2024 speakers

Ben is Member of the Team at Telstra.  He has been at the helm of epic and humiliating failures across six industries and three continents, in the midst of which he picked fights with bullies, lost (and then rediscovered) his faith in democracy, and occasionally got lucky in the all-consuming religion of start-up and early-stage growth. While Ben is fascinated by the prospect of interplanetary missions, he would like the earth to remain habitable for generations to come.

Anna Collyer is a leading energy expert and the Chair of the Australian Energy Market Commission and Energy Security Board. She has more than two decades of public and private sector experience in energy and has worked extensively on industry reform with energy ministers.

Anna has a passion for leadership and change and is a big believer in a learning culture, where experimentation is a necessary part of creating something new. She was recently appointed an inaugural Australian ambassador for the Energy Equality Initiative.

As a partner of Allens law firm from 2001 to 2020, Anna focused on the energy sector throughout its evolution, advised a broad range of clients in the public and private sectors on major projects, and fostered innovation at all levels of the firm, not only in technological developments but also in new ways of working and addressing disruption.

Anna has a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne.

In a career spanning over 30 years with ENGIE, Rik has held a variety of roles across Belgium, the United States, Latin America, the United Kingdom and in France. Before moving to Australia, he was CEO of ENGIE Energia Peru, Country Manager ENGIE PERU and COLOMBIA and Regional HUB VP South America.

He’s experienced in operational, safety and development of team members, including serving as the global Deputy HR Director for the business, where he was in charge of senior executives, talent attraction, development and international mobility. 

Rik holds a Masters in Industrial and Organisational Psychology.

Jeff joined Alinta Energy as CEO in 2011 and became Managing Director & CEO in April 2017.

Jeff is a senior figure in the Australian energy sector with around 30 years of experience. He is a former Chair of the Australian Energy Council and current board member.

Jeff was also a founding member of Australia’s Clean Energy Council, having previously served on the Boards of The Renewable Energy Generators of Australia and the Australian Wind Energy Association.

He helped pioneer many of Australia’s earliest renewable energy developments including several wind farms and a large-scale solar project prior to joining Alinta Energy.

Jeff’s formal qualifications include a Bachelor of Business degree from RMIT University and an Executive Programme at IMD in Switzerland.

Lorenzo is an independent consultant focusing on power system transition to integrate high levels of renewable generation and distributed energy resources (DER). Areas of expertise include: wholesale power market design; DER participation in wholesale markets; coordination of transmission-distribution system operations; distribution system operator (DSO) models and distribution-level markets; microgrids and energy resilience strategies; whole-system grid architecture.

From 1999 to 2017 Lorenzo worked at California ISO as a principal in market design and infrastructure policy, where he was a lead designer of the locational marginal pricing (LMP) market system the CAISO implemented in 2009, and was project lead in redesigning CAISO's transmission planning process and new resource interconnection procedures.

Damien joined AGL in March 2013 and held several senior executive finance roles before being appointed Interim CFO in August 2018, then formally CFO in May 2019. Damien was appointed interim CEO in September 2022 and confirmed as Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer in January 2023.

Damien has more than 27 years' experience across large multinational businesses including Linfox Logistics, Smorgon Steel and Deloitte.

Damien is the Chair of ActewAGL, a joint venture that governs the electricity and gas retailer and distribution businesses in the ACT. Damien holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from La Trobe University, is a fellow of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Clare Savage was appointed Chair of the Australian Energy Regulator in September 2019 and is a member of the Energy Security Board.

Over the last 18 years Clare has acquired significant leadership experience in the Australian energy industry. She has a passion for the energy sector and a commitment to its development, particularly through this current transition.

Prior to joining the AER, Clare was Deputy Chair of the Energy Security Board. Prior to joining the ESB, Clare was an Executive Director at the Business Council of Australia.

From 2012 to 2015 Clare held senior executive positions within EnergyAustralia spanning corporate strategy; business development; policy & government affairs; and public affairs. Prior to this Clare held several roles at the Energy Supply Association of Australia including Chief Executive Officer. Clare commenced her career in the public service – initially in the UK and then at the Federal Department of the Treasury.

Clare has a Bachelor of Commerce (Economics) and a Bachelor of Arts (Politics and History) from The University of Melbourne and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Oliver Schmidt works as management consultant in the clean energy industry. He has previous experience as project manager at the strategy consulting and financial transaction advisory firm Apricum, where he supported top management with strategic advice in the energy storage, solar PV and hydrogen industries. Oliver also worked as an energy analyst at the International Energy Agency and as a management consultant at E.ON. He has a PhD on the future cost and value of energy storage from Imperial College London. His background is in mechanical engineering and renewable energy, which he studied at Imperial and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH).

Peter Scott has a wealth of leadership and energy industry experience. He was appointed to the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Energy Queensland in September 2023.

Prior to this appointment, he held the role of Energy Queensland’s Executive General Manager, Finance for six years where he was responsible for managing the Financial, Procurement & Supply and Corporate Shared Services of Energy Queensland, in addition to the Company Secretariat and General Counsel functions. He stepped into the Acting CEO position on various occasions including the period of July 2019 to March 2020.

Peter is a Director of various subsidiary companies of Energy Queensland including Yurika Pty Ltd, Ergon Energy Qld Pty Ltd, Energex Ltd and Ergon Energy Corporation Ltd.

Prior to Energy Queensland, Peter served as Energex’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Throughout his career Peter has gained extensive experience as a senior executive in both local government and government-owned corporations across Queensland, including holding various CFO and Chief Executive roles.

Peter holds a Diploma of Business, a Bachelor of Business, a Master of Professional Accounting, a Master of Business Administration. He is also a Fellow of Certified Practising Accountants and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Daniel Westerman commenced as CEO and Managing Director of AEMO in May 2021. He oversees AEMO’s strategy and operations, including collaboration with market participants and policy makers. Under Daniel’s leadership AEMO is planning for Australia’s energy future while operating the system and markets of today in a rapidly changing energy landscape.

Daniel is a chartered engineer and a business leader with significant breadth of experience in the energy sector and beyond.

Prior to joining AEMO, Daniel held a variety of senior executive roles with London-listed electricity and gas utility, National Grid Plc. Most recently he served as Chief Transformation Officer and President of Renewable Energy, where he led the company-wide transformation program, and grew a large-scale renewable energy business in the United States. In previous roles he has been responsible for engineering, planning and operational control of the electricity transmission network across Great Britain, as well as the development of distributed energy systems, such as rooftop solar, storage and energy metering.  

Prior to joining National Grid Plc, Daniel held positions with McKinsey & Company and Ford Motor Company.

Daniel holds degrees in Engineering and Mathematics from the University of Melbourne, and an MBA from Melbourne Business School. He is a Fellow of the Energy Institute and the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and a Fellow of the Institute of Directors.