, Midway Limited

  Hamish Little, General Manager Plantation and Carbon, Midway Limited is a senior executive with 25+ years of experience leading forestry, agriculture, and mining operations, specialising in carbon markets, large-scale investment, and sustainable growth. He is recognised for building high-performing teams and delivering transformative projects with major corporate and institutional partners.

• More details about Ruth Madden, ESG Manager, Port of Newcastle

  Ruth Madden, ESG Manager, Port of Newcastle

  Ruth is responsible for driving the ESG strategy and sustainability initiatives at Port of Newcastle including decarbonisation, climate disclosures, circular economy, modern slavery mitigation, and biodiversity. With a background in environmental consulting and a Master’s in Environmental Management and Sustainability, Ruth is dedicated to advancing climate change resilience and nature positivity at the port. She chairs the reconciliation action plan working group focusing on fostering partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Her work emphasises creating sustainable practices while advancing equity for all employees.

• More details about Elizabeth Mossop, Professor of Urban Resilience, UTS Business School

  Elizabeth Mossop, Professor of Urban Resilience, UTS Business School

  Elizabeth is Academic Director of Living Lab Northern Rivers and Professor of Urban Resilience, Faculty of Business at University of Technology Sydney. Recently, she has been appointed Adjunct Professor, Southern Cross University. She has held leadership positions at Harvard Graduate School of Design, the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture at Louisiana State University and the University of NSW. She is a founding principal of Spackman Mossop Michaels landscape architects, based in Sydney, New Orleans and Detroit. Her research and practice is concerned with landscape’s role in urban revitalisation and resilient communities and cities in the face of climate change.

• More details about Nick Palousis, Managing Director, 2XE

  Nick Palousis, Managing Director, 2XE

  Nick is the Founder and CEO for 2XE, and has spent 20 years working with over 1,000 businesses and governments to help them pursue ESG and net zero emissions with the best possible holistic return on investment. He has worked with clients across almost every major industry and government sector, and currently works with some of Australia's most recognised brands. Nick has spearheaded 2XE’s rapid growth as a highly-regarded Australian ESG and net zero consulting firm, with an expanding footprint in New Zealand, Canada, US and Switzerland. Nick is a recipient of a national British Council Eureka Prize, an ADC Australian Leadership Award and was an advisor to the World Economic Forum’s Driving Sustainable Consumption Project. Under Nick’s leadership, 2XE received a Climate Change Leadership Award from the Premier of South Australia. He has degrees in Mechatronics Engineering (First Class Honours) and Mathematical & Computer Science from the University of Adelaide.

• More details about Alana Piper, Deputy Vice-Chancellor External Engagement and Partnerships

  Alana Piper, Deputy Vice-Chancellor External Engagement and Partnerships

• More details about Buddhi Ranasinghe, Senior Manager, Sustainable Aviation Fuels, Qantas

  Buddhi Ranasinghe, Senior Manager, Sustainable Aviation Fuels, Qantas

• More details about Nick Rowley, Chair, Net Zero Commission

  Nick Rowley, Chair, Net Zero Commission

  Mr Nick Rowley is chair of the Net Zero Commission with more than 25 years of experience advising and leading on environment and climate policy in Australia, the UK and internationally. He currently also holds positions as Honorary Associate Professor at Australian National University’s Crawford School of Public Policy and is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Technology Sydney’s Institute for Sustainable Futures.

• More details about Darian Stibbe, Executive Director, The Partnering Initiative

  Darian Stibbe, Executive Director, The Partnering Initiative

  Darian Stibbe is an internationally-recognised pioneer of multi-stakeholder collaboration, working extensively with governments, multi-national companies, INGOs and the UN to drive effective collaboration at scale. He is a major contributor to much of the theory and practice being integrated into partnerships and organisations around the world and has instigated a wide range of ambitious programmes to help make collaboration the ‘new normal’. His cutting-edge work makes sense of complexity, building much needed clarity, and codifying everything from the 10 forms of collaborative advantage that enable partnerships to deliver more than the sum of their parts, to how organisations must adapt to become institutionally ‘fit for partnering’. Darian is lead author of the United Nations’ SDG Partnership Guidebook, now becoming the ‘standard text’ for in-country partnering around the world. He has had considerable impact in helping to shift the UN system to become more collaborative, particularly with business. As well as training over a thousand UN staff, he has developed the partnering strategies of multiple agencies, as well as analysing and supporting them to optimize their partnering.

• More details about Dr Alex Thomson, Industry Engagement Manager, Climate Change Cluster (C3)

  Dr Alex Thomson, Industry Engagement Manager, Climate Change Cluster (C3)

  Dr Alex Thomson is the Industry Engagement Manager for the Climate Change Cluster (C3) research institute at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) where she leads the engagement of research in creating climate solutions for the planet, from the planet. With a PhD in marine ecology, she was formerly a lecturer in the School of Life Sciences at UTS, and a Science and Technology Australia ‘Superstar of STEM’. Through the Deep Green Biotech Hub, she spearheaded the world’s first dedicated algae accelerator program - joining biotechnology and entrepreneurship, and creating opportunities for STEM-preneurs across NSW to accelerate algae innovation and engage with science. She is the co-Producer of the Splendour in the Grass Science Tent, a TEDx speaker, and a big fan of algae and how it can change our planet.

• More details about Professor Martin Tomitsch, Head of Transdisciplinary School, UTS

  Professor Martin Tomitsch, Head of Transdisciplinary School, UTS

  Professor Martin Tomitsch is a design academic with 20 years of experience in teaching design, facilitating workshops, and conducting design research at universities in Vienna, Paris, Beijing, and Sydney. He is a Professor and Head of the Transdisciplinary (TD) School at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). The TD School operates at the intersection of creativity and innovation and offers transdisciplinary programs, including the award-winning Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation and postgraduate programs in Data Science & Innovation and Creative Intelligence & Strategic Innovation.