KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Carolyn Barker AM FAIM

Chief Executive Officer
Australian Institute of Management Qld & NT (AIM)
Managing Director of the TheCyberInstitute Pty Ltd

Carolyn is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Institute of Management Qld & NT (AIM) and Managing Director of the TheCyberInstitute Pty Ltd.  Under Carolyn’s leadership the AIM Group has grown to be an interrelated cluster of commercial education, publishing, online learning and information businesses.  

In order to stay close to strategic management and leadership issues, Carolyn regularly consults to organisations, senior executive management and industry with a particular focus on leadership, innovation and change.

She is Chairman of the Queensland Orchestra and Deputy Chairman of the Powerhouse Centre for Live Arts.  As well Carolyn sits on a number of private company boards. 

In 2002 Carolyn was awarded Queensland University of Technology’s Business School Alumni of the Year and in 2004 she was made an Adjunct Professor of Business at Griffith University. 

In 2005 Carolyn was recognised in the Queen’s Birthday honours list being awarded a Member in the Order of Australia for her service to business through management and educational organisations, and to the arts through The Queensland Orchestra.

Carolyn conceptualised the ground breaking and best selling Management Today book series published by McGraw Hill and is the Series Editor of the Management @ Work books published by John Wiley & Sons.

Carolyn is the co-author of the Character of Leadership and CATS:The Nine Lives of Innovation Workbook with international author Steve Lundin. 

Petra Campbell

Chief Executive Officer
International Help Fund Australia

Petra is a journalist / producer / director / photographer by profession and an RABQSA internationally certified Environmental Auditor.

In 1991, as part of a program she was researching for 60 Minutes on the consequences of Russian nuclear testing in Kazakhstan, she came into contact with a German aid organisation.  As a result of this meeting, Petra worked in the field as the charity's Child Sponsorship Program Coordinator for 13 years which gave her a solid experience and knowledge of conditions in Africa, the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and Asia.

Her work as both current affairs producer / journalist and aid worker led Petra to many of the world's disaster areas such as Ukraine after Chernobyl and Rwanda after the genocide.

In 1998 Petra returned to Sydney Australia and developed the Pacific Region Program for the same German charity.  While this began as a Child Sponsorship Program it quickly became apparent that the Pacific Region was in need of greater developmental assistance.  Petra then founded International Help Fund Australia to harvest the wealth of expertise, experience and generosity that fellow Australians can bring to their Pacific neighbours.

Petra has been recognised by the United Nations Environment Program as an Asia Pacific leader in the ecologically sustainable development drive, is a Visiting Research Associate at the Pacific Studies Department, School of Social Science and International Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of New South Wales and is completing a Masters in Environmental Management.

Mr Neil Shepherd

Manager
Biological Testing
National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA)

Neil has worked for the National Association of Testing Authorities since April 1996 in the Field of Biological Testing.

During this time Neil has undertaken 647 assessments in the role of Lead Assessor.

In addition Neil has participated in Standards Australia Committees for Food and Water Microbiology and working groups developing criteria for media quality control, validation and measurement uncertainty, as well as developing accreditation criteria for NATA.

Neil currently holds the position of Manager, Biological Testing.

Neil sees NATA as a vital part of Australia’s technical infrastructure and looks forward to continuing to develop accreditation criteria in response to the changing demands of industry and regulators.