Speakers 2024

Award winning human futurist, forensic optimist and energising catalyst; Chris will make sense of the rapidly changing and increasingly disrupted digital world we live in… and make a case for a future that will be undoubtedly better - and more awesome - than it is today.

For over 50 years, Dr Allan Manning has managed large and complex losses. Using his experience he now acts as an adviser on large and complex claims, acts as an expert witness, and conducts policy reviews and drafts insurance wordings.

Allan is one of Australia's most academically qualified insurance professionals having lectured at several Universities and has delivered over 1,250 papers on insurance and risk management topics. He holds the post of Adjunct Professor with Victoria University, and is the author of 16 books on insurance, including It May Happen to Me! The Essential Guide to General Insurance. He has been rated in the top 20 most influential people in insurance 9 times. He was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Insurance Industry Awards for his contribution to the profession.

With 34 years' experience in the insurance and fleet industry, Drew is a seasoned professional with a strong background in leadership, strategy development and business growth. Drew joined Innovation Group in 2017 in South Africa and moved to Australia in 2019 to oversee the Australian operations. Drew has recently been appointed as the CEO of Innovation Group and ControlExpert Australia. Prior to joining the group, Drew was the owner of an Underwriting Agency specialising in high-net-worth clients.

Eden is a market leading cyber lawyer who heads Hall & Wilcox's cyber practice. Eden has acted for more than 500 organisations in connection with cyber security and data breach incidents. He won Cyber Parter of the Year in 2023 at the Lawyers Weekly Partner of the year awards and was named one of Australia's Most Influential Lawyers in Australasian Lawyer in 2024.

Janine Burke has over 20 years experience within the insurance industry. Janine is currently Head of Retail Motor claims and is the business sponsor for our Control Expert partnership.

Jasmin is a visionary entrepreneur dedicated to exceptional customer experiences. Her journey from concept to founding Raindrop showcases a commitment to positive impact. With a passion for innovation and social responsibility, Jasmin has built Raindrop on the values of clarity, pioneering spirit, enablement, reliability, and community. Raindrop prioritises accuracy, data security, and industry transparency.

John Carey is an experienced professional with 16 years in various roles throughout the automotive industry and 7 years in insurance. Currently the Northern Territory Branch Manager at GT Insurance, he joined GT as a Sales & Service Consultant 3 years ago. Professional achievements include a Diploma of Insurance Broking and being awarded 2023 BDM/Underwriter of the Year at the NT Insurance Conference.

Katrina Hickson is specialising in Cyber Insurance with responsibility for educating and providing cyber insurance solutions to brokers, while building on a strong foundation to support Broker’s across NT and QLD. Katrina has more than 17 years of insurance and premium funding experience dedicated to the local market.

Luis works side by side with underwriters providing technical support, allowing him to have a thorough understanding of our clients’ business and their insurance needs.

Luis started working at Liberty in 2018. With six years of expertise in insurance across a broad range of industries, from automotive to pharma, Luis has a comprehensive understanding of our clients’ industries and the ability to underwrite a wide variety of risks. He has a Master of Engineering Management and Bachelor of Engineering (Industrial).

Ralph is a regular speaker at this event and brings to bear his extensive background in a range of insurance related areas. His client base is diverse and in addition to insurers it includes large corporations, professionals and government instrumentalities. Ralph's experience covers public liability, professional indemnity and medical malpractice litigation as well as a range of administrative law issues. He is a past President of the Law Society of SA as well as a former director of the Law Council of Australia. He has had, and continues to have, an active involvement in Law Council of Australia Indigenous Issues Committee, as well as presenting in a range of forums on a range of insurance related topics.

Robin Bowley is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Technology Sydney, where he teaches and researches in the fields of Corporate Law and Insurance Law.

Between 2005 and 2011, he was a Lawyer with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, where he was involved in numerous investigations into possible breaches of corporate and financial services laws.

His postgraduate qualifications include a PhD from the University of Wollongong, and a Masters of Laws from the University of Sydney and he a Fellow of ANZIIF.

Robin is a contributing author to a number of legal commentaries published by LexisNexis and Thomson Reuters.

He is actively involved in several industry bodies, including the Australian Insurance Law Association (AILA) where he is a member of the NSW Committee. In 2023, Robin was the recipient of AILA’s Insurance Law Prize, which is awarded annually to a person who has made a substantial contribution to the field of insurance law.

Steven commenced his insurance career in 2002 as a claim's preparer specialising in material damage claims. Since then he has been involved in all manner of property claims and major catastrophe responses including the Victorian Bush Fires in 2009 and the Melbourne Hail Storms, where he headed up LMI Group's initial response team. Steven concentrated largely on business interruption insurance since commencing his career and is now well regarded as an expert in the interpretation of local and international Policy contracts.

Following a period working in claims, Steve shifted his responsibilities to LMI Group's eServices. Being a forward thinker, he worked towards the digitisation of LMI Group's extensive knowledge base into a number of broker and insurer tools, namely, BICalculator, PolicyComparison, RiskCoach and ContinuityCoach.

Steven has since turned his attention to Insurance education, featuring as the technical presenter at numerous conferences and professional development sessions each year. Due to his passion for Insurance Steven has found himself representing the insurance industry in both print and video media multiple times, appearing on National TV programs, and working alongside reputable news outlets.

Steve is a seasoned technology leader with 20+ years driving digital transformation. His expertise in AI, ML, and software engineering fuels innovative solutions across industries. As a proven program manager, he delivers high-impact projects, building strong teams and fostering collaboration. With a deep understanding of cloud, AI, and sustainability, Steven has a successful track record in delivering digital solutions that meet critical business needs.

Award winning human futurist, forensic optimist and energising catalyst; Chris will make sense of the rapidly changing and increasingly disrupted digital world we live in… and make a case for a future that will be undoubtedly better - and more awesome - than it is today.

Aaron, IPAR's National Manager of Pain and Recovery Services, has 15+ years of experience supporting clients with persistent pain in various settings. In his current role he oversees IPAR's Re-thinking Recovery service, focused on improving outcomes for clients with persistent pain using VR-enhance pain education and coaching.

Alex is an accredited Rehabilitation Counsellor with qualifications in Psychology, also holding an MBA from the University of South Australia. Alex has over 19 years working in insurance, personal injury, disability, and employment services with extensive national experience across all states and schemes including Workers Compensation, Motor Accident (CTP), Life and NDIS Insurance.

Alex’s strengths include communication, customer service, analytical, problem solving and change management skills as well as an ability to develop innovative services. He has been recognised for being responsive to customer needs and ensures prompt and efficient integration of changes back to his teams. He develops and manages national business relationships and proactively drives service delivery that exceeds expectations.

Anton practices in all areas of insurance which includes workers' compensation, professional/public liability and compulsory third party insurance. He provides strategic advice on professional risks including health and safety law, employers' indemnity claims and general insurance litigation. Anton has specialist workers compensation expertise in the Northern Territory and has been managing Northern Territory claims since 2008.

Arelene has 20 years’ insurance experience in the Northern Territory, including workers’ compensation, liability and personal injury. With specialist experience in indemnity, contribution, and defending recovery claims, she conducts all aspects of catastrophic claims involving serious injuries, as well as complex medical, quantum and intricate liability issues. Her experience in class actions and managing voluminous discovery means she is well versed with complex litigation involving multiple parties across several jurisdictions. Her previous experience in employment matters give her in-depth understanding of the challenges presented by the integration of workers’ compensation with HR/IR issues generally.

Arelene has in-depth experience of acting for NT insurers, the Northern Territory and Commonwealth governments, local councils and compulsory third-party insurers.

With over ten years of experience in the personal injury management industry, Bethanie is passionate about delivering high-quality holistic solutions to clients. She is motivated by the opportunity to provide services that make a positive impact on the lives and wellbeing of those employed with Government agencies and support them in their challenging roles. Bethanie values collaboration, innovation, inclusion and diversity – she believes these are some of the keys to overcoming the challenges of psychosocial risk factors in the workplace.

Bethanie is an active committee member of the Young Insurance Professionals (YIPs) Australia & New Zealand Inc, where she contributes to the professional development and networking of young insurance professionals in the region.

Brianna is the National Manager of Mental Health Strategy and Delivery at Allianz, sitting across workers' compensation, CTP, NDIS and other personal injury lines. She brings specialty to this space as a registered Senior Occupational Therapist with additional tertiary psychology qualifications, specialising in behavioural neuroscience. In her current role at Allianz, Brianna is responsible for shaping and supporting internal capability, client value proposition and claims and rehabilitation management strategies for mental injuries and psychosocial risks.

Chloe Moore is the National Claims Manager for CGU’s end-to-end Workers Compensation business. She is an Exercise Physiologist with 13 years industry experience, and has a passion for helping people return to life post injury. Chloe has a strong focus on customer service – to help make workers compensation simple and create sustainable value for all.

Chloe designed and implemented CGU’s FY23-25 Claims Improvement program which is on track to reduce claims costs by >$20m.

As a Physiotherapist with over 12 years’ experience working in the occupational health sector, Curtis is a business leader passionate about injury prevention and management. As General Manager – Operations at Konekt, Curtis’ experience includes oversight of service delivery in the insurance, government, corporate and wellbeing sectors across Australia.

Daria is an experienced employment and safety lawyer who works collaboratively to achieve favourable outcomes for public and private sector clients. She has successfully defended and resolved numerous unfair dismissals, adverse action and discrimination claims. Her common-sense approach, practical experience, and familiarity with various dispute resolution processes enable her to achieve fast results—saving her clients both time and costs.

Daria is also skilled at drafting various types of employment agreements and advising on award / agreement compliance, restraint of trade and protection of intellectual property.

Daria regularly advises senior executive teams, in-house counsel, senior managers and human resource representatives from a range of public and private sector organisations. She assists with safety compliance, including advising on WHS policies and procedures and providing on-site training.

Darrin Brandis is a Registered Psychologist and the Executive General Manager of PeopleSense by Altius, a leading provider of psychological and vocational support services in Australia. He has over 30 years of experience in various areas of counselling, trauma treatment, coaching, and organisational psychology. He is also a qualified hypnotherapist and a Professional Practice Fellow at the University of Western Australia.

Darrin co-founded PeopleSense in 2004, which is now part of the Altius Group. Since then, it has grown to become one of the largest Employee Assistance Program (EAP) providers in the country.. He has received awards for his outstanding contribution to the field, including the Australian Rehabilitation Providers Association President's Award and the Telstra WA Business of the Year Award.

Darrin has extensive expertise in managing complex cases involving physical and psychological injuries, substance dependence, autism, pain management, sleep and fatigue management, and vocational counselling. He is also passionate about delivering high-quality training, development, and coaching programs to enhance individual and organisational performance.

Dr Eugen Mattes is a Consultant Occupational Physician and Epidemiologist experienced in undertaking assessments in fitness for work, workers compensation and rehabilitation. He has a special interest in complex cases involving medical, surgical, and mental health issues requiring a multidisciplinary approach. He has provided policy and clinical advice to corporations especially in the mining, oil and gas, service and health industries. As an epidemiologist, Dr Mattes completed an MPH and a PhD at the University of Western Australia and a NHMRC funded postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University in New York. He has been widely published in peer reviewed journals. He is a Clinical Associate Professor at the School of Medicine and Pharmacology at UWA. Dr Mattes is accredited as an Approved Permanent Impairment Assessor with WorkCover WA. He is also a Certified Independent Medical Examiner (CIME) with the American Board of Independent Medical Examiners (ABIME), and a Certified Medical Review Officer (MRO).

Emily has worked in personal injury industry for over 15 years. She has extensive experience in the management of complex injuries and facilitating best practice return to work strategies. Currently working in both injury prevention and management within the NT Police, Fire and Emergency Services, Emily is responsible for the health and wellbeing of NT’s First Responders. In her important role, she has active involvement starting from the recruitment process right through to evidenced based RTW interventions across physical and psychological injuries. Emily is also an accredited Mental Health First Aid Trainer.

Gemma is the NT Workers Compensation Manager at Allianz, having transitioned to this role earlier this year after 3 years as an Injury Management Consultant. Gemma has a strong focus on customer service delivery, working collaboratively with all stakeholders to provide strategic reviews and guidance on their claims. Gemma is passionate about driving best practice injury management strategy and initiatives to assist with achieving positive recovery and cost effective outcomes for our clients.

Grace is the Head of Northern Territory Motor Accidents Compensation at TIO and is responsible for and oversees the delivery of all services to the MACC. Grace joined the TIO NT MAC team in September 2022 relocating her family from Sydney. Grace has been with Allianz personal injury for 18 years having previously worked in both the NSW and National Underwritten Workers Compensation Businesses. Grace also holds a Masters in Management (Personal Injury). Grace’s experience and skills span across claims, specialist injury management, account management, strategy and leadership giving her well rounded expertise in personal injury management.

Jane Kittel is the Chief Executive Officer of the MPM Group, Australia’s largest group of plan management providers – comprising My Plan Manager and National Disability Support Partners (NDSP).

Jane began her career in the financial services industry in 1986 with AMP and joined Westpac Banking Corporation in 1995, where she held a range of senior leadership positions.

Julie Mitchell, Chief General Manager Personal Injury at Allianz Australia, oversees Personal Injury lines CTP, Life, and Workers Compensation and has 28 years of personal injury and broader insurance industry experience. She is a director of PIEF and Corporate Mental Health Alliance and holds degrees in Safety and Health Sciences.

With over 11 years of experience, Kaila is an accomplished leader and occupational therapist who has worked within occupational rehabilitation and disability services. Kaila has experience managing claims across all state regulations and currently manages service delivery across WA and NT for Konekt.

Lisa is the Client Solutions Director at Hall & Wilcox where she drives our 'Smarter Law' program and fosters innovation at the firm. She has a process improvement and legal technology background. Her expertise and passion are in re-engineering the way legal services are delivered through process improvement, digitisation and analytics. She works with lawyers, technologists and clients to co-create solutions and improve service delivery.

Reinis is a partner in the area of workers' compensation providing claims advice to self-insured employers and insurers. With over 20 years of experience in workers' compensation in WA, SA and the NT, he provides both strategic advice and representation at the Mediations before NT WorkSafe, in proceedings before the Work Health Court, the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory.

Samantha is the Strategic High Care Specialist for Underwritten Workers Compensation at Allianz, sitting across NT, TAS, ACT & WA. She brings speciality to this space through the experience and knowledge she has gained from sitting in various roles at Allianz with a tertiary qualification in Psychological Sciences.

Shane's areas of practice are workers compensation, work health and safety and allied employment issues.

Shane has been listed in Doyle's Guide as a leading ReturnToWork and Workers' Compensation Lawyer (Defendant) in South Australia.

Shane's experience includes:

• Strategic advice to and representation of employers, insurers, claims agents and self-insurers on the management of their workers' compensation portfolios in South Australia and the Northern Territory;
• Training and advice on the implementation and application of legislative changes in South Australia and the Northern Territory.

Sumith is the Chief Operating Officer and the national Head of Corporate Services at Hall & Wilcox. He has over 20 years' experience in leading and managing teams at professional services firms. Sumith is known for his commercial approach and ability to lead complex time critical projects With overall responsibility for managing the day-to-day operations, Sumith has ultimate responsibility for the firm's cyber security and is the CISO.