Robust Strategies for a Volatile World Thurs 13 - Fri 14 Sep 2018 Intercontinental Melbourne The Rialto 495 Collins Street, Melbourne VICWATER 2018 ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Welcome On behalf of the Victorian Water Industry Association and its Board of Management, it is our pleasure to invite you to the 2018 VicWater Annual Conference and to share the program we have planned for the event. This Conference is regarded throughout the sector as the Victorian water industry s preeminent event; consistently attracting delegates from the most senior levels of the nineteen Victorian water corporations, together with leaders from Victorian Government departments, regulators and other state and national key water industry stakeholders. The Theme for this year s conference is Robust Strategies in a Volatile World. The program will explore the questions such as: how can water corporations survive and thrive in a rapidly changing world? It will examine sources of volatility and robust strategies in water, as well as other sectors. Robust strategies are likely to be examined through the various lenses including trust, disruption, resilience and adaptation, embracing change as the new norm, workplaces of the future, new ways of doing business, and the issue of scarcity and scenario planning. Leaders establish the vision for the future and set the strategy for getting there. John P. Kotter As you will see, the program is full of distinguished presenters that are sure to challenge your thinking, give light to a different perspective or possibly even spark new ideas that can be incorporated into your business. As well as providing one of the few genuine opportunities for those in the senior leadership of the Victorian water industry to meet, network and strengthen relationships. VicWater believes that the 2018 VicWater Conference Program will stimulate the conversations that review current industry strategies to ensure we are well placed and prepared for the future. The program will consider the robust versus optimal strategies and how they play out in the face of volatility. The program has been developed with directors and senior executives in mind and we look forward to welcoming you to Intercontinental Melbourne The Rialto for what we believe will be another outstanding Conference. Jo Plummer Chair Tony Wright Chief Executive Officer
VICWATER 2018 CONFERENCE PROGRAM Robust Strategies for a Volatile World Pre-Conference welcome Wednesday, 12 September 2018 7.00 for 7:30pm Informal Welcome Dinner Laneway room DAY 1 Thursday, 13 September 2018, Laneway Rooms 10.00 10.15am Welcome: Jo Plummer, Chair VicWater Introduction: Tony Wright, CEO VicWater 10.15 10.45am SESSION 1 Sources of workforce volatility and developing robust strategies to respond to them Mr. Neil Coulson, Victorian Skills Commissioner 10.45 11.15am SESSION 2 Robust Strategies in a Volatile World Professor Damien Giurco, Professor of Resources Futures and Director (Innovation), Institute of Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney 11.15am 12.00pm The role of customer engagement in a robust strategy Jacinta Cubis, Facilitator stakeholder engagement and partnerships 12.00 1.00pm Lunch Sponsored by: pre-function area 1.00 1.30pm SESSION 3 Aligning Prices with Community Values Facilitator and Session Chair: Tracey Slatter, Managing Director, Barwon Water B2B pricing for water in Agriculture falling demand and sustaining services - Geoff Cutter, Chief Financial Officer, Goulburn-Murray Water Community and Affordability - Ron Ben-David, Chair, Essential Services Commission Water corporation role in sustaining and developing thriving communities - Ciara Sterling, CEO, Thriving Communities Partnership 1.30 2.30pm Panel with Q&A and Workshop Previous speakers joined by: International Perspective - Piers Clark, Chairman, Isle Utilities 2.30 3.30pm SESSION 4 Keynote Speaker: Chris Riddell, Futurist Beyond tomorrow: The human revolution 3.30pm Closing remarks Tony Wright CEO, VicWater
7.00 for 7:30pm Annual Conference Dinner Laneway rooms Dress; Smart Casual Arron Wood, MC for the evening Professional speaker, leading sustainable business expert and director of Port Phillip & Westernport Catchment Management Authority and Sustainability Victoria. Arron Wood, MC for the evening Minister Lisa Neville, Keynote speaker for the evening The Hon Lisa Neville MP is the Minister for Water Ben Spedding Environment Strategist, South East Water VicWater 2018 Emerging Leader Award Winner Meredith Scott CEO Opportunity International Australia Sponsored by:
DAY 2 Friday, 14 September 2018, Laneway Rooms 10.00 10.05am Welcome: Jo Plummer, Chair VicWater Introduction: Tony Wright, CEO VicWater 10.05 12.00pm SESSION 1 Water Resource Management as a Strategic Issue 10.05 11.10am Keynote Speaker: Dr. Anthony Turton Lessons from the Cape Town Water Crisis Interviewed by John Thwaites, Chair, Melbourne Water 11.10 11.40am Catchment and waterway management What exactly are we managing: places, partnerships or pathways? Non-Executive Director, Corangamite Catchment Management Authority. Consultative Committee Member, Central Region Sustainable Water Strategy Review Dr Tamara Boyd, Executive Director and Principal Consultant, Intrinsic Scope P/L 11.40am 12.00pm Optimistic Leadership is Vital in our Volatile World Victor Perton, Founder, The Australian Leadership Project 12.00 1.00pm Lunch Sponsored by: Pre-function area 1.00 3.00pm SESSION 2 Workplaces of the future: Leadership and Capability 1.05pm -1.20pm Key trends for the future of work and enablers Tim Drinkall, Manager Career Development, Melbourne Water 1.20pm 1.35pm Organisational Capability Transformation Southern Rural Water s journey Clinton Rodda, Managing Director, Southern Rural Water 1.35pm 2.00pm Frugal, Rapid Innovation: An Australian Technology SME Journey to the Global Stage Phil Hodgson, Managing Director and CEO, Calix 2.00 2.30pm Thriving workplaces, thriving leaders Cassandra Goodman, General Manager of Experience Innovation, Australian Unity 2.30 2.50pm Creating a culture of innovation: lessons learnt from one of the world s Sponsored by: most innovative companies Kim d Alquen, Energy and Utilities Lead, Australia and NZ, Amazon Web Services Introduced by Justin Spencer, Strategic Account Manager, TechnologyOne 2.50 3.00pm Closing remarks Tony Wright, CEO VicWater 3.00 3.30 pm VicWater Strategy Refresh (Please note this is a member centric session but all delegates are welcome to participate)
Guest Speakers Minister Neville Lisa is the Minister for Police and Water in the Victorian State Parliament. Under the previous Labor Government, Lisa served as the Minister for Mental Health, the first in Australia, and as Minister for Community Services and Senior Victorians from 2006-2010. Lisa Neville was elected as the Member for Bellarine in 2002 and is known by many as a local in the community. She maintains a keen interest in issues and services for women and children, people with a disability and older Victorians. Arron Wood Arron is currently the Deputy Lord Mayor of the City of Melbourne and has served as the Councillor for the City of Melbourne, Chair of the Environment and Deputy Chair of Economic Development portfolios. He s been a Board Member of the Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority, a Board Member of Sustainability Victoria and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Arron is council representative on the City of Melbourne s Audit Committee. as well as CEO of the Employment Matters Committee. Arron is the founder and Managing Director of Firestarter Pty Ltd, an environmental communication and education consultancy business. He initiated and now runs the highly successful Kids Teaching Kids Program for students from around the world which has attracted $30 million in funding over the 16 year life of the project (single-handedly raised by Arron) and seen 95,000 students participate in the program. John Thwaites John Thwaites is Chair of Melbourne Water. John Thwaites is a Professorial Fellow, Monash University and Chair of ClimateWorks Australia and the Monash Sustainable Development Institute. He is a consultant at Maddocks Solicitors providing advice to the firm and its clients on climate change, water, sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Mr Thwaites is a Co-Chair of the Leadership Council of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network ( SDSN ) launched by the Secretary General of the United Nations to provide expert advice and support on the Sustainable Development Goals. In 2013, John was named as one of the 100 Global Sustainability Leaders by ABC Carbon Express. Mr Thwaites was Deputy Premier of Victoria from 1999 until his retirement in 2007. During this period he was Minister for Health, Minister for Planning, Minister for Environment, Minister for Water, Minister for Victorian Communities and Victoria s first Minister for Climate Change. In these portfolios he was responsible for major reforms in social policy, health, environment and water. Dr. Tamara Boyd Dr Tamara Boyd has worked extensively with a range of agencies to shape waterway strategy and outcome reporting. Tamara is currently a member of the Central Region Sustainable Water Strategy Review Consultative Committee and a Board member of the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority. She was previously a member of the Yarra River Ministerial Advisory Committee and for many years lead Parks Victoria s statewide catchment and water program. An environmental engineer with a PhD in groundwater trade, Tamara was also previously the Manager of Groundwater Reform at the Department of Sustainability and Environment. Chris Riddell Chris Riddell is an award winning global futurist and industry recognised inspirational keynote speaker on emerging trends in our hyper connected world. He is a global pattern hunter, discovering and identifying how humans are changing and adapting to high speed change, unlocking insights for businesses and leaders in today s highly disrupted digital world. A global trailblazer, Chris Riddell has worked for some of the largest and most defining businesses and brands in our modern world. Having lived and worked in countries such as the UK, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Kuwait, China, New Zealand and lately Australia, his understanding of our new world is compelling and thought provoking to say the least.
Dr Anthony Turton Dr. Anthony Turton is an award winning specialist in water management and hydrosystems. He has spoken on the subject internationally and is world renowned. He has just finished his book on the South African water crisis. Formally trained in decision-making under conditions of uncertainty and risk as a political scientist with 25 years of strategic-level experience, Dr Anthony Turton specialises in water resource management at corporate, national and regional level. He has pioneered the concept of Water as a Corporate Risk along with the development of methodologies to assess that risk, including an Integrated Water Management Plan supported by policy, strategy and KPI s. Jacinta Cubis Jacinta Cubis facilitates conversations and collaborations with stakeholders, communities and partners for social benefit. She makes it easy for people to explore ideas, build on opportunities and work through problems. She s passionate about people having a say in decisions that affect them. For over 16 years, Jacinta led engagement programs and partnerships in the government, community and higher education sectors and now she's running her own practice as a facilitator, partnership broker and engagement practitioner. An empathetic trainer, Jacinta enjoys building the capacity of others in stakeholder engagement, partnering skills and effective writing. Jacinta has qualifications in corporate social responsibility, international relations and communications. When not facilitating a workshop or advising on a partnership, you might find her on her yoga mat, in her art studio or on the tango dance floor. Neil Coulson From 1999-2007, Neil held the role of the Chief Executive Officer at the Victorian Employers Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI). Neil was the Deputy Reviewer for the Government s independent VET Funding Review in 2015. More recently, Neil was nominated by the Victorian Government as the Victorian representative for the Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC) in February 2017. Neil s experience places him in an ideal position to advise government and industry on how Victoria s training system can meet Victoria s educational and economic needs. Cassandra Goodman Cassandra is the General Manager of Experience Innovation at Australian Unity and leads organisational efforts to design and deliver great Customer Experiences underpinned by great Employee Experiences. Cassandra s corporate career spans 20 years and includes international experience across five industries and senior leadership roles at GE, Origin Energy and Bupa. Cassandra is passionate about the creation of great places to work, where people and performance thrive. Professor Damien Giurco Professor Damien Giurco is Director (Innovation) at the Institute for Sustainable Futures. Concurrently, he is Professor of Resource Futures, team leader for the research areas of Resources and Energy. He serves on the Institute s Steering Group and leads the development and implementation of both research and communication strategies to strengthen the quality and impact of ISF research. Concurrently, he is Research Director for the thematic area of Resource Futures. With a focus on strategies for responsible prosperity Damien has worked collaboratively with government and industry clients spanning the minerals, water, waste and energy sectors to create change towards sustainable futures in a digital age. Damien leads a team researching the future role of smart metering in sustainable urban water futures. In particular, the project seeks to understand how access to dynamic information on water use will affect householder behaviours and management of water by utilities in the information age. Intercontinental Melbourne The Rialto 495 Collins Street, Melbourne WILLIAM ST MARKET ST