Helmut Schuster became group human resources (HR) director in March 2011. In this role he is accountable for the BP human resources function. He completed his post graduate diploma in international relations and his PhD in economics at the University of Vienna and then began his career working for Henkel in a marketing capacity. Since joining BP in 1989 Helmut has held a number of leadership roles. He has worked in BP in the US, UK and continental Europe and within most parts of refining, marketing, trading and gas and power. Before taking on his current role, his portfolio of responsibilities as vice president, HR included the refining and marketing segment of BP and corporate and functions. That role saw him leading the people agenda for roughly 60,000 people across the globe that included businesses such as petrochemicals, fuels value chains, lubricants and functional experts across the group. Outside of his role, he is a non-executive director of Ivoclar Vivadent. Additionally, he is an alumni and advocate of AFS, which is an international exchange organization designed to help youth develop understanding, knowledge and skills that contribute to a more just and peaceful world.

Lyra Schramm has a wealth of global experience at various senior leadership levels in corporate and nonprofit organizations in human capital management, organizational effectiveness, change management, executive coaching, leadership development and talent acquisition. Her experience ranges from managing integrated HR strategies across Africa, Europe, China, India and the Middle East for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to a global leadership role within People Operations at Google. She is passionate about transforming organizations by aligning people strategies with business objectives. Lyra lives in Palo Alto California with her husband and daughter and is actively involved in community organizations supporting women and girls. She enjoys running in her free time.

Lorraine Murphy has global experience in Human Resources (HR) and brings deep expertise across all HR dimensions including CEO and Executive Team Coaching; Organization Effectiveness, Culture & Engagement; Leadership Development; Talent & Succession Management; Mergers & Acquisitions; Change Management; Global Comp & Benefits Strategies; Diversity & Inclusion and Business Partnering. Lorraine joined National Australia Bank (NAB) as Group Executive, People in March 2016 and is responsible for end-to-end HR solutions for the 35,000 global workforce across Australia, New Zealand, Asia, US and the UK. NAB is one of the four pillars of Australia’s financial system, the big four, and is one of the world’s safest banks, and one of only 11 banks globally to hold a AA credit rating post the GFC. NAB is an ASX top 100 listed company, with a strong capital position (Group Common Tier Equity Tier 1 is 10.1% versus a target of 8.75%-9.25%) and $3.29bn Cash Earnings for HY2017. In her previous role, Lorraine was Chief People Officer at Air New Zealand for three years. Prior to this she was Vice President of Human Resources – International for Campbell Soup Company in the USA. Her extensive international career in human resource leadership also includes senior human resources roles with Lion Nathan Australia, the Australian Gas Light Company, and global chemical company ICI. Lorraine holds a Bachelor of Education degree from LaTrobe University in Melbourne and an MBA from Monash University in Melbourne. Lorraine is passionate about supporting and developing women in business and is member of the International Women’s Foundation.

Winner of the LinkedIn Conscious Business Leadership Award 2016 – Management Maestro category – Ashley Winnett is not your typical HR Director. Ashley has had three equally rewarding careers – stacking shelves in numerous departments at Coles but never made it to a register, realising he didn’t enjoy law but became a partner anyway because that’s what you’re supposed to do when your parents decide you should study law whilst you are overseas enjoying your schoolies break and finally rebuilding an iconic Australian business whilst simultaneously dismantling it so as to ensure that his peers, friends and team mates have all the support necessary to help them forge careers both within and beyond Holden. Having joined Holden in 2005, initially as part of the legal team it wasn’t long before he was enticed to get his hands dirty. In 2007 Ashley joined the HR team as HR Manager Assembly Operations based in Adelaide. In 2009 at the height of the Global Financial Crisis Ashley was appointed to the role of Director – Manufacturing & Labour Relations where he negotiated the One Shift Two Crew Half pay arrangement which sustained the operations at a time when export production was cancelled overnight. In 2012 Ashley returned to Melbourne to the position of Executive Director Human Resources. In 2013 Ashley led a small team who successfully negotiated the landmark variation to the Holden Enterprise Agreement before having to inform the same workforce that their efforts had been unsuccessful. In 2014 Ashley was appointed to the Holden Board. Ashley is now Executive Director – People, Performance and Culture where he has been an active and vocal positive disruptor across the business and believes that supporting flexibility increases inclusion, supports diversity and improves overall engagement and teamwork whilst empowers people to be their best. Prior to joining Holden Ashley was a Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright in their Workplace Relations Practice. Ashley holds a Bachelor of Law and Arts (Hons).

Jane Kelly joined Super Retail Group in July 2016 as Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) from BT Financial Group, where she served as Human Resources and Corporate Affairs Director. Previously, she served in a number of senior roles in large, complex organisations, including Head of Reward for St. George Bank and Head of HR Australian Financial Services at Westpac. Jane holds a Masters of Commerce and Employee Relations with honours from the University of Melbourne, and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales. As CHRO, Jane is responsible for advancing Super Retail Group’s strong focus on team engagement, culture and capability development.

Chief Operating Officer leads the ATO Corporate and Enabling Services functions.  These functions include Strategic Planning, Governance, Finance, Corporate, Risk Management, People, Integrity, Change Management and Design for the organisation.  In this role, Jacqui is a member of the ATO Executive of seven (7) members, responsible for shaping and setting strategic direction and oversight implementation.

The COO position gives greater strength and integration to our corporate positioning, and ensures we are well positioned for Australian Public Service (APS)-wide reforms of corporate and shared services, and that our planning, governance and risk management is strategic and sensible. The COO brings together an integrated picture of our people and resource management and ensure we have the right capability and culture to meet our strategic intent.

This position has a role in managing the relationship with key stakeholders like our scrutineers.

All of these underpin our ability to deliver on a better client and staff experience.

Prior to the COO role, Jacqui joined the ATO in September 2013 as Deputy Commissioner ATO People and was responsible for delivering an enterprise-wide human resource management service which supports ATO employees in providing a sustainable, open and accountable workplace.  Jacqui was also responsible for leading the Reinvention Program Management Office and the change management driving this key reform.

Before joining the ATO, Jacqui was General Manager of the People Capability Division with the Department of Human Services, where she led the department’s leadership and change, people development, workforce planning and research functions. Jacqui has also worked for the Australian Public Service Commission, where she was responsible for delivering integrated people development, SES and APS-wide leadership and talent, change management, strategic recruitment, communications, and learning and development. She also has extensive international experience.

Jacqui holds an Executive Masters in Public Administration from the Australian National University and is a Fellow of Australian Human Resource Institute.

Merryl commenced with Tabcorp in October 1990 and has held numerous positions across a range of discipline areas including human resources, training and development, communications and sales.

She became Executive General Manager – Human Resources in June 2011 following the implementation of the Tabcorp demerger, and then Executive General Manager – People, Culture & Communications in March 2016, prior to becoming Chief People Officer in December 2017 following the Tabcorp-Tatts combination.

Merryl holds a Masters of Business Administration (Executive) and a Bachelor of Arts, and has attended the Senior Executive Program at the London Business School. She is a Member of AICD.

Cedric Brossette has been involved in the Retail industry for the last 20 years as an HRIS and HR professional. In France where he started his career in HRIS Consulting, he worked with various multinationals implementing payroll, Time Management, and Talent Management ERPs. He has also worked with some of the biggest retailers there, such as the Casino Group to redesign sales incentives for the franchisee network, and implemented the HR centre of expertise for the supermarkets. He then joined Nestle Nespresso headquarters in 2012 in Lausanne, Switzerland, and launched global initiatives around sales incentives for the customer-facing staff and workforce planning management. In Australia since 2014, Cedric is now the Nespresso Head of HR & Training for Oceania (Australia and New Zealand) In a very competitive coffee market, he aims at providing the company with the vision and tools to support the human aspects of the customer experience transformation, linking Nespresso ‘s People and customer strategies. Last year for instance, Virtual Reality was used as a part of the training mix to educate retail staff on one of Nespresso’s most innovative machines launches, Vertuo. Google DayDream technology was used to create a 360 learning environment that brought to life the product story, everything from coffee bean to cup. Using Virtual Reality in the training mix has completely changed the way Nespresso look at learning and development programs. The experience has given its employees the tools to deepen product and brand knowledge and convey emotion in a completely immersive way.

Sally Kincaid is the Global Head of HR Performance and Delivery at QBE. QBE is transforming its Human Resources purpose and function to contribute to the future success of QBE. In this role, Sally is responsible for the design and delivery of global programs and their ongoing evaluation to help the function create value, change and future improvements. Previously Sally was the CHRO for the Australia and New Zealand operations where she led the culture change to equip QBE to have a modern and diverse workforce and workplace. During this time, QBE was recognised as an Employer of Choice at the Australian HR Awards and set new industry benchmarks for Diversity & Inclusion through increasing female representation and addressing pay equity.

Anna Livingston is the Chief Diversity and People Officer at Tennis Australia, where Anna is responsible for ensuring the sport of Tennis, Tennis Australia and the Australian Open reflect the diverse country we live in. With over 65% of Australians identifying from ‘under represented’ population groups, Anna’s challenge is to ensure the sport of Tennis, the Event and its Business is welcoming and inclusive to all. Before joining the sporting sector, Anna refined her strategic human resource skills with experience across automotive manufacturing, property development and FMCG industries. With qualifications in HRM and Industrial Law, coupled with her passion for community welfare and health, Anna has enjoyed implementing a range of creative and inclusive human resource initiatives during her time at Tennis.

Lucinda Gemmell joined Virgin Australia in October 2017 as Group Executive People for the Virgin Australia Group. In this role, Lucinda is responsible for the Group’s people and culture strategy, talent, leadership development, organisational effectiveness, group remuneration and benefits and staff travel. Lucinda has more than 20 years of progressive HR and commercial leadership experience in Australia and Asia Pacific. Her experience includes HR leadership (Australia and Asia Pacific), Strategy Management and Business Management.

Prior to this, Lucinda Gemmell was the General Manager People with Endeavour Drinks Group, Woolworths Ltd managing brands including Dan Murphy’s, BWS, Pinnacle Drinks, Cellarmasters, Langtons and Summergate in China. She provided leadership for Talent and Organisational Development, Leadership and Culture, Organisational Effectiveness, Learning and Development and Employment Relations.

Lucinda previously held the roles of HR Director, Australia and Asia Pacific Supply based in Singapore with Diageo. In her role as HR Director in Australia, she led Diageo’s HR function to deliver the Australian business strategy. This role delivered significant growth in the business with a focus on talent, engagement and organisational effectiveness. Prior she held HR leadership, strategy and business management roles in Fairfax.

Lucinda was a finalist Young Australian of the Year (1998) in the Career Achievement category recognising achievements in executing complex change in organisations. Lucinda was awarded 2014 Australian HR Director of the Year at the Australian HR Awards.

She holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology.

As Vice President HR, Corry is currently responsible for defining HR strategy initiatives that drive and support the success of Thales, a global technology leader employing over 3,500 people in 35 sites across ANZ. An experienced human resources professional, Corry has a successful track record in driving cultural and organisational change and developing leadership and people programmes for a wide range of global companies. Prior to Thales, Corry was Senior HR Manager for Microsoft in Australia, developing and implementing people strategies and programs to support business initiatives and build capability across APAC and an active member of the Institute for Sustainable Leadership in Sydney.

Steve joined Downer in March 2012 as the Executive General Manager, Human Resources for the
Rail division. In September 2013, Steve’s role was broadened and he was appointed Group General
Manager People, Safety, and Culture for Downer’s Rail division, a role which incorporated all Zero
Harm responsibilities for the Rail business.
In December 2014, Steve was appointed Group Head of Human Resources and Industrial Relations,
leading the HR and IR function for the Downer Group. With the recent acquisition of the Spotless
business, annual revenues exceed $12B and we engage in excess of 56,000 employees.
His former roles include GGM Human Resources for Komatsu Australia Pty Ltd; HR Director with
Goodman Fielder; HR Director, Schindler Australia; and he previously held the role of General
Manager, Industrial Relations at Qantas.
Prior to Qantas, Steve was the Assistant Director Resource Planning for the Royal Australian Navy and
prior to this worked in NSW abattoirs resolving industrial disputes for AQIS.
Steve is married with 5 sons.
Steve has an MBA from MGSM, has been a Board Director with Foodbank NSW since 2011 and is also
a Justice of the Peace in NSW.