Author and policy analyst based in Australia

Presentation:
What will it take for education to be creative? (November 28, 9.35am)

Tom Bentley is a writer and policy adviser based in Melbourne, Australia.

From 2007-13 he was Deputy Chief of Staff and senior policy adviser to Julia Gillard. His policy responsibilities included school reform, innovation and industry policy, the Tasmanian Forestry Agreement and the Government’s white paper on Australia in the Asian Century.

He is currently an adviser to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on education and innovation, and a visiting Professor at the Copenhagen Business School.

From 1999-2006 he was Director of Demos, an independent think tank based in London. His publications include Learning beyond the classroom: education for a changing world (Routledge, 1998); The Creative Age: knowledge and skills for a new economy (Demos, 1999); The Adaptive State (Demos 2003) and Letting go: complexity, individualism and the left (Renewal, 2002).

He has also worked in senior policy roles in the British and Victorian Governments and at ANZSOG, the Australia and New Zealand School of Government.

Secretary of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development

Deep Conversation:
‘Education: Learning to embrace the future’ (November 27, 12.00-2.00pm)

Presentation:
Why many shades of grey matters: thinking and learning for tomorrow’s challenges (November 28, 9.30am)

Richard has had a diverse career in the Victorian public service, a statutory utility regulator, the Australian Senate, public advocacy organisations, and the former State Electricity Commission of Victoria.

Richard has had extensive experience in responding to complex public policy challenges in a range of fields through the integrated application of various disciplines, tools and processes.  These include:

• Raising the sustainability of energy supply and use through technology innovation programs and market measures.
• Improving the quality, affordability and equity of energy supply through innovative market and regulatory design.
• Raising agricultural productivity through science, innovation and policy reform.
• Improving school performance, reforming Victoria’s vocational education sector and developing options and lifting educational gains from early childhood services.
• Strengthening the security of Melbourne’s public transport system.

Richard has also led or helped lead responses to many emergencies, including energy shortages, animal and plant diseases, agricultural pest incursions, the impact of bushfire and flood on regional communities, and open-cut mine collapses.

Richard holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of South Australia, a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Management from Monash University, and a Graduate Diploma in Company Directorship.

Richard has served on the High Level Consultative Committee on the Energy White Paper, and the Boards of the Australian Centre for Renewable Energy, the Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership, and Schools Connect Australia.  He is also Chair of the Victorian Government’s Regional Management Forum for the Grampians region.

Dynamic business leader; Chair Creative Partnerships Australia, Ourcommunity and Women’s Leadership Institute Australia; Director Stockland and Bank of Melbourne.

Panel Discussion:
Ethical Leadership: complex dilemmas, practical solutions (November 28, 2.45pm)

Carol Schwartz is one of Australia’s most dynamic business leaders with a career now spanning over two decades. Having been nominated an “eminent business leader” by the Australian government, Carol has conducted significant inquiries on behalf of government, chaired major government boards as well as chairing and participating in high level private company and listed company boards.

Carol’s current roles include: Chair Creative Partnerships Australia, Chair Ourcommunity, Chair Women’s Leadership Institute Australia, Director Stockland, Director Bank of Melbourne, amongst many others.

Twitter: @cazzmelbourne

Non Executive Director, Telstra, Medibank and David Jones

Presentation:
Defining leadership and business success in the age of endless and rapid change (November 29, 1.45pm)

Founding President, Society for Knowledge Economics Non Executive Director, Telstra, Medibank and David Jones; Former Vice President of Microsoft.

Steve Vamos serves as a Non Executive Director of Telstra (appointed September 2009), Medibank Private (appointed October 2011) and David Jones (appointed June 2012). Steve has more than thirty years experience in the Information Technology and on line Media industry and has lived and worked in Australia, the USA and Asia.
Steve was a founder of the Society for Knowledge Economics (SKE), a not for profit think tank established in 2005, which encourages new and better practices in the leadership and management of human and other intangible resources that create economic and social value in knowledge based and globally connected economies.

From January 2007 to September 2008 Steve lead Worldwide Sales and International Operations for Microsoft Corporation’s Online Services Group (OSG). He was responsible for the organization’s international business in more than 30 countries around the world. Steve was Vice President of Microsoft in Australia and New Zealand from 2003 to January 2007.

Between 1998 and 2002, Steve was Chief Executive Officer of ninemsn, the on line joint venture between Microsoft and Australian media industry leader Publishing and Broadcasting Limited.  Other roles Steve has held include, Vice President and Managing Director of Apple Computer Asia Pacific (1996 to 1998), Managing Director of Apple Computer Australia (1994 to 1995) and 14 years with IBM Australia in a number of sales, marketing and general management positions.

The Australian Financial Review has twice included Steve in the top five listing of the most influential members of the Australian technology industry.

Steve holds a degree in Civil Engineering (with Honors) from the University of New South Wales.

Twitter: @stevevamos

Managing Partner, McKinsey & Company

Presentation:
Leadership and Prosperity: The Future of the Australian Economy (November 29, 1.45pm)

Managing Partner of McKinsey and Company, Australia & New Zealand; Global leader of McKinsey’s Organisation Behaviour practice which covers organisation performance including innovation.

Michael Rennie has 25 years’ experience at the leading edge of management innovation and for many years has been the Global leader of McKinsey’s Organisation Behaviour practice, which covers organisation performance including innovation.

He is known as an innovator inside McKinsey, for founding radical approaches to organisation performance which holistically integrate the deeply personal dimensions of awareness and meaning with the external performance drivers of structure, process and measurement.

Michael has honors degrees in law & economics, studied languages & history in Switzerland and has a Master’s degree in Arts from Oxford where he was a Rhodes Scholar.