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With a new State Government, a new US administration and a significant shift to affordability as the priority, a lot has changed since AmCham Australia in Queensland last examined the energy landscape only a year ago.
There is no question the world needs to reduce its carbon emissions, and every country has a role to play. As Australia races to do its part and build a new greener economy, the road will be filled with obstacles and opportunities that must be navigated safely.
Speaker Biographies
Jackie Brown
Commercial Director for ANZ & ASEAN |GE Vernova
As GE Vernova’s Commercial Director for ANZ & ASEAN, Onshore Wind, Jackie Brown has responsibility for expanding the company’s presence in Australia and across the region. During her two-decade career with GE, Jackie has held senior roles in the global Renewables, Power and Global Growth businesses, directing commercial teams in Australia and across key growth markets including Europe, India, Vietnam and Thailand. In Australia, GE Vernova is accelerating the path to more reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy, with world-class wind products and services rapidly enhancing onshore wind power capacity. Leading GE experienced commercial and technical teams, Jackie has a deep understanding of the renewables sector in Australia and is involved in all aspects of wind power projects in one of the company’s most important markets.
Jana Dore
Policy Director, External Affairs | Queensland Resources Council
Jana is a leading strategist with more than 20 years’ experience in corporate affairs and stakeholder engagement. In her career, Jana has worked for some of Queensland and Victoria’s largest utilities – power and water – engaging about Australia’s critical infrastructure projects and regulation.
Her expertise is in leveraging strategic relationships to influence major project approvals and regulatory changes. Jana is an awarded practitioner recognised by the corporate affairs community for engagement and communications at the state and national levels. She is currently studying her Masters degree in Sustainable Leadership with the University of Technology Sydney.
Namali Mackay
Managing Director | Critical Minerals Association of Australia
Namali Mackay is the Managing Director of Critical Minerals Association of Australia. Namali has just returned from 15 years in the UK where most recently she led on the critical minerals agenda for the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) in London. With Austrade, she worked with UK and Australian critical minerals stakeholders, on behalf of the Australian Government. Namali is a former Australian diplomat and trade negotiator, covering the trade, industry, resource and climate portfolios during her diplomatic posting at the Australian High Commission in London.
Following her posting, Namali was appointed Group Head of International Relations at Prudential plc UK in London where she managed the Group's trade and international agenda across the ASEAN region. Thereafter during Brexit, Namali was the Trade Advisor to Make UK (the UK’s largest manufacturing industry body) where she worked with UK manufacturers on supply chain and trade strategies for Brexit-readiness.
Keynote Speaker
Cameron Smith
Chief Executive Officer | Fortescue Hydrogen Systems
Mr. Smith is a former military officer with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from the University of New South Wales and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Wollongong. With over 20 years of experience in senior leadership positions spanning the Military, Security, Construction, and Mining sectors, he brings a wealth of expertise to Fortescue. Having been part of Fortescue Energy since its inception, Mr. Smith initially worked in a consulting capacity, enabling the company's operations in remote and developing regions worldwide.
His career has been marked by a strong commitment to building internal governance capacity in post-conflict and developing nations, fostering local development and employment through a series of viable projects. As the CEO of Fortescue Hydrogen Systems, Mr. Smith leads a global team dedicated to producing world-leading, truly green hydrogen systems. The company's focus spans R&D, prototyping, testing and manufacturing, ensuring the development of safe, reliable, and economical hydrogen solutions. With a vision to drive the global adoption of green hydrogen, Mr. Smith and his team are at the forefront of pioneering diverse technologies across the entire hydrogen system supply chain.
Sabine Schleicher
Partner, Commercial Advisory & Transactions | KPMG
Sabine is a partner in the Commercial Advisory & Transactions team within KPMG’s Infrastructure, Assets & Places division, and leads the firm's Energy Infrastructure practice.
For more than 20 years, Sabine has used her corporate finance expertise to provide commercial advice on procurement, development and delivery of energy infrastructure, as well as the development of supporting energy policies. She has a detailed understanding of the energy market and its role in enabling the energy transition, and is passionate about ensuring our infrastructure is developed and adapted to a low carbon future.
Sabine specialises in financial and commercial analysis of energy supply solutions, analysis of new generation projects including coal, gas, carbon capture and storage, wind, solar, pumped hydro, transmission, and hydrogen. She is experienced in the analysis of DER solutions and strategy, EV infrastructure requirements, strategy and business case development, capital raisings, valuations, development of commercial principles and tender/grant processes, market soundings and stakeholder consultations.
Moderator
Jo Sheppard
Chief Executive Officer | Queensland Farmers Federation
Most recently serving as Director of Stakeholder Engagement at the University of Southern Queensland, Jo’s previous roles also include the CEO of the Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce, Director on the board of Sunwater, and previously an elected Councillor and Mayor of Paroo Shire Council in South West Queensland.
Her passion for agriculture, and regional and remote communities, as well as experience across multiple sectors will ensure success in representing the interests of peak state and national agriculture industry organisations, and more than 13,000 primary producers across the state.
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