Speaker Biographies
Andrew N. Liveris
Special Advisor, National COVID-19 Coordination Commission (NCCC)
Former Chief Executive Officer, The Dow Chemical Company
Andrew N. Liveris is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Dow Chemical Company and director of DowDuPont. He previously served as Executive Chairman of DowDuPont.
A recognised global business leader with more than 42 years at Dow, Liveris advocates the criticality of manufacturing worldwide. He is the author of ‘Make It in America’ and was tapped by the current U.S. Administration to help identify new ways to spur innovation, revitalize the U.S. manufacturing sector and drive economic growth and prosperity as chair of the manufacturing council and a member of the apprenticeship of the future task force. Previously he served as Co-Chair of U.S. President Obama's Advanced Manufacturing Partnership steering committee and a member of the U.S. President’s Export Council. He was recently named Senior Advisor to the Saudi Arabian Governments Sovereign Wealth Fund, PIF.
He sits on the Board of Directors of IBM, Worley Parsons and Saudi Aramco, on the advisory board of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and NEOM.
He is the past Vice Chair of the Business Roundtable, an Executive Committee Member and past Chairman of the U.S. Business Council, and a member of the Concordia Leadership Council and the Australian Government’s Industry Growth Centres Advisory Committee.
Professor Roy Green
Special Advisor and Chair, UTS Innovation Council, University of Technology Sydney
Roy Green is Special Advisor and Chair for UTS Innovation Council, at the University of Technology Sydney. Roy graduated with first class honours from the University of Adelaide and gained a PhD from the University of Cambridge, where he was also a Research Fellow. He has worked in universities, business and government in Australia and overseas, including as Dean of the Macquarie Graduate School of Management and the Business School at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Roy has advised and published widely in the areas of innovation policy and management as well as trends in business education. He has undertaken research projects with the OECD, European Commission and Enterprise Ireland.
In recent years, Roy chaired and participated in the Australian Government’s Innovative Regions Centre, CSIRO Manufacturing Sector Advisory Council, NSW Manufacturing Council, Enterprise Connect Advisory Committee and ABS Innovation Reference Group. He was co-author of a Business Council of Australia/ Society for Knowledge Economics report in 2006, New Pathways to Prosperity: A National Innovation Framework for Australia, he conducted the Australian Government’s Review of the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Industries in 2008, Building Innovative Capability, and he led Australian participation in a major global study of management practice and productivity in 2009, Manufacturing Matters for Australia – Just how productive are we?
In 2012, Roy contributed to the Prime Minister’s Manufacturing Taskforce report Smarter Manufacturing for a Smarter Australia and was co-author of a research report on productivity for the McKell Institute, Understanding Productivity – Australia’s Choice. Subsequently, he coordinated an 18 month Australian Government funded project by the Australian Business Deans Council on The Future of Management Education and co-authored a report on public sector innovation for the Institute of Public Administration Australia, Shaping the Future through Co-Creation. In 2015, Roy was asked to prepare a report for the Senate Innovation System Inquiry on The Structure and Performance of Australia’s National Innovation System which became an input to the Prime Minister’s National Innovation and Science Agenda. Roy also joined the Research Advisory Committee of the Centre for Policy Development and Universities Australia Work Integrated Learning Taskforce, and he was appointed Chair of the Queensland Competition Authority.
Michelle Shi-Verdaasdonk
Board Member, Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC)
Michelle Shi-Verdaasdonk is an independent board
member of the Advanced Manufacturing Growth
Centre Ltd (AMGC).
Michelle was appointed to the Board in 2018 and is
tasked with overseeing the implementation of AMGC’s
strategy and its alignment with the overall Growth
Centre Initiative.
The Industry Growth Centre Initiative is the
centrepiece of the Australian Government’s Industry
Innovation and Competitiveness Agenda. There are six
Growth Centres focused on where Australia excels.
The Initiative enables national action on key issues by
improving capabilities to engage with international
markets and global supply chains, enhancing
management and workforce skills, encouraging
collaboration and the commercialisation of new
products and identifying opportunities to reduce
regulatory burden.
Today, Australian manufacturing employs close to 1.3
million people representing over 10% of the Australian
workforce. It contributes over $9 billion per month in
exports of goods and services and files more patents
than any other sector. It a vibrant and dynamic
industry that is undergoing profound transformation
with the introduction of Industry 4.0 technologies,
automation and artificial intelligence.
Michelle has 15 years’ industry experience and is
currently Global Manufacturing and Procurement
Director at Dyson.
Prior to that, Michelle held various management
positions at Philips Lighting, PepsiCo, Ford Motor
Company and Electrolux, in Australia, Asia Pacific,
Europe and USA. Michelle is a recognised thought
leader in Industry 4.0, she was appointed to the
Australian Government Future Manufacturing Industry
Innovation Council between 2010 – 2012.
Michelle is fluent in English, Chinese – Mandarin,
Cantonese.
Michelle holds a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering
(Honours), a Bachelor of Aviation Science and a Master
of Engineering from the Royal Melbourne Institute of
Technology. She also holds an Executive Master of
Business Administration from Melbourne Business
School.
Her other achievements include:
- Founder of APTO PPE, Fit for purpose designed
safety workwear for women
- Telstra Business Women Award, South Australia
Finalist
- Women in Engineering National Chair
- Engineers’ Australia Congress Member
- Winner of Chief Executive Women Leadership
Scholarship
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