Evans, Sia, National Business Risk Manager, Computershare

Sia has qualifications in Masters in Engineering - Quality Management, Bachelor of Science, Diploma of Education. She is a member of AOQ, SIA( Safety Institute of Australia )

Sia started working within "quality" in the pharmaceutical industry in 1990 and moved to the automotive industry in 1992, working for a number of automotive suppliers (including Leather, Fabrics, Plastics, Wire harnesses and electrical components) as the Quality Manager.

In 2005 she made the move out of automotive and into Computershare and branched out into the field of Risk Management and OH&S. Currently, Sia is in charge of coordinating Business Continuity Planning and Disaster recovery activities for all Computershare business units in Australia as well as driving the national CCS six sigma programme. Go to Program or Go to Abstract

Kerri Gill, National Business Improvement Manager, Coca-Cola Amatil

Kerri is a Six Sigma Master Black Belt and Registered Psychologist with 6 years business improvement experience. She is a founding member and current President of the Australasian Association of Six Sigma Practitioners, Inc.

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Grech, Stephen, Manager Doing Business Better in the Victorian Government Department of Human Service

Stephen Grech is the Manager Doing Business Better in the Victorian Government Department of Human Service and the coordinator of the Doing Business Better statewide network.

Stephen has introduced Doing Business Better which is a business improvement strategy based on the principles of Lean Thinking to Victoria 's largest government department.

Doing Business Better seeks to develop a culture of efficiency throughout the organisation by developing and empowering staff to identify wasted effort, eliminate duplication of effort, simplify process and improve quality.

Through the Doing Business Better strategy, Stephen is building internal capacity throughout the organisation to identify opportunities to improve processes and eliminate waste.

Stephen has implemented a number of continuous improvement projects in a Government environment to deliver significant harvestable benefits. Stephen also delivers executive leadership briefings and training in a number of global business improvement methods and tools.

Stephen has worked in a number of Victorian State Government Departments and has a Bachelor of Economics, former AusIndustry certified advisor and information officer, certification in Green Belt Six Sigma, Master of Export Marketing, Level 3 accreditation in XeP3 business improvement methodology and is currently doing Black Belt Six Sigma and a Diploma in Lean Supply Logistics. Go to Program or Go to Abstract

Roger Hilton, Principal, Six Sigma Academy and Chair, Lean Six Sigma Division, AOQ QLD®

Roger Hilton is currently workplace trainer and assessor with Skillup Australia, with responsibilities with training in Lean and Six Sigma at workshop, supervisor and senior levels.

Previously, Business and Quality Improvement Manager with PPG Industries responsible for Quality Systems Improvement in Australia & NZ.

Holds qualifications in Applied Statistics, Business Management and Operations Research. Currently completing a doctorate in business administration specialising in lean six sigma research.

Is the chairperson of the Six Sigma Division of AOQ-QLD with an interest in training and competency of six sigma facilitiators in Australia.

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Giles Hirst, Organizational Psychologist,School of Management, Monash University

Giles Hirst specialises in developing and enhancing company innovation. He provides a wealth of international experience.

Since returning to Australia Giles has worked with multi-national organisations both locally and internationally (eg Sharp and Siemens in China).

Prior to joining Monash, he worked at the Aston Business School, UK.  During this time Dr Hirst was the Program Director and Principal Investigator for the Innovative Teams Collaborative Initiative with AstraZeneca.  This was a major leadership development initiative that spanned three nations (US, UK, Sweden) with more than 450 participants. The program delivered a quantitative analysis of the organisationTs requirements, benchmarking as well personalised team level feedback, leadership development forums and one-to-one coaching to drive talent development and succession planning.

During 1996 to 2000, Giles completed his PhD at the Melbourne Business School (MBS,) The University of Melbourne, receiving a Commonwealth Scholarship and an Academic Achievement Award from the MBS.  His research was conducted as part of a large ARC industry-university collaborative study of leaders and teams in multi-disciplinary research projects involving DSTO, CSIRO, Orica and BHP. As part of this program Giles liaised and consulted with new and experienced program leaders within CSIRO providing team feedback and guidance interpreting results.  His PhD identified key structural and communication factors that predicted customersT and managersT ratings of research team success.  This experience complements his international credentials and reflects his long standing passion to work with the leading Australian organisations

Dr Hirst has also worked for KPMG as a change management specialist where he was responsible for developing communications to drive technology change and new process implementation as well as serving an expert witness appraising change management methods.   Go to Program or Go to Abstract

Dave Kelly, CEO, Quality Associates International South East Asia Pty Ltd

Dave heads the South East Asia office of Quality Associates International Inc. based in Melbourne , Australia and has worked in the quality and lean six sigma areas for over ten years.

A formal background in education and mathematics he has developed and delivered programs across many industries including retail, automotive, finance, service and health. He has particular input into program development with relation to curriculum structures, program scalability, customization and certification. Go to Program or Go to Abstract

Mario Pennisi, CEO, Australian Organisation for Quality Queensland Inc, and Managing Director, World Conference Systems

Mario Pennisi is the CEO, Australian Organisation for Quality Queensland Inc (AOQ-QLD). He is a former President of the Australian Organisation for Quality Inc (the National AOQ Body) and former Chairman of AOQ Inc. He is a MJ Ahern Medallist, Fellow of AOQ (FAOQ), a Fellow of the Institute of Metal Finishing (FIMF), a Senior Member of the American Society for Quality (SMASQ) and an Honorary Life Member of the Australasian Institute of Metal Finishing (now the Australian Institute of Finishing). Mario Chairs the Gold Awards committee for AOQ-QLD. He also edits and publishes Progressing Business eZine for AOQ and Coatings and Fabrication, a trade magazine for the coatings and fabrication industries.

Mario has trained and consulted in quality systems for many years, particularly in the Coatings industry. He chaired 7 Standards Australia Committees and sat on a further 7 committees as well as being a member of the Management and Business Standards Sector Board of Standards Australia.

In previous years he managed an electroplating shop, a University Department's laboratory staff, facilities and budget and built up a family business in conference management. Go to Program

Andrew Pirola-Merlo is an Associate Professor of Management at Monash University, Australia. His interests are in leadership, teamwork, creativity and innovation, and the fields of sport, performance and positive psychology. He is an organisational psychologist and has held academic positions in both business and psychology programs at some of Australia's premiere universities. He also brings industry experience to his research projects, having worked as a senior executive of two management consulting firms. Andrew's research has been published in a number of prestigious international journals and he co-authored of Leadership Experience: Asia-Pacific Edition (Daft & Pirola-Merlo, 2009, Cengage Learning). He has received a number of grants from the Australian Research Council, supporting research in the areas of leadership, teamwork, innovation and the links between age and productivity.

Outside of work, Andrew has two children and is an enthusiastic runner. He represented Australia at the 2007 ultra-marathon world championship (placing 13 th ) and was a Leader Sports Star of the Year (2008). Go to Program or Go to Abstract