Super educator

10 min read
10 min read

It’s difficult to imagine now, but there was a time when women had to resign as permanent teachers when they married. And consequently, they lost access to super.

Although that had changed shortly before Anne-Marie Corboy began her career as a primary school teacher, she found women still faced structural disadvantages in super.

Corboy imagined an even better outcome for women, and along with a strong sense of social justice, the mission to achieve that drove her success as the reform-minded CEO of HESTA.

Although she has now left HESTA and full-time work, she remains active in the industry, in July becoming Chair of corporate fund, TelstraSuper.

Despite her hard-fought wins, Corboy still finds that women lag men when it comes to super. She lauds the industry she has spent so much time in, but Corboy wants industry to complete its journey towards total equality between men and women.

“There still needs to be structural changes to make up that gap for women and superannuation,” she says.

She lauds the industry she has spent so much time in, but Corboy wants industry to complete its journey towards total equality between men and women.

Ambition and a sense of social justice

It was through teaching that Corboy became exposed to superannuation.

She grew up in the outer suburbs of Melbourne. Her parents instilled in her a belief that she could achieve anything. But ambition was tempered with a strong sense of social justice, instilled by Sister Gabriel Jennings at Mt Lilydale College in the outer Eastern suburb of Lilydale in Melbourne. “Sister Gabriel was particularly influential in shaping me as a person and moulding my sense of social justice,” Corboy says.

As a teacher, Corboy became involved in the Victorian Teachers Union (VTU). In that role, she helped rectify some of the structural disadvantages women faced in super. One of the big achievements was the 3 per cent productivity improvements to the public sector schemes in Victoria. It provided a greater benefit on resignation and removed some of the discriminatory aspects relating to service recognition and medical classification.

She was elected to the State Superannuation Board (subsequently the Victorian Superannuation Board), where she became involved in the wider industry through the Conference of Major Superannuation Funds (CMSF) and Women in Super.

She left teaching to join the VTU full-time, eventually becoming Victorian Branch Secretary of the Australian Education Union (AEU).

But Corboy believed more needed to be done and decided to move into super full-time. In 1997 she did not nominate for her position at the AEU and the next year was appointed HESTA CEO.

As Branch Secretary of the AEU, she had developed deep management experience in running the largest union in the state with 100 staff and six offices. Her role also encompassed building management (the union owned its own premises), financial management and personnel management. “It was essentially running a medium-size business, so I had all the business acumen you needed to run a super fund.”

The benefit of a teaching background

Corboy says people forget that teaching also develops an impressive array of transferable skills – leadership, strategy, people management, collaboration, presentation skills and public speaking.

During her 17 years as CEO at HESTA, Corboy is proud she helped engender a member-first culture that was also open and collaborative.

Corboy says people forget that teaching also develops an impressive array of transferable skills – leadership, strategy, people management, collaboration, presentation skills and public speaking.

The fund was also a pioneer in the ESG space, becoming the first to introduce a socially responsible investment option in 2000, and also in voting proxies – something many funds were not doing at the time. And a major highlight was when Corboy addressed a UN Forum on Climate Change in 2014 on behalf of global investors.

But Corboy also kept her focus on driving better outcomes for women, both in super and the workplace. “I’m proud that we improved the retirement incomes for many lower-paid women,” she says. “We also showed there were no barriers to appointing women to senior roles, both as directors and executives.”

Corboy says the super industry has matured a lot. “You’d expect that over 20 years,” she says.

But she challenges the notion that super is facing a lot of change relative to the past. “I don’t know about that. It’s always been a changing industry,” she says. “With growth in any area comes more structure, regulation, compliance-type issues – I think that’s just a given in any industry that grows.”

The power of family and role models

When Corboy left HESTA in 2015, she moved to Newcastle where her daughter and grandchildren live. She says family has always played a big part in her social activities.

Corboy not only forged a high-powered career, but also had two children. She says she tried to lead by example to make it easier for female colleagues to manage the competing demands. “Though I haven’t been universally successful.”

Corboy always took her annual leave and encouraged staff to put family events first. “That should be a priority,” she says. “If senior people show leadership in this area it is much easier for others in the organisation to follow that lead.”

During her career, there were few women role models. Early influences, however, were Mary Kelly, the former President of the Queensland Teachers Union; Di Foggo, former President of the AEU; former Premier of Victoria Joan Kirner; and super industry pioneer, Mavis Robertson. “All these women demonstrated how you can keep your values in the face of adversity and opposition.”

But Corboy says women typically turned to ‘collegiate mentoring’ where colleagues, friends and family worked through issues together and encouraged each other to take on leadership roles.

Despite her move north, Corboy remains a Collingwood fan – both netball and football. She has used her sports governance skills, as Director and Chair of Netball Australia, Trustee with the MCG Trust, and director of the Australian Commonwealth Games Foundation.

Corboy now has a suite of non-executive roles; she sits on the investment committee of the Australian Commonwealth Games Foundation, is a director of Bank Australia, and deputy chair of the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation.

But through TelstraSuper she has chosen to keep her hand in superannuation.

Super educator - Anne-Marie Corboy

The journey back to super

Corboy says she accepted the TelstraSuper role because the fund is highly regarded, well performing, and a profit-for-member fund. “I was really pleased to join it. It was a change from an industry fund, but a lot of things are the same.”

She’s only been in the role for three months and says it is too early to comment on her goals and strategy.

TelstraSuper has $22 billion of funds under management, putting it in the top 25 of funds based on size. “We’re not a minnow,” Corboy says. “But obviously growth to all funds is an important factor for consideration.”

Corboy joins the corporate sector at a time when the number of corporate funds has shrunk considerably to just 20.

When asked about the ongoing role of corporate funds, she says it is wrong to lump corporate funds together. “They have different pathways for coming into being, and different propositions for each one. I don’t think there’s a blanket rule around what may, or should, happen.”

But she says a well-run corporate fund does have a future. “There is a role for super funds provided they can contin
ue to provide the best outcomes for their members. That’s across the board, it’s not just corporates.”

Corboy says Australia’s super system is envied around the world. “We should be proud of that and not afraid of meeting the challenges as we continue to grow and mature.”

Corboy says Australia’s super system is envied around the world. “We should be proud of that and not afraid of meeting the challenges as we continue to grow and mature.”

Super has also had a positive impact on the broader economy. She notes the super industry helped Australia through the GFC. And super has also become a strong force for social change, with good work being done in ESG areas such as climate change and modern slavery, as well as the emphasis on renewables.

People want to join, invest in and deal with organisations that have a “values base”, Corboy says, and super can continue to play an important role in society by being values-based organisations themselves, but also encouraging companies they invest in to do the same.

Teaching super better

Corboy wants the industry to talk more about its positive impacts. “There is a lot of comment and press about how super is too complex,” she says.

Super is a simple journey, though, Corboy says, where an employer contributes part of the employees’ wage entitlement. Those savings are invested. At retirement, you decide to take that money as a lump sum or income stream. “That’s not complex,” she says. “There is some complexity around investment choice and investing in retirement. But a good adviser will assist in that.”

“We should talk about how the majority go through the super journey,” she adds. “We tend to talk about the minority—high-income earners and those at the edges—not the majority.  It can be told in a way that makes sense and doesn’t bamboozle people.”

But despite all this success, and despite, definite progress since compulsory super was introduced there is still work to be finished on the issue that brought Corboy into the industry: women and superannuation.

Making super fairer for women

Women still have less super then men on average. According to Women in Super, women currently retire with 47 per cent less super than men but live five years longer on average.

Corboy says there are two issues. The first is the ongoing wages gap where women earn less than men. “That is a broader issue than just super, but it obviously impacts women’s retirement incomes.”

Women also tend to take more time out from the workforce than men. “Until we make some social changes where there is greater sharing of parenting responsibilities, that will stay. Women are going to still be the ones whose careers are interrupted for child rearing. We need to look at public policy positions that can address that.”

Corboy notes that Women in Super has developed a five-point plan to develop a fairer system for women and low-income earners. That includes paying the super guaranteed on the government paid parent scheme, requiring Government to publish a gender impact statement for any changes to the Age Pension or retirement policy, and for the Workplace Gender Equality Agency to track the women’s retirement gap.

Corboy particularly wants the $450 a month threshold removed (another of the five-point plan). An employer only has to contribute to super if they pay an employee more than $450 a month.

“That just has to go,” she says. “It so works against casual workers. People can be working for three different employers in casual jobs and because they don’t meet the threshold, they don’t get super. And a large proportion of casual workers are women.”

If the super gap can be closed, there is a sense that Corboy’s mission will be complete – building on the success that Australia’s super system has achieved in the two decades since she joined.

Picture of By Ben Power

By Ben Power

finance and economics writer

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As a Brand and Content Manager, Sinem has built her career working across brand campaigns, social media strategy and cross-channel storytelling.

Working at the intersection of technology and creative innovation, she’s crafted her skill of turning complex brand concepts into engaging social narratives that connect and resonate with member experiences.

Specialising in superannuation, she’s passionate about exploring how brand storytelling through social media can converge to drive meaningful audience connection.

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Gemma was appointed as Chief Risk Officer in November 2018 and leads the Enterprise Risk function which includes investment risk, operational risk, business resilience, financial crime, compliance and regulatory engagement.

Gemma has over 25 years’ experience in risk management and governance across multiple industries including government, engineering and financial services. She is known for her ability to drive organisational change and achieve business objectives in complex and dynamic environments. Prior to joining Rest, Gemma held senior positions at MLC Life Insurance, MLC Wealth, Parsons Brinkerhoff and Federal Treasury. She is a Director on the Board of the Fund Executives Association Limited. Gemma holds a Master of Arts from the Australian National University, a Bachelor of Economics, Social Science (First Class Honours) from the University of Sydney and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

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Adrian C works in the Australian Signals Directorate and is the Director of ASD’s Cyber Security Partnership Program.

He has worked in various roles in the National Intelligence Community for the last 16 years including geospatial intelligence, intelligence support to Australian Defence Force Military Operations and writing core components of the Comprehensive Review – legal framework of the National Intelligence Community. 

Adrian transferred to Australian Signals Directorate in 2021 and was responsible for the section that develops and publishes ASD’s technical publications and guidelines.

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Kate Farrar

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Kate Farrar is the Chief Executive Officer of Brighter Super, where she has led the fund’s transformation from a $10 billion Queensland public-sector fund into a $35 billion success story with more than 280,000 members.

Since her appointment as CEO in April 2018, Kate has overseen the merger of LGIAsuper and Energy Super and the acquisition of Suncorp Super—the first industry fund acquisition of a retail fund. This integration, completed 18 months ahead of schedule, delivered a 40% reduction in administration fees for members while expanding services across Queensland.

Under Kate’s leadership, Brighter Super has become one of the fastest-growing industry funds in Australia, recognised for both its operational sustainability and member-first approach. In acknowledgment of these achievements, she was awarded the Fund Executive of the Year Award by the Fund Executives Association Ltd (FEAL) in 2024.

Kate brings 35 years of leadership experience across finance and energy, including senior roles at Barclays de Zoete Wedd, Suncorp Investment Management, NSW Treasury Corporation, McKinsey & Company, and Ergon Energy.

Beyond her role at Brighter Super, Kate serves as a Non-Executive Director of ASX100-listed Seven Group Holdings and is the President of the Queensland Futures Institute.

She holds a Bachelor of Music (Honours) and a Master’s Degree in Econometrics and Finance. Through a scholarship from Chief Executive Women, she is also a graduate of INSEAD’s Advanced Management Programme. In 2025, following her FEAL award education grant, Kate completed the Stanford Graduate School of Business program, People, Culture, and Performance: Strategies from Silicon Valley.

Joseph Mitchell

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As ACTU Assistant Secretary, Joseph is passionate about winning a better future for working people and growing the union movement.  

Joseph has a Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Arts from Australian National University and a Graduate Certificate in Applied Finance from the University of NSW.  

Joseph Mitchell is a trustee director of TelstraSuper.

Vasyl Nair

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The Team Superannuation Fund (Team Super) is a profit-to-members, public offer pension fund dedicated to serving the retirement needs of all Australians. Team Super manages over $22 billion in funds for approximately 150,000 members.

Vasyl Nair is the Chief Executive Officer of Team Super (prior to this, Vasyl held the roles of Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Chief Risk Officer and Chief Strategy Officer).

Vasyl is a keen advocate for the ongoing development of the superannuation sector, with active participation in a number of different parts of the industry. He has served as a director of an Australian fintech organisation, specialising in superannuation and investment administration.

Vasyl was appointed to the Board of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) as Director in January 2025, the peak pension fund association in Australia.

Vasyl has a strong background in law, corporate finance and strategy, having held senior roles across at some of Australia’s largest financial services institutions. Vasyl holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hon), Bachelor of Commerce, Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice and an Executive Master of Business Administration. He is admitted to the Supreme Court of NSW as a solicitor, is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has achieved a Certificate of Business Excellence from the Haas School of Business, U.C.
Berkeley.

Kristian Fok

Chief Executive Officer, Cbus Super

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Kristian Fok is the CEO of Cbus Super, Australia’s leading specialist superannuation fund for the building and construction sector. Cbus was founded 40 years ago and provides superannuation and income streams to more than 925,000 members and manages over $105 billion of members’ money (as of 30 June 2025). He is responsible for all aspects of Cbus and reports directly to the Board.

Prior to his appointment in June 2023, Kristian Fok served as the Fund’s Chief Investment Officer (CIO) for 10 years. Cbus is a significant, long-term investor in the Australian economy and the Fund invests back into our members’ industries both directly and indirectly and via unique vehicles such as our wholly owned entity, Cbus Property.  

As CIO, Kristian was responsible for leading the Cbus investment strategy, this included evaluating opportunities that provide returns to members over the long term, managing investment governance and risk and monitoring the portfolio. Kristian led the development and implementation of Cbus’ hybrid internalisation strategy, which has proven successful in driving strong returns and delivering total cumulative fee and costs savings for members of over $730 million. 

Kristian is Chair of the Australian Sustainable Finance Institute (ASFI) and serves on the Board of the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI). Kristian’s qualifications include Bachelor of Commerce, Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries Australia and Fellow of FINSIA.  

Kevin Fernandez

General Manager, Market Strategy & Propositions, Novigi

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Kevin has long played a central role in shaping and driving strategic initiatives across the superannuation and wealth management sectors. With deep expertise in data strategy and a passion for AI, Kevin leads the development of forward-thinking solutions – ranging from strategic partnerships to managed services – that address evolving client needs.  

A recognised thought leader, Kevin is known for leveraging data-driven insights to deliver sustainable value. His leadership is central to Novigi’s market positioning, helping to define the company’s growth strategy in an increasingly complex and dynamic financial landscape.  

Vicki Doyle

Chief Executive Officer, Rest

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Vicki joined Rest as Chief Executive Officer in May 2018, bringing more than 20 years of
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Vicki’s experience includes executive leadership roles at some of Australia’s largest financial services organisations. She has an extensive background in distribution, strategic marketing, digital, fund operations and contact centres, customer strategy and design and product management.

Vicki is passionate about simplifying and demystifying superannuation to help all Australians achieve their best retirement outcomes.

Vicki holds an Executive MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management and a diploma from the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Vicki has been a Non-executive Director of the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors since 2018 and a Director of The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia since 2022.

Louise Davidson, AM

Chief Executive Officer, Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI)

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Louise Davidson has spent her career with a focus on building long-term value for the millions of beneficiaries of Australian superannuation funds. Most recently this has included elevating the importance of environmental, social and governance factors in managing material financial risk in super fund investment portfolios. 

As CEO of the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) since 2015, Louise oversees ACSI’s program of company engagement, research and policy advocacy, backed by 30 years of senior experience in the financial services and ESG sectors. Her tenure as ACSI CEO has seen significant improvements in the way listed companies manage important issues including boardroom diversity, climate risk and human rights.  

Prior to being appointed ACSI CEO, she was Investment Manager, ESG at Cbus superannuation fund 

Louise is the co-founder of the Mother’s Day Classic, which has raised over $50 million for breast and ovarian cancer research since 1998. She was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2019 for her significant service to the superannuation sector and to breast cancer research.  

She is a director of Chief Executive Women, deputy chair of the Federated Hermes Client Advisory Board, and a former director of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the International Integrated Reporting Initiative and former chair and director of the Mother’s Day Classic Foundation. 

Peter Chun

Chief Executive Officer, UniSuper

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Peter Chun joined UniSuper as the Chief Executive Officer in September 2021, bringing more than 30 years’ experience in financial services.

UniSuper is one of Australia’s largest super funds with more than 700,000 members and over $155 billion in funds under management (as at 30 June 2025).

As CEO, Peter is responsible for developing, leading, and implementing corporate strategy and culture. He is also accountable for the overall services and operational management of UniSuper Management nationally.

Prior to joining UniSuper, Peter held senior executive roles at Aware Super, Colonial First State and Credit Suisse.

Peter is a qualified Actuary with a Bachelor of Economics from Macquarie University. He holds Graduate Diplomas in Applied Finance and Investments and Financial Planning from the Securities Institute of Australia; and has undertaken the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School (Boston, USA).

Peter is a Director of Diversity Council Australia, a Member of the ASFA CEO Advisory Committee and the Australian Chamber Orchestra Finance Audit & Risk Committee.

Eoin Burke

Head of Financial Crimes, MUFG Retirement Solutions

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Eoin Burke is the Head of Financial Crimes, MUFG Retirement Solutions, a division of MUFG Pension & Market Services (MPMS), with over 20 years of experience in financial crime prevention, compliance, and data analytics. 

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John Livanas

Chief Executive Officer, State Super

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Debby Blakey

Chief Executive Officer, HESTA

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Keynote 8 – Navigating the energy transition: opportunities, investor strategies and policy needs

Debby Blakey, GAICD, is the CEO of HESTA, Australia’s $96 billion superannuation fund for health and community services workers. With over 30 years’ experience in the superannuation and financial services sectors, she holds qualifications in Mathematics, Computer Science, Financial Advice, Governance, Pension Fund Design and Sustainability.

Debby’s leadership is characterised by a ‘people-first’ approach, focusing on enhancing member experiences and financial outcomes while also ensuring operational rigour and excellence. She is a strong advocate for innovation and transformation within the superannuation industry.

Debby is the President of the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI), a Director of the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) and is the founding Chair of the 40:40 Vision initiative – promoting gender equality at executive and Board level in ASX300 companies.

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Cath Bowtell

Chair, IFM Investors

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Cath is the Chair of IFM Investors; Industry Super Holdings (ISH); and the Federal Government’s Jobs & Skills Ministerial Advisory Board.   

She is a Director of Industry Fund Services (IFS) and of the Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation. 

Cath has worked for many years in senior roles in both the superannuation industry and union movement. She was the Chief Executive of IFS and Chief Executive of the Australian Government Employees Superannuation Trust (AGEST) from 2010 until its merger with AustralianSuper in 2013.

Prior to this, Cath was a Senior Industrial Officer at the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). She has held a number of directorships and committee positions throughout her career, including Director of AustralianSuper, Director of AGEST Super and Director of Ausgrid.

Natalie Previtera

Chief Executive Officer, NGS Super

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Natalie is the Chief Executive Officer of NGS Super.  

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Natalie also served as Chief Risk and Governance officer having deep institutional knowledge and a strong track record in executive oversight and regulatory engagement.

She is known for her collaborative leadership style and her ability to drive transformation while maintaining a strong member-first ethos.

Prior to joining NGS in 2019 Natalie held senior governance roles at AMP, Suncorp and Perpetual.  

Laura Catterick

Director, Resilience & Cyber, UK Finance

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Laura is a Chartered Professional Accountant from Canada with extensive experience in risk, regulatory compliance, cyber security, operational resilience, and large-scale transformation. She has held senior executive roles within highly regulated sectors, including roles across all three lines of defence within Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Lloyds Banking Group, and Mastercard.

Josh Cross

Chief Operating Officer, SS&C Technologies

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Josh Cross brings over 30 years of experience in Technology, Operations, Delivery and Transformation within the Australian Financial Services industry. His expertise spans Trade Finance, Institutional and Corporate Lending, Consumer Lending, Share Trading, Insurance and Superannuation.

Josh joined SS&C in July 2025 through a lift-out from Insignia Financial – one of Australia’s largest Superannuation and Investment providers, known for its growth through large-scale acquisitions and technology separations from major Australian banks.

In his current role, Josh leads the SS&C  Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) function, which delivers technology, operations, and service delivery for more than one million Australian across multiple technology eco-systems, supported by a team of approximately 1300 staff. Over the next three years, Josh will also lead the major transformation of the underlying superannuation platforms and processes, migrating to SS&C’s Bluedoor ecosystem.

Lt Gen Michelle McGuinness, CSC

National Cyber Security Coordinator, National Office of Cyber Security

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Lieutenant General Michelle McGuinness, CSC was appointed as Australia’s National Cyber Security Coordinator (the Coordinator) on 26 February 2024.

As the Coordinator, LTGEN McGuinness leads national cyber security policy, the coordination of responses to major cyber incidents, whole of government cyber incident preparedness efforts, and the strengthening of Commonwealth cyber security capability. 

LTGEN McGuinness has served in the Australian Defence Force for 30 years in a range of tactical, operational, and strategic roles in Australia and internationally.

Prior to this appointment, LTGEN McGuinness most recently served as Deputy Director Commonwealth Integration in the United States Defense Intelligence Agency. In this role, she led policy and cultural reform, and technological integration, including interoperability across information technology, systems and data.

Jamie Bonic

Global Head of FX and Commodity Sales, NAB

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Jamie Bonic is NAB’s Global Head of FX and Commodity Sales, responsible for several FX-related sales businesses including NAB’s Institutional, Corporate, and Government teams.  Prior to joining NAB, Jamie spent 17 years in London working for JPMorgan as a Managing Director in their Global Markets division, leading sales and trading across Interest Rate and FX products. Jamie holds a Bachelor of Economics from The University of Sydney and is currently based in Sydney.

Katie Miller

Deputy CEO, Regulation, AUSTRAC

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Katie Miller is the Deputy CEO, Regulation, AUSTRAC and has strategic responsibility for AUSTRAC’s regulatory, policy and legal functions. 
Katie has extensive experience exercising regulatory functions and advising regulators at state and federal levels. Katie is a published author on issues involving regulation, law and technology and supports connections between government, practitioners, communities of practice and academia. 

Derek Thompson

Via live link

Best Selling Author, Podcast Host of 'Plain English'

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Few speakers can match Derek Thompson‘s ability to synthesize mega-trends in society, labor, economics, technology, and politics. Put another way: Derek trawls the data sets and does the forecasting and deep reporting necessary to help us better understand how we live, how we vote, how we spend, and how we work.

In his paradigm-shifting #1 New York Times bestseller, Abundance (co-written with Ezra Klein), this award-winning journalist reveals how our policies and culture have pushed us into a world of scarcity (not enough housing, workers, or progress)—and offers a radical new path towards a world where housing is affordable, energy is plentiful, and innovation flourishes across industries.

He shares a compelling vision of a future where we have more than enough for everybody, and a practical, actionable roadmap for how to get there. It starts with taking more risks, building more expansively, and recognizing that we all have the power to create a world of abundance. “Everything’s utopian until it’s reality,” he says.

Carmen Beverley-Smith

Executive Director - Superannuation, Life & Private Health Insurance, APRA

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Keynote 8 – Navigating the energy transition: opportunities, investor strategies and policy needs

Carmen joined APRA in March 2023 and holds the role of Executive Director, Life and Private Health Insurance and Superannuation.  

She has had an esteemed career in financial services, spanning over 25 years. She has held diverse leadership roles at Westpac and Commonwealth Bank of Australia, including across risk, transformation and change, product and portfolio development, and sales and service. 

Prior to joining APRA, she held the role of General Manager, Risk Transformation Delivery Integration at Westpac. This involved leading the group-wide implementation of a suite of solutions to uplift risk management capability and develop data, analytics and reporting. 

Carmen leads with a values-driven approach and a particular interest in developing and mentoring talent. 

She holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Accounting, is a certified Chartered Accountant and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. 

Amy C. Edmondson

Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management, Harvard Business School

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Keynote 8 – Navigating the energy transition: opportunities, investor strategies and policy needs

Amy C. Edmondson is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, a chair established to support the study of human interactions that lead to the creation of successful enterprises that contribute to the betterment of society.

Edmondson has been recognized by the biannual Thinkers50 global ranking of management thinkers since 2011, and most recently was ranked #1 in 2021 and 2023; she also received that organization’s Breakthrough Idea Award in 2019, and Talent Award in 2017.  She studies teaming, psychological safety, and organisational learning, and her articles have been published in numerous academic and management outlets, including Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Harvard Business Review and California Management Review. Her 2019 book, The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation and Growth (Wiley), has been translated into 15 languages. Her prior books – Teaming: How organizations learn, innovate and compete in the knowledge economy (Jossey-Bass, 2012), Teaming to Innovate (Jossey-Bass, 2013) and Extreme Teaming (Emerald, 2017) – explore teamwork in dynamic organisational environments. In Building the future: Big teaming for audacious innovation (Berrett-Koehler, 2016), she examines the challenges and opportunities of teaming across industries to build smart cities. 

Edmondson’s latest book, Right Kind of Wrong (Atria), builds on her prior work on psychological safety and teaming to provide a framework for thinking about, discussing, and practicing the science of failing well. First published in the US and the UK in September, 2023, the book is due to be translated into 24 additional languages, and was selected for the Financial Times and Schroders Best Business Book of the Year award.

Before her academic career, she was Director of Research at Pecos River Learning Centers, where she worked on transformational change in large companies. In the early 1980s, she worked as Chief Engineer for architect/inventor Buckminster Fuller, and her book A Fuller Explanation: The Synergetic Geometry of R. Buckminster Fuller (Birkauser Boston, 1987) clarifies Fuller’s mathematical contributions for a non-technical audience. Edmondson received her PhD in organisational behavior, AM in psychology, and AB in engineering and design from Harvard University.

 

Daniel Mulino MP

Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services

Sessions

Keynote 8 – Navigating the energy transition: opportunities, investor strategies and policy needs

Born in Brindisi, Italy, Daniel was a young child when he moved with his family to Australia. He grew up in Canberra and completed his first degrees – arts and law – at the ANU. He then completed a Master of Economics (University of Sydney) and a PhD in economics from Yale.

He lectured at Monash University, was an economic adviser in the Gillard government and was a Victorian MP from 2014 to 2018. As Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer of Victoria, Daniel helped deliver major infrastructure projects and developed innovative financing structures for community projects.

In 2018 he was preselected for the new federal seat of Fraser and became its first MP at the 2019 election, re-elected in 2022 and 2025. From 2022 to 2025, Daniel was chair of the House of Representatives’ Standing Economics Committee in which he chaired inquiries; economic dynamism, competition and business formation and insurers’ responses to 2022 major floods claims.

In 2025, he became the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services.

In August 2022, Daniel published ‘Safety Net: The Future of Welfare in Australia’, which aims to explore the ways in which an insurance approach can improve the effectiveness of government service delivery.