The Hunter Defence Conference continues to evolve as one of Australia’s most influential gatherings of defence, industry and government leaders.
This year’s theme, Building Your Defence Strategy, reflects where the market is heading. Engagement with Defence is no longer aspirational. It is active, competitive and increasingly sophisticated. Organisations that succeed will be those that understand where they fit, who they need to partner with and how to align their capability to Defence priorities.
The Hunter Defence Conference attracts over 280 delegates and keynote speakers from the defence sector nationally.
It is unique within regional Australia and key to promoting regional defence industry capability – presenting a strong and unified voice that is heard throughout NSW industry, the NSW Government, nationally, and importantly, by Federal Government representatives.
All Defence Services and major Defence Primes will be in attendance, providing current insights into capability priorities, procurement pathways and opportunities for industry to engage.
DATES
LOCATION
430 Wine Country Drive,
Lovedale, NSW 2325
FORMAT
08:00 – 08:45 Exhibition & Registration
08:45 – 16:30 Conference
16:30 – 18:30 Networking Drinks
08:00 – 09:00 Exhibition & Registration
09:00 – 16:00 Conference
18:15 – 19:00 Pre Dinner Drinks Function
19:00 – 22:30 Gala Dinner
The Hunter Defence Conference offers attendees, sponsors and exhibitors access to:
Below is the list of currently confirmed speakers for HDC2026. This list will be updated regularly as new speakers join the program.
Meet the speakers who will be joining #HDC2026 on Day One.
Mick spent over 35 years in the Australian Army. He served in East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan as well as on the U.S. joint staff in Washington DC. He is a keen author on the interface of strategy, innovation, advanced technologies, and people, and has published hundreds of articles, and several books including War Transformed (2022), White Sun War: The Campaign for Taiwan (2023) and The War for Ukraine: Strategy and Adaptation Under Fire (2024).
Mick is a strategic adviser to several US, UK and Australian defence-related companies, is the inaugural Senior Fellow for Military Studies at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, and an adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC.
Michael Formosa is in charge of international business operations of Renaissance Strategic Advisors, an aerospace, defence and security consultancy specialising in assisting clients address their most complex and critical issues.
With 30 years of experience in international business planning and expansion, Michael’s expertise covers M&A industry due diligence, R&D pipeline prioritisation and development, regulatory risk analysis, and market prioritisation and capture. He has led hundreds of consulting engagements on behalf of government departments and companies throughout the value chain, from component manufacturers to prime contractors. Michael advises clients on internationalisation and multidomestic strategies, industrial collaboration, transfer of technology/local participation, and foreign direct (capital) investment.
In addition to speaking regularly at various industry fora, Michael has served as an expert witness in US federal court; provided testimony to the UK House of Commons Defence Select Committee on industrial policy; to the Defence Sub Committee and House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on foreign ownership in the supply chain, contributed to the Dunne Review on UK prosperity, and comments on defence and security issues for media outlets.
Before joining Renaissance, Michael was director of Jane's Strategic Advisory Services in London and was responsible for business relationships throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia/ Pacific. For Jane’s, Michael managed bespoke market forecasting, price modelling, competitive, and commercial due diligence projects. He delivered strategic recommendations to senior- and board-level executives across a range of international aerospace and defence firms.
Michael has an MSc in international affairs with a concentration in social and economic development from the New School for Social Research in New York.
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.
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.
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.
Based in Canberra, John commenced the role as Managing Director in 2019 where he has since been responsible for establishing and growing KONGSBERG's Defence activities in Australia.
This has included capabilities including NASAMS Ground Based Air Defence, Protected Mobile Fires Command and Control, Naval Strike Missiles, Joint Strike Missiles, the Global Supply Chain Program, and the establishment of KONGSBERG’s first missile manufacturing and maintenance factory outside of Norway.
Before joining KONGSBERG 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 and Defence Acquisition.
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.
Andrew Bartlett joined Thales in 2025, bringing with him a wealth of experience transforming complex operations across Australia. His career spans senior management roles in Defence Infrastructure Services, Asset Management, Commercial Management, and Airline Engineering and Operations. Andrew is recognised for his strategic leadership and operational expertise.
Before joining Thales, Andrew served as General Manager for Ventia’s Defence Base Services contract, overseeing a diverse portfolio that included strategic asset management, facility management, customer operations, catering, and land and environmental management. During his five-year tenure, he led a major contract transformation programme that significantly enhanced both financial performance and service delivery. Under his leadership, Ventia was awarded SEG Defence Contractor of the Year, and Andrew was named Australian Industry Defence Network Executive of the Year in 2024.
Earlier in his career, Andrew spent more than 24 years in aviation, holding senior leadership positions across multiple operational domains. Notably, he led the Maintenance Operations and Control organisation within Qantas Airlines Engineering, where he was responsible for asset management, technical support, and fleet planning, playing a pivotal role in Qantas’ transformation journey.
Andrew holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Technology Sydney and has completed formal qualifications in Six Sigma Black Belt (General Electric), Strategic Finance (Harvard Business School Australia), and the Company Directors Course (AICD).
Meet the leaders who will be joining #HDC2026 on Day Two.
Nicholas Stevens is Manager of Pre-Startup Programs at the University of Newcastle's Integrated Innovation Network (I2N), where he helps founders and businesses turn ideas into value. Over the past three years he has taught generative AI workshops to more than 1,000 live attendees across 20-plus events spanning Sydney, Hong Kong, Melbourne, the Hunter and Central West startup ecosystems.
With a background in accounting and international innovation, including time working in Israel and alongside Sydney startups, Nick blends persuasive communication with meticulous strategic thinking. He is drawn to cleantech, university education and the practical question of how generative AI can create real value for businesses.
Creative by nature, Nick has a knack for bringing the right people together for initiatives that drive social impact. He enjoys sharing the stories behind these projects with younger professionals to build their confidence and self-efficacy.
Dr Mel McDowall is the Director of the Defence AI Research Network (DAIRNet), an initiative of the Australian Department of Defence and hosted by Adelaide University.
Mel brings a uniquely diverse background spanning clinical, agricultural, and Defence sectors, with expertise across the full technology readiness lifecycle—from “bench to bedside,” “bench to farm-gate,” and “concept to capability.” Her career has encompassed foundational and applied research, operational governance, business improvement, contract management, clinical support, and stakeholder engagement.
At DAIRNet, Mel leads a national effort to connect researchers, industry, and Defence through a collaborative co-design and co-creation model. Under her leadership, the network acts as a national concierge and facilitator, accelerating the development and adoption of AI solutions that meet Defence’s evolving needs.
Mel is a strong advocate for contemporary, strategic models of research leadership, blending academic knowledge with innovation, business acumen, and purposeful collaboration. Guided by the principle “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” she is passionate about enabling diverse, multi-disciplinary teams and building ecosystems that deliver real-world impact. She is also involved in mentoring emerging scientific leaders through the IMNIS program and a strong advocate for women in STEM.
She holds a PhD (Medicine) and a MBA from the University of Adelaide.
When not building networks or shaping strategy, Mel is the concierge of the McDowall household, including two towering teenage sons and a diva Golden Retriever named Alfie. She is also an aspiring powerlifter and starts most days lifting heavy things.
Michael Formosa is in charge of international business operations of Renaissance Strategic Advisors, an aerospace, defence and security consultancy specialising in assisting clients address their most complex and critical issues.
With 30 years of experience in international business planning and expansion, Michael’s expertise covers M&A industry due diligence, R&D pipeline prioritisation and development, regulatory risk analysis, and market prioritisation and capture. He has led hundreds of consulting engagements on behalf of government departments and companies throughout the value chain, from component manufacturers to prime contractors. Michael advises clients on internationalisation and multidomestic strategies, industrial collaboration, transfer of technology/local participation, and foreign direct (capital) investment.
In addition to speaking regularly at various industry fora, Michael has served as an expert witness in US federal court; provided testimony to the UK House of Commons Defence Select Committee on industrial policy; to the Defence Sub Committee and House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on foreign ownership in the supply chain, contributed to the Dunne Review on UK prosperity, and comments on defence and security issues for media outlets.
Before joining Renaissance, Michael was director of Jane's Strategic Advisory Services in London and was responsible for business relationships throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia/ Pacific. For Jane’s, Michael managed bespoke market forecasting, price modelling, competitive, and commercial due diligence projects. He delivered strategic recommendations to senior- and board-level executives across a range of international aerospace and defence firms.
Michael has an MSc in international affairs with a concentration in social and economic development from the New School for Social Research in New York.
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.
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.
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.
Conference packages do not include accommodation. To access the conference accommodation rate, please click “I have a code” and enter the following under Block Code: 2608HUNDEF. Click here to reserve your accommodation.
Ticket terms
Conference tickets are non-refundable, however delegate substitutions are permitted.
Member registration eligibility
A ‘member’ is any organisation that is a Hunter Defence Key Stakeholder: RDA Hunter, HunterNet, Business Hunter, Australian Industry Group, Australian Industry Defence Network, Industry Capability Network NSW, Hunter Defence Support Network, University of Newcastle, TAFE NSW, Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre, and the NSW Government
HDC2026 places a strong emphasis on meaningful
interaction, with curated networking sessions, small group engagements and increased opportunities for direct conversation. This ensures sponsors and exhibitors are not only seen, but are positioned to build relationships that lead to tangible outcomes.
If your organisation is looking to strengthen its presence, build strategic partnerships and play a role in Australia’s evolving defence capability, the Hunter Defence Conference is a platform designed to support that ambition.
Please download the prospectus or Please contact Merran Wiggins, merran@hunternet.com.au | 0414 599 636.
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