In a new LAND FORCES initiative for 2022, subject matter experts are invited to present to an engaged audience of industry attendees as part of the LAND FORCES Hub.
LAND FORCES International Land Defence Exposition to be held in Brisbane, 4-6 October 2022, is an international industry exposition to showcase equipment, technology and services for the armies of Australia and the Indo Pacific region.
The largest event of its type in the region the previous LAND FORCES in 2021 attracted:
Carefully integrated into the wider LAND FORCES conference program, the LAND FORCES Hub will provide a platform for speakers to present their vision, insights and solutions to the questions currently being posed by the land defence community.
Speakers are listed in order of the day and time they are scheduled to speak.
Project Director
Crowley Australia
Richard has recently joined Crowley Australia in the role of Project Director and is Crowley's first Australian employee. Richard has a Bachelor of Civil Engineering (Hydrology, Hydraulics, Geomechanics) and Master of Environmental Engineering Science, is an Adjunct in the School of Engineering, IT and Environment at Charles Darwin University, and is the current President of Engineers Australia's Northern Division.
Richard has been based in the NT for over 28 years and has extensive experience across all sectors of Government, the private sector and NGO’s, including 15+ years of senior executive experience at international, Commonwealth and state level. He held the internationally renowned Commonwealth statutory position of Supervising Scientist over the period of 2013 to 2015, focusing on nuclear issues, world heritage, uranium mining and Australia’s international obligations to best practice environmental management and regulation. Richard has held key engineering science roles in the NT Hydraulic Fracturing Inquiry and PFAS debates, and more recently engaged as a consultant in leading edge projects in the resources and energy industry in a diverse range of areas from mine closure to key transformative renewable projects such as Sun Cable. He is also currently engaged as an independent advisor on the National Radioactive Waste Facility.
Vice President Global Energy Services
Crowley Australia
Sean Thomas leads Crowley’s global energy services domain, which focuses on U.S. government and allied nation customers worldwide. Sean’s focus spans market segments including
fuel supply, storage, distribution, asset infrastructure development and operations, logistics, and marine services.
Thomas is responsible for developing and executing innovative solutions for the U.S. government to support peacetime and contingency operations, including humanitarian assistance and disaster response activities.
Thomas joined Crowley in 2012, initially serving as vice president for Crowley’s refined fuel business. Thomas was responsible for a $300 million annual business that provided fuel supply, storage, and distribution services ashore and at sea throughout Alaska, Canada, and the Arctic.
Before joining Crowley, Thomas served in several senior executive roles in the architect-engineer-construction industry. These positions allowed Thomas to serve both commercial and military customers in myriad locations throughout the Pacific Rim and the Arctic.
Sean is the Co-Chair of the Energy Sub-Committee for Military Distribution of the National Defense Transportation Association and is a member of the Arctic Economic Council. Additionally, he serves as a Director of Alaska USO. Sean has also been honored to be a U.S. Navy distinguished visitor aboard CVN 72 USS Abraham Lincoln.
Director of Business Development
Fleet Space Technology
Ryan commenced his senior leadership role as Business Development Director with Fleet Space in October 2021, having returned to Adelaide after a period working in the US.
Ryan is Fleet Space’s first Director of Business Development, and he has carved out the role and made an impact in the company, particularly in the strategic area of defence. His core leadership responsibilities include taking a lead on building Fleet Space Technologies relationship within defence, in order to drive strategic sales opportunities; generating opportunities, building key industry relationships and leading tender processes; collaborating with cross functional teams internally on our product value proposition and positioning.
Recent speaking events: Satellite 2022 (Washington DC) Space Symposium 2022 (Colorado Springs).
Business Development Manager
Boresight
Oliver has been primarily involved in the Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) industry since leaving the ADF in 2018. Oliver has since worked for Criterion Solutions as the UAS manager which included the Teledyne-FLIR Black Hornet Nano-UAS platform, delivering operator training, support, repair and logistics activities to both the Australian and New Zealand military and law-enforcement. Building on his Military and private industry UAS experience, Oliver then progressed into the Counter-UAS sector as the Business Development Manager for Boresight.
Industrial Development Unit Manager
Hanwha Defence Australia
As Manager of Hanwha Defense Australia (HDA)’s Industrial Development Unit, Millie has carriage of partnerships with SMEs and institutions as well as leading Australian Industry Capability (AIC) elements of programs.
Working across both Land 8116 (Self Propelled Howitzer and Ammunition Resupply Vehicles) and Land 400 Phase 3 Infantry Fighting Vehicles, Millie has been instrumental in building the supply chains and connections with companies around the nation, and facilitating partnerships between Australian and overseas businesses.
During 2021, over 400 companies were part of both programs’ engagement efforts, with over 700 companies making themselves known to HDA. Millie works closely with the 80+ companies actively involved with Hanwha’s active programs.
This sees her conduct site visits, establish capability and compliance criteria, facilitate connections and opportunities among stakeholders and support companies looking to upskill to take part in complex defence programs.
She leads a team of people who work directly in the two aforementioned complex programs along with identifying future companies and opportunities to work with both HDA and the wider Hanwha group of companies in Australia and Korea.
SATCOM Business Development Team Manager
Hanwha Defence Australia
As Manager of Hanwha Systems Corporation (HSC)’s SATCOM Business Development Team, Taehun has carriage of partnerships with OneWeb, governments and satellite companies as well as leading Australian, and Korean battlefield communication programs.
Working closely with government and industry partners, Taehun is responsible for developing joint government-military projects with OneWeb, developing major products in the ground/space sectors and facilitating partnerships.
In June 2022, Hanwha Systems participated in the Land 4140 Tranche 1 Request for Information (RFI) by joining Hanwha Defense Australia (HDA) with its partner OneWeb to respond to the Commonwealth of Australia. Under Land 4140, Hanwha Systems will provide multi-layer networking and communications systems intended to provide the Australian Army’s next-generation C5I systems to joint ground forces.
Beyond Land 4140, Hanwha Systems also plans to combine OneWeb's low-orbit satellite communication service with satellite communication antennas it is currently developing for application to the diverse platforms of the HDA and Australian military. With an increasing demand for bandwidth on the Internet of Things Battlefield, LEO satcomms have an important role to play.
The goal is to provide smart military solutions through technology development and cooperation support between countries to strengthen the defense capabilities of allies, including Australian and Korean troops.
CEO
PHM Technology
Chris Stecki is the CEO and Co-Founder of PHM Technology (PHMT). PHMT is an Australian company that develops engineering analysis solutions based on a Digital Risk Twin that are currently used by US Army (TARDEC), GDLS - Land Systems, Rheinmetall, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and NASA.
Chris is a regular presenter at technical / industry conferences around the world on the topics of RAMS, PHM, Digital Twins and digital engineering. Chris is married with 3 teenage children, who have been brainwashed into following Collingwood.
CEO
EOS Defence Systems Australia
Matt Jones was appointed CEO, EOS Defence Systems (Australia) in December 2021. Throughout a 25-year career in the defence and government sectors, he has worked in a variety of high-security environments and in senior leadership roles that have involved high-level capability analysis; strategic planning; technical, program and human resource management; and policy development.
Mr Jones joined EOS Defence Systems in May 2020 as General Manager, Land C4I. His signal achievements in that position included initiating and managing the company’s leading role in the C4 EDGE program – a major industry collaboration that brought together more than 30 Australian companies – and overseeing the product development cycle for EOS’ next-generation, Titanis counter UAS solution.
Director
UNSW Defence Research Institute
Vice Admiral (Ret’d) Professor Paul Maddison is Director of the UNSW Defence Research Institute. Paul is responsible for enabling, facilitating, and integrating UNSW’s ground-breaking defence research capacity across the whole of the University in both Sydney and Canberra. With a mandate to build deeper relationships and increased collaboration with Commonwealth, State, industry and international partners, the Defence Research Institute aims to strengthen UNSW’s position as Australia’s leading defence university, and to play a defining role in accelerating the delivery of capability for the Australian Defence Force.
Paul is a graduate of Canada’s Royal Military College and served in the Canadian Armed Forces for 37 years. He commanded at all levels, both at sea and ashore, and retired in 2013 from his appointment as Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy.
Paul returned to public service in 2015 and served until 2019 as High Commissioner of Canada to Australia, with accreditation to seven Pacific island countries. In this role, Paul was tireless in his pursuit of strengthened bilateral relations between Australia and Canada, with a focus on collaboration in the public policy, trade, social and security sectors.
An Australian citizen since 2020, Paul is an (ice) hockey (Toronto) and Aussie Rules (Essendon) fan, who also enjoys running (slowly), hiking, gardening, and reading. His Aussie wife Fay grew up in Darwin and was the strength behind his uniform in Canada for over 25 years.
Head of Military Health Services
International SOS
Dr Judy Swann is the Head of Military Health Services – Pacific and is responsible client relationship management and priorities with key agencies in Australia and across the region. This includes supporting the defence, paramilitary, maritime and peace keeping sectors in the Pacific. Judy brings over 14 years’ experience with the Department of Defence, primarily in international and strategic policy areas, and civil military preparedness. Judy has previously served as Senior Defence Cabinet Advisor, as well as having worked in the Defence COVID-19 Taskforce, and Joint Health Command. In Pacific Islands and Maritime Security, Judy implemented the Australian government’s largest capacity building project across the Pacific region - the Pacific Maritime Surveillance Program. She led senior Australian government delegations and was responsible for the successful agreement to international Memorandum of Understanding and large infrastructure projects.
Judy has also led the development of interagency reports for the Australian government on a range of international responses including Tropical Cyclone Pam, the downing of Malaysia Airlines MH 17 in Ukraine, and the Ebola Outbreak in West Africa. Prior to Defence, she worked in the social policy sector in non-government organisations spanning rural health; women, peace and security; and remote Indigenous leadership.
Judy was recently granted a doctoral degree for her published dissertation on ‘Leadership Development in the Police and Military Forces of the South West Pacific.
Strategic Adviser
Paraflare
Marcus Thompson is a retired Major General who served 34 years in the Australian Army. He served in a variety of command, regimental and Special Operations appointments. His final appointment was Inaugural Head of Information Warfare for the Australian Defence Force.
Marcus holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering with honours from the University of New South Wales, a Bachelor of Business from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, a Masters Degree in Defence Studies from the University of Canberra, a Masters Degree in Strategic Studies from Deakin University, and a PhD in Cyber Security from the University of New South Wales. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2014 Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
Since leaving the Australian Army, Marcus has founded Cyber Compass Pty Ltd, an independent advisory focused on improving cyber security and developing sovereign Australian capability. He has worked with and supported several Australian entities, including Bank Australia, Macquarie Telecom, NAB, Paraflare, and Melbourne Business School. He is also on the Board of Directors of Penten and Engineers Australia.
Chief Scientist
Trusted Autonomous Systems
Dr S. Kate Devitt is Chief Scientist of Trusted Autonomous Systems (TAS); CEO of BetterBeliefs evidence-based social platform and adjunct Associate Professor Human-Computer Interaction, ITEE, University of Queensland (UQ). She has a PhD in philosophy (epistemology, cognitive science and ethics) and contributes to TTCP AI Strategic Challenge Ethics & Law working group, and NATO's working group in 'Human Systems Integration for Meaningful Human Control over AI-based systems'.
Kate is the product owner of the Robotics and Autonomous Systems Gateway, leads the Australian ‘Thinking Swarms’ Community of Practice with academia, Defence and industry, is co-editor of ‘Good Data’ (2019) and lead author on 'Trust and Safety' for 2022 Robotics Roadmap for Australia V.2. Kate is a transdisciplinary leader who uses her expertise to enable the development of autonomous systems that incorporate ethical, legal, and regulatory structures to achieve social license to operate and trusted adoption. The Robots Association of Switzerland identified Kate is one of '50 Women in Robotics You Need to Know about 2021'.
General Manager
Toll Helicopters
Toll Helicopters General Manager, Colin Gunn, started his Defence career in 1993 as an undergraduate RAAF lawyer. His pivot within Defence to an aviation role came in 1999 on service transferring to the Australian Army as a helicopter pilot. Colin piloted and managed Black Hawk helicopter flight operations during the period 2000 to 2011 at the 5th Aviation Regiment in Townsville and at the Army Aviation Training Centre at Swartz Barracks Oakey. During this period Colin also conducted ground postings within CASG working in aircraft self-protection projects, as Deputy Team Lead for the ARH/MRH Resident Project Team in Marignane France, and in the Army Directorate of Aviation Capability Management. In addition to multiple flying tours of Timor Leste, Colin also deployed to Afghanistan on OP Slipper as the airworthiness and flight safety officer for Army’s Scaneagle UAS capability, catalysing a keen interest in the future of unmanned systems in both military and commercial sectors.
Colin transferred to the active Army Reserve in 2012, when he commenced civil employment with Toll Helicopters as the Chief Pilot & Head of Flying Operations. Since joining Toll, Colin has managed commercial flight operations in support of the Australian Army in Timor Leste during the later stages of OP Tanager, and in support of the Australian Federal Police on the RAMSI Mission in the Solomon Islands. For the past 6 years, Colin has managed one of Australia’s more complex helicopter aeromedical retrieval operations, in support of NSW and ACT Ambulance Services. More recently his portfolio has grown to include management of rotary contracts supporting Defence in multiple Australian states with utility, medivac and SAR services, and provision of military pilot and aircrew officer training. In 2018 Colin became General Manager of Toll Helicopters, now managing flight operations in Queensland, NSW, ACT and the Northern Territory. Colin maintains his active Army Reserve service as the Brigade Airworthiness and Safety Officer for the 6th Brigade’s UAS operations.
Colin has a Masters in Law from the University of Canberra, and a Masters in Management from UNSW. He is Admitted as a Solicitor in the State of Queensland, is a graduate of the ADF Capability and Technology Management College (CTMC) and a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD). Colin is passionate about building strong and cohesive management and operational teams within Toll; is recognised by Toll Helicopters’ clients for leading the partnering approach Toll live by; and for his uncompromising approach to safety, innovation and a pragmatic vision for the future of mission critical helicopter services both within the Defence and civil markets.
For further enquiries about the LAND FORCES 2022 Hub program, email:
Sheridan Buesnel-May
sbuesnelmay@amda.com.au
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