Dr Simon Barrett

Dr Simon Barrett

Partner and Chairman | L.E.K. Consulting

Simon Barrett is a Partner and Chairman of L.E.K. Consulting Australia. Simon leads L.E.K.’s Travel and Transport practice in Australia and in recent years has played a leading role in building L.E.K.’s New Mobility practice. He has more than 25 years of experience in strategy consulting across Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Europe. Simon regularly advises major corporations on strategy, operational improvement, M&A support, strategy activation and implementation. His clients include major market participants in road, rail (both passenger and freight), light rail, buses, ports, aviation, airports and tourism. Simon also works extensively in the public sector on long-term policy and planning, organizational design and commercial issues. In this capacity, Simon has been deeply involved in many of the major transport reforms and innovations in Australia and New Zealand over the last two decades. Simon is an Advisory Board Member of the Transport and Tourism Forum (TTF) and Chair of the TTF’s Passenger Transport Panel. He regularly publishes thought leadership in transport, including L.E.K.’s Executive Insight “Beyond the Hype - Making Money in New Mobility” and “Hard Questions on Our Transition to Driverless Cars” (published in Harvard Business Review).

Michelle Batsas

Michelle Batsas

Executive Director | UITP Australia New Zealand

Michelle Batsas is the Executive Director of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) in Australia and New Zealand, advocating for best practice public transport and sustainable mobility solutions for the region. Michelle is a senior executive with broad and diverse experience across management, strategy, governance, events, communications and policy. She has held senior roles at Public Transport Victoria and VicRoads, leading large teams through transformational change in order to realise the best outcomes possible for users of an integrated transport network. Michelle is a qualified lawyer and prior to entering the world of transport, she worked in the justice and emergency management portfolios of the Victorian Government. She is passionate about promoting urban mobility for the benefit of customers and broader communities.

Tony Braxton-Smith

Tony Braxton-Smith

Chief Executive | Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, SA

Tony Braxton-Smith joined the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure as Chief Executive in October 2018.  Across this broad portfolio he oversees planning, policy, infrastructure and service delivery that enables economic growth and fosters more vibrant communities across South Australia.

Formerly the Deputy Secretary Customer Services at Transport for NSW for 7 years, Tony’s prior career spans 20 years in senior executive roles in the private sector with Great Southern Rail and Serco; Dreamworld and the P&O Group.

Ian Dobbs

Ian Dobbs

Chairman | UITP Australia New Zealand

Ian Dobbs has been involved in the public transport industry for 39 years, working in both Australia and the UK – with the last 23 years at CEO level.

Born in Nottingham in the UK and educated at university in Scotland, Ian joined British Rail as a graduate trainee and began his early career in the UK rail industry. In 1993 Ian was appointed as Chief Executive of the Public Transport Corporation in Victoria, Australia leading the state’s transport reform program before establishing his own consulting business. Ian subsequently returned to the UK private sector as CEO of Stagecoach Group’s rail division – one of the largest rail operators in the UK.

In 2011, he returned to Australia as inaugural Chair and CEO of Public Transport Victoria. Ian is currently Deputy President of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) and Chairman of UITP Australia New Zealand board. He is a council member of the Australian British Chamber of Commerce in Australia, a member of the advisory board of Cubic Transportation Systems in San Diego, California and an advisor to private and public sector clients in the Asia Pacific region.

Duncan Edghill

Duncan Edghill

A/g Chief Projects Officer | Major Projects Canberra

Duncan was the Deputy Director-General, Transport Canberra, responsible for the delivery of transport infrastructure and the provision of public transport services across Canberra. In this role, Duncan has overseen the delivery of the first stage of Canberra’s light rail network under a PPP arrangement, and was responsible for the development of Canberra’s second stage of light rail. Duncan was also responsible for the delivery of road infrastructure in the ACT. Prior to joining the ACT Government, Duncan held a variety of roles within an investment bank and utility organisation in Australia, Europe and North America.

David Franks

David Franks

Chief Executive Officer | Keolis Downer

David has more than 45 years’ experience in the public transport sector. He has held numerous senior executive roles in the UK, Sweden and Ireland, including CEO of National Express UK operations where he was responsible for all train, tram, coach and bus operations for the Group in 2009 – 2010.

David worked for Keolis UK from 2011 to 2013 leading the Keolis/SNCF bid for the UK’s West Coast InterCity franchise and was Non-Executive Director of Nottingham Express Transit.

More recently David was CEO of the national rail operator in the Republic of Ireland, and a Non–Executive Director of the Office of Rail and Road, the UK’s Regulator.

David was appointed CEO of Keolis Downer in March 2018 and is responsible for over-seeing the operations and development of Keolis Downer in Australia and New Zealand.

Leilani Frew

Leilani Frew

Chief Executive Officer | Infrastructure & Project Financing Agency

Leilani Frew was appointed as the inaugural CEO of the Commonwealth Government’s Infrastructure and Project Financing Agency in 2017. IPFA is an executive agency that works with the Commonwealth, States and Territories as well as private sector stakeholders and provides independent commercial and financial advice to support the Australian Government’s infrastructure investment decisions. With a career spanning over 25 years, Leilani is a respected and experienced infrastructure finance and advisory professional having held a number of leadership positions in both the private and public sectors.
Prior to joining IPFA, Leilani spent nearly five years leading NSW Treasury teams in the provision of commercial and financial advice to the NSW Government and its agencies delivering on the Government’s major infrastructure and services commissioning priorities and serving on a number of Government advisory boards and committees.
Before her public service career, Leilani held senior positions in Moelis, RBS, ABN AMRO and Commonwealth Bank specialising in supporting public and private sector organisations to acquire, divest and/or raise capital for infrastructure assets around the world. Her contribution to the infrastructure industry was recognised by her peers in 2015 when she received the Women's Achievement in Infrastructure Award from Infrastructure Partnerships Australia.
Leilani holds a Masters of Applied Finance from Macquarie University and a Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Engineering, both from Queensland University of Technology. With a reputation of embracing the complex and the challenging as well as harnessing the power of people to get things done, Leilani enjoys enabling positive transformation through effective governance and collaborative implementation. Passionate about rugby union, she is an ardent All Blacks supporter and, together with her husband Paul, is a proud parent of their son Joshua

Pras Ganesh

Pras Ganesh

Vice President | Corporate Planning | Toyota Daihatsu Engineering & Manufacturing Co

A lawyer by education from India, Pras pursued his Masters in International Relations in Japan and the United States. Thereafter he spent his initial career as an in-house legal advisor and a management consultant in Japan and Australia, prior to joining Toyota.

For the last 17 years he has been in Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan, Europe, and now Thailand, with experience in Human Resources, Accounting & Finance, Global External Affairs, and Corporate Planning.

During his time in HR he was responsible for Global Industrial Relations, HR Resource Management and Organisation & HR Development. In Finance he led teams on Tax & Audit and Profit Planning for Europe. In External Affairs he led Global Strategic Planning and was instrumental in the set-up of the Hydrogen Council (launched in Davos in January 2017). Currently, he has responsibility towards corporate planning for operations across Asia.

Pras is also Program Director for the Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF), responsible for the Asia-Pacific Region. In a world with mounting mobility challenges, Toyota Mobility Foundation was set up to use Toyota’s know-how in partnership with universities, governments and non-profit organizations to address the mobility issues of tomorrow today.

In TMF, Pras has been instrumental to introduce 1st and last mile solutions to the Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kochi Metros in India, supported the introduction of public transportation and On-Demand Bus solutions in Danang, Vietnam, and is working to identify causes and propose solutions for traffic congestion, including through data analytics, in Bangkok, Thailand.

Amanda Gilmore

Amanda Gilmore

Country Manager, New Zealand | Uber

Amanda Gilmore was appointed Country Manager, New Zealand, in May 2018 and is responsible for leading Uber’s ridesharing business across seven cities.

Amanda first joined Uber New Zealand in September 2016 and has been focused on delivering exceptional growth and enhancing the customer experience for both driver-partners and riders.

Prior to joining Uber, Amanda was an Engagement Manager, Consulting Services, at Percolate in New York - and spent three years at PwC New York in Management Consulting working across the Banking & Capital Markets and the Insurance industry.

Amanda holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) in Finance and International Business from Villanova University.

Jacinta Hargan

Jacinta Hargan

Partner | KPMG Australia

Jacinta leads KPMG Future Transport work in NSW, connecting with its local and global network of Future Mobility and Smart Infrastructure teams.

She has over 20 years’ experience in delivering business and customer led transformations in the UK and Australia through the implementation of technology across multiple sectors. These include:

  • the launch of one of the early digital subscription models in media in 2005
  • the launch of digital channels in 2010 for a commercial broadcaster
  • the NSW public sector where established a digital customer team in 2012

From this point, Jacinta has focused on the technology that can transform how we travel. She led a major future transport technology strategy in NSW that is now driving fundamental change across the State, including trials of automated vehicles, on demand services, Mobility as a Service and new and innovative ways to deliver increased information, personalisation and choice to customers.

Jacinta has also focused on how to embed innovation into standard ways of working in the public sector, from new approaches to procurement and engaging with industry through to the establishment of start-up incubators and accelerators

Jacinta is the KPMG Technology lead for NSW Government, with a particular focus on Transport and Infrastructure

Hon Catherine King MP

Hon Catherine King MP

Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development

Catherine King has represented the Federal Electorate of Ballarat since she was first elected at the 2001 Federal Election.
While in Government, Ms King served as Parliamentary Secretary in the portfolios of Infrastructure and Transport and of Health and Ageing. As a Parliamentary Secretary in the transport portfolio, Ms King was responsible for national road safety policy and regional aviation.
On 25 March 2013, Ms King was elevated to the roles of Minister for Regional Services, local Communities and Territories and Minister for Road Safety in the Gillard Government. Ms King was subsequently promoted to Cabinet on 1 July 2013, as Minister for Regional Australia, Local Government and Territories in the Rudd Government.
Ms King held the role of Shadow Minister for Health and Medicare in the Shorten Shadow Cabinet from 2013 – 2019.
Following the 2019 election, Ms King was appointed Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development within the Albanese Shadow Cabinet.
Ms King holds a Degree in Social Work and a Masters in Public Policy from the Australian National University and has most recently graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from Deakin University.
Ms King worked in the social welfare sector in Ballarat and later in the public sector in Canberra as an assistant director for the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care and then as a director. Prior to entering Parliament she was a senior manager at KPMG’s Consulting Practice.

Jon Lamonte

Jon Lamonte

Chief Executive | Sydney Metro TfNSW

Jon Lamonte joined Sydney Metro as Chief Executive in November 2018, relocating to Sydney from his role as CEO of Transport for Greater Manchester. His portfolio in Manchester covered rail, bus, tram, highways, cycling and other forms of active transport; in this role he was responsible for delivering the largest transport capital program outside of London, including expanding the public transport network, smart ticketing solutions and a range of new interchanges.

Prior to this, Jon was the CEO of Tube Lines from 2011 – 12, where, as part of Transport for London, he was responsible for the maintenance, renewal and upgrade of the underground infrastructure on the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines.

Jon joined from the Royal Air Force (RAF) where he fulfilled a number of senior operational roles and led major project delivery. His final role was Chief of Staff, Strategy, Policy and Plans, which included co-leading the Strategic Defence and Security Review into the maritime programme for the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Other senior roles included Director-General Finance for Defence Equipment and Support, the MoD’s £17bn a year procurement and logistics organisation, and running the RAF’s largest base, Brize Norton, with over 4,500 people and three fleets of transport and air-to-air refuelling aircraft.  He served in the Falklands, Iraq and the former Yugoslavia.

An active member of the Institute of Directors, Jon has strong experience in leading change, driving efficiency and motivating large workforces.  He achieved a PhD in History from Birmingham University in 2011.

Matthew Longland

Matthew Longland

Deputy Director-General | Department of Transport & Main Roads; Head | TransLink

Matthew is the Deputy Director-General of the Department of Transport and Main Roads and the head of TransLink, where he leads the delivery of customer-focused passenger transport services across Queensland including policy, planning, ticketing, contract management and customer services.

TransLink Division is responsible for the integrated rail, bus, ferry and tram network in South East Queensland; and long distance rail, coach and aviation services in regional, rural and remote Queensland.

Romilly Madew AO

Romilly Madew AO

Chief Executive Officer | Infrastructure Australia

Romilly Madew AO commenced as Chief Executive of Infrastructure Australia in April 2019. Recently awarded an Order of Australia in acknowledgment of her contribution to Australia’s sustainable building movement, Romilly is recognised around the world as a leader and advocate for change in the property and construction sector.  She previously led the Green Building Council of Australia for 13 years, presiding over the Green Star rating system which has seen more than 2,250 projects certified. Romilly holds Board positions with Sydney Olympic Park Authority and Chief Executive Women, and has sat on numerous ministerial panels including the Cities Reference Group, National Urban Policy Forum and the China/Australia Services Sector Forum.

Elizabeth Mildwater

Elizabeth Mildwater

Deputy Secretary, Greater Sydney | TfNSW

Elizabeth is the Deputy Secretary, Greater Sydney.

This division has the responsibility to integrate transport modes to deliver customer-centred services and infrastructure for the Sydney metropolitan area.

Prior to this role, Elizabeth held the position of Deputy Secretary of Customer Technology and Services and initially started in Transport for NSW (TfNSW) as the Deputy Secretary of People and Corporate Services.

Before joining TfNSW, Elizabeth was Director of Australian Programs for Save the Children Australia. There she led a diverse workforce of over 500 people across Australia.

She also spent five years at Transurban, as the Victorian Group General Manager with responsibility for the operations of CityLink in Melbourne.

Elizabeth has more than 25 years’ management experience across customer services, legal, company secretarial, compliance, risk, management, human resources and general operations.

She holds a degree in Law and Economics, a Masters of Contemporary Asian Analysis and has completed the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School in the USA. She is also a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Elizabeth is passionate about harnessing employee engagement and new technologies to achieve new levels of customer service.

Will O’Neill

Will O’Neill

Chief Financial & Strategy Officer | Busways

Will is Chief Financial & Strategy Officer at Busways, one of the largest private public transport operators in Australia.  Will has been with Busways for over 5 years and has played a key part in the development and implementation of Busways transformation strategy as it seeks to leverage its world leading capabilities in the rapidly changing operating and regulatory environments of public transport.   Amongst other things, Will has led the introduction of technology enabled real-time demand responsive transport services at Busways.  Prior to joining Busways, Will was a Corporate Finance partner at one of the top tier ‘big four’ professional services firms.

Margy Osmond

Margy Osmond

Chief Executive Officer | TTF

Margy Osmond is the Chief Executive Officer of the Tourism & Transport Forum, assuming the role on 1 October 2014. Margy has extensive experience in policy development and advocacy, politics, membership organisations, management, media and public relations.

Before joining TTF, Margy was the inaugural CEO of ANRA which was established in 2006 as a lobby and research organisation to be the voice of the large national retailers in Australia. Prior to this, Margy was the CEO of the State and Sydney Chambers of Commerce in NSW for five years.

Margy has a wide range of Board experience having been Chair of the NSW TAFE Commission Board and Chair of the Australian Sports Foundation, Deputy Chair of Tourism NSW, and served on the boards of the Australian Sports Commission, Bell Shakespeare, the Retail Employees Superannuation Trust, NSW Major Events, the NSW Police Minister’s Advisory Board and NSW State Transit Authority. Margy also chaired the bid and official Organising Committee for the largest non-elite sporting event in the world, the International World Masters Games, held in Sydney in 2009

Leanne Redden

Leanne Redden

Executive Director | Regional Transportation Authority, Chicago

Leanne Redden was appointed executive director of the RTA in October, 2014. An experienced transportation leader, Redden brings a renewed spirit of collaboration to the RTA and Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra and Pace bus and paratransit or the Service Boards.   In her role as executive director, Redden heads the only unit of local government charged with regional financial oversight, funding, and transit planning for the Service Boards.  This includes approving a $3.8 billion annual regional capital and operating budget.
Redden has worked throughout the transportation sector. Prior to taking the top spot at the RTA, Redden led the agency’s planning department.  Before joining the RTA, she was Chief of Planning for the Illinois Tollway and Director of Transportation for the Village of Schaumburg.
Redden was instrumental in developing Strategic Long Range Planning initiatives for the region’s transit system and was a key player in the state’s 2008 Funding Reform Legislation. Under her leadership, the RTA Planning Department completed the first Regional Market and Systems Analysis and Bus Rapid Transit work, including the region’s first bus-on-shoulder service.
Redden was named 2015 “Woman of the Year” by the local chapter of Women in Transportation, is a Conference of Minority Transportation Officials   2016 “Woman Who Moves the Nation” and a 2006 alumna of the Leadership Greater Chicago.  Redden also serves on the American Public Transportation Association’s Board of Directors.
Redden earned a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a bachelor’s degree from the University of New South Wales, Australia. To learn about more about the RTA, follow the agency blog, Ride On, and follow Executive Director Redden on Twitter @LReddenRTA.

Rodd Staples

Rodd Staples

Secretary | Transport for NSW

As Secretary of Transport for NSW, Rodd Staples leads the Transport cluster which has more than 25,000 people working across the transport agencies on behalf of the NSW community. He is responsible for leading the Transport cluster to deliver Premier’s and State priorities, and his role covers the planning and delivery of services and infrastructure across the transport system including trains, buses, ferries, roads and traffic, freight and ports, light rail, point to point transport, intrastate air services, and active travel. Rodd is accountable for delivering the largest transport infrastructure pipeline in a generation, which includes $43bn of capital works over a four year period.

He’s also accountable for better integration across transport services, implementing technology and innovation to improve customer service, and driving reforms and long term planning to make the transport system more customer-focused and efficient.

In his previous role as Program Director, Sydney Metro Delivery Office, Rodd was leading the delivery of Sydney Metro – Australia’s biggest public transport projects, with 31 stations and 66km of new metro rail.

An engineer who grew up in Sydney’s south, Rodd has also worked in the fields of transport and infrastructure planning for nearly two decades, across Australia and in both public and private sectors.

His qualifications in engineering and finance provide the strong foundations required to deliver an unprecedented program of infrastructure works and service improvements across transport in NSW.

He lives in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire with his wife Maree and their three children Thomas, Anna and Jack.

Emma Thomas

Emma Thomas

Partner | Pwc

Emma is an aeronautical engineer, who started her career in the Royal Australian Air Force and has worked across all forms of transport including planes, trains and automobiles. She recently joined PwC as a Partner in Infrastructure and Urban Renewal, having successfully delivered the first stage of light rail in Canberra. She has extensive experience with leadership roles in Government in ACT, South Australia and Queensland and is passionate about inspiring how our cities and towns thrive by bringing together diverse people and systems and creating places where we love to live, work and play.

Owen Thomas

Owen Thomas

Executive Director, Infrastructure Planning and Land Services | Public Transport Authority, WA

Owen is a professional transport planner with 17 years of experience, and is currently the Executive Director of Infrastructure Planning and Land Services (IP&LS) at the Public Transport Authority (PTA) of Western Australia.  IP&LS is responsible for planning for the future of Perth’s rail network, including longer term strategy planning and development of Business Cases and Project Definition Plans for projects that are still subject to Government investment decisions.  His division also manages the PTA’s wider land assets and environmental obligations, including land acquisitions, environmental approvals and regulatory compliance requirements. With the current State Governments commitment to METRONET, encompassing a program of priority rail initiatives and associated land use outcomes, Owen is responsible for leading the team that is planning and designing the required Transport Infrastructure, and delivery of the required Business Cases and Project Definition Plans.

Joshua L. Schank

Joshua L. Schank

Chief Innovation Officer | LA Metro

Joshua L. Schank is the first ever Chief Innovation Officer at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro), where he leads the Office of Extraordinary Innovation (OEI). The role of this office is to champion new ideas to improve mobility in LA County by informing the high-level vision for LA Metro, piloting and implementing new and experimental programs and policy, and serving as the primary liaison for new ideas relevant to LA Metro coming from entrepreneurs, established private sector entities, academia, or individual residents. The office is also responsible for LA Metro’s Public Private Partnership (P3), and strategic planning functions.

Prior to joining LA Metro, Dr. Schank was President and CEO of the Eno Center for Transportation, a national non-profit think-tank with the mission of improving transportation policy and leadership. Before joining Eno, he directed the National Transportation Policy Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center, which proposed a new vision for the Federal role in surface transportation policy.

Dr. Schank was Transportation Policy Advisor to Senator Hillary Clinton during the development of the last surface transportation authorization bill (SAFETEA-LU). He has also worked as a Consultant with PB Consult and Senior Associate at ICF International in Washington, D.C., as well as serving in positions at the Office of the Inspector General’s in the U.S. Department of Transportation, and with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City.

Dr. Schank’s extensive work in transportation policy and planning is well documented in his publications, including “All Roads Lead to Congress: The $300 Billion Fight Over Highway Funding,” co-authored with Costas Panagopoulos and published by CQ Press in 2007. He holds a Ph.D. in urban planning from Columbia University, a Master of City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a B.A. in urban studies from Columbia University.

He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Lindsey and his sons Max and Jonah.

Mark Streeting

Mark Streeting

Partner, Transport

Mark Streeting is a Partner in L.E.K.’s Sydney office and one of Asia-Pacific’s leading thinkers on transport, transport economics and new mobility. He has over 30 years’ experience in these areas, having worked with the Bureau of Transport Economics, the Commonwealth Department of Transport, the London Underground, Travers Morgan, Booz Allen Hamilton and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Mark has extensive experience advising clients on multi-modal ground transport strategies.

Mark is a Board Member of the International Public Transport Association Australia New Zealand (UITPANZ) a member of the New Zealand government’s Future Technology Leadership Group.

Sue Wiblin

Sue Wiblin

Manager New Mobilities | Keolis Downer

Sue is a strategic customer and stakeholder specialist with over 20 years’ experience leading community engagement, urban planning and new mobility projects across listed property groups, membership organisations, SMEs and government. Sue passionately believes to improve transport connectivity, reduce congestion and create more liveable cities we need to look beyond one size fits all solutions. People need the ability to make decisions among rather than between modes. Sue joined Keolis Downer in 2017 to develop the New Mobilities business stream that includes On Demand transport and autonomous vehicles. She is currently leading a range of projects across Australia and New Zealand.

Luke Yeaman

Luke Yeaman

Deputy Secretary, Infrastructure Group | Department of Infrastructure, Cities and Regional Development

As a Deputy Secretary in the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development, Luke is a key adviser in areas including cities policy, infrastructure policy and investment and is involved in the leading the delivery of major transformational projects such as the Western Sydney Airport and Inland Rail. Luke brings to this role a breadth of experience across government, including through previous positions in the Commonwealth Treasury, the Office of National Assessments, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and as Head of Economic Policy in the Office of the Prime Minister.

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