Stephen Yarwood is a renowned Futurist, highly respected Urbanist and the Former Lord Mayor of Adelaide. Serving as a catalyst for change for both corporate and community organisations, his passion extends beyond envisioning the future; he educates, motivates and empowers people to shape it.

With a strong skill set in cross-disciplinary strategic foresight, Stephen is deeply fascinated by the dynamic interplay between people, places, technology and change. Recognised as an international thought leader on "the future citizen," Stephen is committed to collaborative leadership that aids corporate and community leaders in navigating the rapidly changing and complex social, environmental, and economic landscape, allowing them to explore possible futures and create preferred outcomes.

Stephen has a Bachelor of Arts in Planning, Graduate Diplomas in Regional & Urban Planning and Environmental Studies, an MBA from Adelaide University and is an award-winning Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia.

He has a wealth of international experience working around Australia and in NZ, Asia, the Middle East and North America. He has been on a global advisory board for Airbnb, worked on mega projects in Saudi Arabia and provided keynote presentations to over 150,000 people in the last 10 years in several countries.

During his time as Lord Mayor (2010-2014), his emphasis on collaboration with the private sector and State Government delivered many outcomes and saw Adelaide recognised internationally as an innovative destination by Lonely Planet, National Geographic and The New York Times.

Prior to being Lord Mayor, Stephen worked in the South Australian Government and Parliament, in Local Government, and internationally as a planner, researcher, educator and speaker. His planning experience is exceptionally diverse; from strategy to implementation on many large projects dealing with most land use types and a diverse range of environment, economic, community, design and development issues.

Susan Close is the Deputy Premier of South Australia and the Minister for Climate, Environment and Water; Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science; and Minister for Workforce and Population Strategy. 

Susan has been the Member for Port Adelaide since 2012. 

Before entering parliament, Susan was an executive in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and played a key role in the establishment of the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary as a community advocate. She previously worked at the University of Adelaide managing student services and holds a PhD from Flinders University.

Professor Cheryl Desha is the Science and Innovation Director at Natural Hazards Research Australia. Cheryl has a long history and interest in sustainable development, disaster resilience and decision support. Previously leading the resilient infrastructure and communities research group within the Cities Research Institute, she founded Griffith University's Disaster Management Network and established a Disaster Resilience Management Facility to support the government's state disaster centre.

Cheryl also co-founded the Queensland Disaster Research Alliance of seven universities to improve the extent and calibre of multi-university disaster research. Cheryl is passionate about being 'ahead of ready'– empowering resilient and regenerative communities through evidence-based, locally-relevant action.

 

Prof Mark Howden is Director of the ANU Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions, a Vice Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Chair of the ACT Climate Change Council and contributes to several other major national and international science and policy advisory bodies. 

Mark has worked on climate variability, climate change, innovation and adoption issues for more than 30 years in partnership with many industry, community and policy groups via both research and science-policy roles and is a high profile public communicator. He helped develop the national and international greenhouse gas inventories that are a fundamental part of the Paris Agreement and pioneered sustainable ways to reduce emissions. 

He has been a major contributor to the IPCC since 1991, with a record number of roles across all four dimensions of the IPCC: climate science, impacts and adaptation, mitigation and GHG inventories, sharing the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with other IPCC contributors and Al Gore. 

Simon Kuestenmacher is a Director and Co-founder of The Demographics Group. He presents on demographic and global trends that are shaping Australia today and into the future and his observations are enjoyed by corporate, government and industry audiences alike. 

Simon is a columnist for The New Daily newspaper and a regular contributor to The Australian newspaper; and he is a media commentator on demographic and data matters. 

In his spare time Simon has authored three books on maps and runs what is by now the world’s largest X (formerly Twitter) account dedicated to maps and data. His social media posts reach more than 35 million people every month. Simon ranks as one of the world’s top 10 influencers in data. 

Professor Ali Abbas is a Professor of Chemical Engineering and the Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Sydney. He is also the Founding Director of the Waste Transformation Research Hub within the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.

Professor Abbas has over 20 years of experience in the field of Process Systems Engineering (PSE), with applications spanning clean energy and biological systems. He has published more than 170 papers in international scientific and engineering journals. In recent years, he has focused on circular economy transitions, identifying ways to translate circular economy principles into practice through a PSE approach.

He collaborates closely with industry and government partners on challenges related to low-emissions technologies, eco-industrial parks, waste management and clean energy. Renowned for his visionary leadership, Professor Abbas also plays an active role in innovation governance, engaging with government, industry and think tanks to shape transformative outcomes in policy, technology and collaboration across the innovation ecosystem. He is actively involved in the commercialisation of research, developing breakthrough deep technologies across multiple industry sectors as a company founder and director.

In 2022, Professor Abbas was appointed as Australia’s first ‘Chief Circular Engineer’ by Circular Australia. He is the Founding Chair of the ‘Australian Circular Economy Conference’ (ACEC) and was a finalist in the 2023 Eureka Prize for Innovative Research in Sustainability.

Jodie is Aurecon’s Design Director Circular Economy. She is a globally recognised sustainability leader with more than two decades of professional experience working with industry, research and policymakers in Australia, Dubai and France. Jodie has trained hundreds of professionals and worked with governments and businesses to develop circular economy projects and strategies. Working in partnership with Aurecon’s engineering and advisory experts, she specialises in helping clients find pragmatic ways to thrive in a resource and carbon-constrained world. 

She is a board member of Circular Australia, and member of Industry Innovation and Science Australia’s Cooperative Research Centres Advisory Committee. 

Bernadette Foley was appointed Acting Chief Engineer in March 2024. Bernadette first joined Engineers Australia in 2019 as the Head of Accreditation. She has been General Manager of Professional Standards since 2021.

Bernadette is a civil engineer with more than 30 years of experience across industry and education in Australia and the UK. Her technical expertise is in urban concept planning, water resource management and sustainability. Prior to joining Engineers Australia, Bernadette was the Associate Dean (Curriculum and Accreditation) in the Faculty of Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Adelaide.

Bernadette has a background in engineering education, including curriculum reform, improving educational outcomes and graduate employability, improving professional standards and strengthening connections between academia and industry. She was an International Engineering Alliance working group member for the 2021 review of the international Graduate Attributes and Professional Competencies for the engineering profession.

Bernadette holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) with First Class Honours and a Graduate Certificate in Education (Higher Education) from the University of Adelaide. 

Elisha is a PhD-qualified structural engineer with over 25 years of experience encompassing structural design, assessment and reporting, design management, project management, construction phase services, research and teaching.  Her technical abilities are complemented by her legal qualifications which aid in her ability to identify, simplify, address and resolve core issues.

Ten years ago, she founded Harris Kmon Solutions which she continues to run with her business partners.  With 50 team members, the company provides services in structural, electrical, mechanical and hydraulic engineering, project management and Defence HOTO services, with offices in Darwin, Townsville, Cairns, Geelong and Ballarat.

In addition to this work, Elisha is the current Chair of the NT Building Appeals Board and the NT Building Advisory Committee and a member of the NT Building Practitioners Board.

Rainer Korte is an experienced senior leader in the electricity industry. His career includes extensive executive responsibility for the planning and development of the South Australian electricity transmission network, including integration of world-leading levels of variable renewable energy.

He has led key energy transformation initiatives in South Australia and significant business changes, including strengthening customer and stakeholder engagement and implementing best-practice asset management. Throughout his career, Rainer has been at the forefront of addressing challenges related to the transition to a low-carbon energy future, balancing the needs for system security, reliability and affordability.

His extensive leadership experience within the market and regulatory frameworks of the National Electricity Market has developed his deep knowledge of the industry's complexities and challenges.

Rainer’s power systems engineering experience and understanding of the energy sector's intricate regulatory landscape are invaluable in his role as an AEMC Commissioner.

A DER Specialist and a Director at The Superpower Institute, Dr Gabrielle Kuiper is an energy, sustainability and climate change professional with over twenty years’ experience in the corporate world, government and non-government organisations and academia. She was previously the DER Strategy Specialist with the Energy Security Board. Prior to that, Dr Kuiper held senior executive or senior advisory energy-related positions in the Office of the Australian Prime Minister, at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and in the NSW Government.

Dr Kuiper currently works internationally and in Australia on policy and regulation to support consumer and distributed energy resources (DER) - rooftop solar, electric vehicles, smart appliances, etc. She is a Guest Contributor with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) Australia and works with Integrate to Zero (I2Z).   

Heidi Lee has been CEO of Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE) since 2020. With two decades of experience in sustainable design and architecture, Heidi brings a wealth of expertise in environmental advocacy and leadership to her role. Under her stewardship, BZE has spearheaded numerous groundbreaking initiatives, including comprehensive plans for renewable energy transitions and decarbonising industries. BZE was recognised as one of the three most impactful Australian organisations by Giving Green in 2021 and 2024.  

Heidi's work focuses on practical, scalable strategies that empower communities and businesses to achieve ambitious climate goals, driving Australia towards a prosperous, zero-emissions future. She has been listed by The Australian as one of Australia’s ‘Top Green Power Players’ in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and is a regular keynote speaker and contributor to leading green industry events. Heidi holds a Masters of Science (Architecture) from Deakin University.  

Dr Ian Oppermann is co-founder of ServiceGen, an Industry Professor at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and member of the board for multiple deep technology start-ups. Ian is also the Chair of the Commonwealth’s Data Standards Committee and an Advisor to the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.

From 2015 to 2023, Ian was the NSW Government’s inaugural Chief Data Scientist (CDS) and was the founding CEO of the NSW Data Analytics Centre (DAC).   

Associate Professor Anita Parbhakar-Fox is a Principal Research Fellow in Applied Geochemistry at the W.H. Bryan Mining and Geology Research Centre within the Sustainable Minerals Institute and the founding leader of the Mine Waste Transformation through Characterisation (MIWATCH) group. Anita's research is focused on mine waste characterisation to improve mine planning and waste management practices where she has worked with mining industry, METS sector and government stakeholders. 

Most recently, Anita is leading government and industry funded projects characterising a range of mine waste materials across Australia to evaluate their economic potential with a focus on critical metal recovery. 

Anita is an Australian ‘Superstar of STEM’ and a twice winner of the IOM3 Materials World Medal.  

Mark Rawson is a leading specialist in waste, recycling and resource management, with over 20 years of experience in the field. With a background in Chemical Engineering, he has worked extensively with industry and government to improve resource efficiency and drive sustainable outcomes.

Before founding Rawtec in 2007, Mark was the Regional Manager for Cleanaway (SA/NT), where he gained hands-on experience in large-scale waste and recycling operations. His passion lies in helping businesses and governments optimise material resources and accelerate the transition to a Circular Economy, creating smarter, more sustainable systems for the future. 

Jeff brings over 25 years of experience in innovating and leveraging emerging technologies within the engineering and infrastructure sectors. He has held key roles at some of Australia's largest companies, including leading innovation and operational technology at Downer EDI and Transurban. Before joining Hexagon, Jeff was an Associate Partner at EY, where he led their Digital Twin practice.

Jeff's expertise spans multiple industries, including construction, telecommunications, transportation, utilities, mining, and health. He is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of Engineers Australia. Jeff is passionate about driving efficiencies through the digitisation of infrastructure.

Satya Tanner is the CEO of LAUTEC Australia, a Danish renewables consultancy. She has a background of 16 years in the Royal Australian Air Force as a pilot and aeronautical engineer. Satya spent 10 years overseas in a variety of project management and senior management positions including three years in the aerospace industry in the US and seven years in the offshore wind and oil and gas industries in Denmark.

Satya has a keen interest in strengthening local economies through a focus on national resilience and energy system shifts. She is trained in futures thinking tools, with a particular focus on volatile uncertain contexts and supports organisations with executive leadership coaching.

Satya has a Bachelor of Aeronautical Engineering and a Master of Leadership. She is a Chartered Professional Engineer, Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Fellow of the Institute for Integrated Economic Research and a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). 

Working as a Fire Safety Engineer at Lucid, Julian designs sophisticated and sustainable solutions that benefit community safety and future generations. 

As the Vice Chair of Young Engineers Australia SA, Julian strives to foster an inclusive community in South Australia and create opportunities for others to grow. Julian serves on the Young Engineers Shadow Board to amplify the voices of young engineers in national engineering forums, and supports fellow migrant engineers through mentorship and sharing his success stories. 

Recognised as a motivational public speaker, his captivating speeches at major industry events often inspire others to make positive impacts in the industry. In 2025, Julian was named the City of Adelaide – Young Citizen of the Year.