Speakers
Peter McIntyre, Chief Executive Officer, The Royal Australasian College of Physicians
Peter McIntyre is Chief Executive Officer of The Royal Australasian College of Physicians, having joined the organisation in late 2019. Prior to this he was the Chief Executive of Engineers Australia and has held Board Director and Managing Director positions in the electricity industry.
Peter has broad experience in leading large professional member-based organisations. He also has extensive experience working in highly regulated, complex stakeholder sectors.Peter is a past Deputy Chairman of the Energy Networks Association, past Chairman of Grid Australia and past Deputy Chairman of the Australian Power Institute. He was also a former non-executive Director of Tas Networks.
He holds a BSc in physics and a BE (Hons) in electrical engineering from UNSW, and an MBA in technology management from Deakin University. He is a Fellow and an Engineering Executive ofEngineers Australia and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
In 2016 Sean Rooney led Leading Age Services Australia (LASA) – the peak body for aged care providers - through significant organisational change in unifying formerly federated LASA organisations into a national association.
He represented the aged care sector through unrelenting challenges and scrutiny during COVID-19 and through a Royal Commission. In 2022 his leadership contributed to a merger with another aged care association realising LASA’s long held strategic objective of a single aged care industry association for all providers of aged care services.
He is currently leading the Transformation Management Office in the new association responsible for delivering on the promise of new aged care association in a time of change and challenge in the sector.
Tanya Barden, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Food and Grocery Council
Tanya Barden is the CEO of the Australian Food and Grocery Council, which helps food and grocery suppliers grow and make a positive impact by delivering valuable insights, connectivity, proactive influence and collective action on commercial, economic, regulatory, health and environmental issues impacting the sector. This role culminates Tanya’s career, which has been spent in and around policy and regulatory issues that impact the industry, while working in government, the private sector and even running her own on-line organic grocery business.
She has a particularly good understanding of environmental issues, having spent five years as the AFGC’s Director of Economics, Trade and Sustainability prior to becoming CEO as well as chair of the National Packaging Covenant Industry Association from 2015 – 2017. Tanya holds Bachelor of Economics/ Bachelor of Arts degrees and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Jonathan Smithers, Chief Executive Officer, Arthritis Australia
Jonathan Smithers is the Chief Executive Officer of Arthritis Australia and has previous experience in senior roles, as the CEO of the Law Council of Australia and as the President of the Law Society of England & Wales.
Jonathan Smithers qualified as a lawyer in the UK in 1986 and worked in his own practice for over 30 years. During that time, he served on the Council of the Law Society of England and Wales, culminating in appointment as its president in 2015/16. He then moved to Canberra, having been appointed as CEO of the Law Council of Australia. In 2020, Jonathan moved into the health sector becoming the CEO of Arthritis Australia, the peak body for arthritis consumers.
Michael Tidball, Secretary of NSW Department of Communities and Justice
Yasser El-Ansary, Chief Executive & Managing Director, FINSIA
Yasser was appointed Financial Services Institute of Australasia's Chief Executive & Managing Director in April 2022. Previously, he was Chief Executive of the Australian Investment Council from November 2013 to April 2022 where he was responsible for leading the strategic direction of the organisation’s work in representing the private capital investment industry in Australia.
Prior to joining the Australian Investment Council, Yasser was the General Manager of Policy and Advocacy for Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand.
He has more than 20 years’ experience as a business adviser and public policy expert, through his previous roles with PwC, Rio Tinto, Frasers Property Australia, as well as the Department of Treasury in Canberra.
Yasser is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the Australian National University and a Master of Taxation Law from University of New South Wales.
In April 2016, Yasser was appointed by the Federal Government to the Medical Research Future Fund Advisory Board where he advises on the strategy and priorities for medical health research funding from the $20B fund.
Lyn Lewis-Smith, Chief Executive Officer, BESydney
As Chief Executive Officer, Lyn leads a global team of professionals spanning Europe, North America and Asia who are charged with securing global meetings of economic, social and educational benefit to Sydney, Australia. Specifically, Lyn is focused on leading BESydney to acquire strategic events that are aligned to NSW’s priority sectors that will drive the national agenda.
Lyn is one of the world’s most respected and influential figures in the tourism and business events industry, winning a number of accolades for her leadership, including the Destinations International Humanitarian Award.
Lyn is an Adjunct Professor and Business School Advisory Board Member at the University of Technology Sydney, Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Past President and Director - Australian Association of Convention Bureaux, Committee for Sydney Board Member and past Chair of the Liveability Loveability Taskforce.
Rob Barnes, Country Manager APAC, Higher Logic
Rob began his career in association management at 19 years old, which now spans 20+ years, three countries and multiple associations including Surf Life Saving Australia and Fitness Australia. Rob lives in the southern beaches area of Sydney, Australia. Surfing, dirt bikes, snowboarding and wake-boarding dominate any spare time he gets outside of work.
He recently published his first book - a children's picture book titled Benjamin Allsorts Likes All Sorts of Sports. As well as recently publishing an online course called Inbox Zero helping people take control of their email inboxes in just 37 minutes. In 2020 he received his Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation from the American Society of Association Executives being one of only two Australians to gain this credential.
Isabelle Phillips PhD, GAICD, Consulting Partner
Mackerel Sky - Leadership Matters
Isabelle Phillips has 20 years non-executive director experience in the NFP and Foundation sectors, she is a lecturer at the UTS business school and co-author of the new UTS online MBA program. Isabelle’s consulting on leadership, workforce wellness and performance spans eight countries and almost three decades.
Isabelle has broad experience in partnering with large professional member-based organisations to influence, resource and upskill sectors facing talent shortages and burnout, cyber risks, global market instability, climate resilience, competing ideologies, and increasingly fragile social licences to operate.
Isabelle is a lead author on the Australian Belonging Framework and a Fellow of the UTS Inclusivity Fellowship. In partnership with CBA, ICC and ISPT Isabelle has worked as Project Director of KARI Leadership since 2016; a unique leadership program for First Nations CEO’s that delivers ESG learnings to partner organisations.
Geoff Donaghy, Chief Executive Officer, International Convention Centre, Sydney
Geoff Donaghy is CEO of Australia’s premier convention, exhibition and entertainment venue. Geoff is also the director of Convention Centres for leading venue management specialists, ASM Global (Asia Pacific, India & Middle East), and has had a long involvement with major facility projects in Australia, Asia and the Middle East.
Geoff served two terms as President of the International Association of Congress Centres (AIPC) following several years as a board member and was their representative on the peak global body, the Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC) and as Chair of local peak body, the Business Events Council of Australia (BECA). During this period he was also appointed to the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) Tourism Recovery Task Force. Geoff is a board member of the recently formed New Sydney Waterfront Company where he advocates for the evolution and celebration of Sydney’s Western Harbour.
In 2021, Geoff was inducted into the USA based Events Industry Council’s Hall of Leaders, a prestigious international recognition program in the global meetings, conventions and exhibitions industry.
Claire Hewat Dip Man, Dip Nut&Diet, BSc (Hons1)
Associations Advisor, Associations Forum
Claire has over 20 years’ experience in senior executive positions including two successful roles as a CEO at Dietitians Australia and Allied Health Professions Australia. Claire has also had substantial non-executive governance experience on four national and one international board.
She has extensive experience in professional self-regulation and is currently chair of the Ethics Review Committee for an Australian allied health profession.Claire has used her experience to provide support and mentoring to other NFP CEOs and boards in areas of governance, strategic planning, complaints and disciplinary processes, change management and more.
Bernard Rupasinghe, Associations Advisor, Associations Forum
Bernard has almost 20 year’s experience working in senior policy roles for member associations, representing registered health practitioners in Australia. He began his career in Employment Relations, including working as an advisor to Catholic School Employers in NSW and the ACT, and served as a Community Representative on the Nursing and Midwifery Council of NSW, an independent statutory body, from 2015 to 2018.
Bernard holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Legislative Law from the Australian National University and a Master of Labour Law and Relations from the University of Sydney