Below is the list of currently confirmed speakers for HDC2025. This page will be updated regularly as new speakers join the program.
Meet the speakers who will be joining #HDC2025 on Day One.
Michael is Director of Strategic Analysis Australia. From 2018 until September 2022, he was the Director of the Defence, Strategy and National Security Program at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) in Canberra.
Before the think tank world, Michael was a deputy in two Australian intelligence agencies – the Australian Signals Directorate and the Defence Intelligence Organisation.
He has worked in two Australian Federal Government ministers’ offices. As the First Assistant Secretary for Strategic Policy in Defence, he led the team that wrote Australia’s 2013 Defence White Paper and also administered defence exports policy and legislation. In his first Senior Executive Service role he led the tender evaluation, selection and contract negotiations for the Australian Navy’s Armidale Class Patrol Boats. His last role in the Defence organisation was as the head of the Contestability Division that provides objective analysis of the overall $270 billion investment program.
Michael was Australia’s senior defence policy official in the Australian Embassy in Washington from February 2005 to June 2007. He was seconded to the UK Ministry of Defence in 1999-2000. He has also served in the Senior Executive Service in both Australia’s Finance Department and the Prime Minister’s Department, where he was head of the Defence, Intelligence and Research Division.
Mick is a highly skilled leader and strategist with more than three decades of experience working in senior roles in the Australian military and beyond.
Mick's work reaches a global audience, and he is a recognised expert in leadership, institutional strategy, technology, organisational adaptation and change management, institutional reform, as well as personnel development. A prolific writer and speaker, Mick's expertise in thinking about and preparing for the future is sought after by institutions in Australia, the United States and beyond.
Mick has a distinctive mixture of experience and skills, underpinned by a foundation of seeking excellence in himself and those he leads. He is known for leading dynamic organisations to overcome adverse circumstances and solve challenging problems. Whether it involves leading the reconstruction efforts for an entire province in Afghanistan or managing institutional change, Mick is most comfortable when leading, or being part of, a diverse team that is focussed on solving complex problems.
While he has his deep experience in institutional leadership and delivering organisational transformation, Mick's first love over his 35-year career has been investing in people. In this technological era, many forget that it is people upon which companies and institutions are founded. To that end, Mick has a deep and abiding commitment to leading and personally investing in people, being an exemplar for continuous learning, and for being their most passionate advocate.
Mick is highly sought after as an in-demand keynote speaker and he has addressed forums, conferences and educational institutions across the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, Indonesia, India and Australia.
Mick is also an adjunct fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC, and a non-resident fellow at the Low Institute in Sydney.
He is the recipient of multiple awards for service and excellence from both Australian and United States military institutions. In 2008 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for distinguished leadership of the Australian 1st Reconstruction Task Force in Afghanistan.
Based in Canberra, John commenced the role of Managing Director in 2019 where he has since been responsible for establishing and growing Kongsberg's business operations in Australia. This has included the manufacture and integration of key sub-systems for the NASAMS Ground Based Air Defence capability, the Protected Mobile Fires capability, and the Naval Strike Missile capability, through an Australian production team and a local supply chain.
Before joining Kongsberg Defence Australia, John worked in Business Development for Raytheon Australia, Fujitsu Australia and Booz Allen Hamilton. This followed a 13 year career in the Australian Defence Force as an Officer in the Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery which included stints in Capability Development Group and the (then) Defence Materiel Organisation.
John is a graduate of both the Cranfield University, having attained a Master of Science (Guided Weapon Systems), and the University of New South Wales where he attained a Master of Management Studies (Project Management) and a Bachelor of Science (Honours Class 1). He was also a qualified Missile Weapons Inspector with the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission. John is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Katherine is an experienced Strategy and Communications leader with a demonstrated history of working in the media industry with a Defence focus. She is skilled in Crisis Communications, Event Management, Media Relations, Journalism, Social Media and Corporate Communications.
Kath is a a strong media and communication professional with a Masters in Strategy and Policy from UNSW @ ADFA, completion of the Defence Industry Study Course (DISC) and an ongoing interest in the Defence community.
Amy List was appointed managing director of Boeing Defence Australia (BDA) in February 2024. In this role, List leads the BDA businesses, capabilities and functions at the organisation’s 13 Australian sites. Her duties include establishing and executing new and existing programs, achieving business objectives, and implementing corporate strategies that position Boeing’s Australian defence activities for continued success.
Prior to her appointment, List was director of Operations where she provided strategic advice to the executive and managed day-to-day operations and administration of the business. From March 2020 to October 2023, she was the director Sustainment Operations where she was responsible for managing the company’s through-life sustainment support and training solutions for military platforms in order to maximise operational readiness while reducing cost of ownership. This included delivering sustainment contracts for Australia’s F/A-18F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, CH47F Chinooks and F/A-18 A/B Classic Hornets; the C-17 Globemaster III logistics support and maintenance; and the Helicopter Aircrew Training System, as well as for the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s CH-47Fs.
List joined BDA in December 2018, performing a number of leadership positions including director of the Structures and Build capability and director of Wedgetail Programs, where she led all sustainment and training programs for the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF’s) fleet of six E-7A Wedgetail aircraft. Prior to Boeing, List spent over nine years at Raytheon in operational and business development roles, including as head of Business Operations for Raytheon Australia, where she was responsible for the successful delivery of all programs across the company’s portfolio, as well as business intelligence and reporting.
List started her professional career as an Aeronautical Engineering Officer in the RAAF. During her tenure, she served in a number of operational roles, before running both acquisition and sustainment programs for the Defence Materiel Organisation. Post-separation from the Australian Defence Force, List ran a consulting business, offering project and risk management services to clients across the defence and mining industries.
List is a graduate of the Australian Defence Force Academy and holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Aeronautical) and a Masters Degree in Project Management. She is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Jeremy King was appointed as the Chief Executive, Lockheed Martin Australia and New Zealand from 23 February 2026.
Prior to this appointment Jeremy served for 36 years in the Australian Defence Force (ADF), with his last appointment being the Head of Joint Aviation Systems Division (JASD) in the Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group. JASD manages products and projects that includes the acquisition and sustainment of helicopters and tactical uncrewed aerial systems for the Navy and Army, and pilot and aircrew training systems for the entire ADF.
In 1989 Jeremy began his career in the Australian Army as a soldier. In 1993 he was commissioned into the Australian Regular Army as an engineer in the Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. He has led at Troop and Sub-Unit level in Army Aviation squadrons and battalion command in a logistics battalion within a combat brigade.
Jeremy has served as a Design Engineer, Program Manager, Project Director, Director General and Divisional Head within CASG. He holds a bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the University of Tasmania, and master’s degrees in Business Administration and Engineering Science. He is a graduate of the Australian Command and Staff Course.
Tim Owen AM is a 32-year services veteran and former Deputy Commander of the Australian forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is a highly regarded defence industry consultant with significant expertise in the Australian Defence Force contracting process and experience working with defence primes.
Meet the leaders who will be joining #HDC2025 on Day Two.
First elected to the House of Representatives in 1996, Joel served as Defence Minister and Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry in the Rudd Government. He also served as Chief Government Whip in the Gillard Government.
Over the course of his 26 years in the Parliament, Joel held a number of Shadow Ministerial positions including Assistant Treasury, Financial Services, Defence, Mining, Energy, Agriculture, Small Business, Tourism and Regional Australia. He was also the Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence & Trade.
Joel retired from the House of Representatives in 2022.
Bret is the Deputy Chair, Hunter Defence Task Force and HunterNet Co-operative Senior Industry Advisor. Bret is a Defence veteran and has worked with the Canadian, US and Australian services. He has spent 20 years contributing to the Australian Defence sector as a chief executive, director and management consultant.
Bret is active in Engineers Australia and has continued to support HunterNet and Hunter Defence since 2005. Bret has supported over 200 SME companies developing their Defence capabilities.
The Hon. Pat Conroy MP is the Minister for Defence Industry, Minister for International Development and the Pacific and the Federal Member for Shortland.
Pat was elected to the House of Representatives as the Member for Charlton, New South Wales in 2013 and, following an electoral redistribution, as the Member for Shortland, New South Wales in 2016 and again in 2019 and 2022.
From 2016 to 2019, Pat was Shadow Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy and Shadow Assistant Minister for Infrastructure. In 2019, he was appointed Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Shadow Minister Assisting for Defence and Shadow Minister Assisting for Climate Change and Energy.
From 2008 to 2013, he was Principal Policy Adviser and then Deputy Chief of Staff to the Hon. Greg Combet, AM, MP, who served as a Minister in the Rudd and Gillard Labor Governments. In these roles, Pat worked in developing significant policies in areas including Defence Materiel, Defence Science and Industry and Innovation.
Nick is the Manager of Pre-Startup Programs at I2N, the University of Newcastle’s Entrepreneurship Hub. In the past 3 years, Nick has publicly taught Gen AI workshops to 884 people and businesses across 17 separate events in Sydney, Melbourne, Hunter, and Central West startup ecosystems. With expertise in accounting, cleantech startups and University education, he enjoys testing how Gen AI can create value for business.
Dr Oleksandra Molloy is a Senior Lecturer in Human Factors and Aviation Safety and the Lead of the Human Factors Research Lab in the School of Science of the University of New South Wales (Canberra). Dr Molloy has also served as the Aviation Discipline Coordinator and an Academic Board Member at UNSW Canberra. Dr Molloy is a research trailblazer and an award-winning leader who conducts multi-disciplinary research in uncrewed/autonomous systems, human factors, safety and risk management (i.e., aviation and road). In the area of uncrewed systems, Dr Molloy has led the first evidence-based research on the use of drones in the war in Ukraine (supported by the Australian Army Research Centre, Department of Defence), continuously research and provide expert views on the role of UAS/C-UAS in the war in Ukraine. In addition, Dr Molloy is leading several Defence Trailblazer projects in collaboration with industry partners (CAE; Praetorian Aeronautics). In collaboration with the Defence Flight Safety Bureau (DFSB), Dr Molloy has led the UNSW team to jointly develop and deliver short courses for the Aviation Safety Officer Advanced (ASO-A) program for senior Defence aviation professionals.
Dr Molloy has a PhD in Aviation (UNSW, Australia); a MSc in Human Factors (University of Nottingham, UK); a Master of Education (Central Ukrainian State Pedagogical University, Ukraine); a Graduate Research Certificate (Kirovograd Flight Academy of National Aviation University, Ukraine); and a Diploma in Aviation Safety (International Air Transport Association, Canada). Dr Molloy has served as a Board Director and Vice President of Education at the Advanced Air Mobility Institute (USA), Board Director and Director of Education at the Women in Aviation (Australian Chapter), Chair of the Human Factors Ergonomics Society Training Technical Group (USA), and a Chair of the Australasian College of Road Safety Women in Road Safety Network (Australasia). Oleksandra serves as the Chair of the Council of Technical Groups of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (USA).
In 2025, Dr Molloy has been named 'Academic of the Year' by the Australian Defence Industry Awards. Dr Molloy was named a 'Woman of the Year' by HFE WOMAN Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (USA); a winner in Research & Development by the ADM Women in Defence Awards; Industry Leader in AAM by eVTOL Insights (UK); Best Researcher from the International Media and Education Studies awards. Under Dr Molloy's leadership, the teams received the following awards: 'Best Training and Development Program' by the Defence and National Security Workforce Awards; and HFES Training Technical Group received Gold Status for the last two years.
If you are speaking at the 2024 Conference, please review the information on the right in relation to your involvement. If you have any questions about your speaking spot, please contact Tim Owen or Bret Barton in the first instance.
A reminder that travel and accommodation arrangements and expenses are the responsibility of individual speakers unless prior arrangements have been made.
Email these details to your inbox for free