Pip Courtney is a journalist with ABC's Landline program. She grew up in Tasmania and studied politics at the University of Tasmania. After graduating she joined the ABC in Hobart in 1986, where she worked in radio and then television news.

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Pip joined Landline in 1993 working out of Canberra and then Melbourne. In 2000 she defected to the 7.30 Report, but came back to the Landline stable in 2001 when she moved to head office in Brisbane.

Pip has won awards for rural, business, environmental, medical and education reporting. In 2007 Pip and former Landline presenter Sally Sara were named Queensland journalists of the year for a feature story on depression in the bush called "Black Dog".

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In 2019, Pip was inducted in to the Rural Press Club Hall of Fame.

As CEO of the family owned company Priva, Meiny devotes herself to promoting innovation. With her clear, inspirational message on sustainability, she bridges the divide between companies, governments and sectors. Meiny is member of the Dutch Trade & Investment Board and the Committee for Entrepreneurship and Finance. She is closely involved in the so-called Top Sectors in the Netherlands, in particular on the themes Water, Energy and Horticulture.

In 2014 she started the 'Sustainable Urban Delta' initiative, a collection of treasures in the field of water, food, energy and mobility. With Sustainable Urban Delta she shows how many integrated solutions are already there to contribute to solving the problems of the metropolises worldwide.

Carolien Gehrels joined ARCADIS in 2014. She is the European Director for the Big Urban Clients program in Continental Europe and the city executive for Amsterdam/Rotterdam, helping local urban teams generate integrated and sustainable urban solutions that span across all of its business lines.

She previously served as a consultant for federal entities and municipalities at the management consultancy company Berenschot. In that role, she led the international city marketing programs for Amsterdam and Maastricht and coined the "I Amsterdam" strategy that is still in use today. She was elected Deputy Mayor for the City of Amsterdam in 2006. Her portfolio extends across: economic affairs, art and culture, local media, participation, monuments, infrastructure and water, business, competition and purchasing.

Stephen Engblom, AIA, LEED AP, architect, is a Senior Vice President with AECOM with a global track record of working with public and private sector clients to develop healthy and successful places. As Global Director of AECOM Cities, Stephen and his team are dedicated to forward-thinking urban policy and development strategies that underpin world-class infrastructure that enhances the environment, equity, and economy of our cities. Stephen is active in the Urban Land Institute and American Institute of Architects, contributes thought leadership to industry journals, and lectures and teaches at universities and institutes worldwide.

Before his posting Down Under, Frank worked as a diplomat on special assignments and had several postings, among others in Afghanistan, Germany, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Ivory Coast and Zimbabwe. Besides working on economic diplomacy and trade promotion, Frank has dealt extensively with security policy, counter-terrorism and human rights issues.

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In the Netherlands Frank was the co-founder and later director (1998 – 2002) of the Advisory Council on International Affairs, a think tank that advises the Dutch government on a regular basis on all aspects of foreign and security policy. He has a degree in international affairs from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam.

John O’Loghlen joined Alibaba Group as Director of Business Development for Australia and New Zealand in March 2016. In this role, John focuses on serving clients across all of the Alibaba Group’s business units, with a particular focus on assisting Australia and New Zealand brands and businesses connect with the Chinese consumer.

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John brings to Alibaba strong cross-border trading experience and knowledge to support the company’s developments in Australia and New Zealand. Before relocating to Sydney in 2014, John co-founded a leading gourmet pizza chain in Beijing which is a strategic commercial partner in China for Fonterra. Prior to Gung Ho! Pizza, John led Domino’s Pizza International’s Asian business from 2006 to 2009 based in China. John also spent five years investment banking at Goldman Sachs working in London, New York and Beijing and has served as a New Zealand Trade & Enterprise (NZTE) government appointed advisor to leading New Zealand corporations in China.

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He holds a BA from Harvard University and an MPhil from Cambridge University. He studied Chinese at Tsinghua and BLCU in Beijing, and is proficient in Mandarin.

Michael Bullen is the Executive Director Investment and AgriBusiness for NSW Department of Industry. This role is responsible for developing DPI’s new framework for Research and Development, including commercialisation of DPI’s IP, new business structures and funding as well as the establishment of the GATE (Global Ag-Tech Ecosystem - www.thegate.org.au) at Orange NSW.

Prior to this role Michael was responsible for DPI Agriculture which undertakes Research, Development and Education to improve the profitability and productivity of the agricultural sector. Before joining DPI Agriculture Michael was Chief Executive of the Sydney Catchment Authority and prior to this worked for Forests NSW across both plantation and native forest management. All of these roles have involved working to strike the right balance of commercial, social, economic and environmental outcomes. 

Michael chairs the National Research and Innovation Committee which is charged with overseeing investment in the Primary Industries Research and Development Framework across all of the primary industry.

David is the Executive Director of Western Sydney Sydney Business Chamber.  Western Sydney Business Chamber advocates for the needs of leading businesses in the Western Sydney area, and in this role David sets the policy agenda by promoting discussion on issues that contribute to economic activity and growth in the region. He has been instrumental in the Badgerys Creek Airport, Powerhouse to Parramatta, and Sydney Olympic Park to Parramatta Light Rail advocacy conversations.

Prior to this, he served as and Minister for Roads, Minister assisting the Minister for Transport and Roads in the NSW Government, Minister for Housing, as well as Minister for Western Sydney in the NSW government. David has also worked as an Urban Planner and adviser to the Minister for Planning. He was also the youngest person, at 30 years of age, to hold the office of Lord Mayor of Parramatta where he served for three terms. David currently serves as a non-executive director on Boards of The Sydney Festival, The Powerhouse Museum, Westmead Medical Research Foundation, Evolve Housing and Think Planners.

Levi is qualified horticultural scientist with over 12 years’ experience in the protected cropping sector and executive training at INSEAD.  Levi has held technical, operational and marketing roles in Oceania, Europe and NE Asia.

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His career began in The Netherlands developing skills in climate controlled glasshouse management which he would apply as Grower Manager with Costa Group on their first large scale glasshouses in Austalia. He was then engaged by the global agribusiness Syngenta as Technical Crop Specialist Oceania and North-East Asia. Moving into Business Development he received global recognition within Syngenta for the innovative go to market strategy initiating the snacking tomato category in Australia.

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In 2012 Levi commenced with the start-up Green Camel. He is co-inventor of their patent pending technology platform which enables the coupling of recirculating aquaculture with intensive organic horticulture and was responsible for commissioning and operational management of the production sites. In recognition of their achievements within the sustainable food sector, Levi with his co-inventor Andy Cameron won The University of Sydney 2016 Alumni Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. 

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Liesbet is transport and freight specialist and experienced senior executive with more than 25 years’ experience in rail, road and transport infrastructure planning in both Australia and New Zealand. Liesbet and the Infrastructure Advisory and Contestability team focus on providing advice on policy and strategic direction, infrastructure planning, market analysis and commercial freight operations across the public and private sector.

Ash Salardini is the Chief Economist at the New South Wales Farmer's Association, the voice of farmers & rural & regional communities in NSW. Working to secure a sustainable food and fibre future, Ash has a keen interest in energy related matters from a consumer and small business perspective, given the energy intensive nature of agriculture, and given that farmers are largely small businesses.

Prior to his work with the Association, Ash has held positions in the private, government and non-government sectors, including Economist at the Australian Railway Association, and policy positions at the NSW Business Chamber, and Department of Premier and Cabinet. Ash studied Commerce/Law at the University of Sydney, and completing an MBA from Warwick Business School. 

Ian Jenson is a microbiologist with degrees in microbiology and biotechnology, and has conducted research on innovation processes. He has worked in microbiological research, quality, food safety and customer technical services in both industrial fermentation and food industries in Australia and a number of other countries.

Ian’s food experience includes and wide range of food products as well as meat. He has been active in professional associations in Australia and internationally, has authored or co-authored over 40 scientific publications or book chapters, and made presentations at a number of Australian and international conferences.

For the past 17 years Ian has led the Australian red meat industry’s food safety research program, working with scientists in Australia to understand how to manage risks associated with meat products, control of meat hygiene, management of shelf life and providing maintaining consumer trust. He also works with the meat supply chain, Australian and importing country standards setters and regulators to ensure that Australian meat is internationally recognised as a safe and quality product.

Murray is the CEO of Steritech, a market leader for sterilisation and decontamination processing. With over 35 years of tenure at the business, he has been instrumental in initialising the Steritech quality system, been influential in steering Steritech from a humble local service provider to an internationally recognised organisation and has successfully driven growth in technology.

Murray thoroughly understands the sterilization business – the customers, the suppliers, the markets, the trends, the competition and the alternate technologies. In September 2016, Murray’s tireless work within the gamma irradiation field was recognised as he was nominated for the prestigious International Irradiation Association Business Laureate Award.

Michael’s main responsibility is delivery of the vegetable industry’s export market development and market access program. He is a management professional with over 10 years of experience in the delivery of large-scale transformation, reform and government efficiency initiatives.

Michael has consulted across a range of industries and sectors, including state and federal government, not-for-profit organisations and industry associations.

Nathan is an experienced manager and policy adviser in the local government and not-for profit sectors. He is a leader in the field of local government with over 20 years of experience, having worked for some of the largest councils in New South Wales.

He is degree qualified in urban planning and has a masters of environmental law. He also has specialisations in community and economic development. In 2016, he became a graduate of the Australia Institute of Company Directors.

Django is an environmental engineer with thirteen years' professional experience across the water industry. As the project lead for Sydney Water's long term strategy, Django influences infrastructure, planning and policy strategies of Sydney Water's future vision, including: planning for Western Sydney's rapid population growth, leveraging value of existing assets, keeping the wastewater system efficient and resilient, managing nutrient loads in the rivers and providing water for liveability (urban greening, industry and residential recycling). 

His experience ranges from hydraulic modelling and process design to strategy development across water and wastewater services. Django began his career in the water branch of NSW Department of Public Works before moving to the Black and Veatch UK to work on projects with Thames Water and Anglian Water. On his return from the UK, he joined Sydney Water where he was formerly the Lead Planner for Integrated Systems Planning.

Alex Kanaar has eleven years’ experience in the recycling and waste management industry.

Currently the General Manager, Growth and Development for Veolia's NSW operation, he was previously the Banksmeadow and Port Botany Facilities Manager and was responsible for the mobilisation and operation of the Banksmeadow Transfer Terminal development. Prior to this, he was part of Veolia's tender team for the 10 Year Contract for Northern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils' (NSROC) Waste Disposal and Processing Services.

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Before entering the recycling and waste management industry, Alex was a professional Rugby Union player representing the NSW Waratahs and Wallabies.