KEYNOTE SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENTS

KATE ROFFEY
Wyndham City Council, Director

Opening Plenary - MC

Appointed President of the Melbourne Football Club in 2021, Kate roffey was one of the important components that changed the culture of the Club leading them to their first premiership in 57 years.

Kate was former CEO of the Committee for Melbourne and is currently Director of Deals, Investments & Major Projects for the City of Wyndham. She is current Chair of Metro Trains Advisory Board, Member of Victoria University Council, a Board Member of Ministerial Planning and Building Approval Process Review Board, Member of Ministerial Freight Advisory Committee and a founding member of International Women’s Foundation Australian Chapter.

A sought-after media and public speaker, Kate regularly appears as an expert commentator on ABC’s television News Breakfast program.

PEGGY O'NEAL AO
President, Richmond Football Club

Q&A

Peggy has a Bachelor of Arts from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia. She also has a Diploma in Superannuation Management from Macquarie University. In December 2018, she was made an Honorary Doctor of Laws by Swinburne University for her work in gender equality and developing sport leaders.

In June 2019, Peggy was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for her services to Australian rules football, financial services law and women in leadership roles. Peggy has specialised in superannuation and financial services law for more than 25 years and is presently a consultant to Lander and Rogers and was previously a partner at Herbert Smith Freehills from 1995-2009.

Peggy has been president of the Richmond Football Club since October 2013, having served on the Club's board since 2005 and was president when the Richmond Football Club won the 2017, 2019 and 2020 premierships. In April 2018, Peggy was appointed by the AFL to its inaugural Competition Committee which advises the AFL Commission on issues regarding the design and future of the AFL competition.

In August 2014 she was appointed to chair the Victorian Minister for Sport's year-long Inquiry into 'Women and Girls in Sport and Active Recreation' and until June 2018 was convenor of the Minister's Change Our Game Champions program. Peggy served for three years on Victoria's Ministerial Council on Women's Equality and in January 2020 became a director of VicHealth.

In June 2019, she was appointed to the Australian Institute of Sport Athlete Wellbeing and Engagement Advisory Committee and, from January 2020, has been a member of the AFL Mental Health Steering Committee. She is also co-chair of the Victorian chapter of the Minerva Network, which develops mentorships between leading Australian businesswomen and professional women athletes.

Peggy has been a non-executive director of several companies in the superannuation and financial services sectors. She is currently the chair of Vanguard Superannuation and is also a director of Infrastructure Specialist Asset Management.

Peggy is on the board of Women's Housing Limited, on the investment advisory panel of Home for Homes (an initiative of the Big Issue) and is an ambassador for micro-finance organisation, Opportunity International. She is also on the board of Australia Dementia Network Limited and the board of Fulbright Australia.

Peggy is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is also a member of Chief Executive Women and the Melbourne Forum.

GRANT DEVONPORT
CFO, Melbourne Airport

TOPIC: The Effects of the Pandemic

Mr Grant Devonport was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Australia Pacific Airports Corporation (APAC) in February 2019. As APAC’s CFO, Grant is responsible for all corporate secretariat, legal, financial, risk, procurement, safety & environment, technology, investor relations and treasury functions.

APAC is the owner and operator of Melbourne and Launceston Airports, with an enterprise value in excess of $6 billion. Grant has extensive commercial experience as a CFO spanning more than 30 years across multiple industries and geographies including banking & finance, superannuation, media, transport, logistics and supply chain and retail.

Grant’s experience includes strategy development, execution and leading transformational change. Grant is a Graduate of Massey University and a Mentor for the Financial Executives Institute of Australia.

RAY GUNSTON
Consultant to CEO, Australian Football League, Ex General Manager - Infrastructure, Ex CFO, AFL, Ex CFO Tattersalls

TOPIC: Flexible and Agile during COVID – Re-Forging the AFL’s risk management mantra

Ray is currently a consultant to the CEO of the Australian Football League. After a period as CFO of the AFL Ray held the position of General Manager – Infrastructure, Major Projects and Investment with the Australian Football League up to October last year.

In this role he was Chairman of Marvel Stadium, and responsible for AFL capital, investment and financial management, and for significant long term strategic projects across the industry.

Ray has had extensive experience as a senior executive and a company director in a variety of industries and may be known to some of you through his time as Interim Chief Executive Office of the Essendon Football Club following the supplements saga, and before that as the Chief Financial Officer/COO of the Tatts Group.

In addition to the Tatts Group, Ray has had executive roles with Westpac, Price Waterhouse, Aluminium Smelters of Victoria, Southern Cross Austereo and the Victorian Government. He is currently the Chairman of both the ASX-listed companies Sigma Healthcare Limited and Hotel Property Investments Limited. Ray has also previously held non-executive director roles with AFL Victoria, Greyhound Racing Victoria (as Chairman following the live baiting incidents), Marvel stadium, and the Melbourne Renegades Cricket Team.

Ray played a leading role in the transformation of the privately owned Tattersall’s into the publicly listed Tatts Group as an ASX 100 listed national and global company followed by initiating and implementing the $4 billion merger of Tatts and UNITAB. He also played a lead executive role in acquisitions for the Tatts Group, including building the very successful national lotteries business now sitting in Tabcorp.

STEPHEN HALMARICK
Chief Economist and Head of Global Economic & Markets Research, Commonwealth Bank

TOPIC: From Recovery to Reset - Moving Forward in 2022 and Beyond

Stephen Halmarick is Chief Economist and Head of Global Economic & Markets Research at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. He was appointed to the Chief Economist role in April 2020 – having been the Head of the Global Economic & Markets Research team since January 2018.

CBA Breakfast keynote

BEN CROWE
Director, MojoCrowe; Mindset Coach to Australian Open Winner, Ash Barty

TOPIC: Focus when you're always switched on!

As NIKE’s former International Director of Sports Marketing, Ben worked with some of the world’s most famous individuals, including Andre Agassi and NIKE CEO Phil Knight.

Now as a leadership mentor, life coach and adviser, Ben works closely with business leaders, Federal Governments, coaches & athletes across the globe explaining how authenticity, vulnerability and storytelling can create not only an amazing culture and competitive advantage – but also create a life that balances achievement with fulfilment.