Forum Steering Committee

ROD LEAVER

Forum Chair

Mr Leaver is Chief Executive Officer of Asia-Lend Lease. Rod's responsibilities for Lend Lease include all development, project management and construction, public private partnerships and investment management in Australia.

Rod has 30 years' experience in the property investment and funds management industry and joined Lend Lease in January 2008. His has held previous roles in Lend Lease as CEO of Asia Pacific and Global Head of Investment Management where he also had responsibility for the UK PFI business and the US-based Actus Lend Lease.

Previous roles have included Executive Chairman and founder of the ASX listed Ronin Property Group with total funds under management of A$2.4 billion; co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of James Fielding Group, a listed property investment company with $1.8 billion of funds under management and; co-founder and Executive Director of Paladin Australia Limited that, at the time of sale to Deutsche Asset Management, had property funds under management of A$2.3 billion.

Rod was previously a National Director of the Property Council of Australia and was its NSW President for three years. He has also held positions on the NSW Heritage Council, the Historic Houses Trust Foundation and the Property Industry Foundation.

Rod is Chair of the National Business Leader's Forum on Sustainable Development, a member of the Australian Government's Business Roundtable on Climate Change, a Fellow of the Australian Property Institute and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

MOLLY HARRISS OLSON

Forum Convenor

Ms Olson is a Director of EcoFutures Pty Ltd, an Australian-based international policy firm working on building sustainable strategies with business, government and civic leaders. Ms Olson is co founder of Earthmark and an internationally recognised leader on sustainability.

Ms Olson was the Executive Director of the President Clinton's Council on Sustainable Development. She was founding President and CEO of The Natural Step, a U.S. a non-profit environmental education organization working with business leaders. Ms Olson has worked extensively in Australia, including as a consultant to the Environment Minister of Australia when she conducted a major review of the Government's funding for the environment.

Ms Olson was the sustainability expert for the Opening Plenary of the World Economic Forum's 2000 meeting in Davos, and has a significant speaking role on a variety of international speaking platforms. She was the Chair of King Carl Gustaf's Business Leadership and the Environmental Symposium, Stockholm, Sweden 1996, and the Myerhoff Visiting Scholar for Global Civic Responsibility, Goucher College, Baltimore, MD. "Business Class" Magazine identified Ms Olson as a "Woman to Watch into 2000". She serves on the Boards of the Green Building Council of Australia, Fairtrade Labelling Organisation International (FLO), and was founding Chair of the Editorial Advisory Board of “Ecos” Magazine (CSIRO Publishers).

	DR SIMON LONGSTAFF Executive Director St James Ethics Centre Dr Simon Longstaff is a philosopher whose focus is in the field of applied ethics encompassing the wider community beyond academe. He has been Executive Director of St James Ethics Centre since 1991. Established in 1989, the Centre is an independent not-for-profit organisation which provides a non-judgemental forum for the promotion and exploration of ethics. One of the Executive Director's roles is to encourage the process of integrating ethical considerations into the strategic thinking of the management community. More generally, Simon encourages and contributes to the active discussion of ethical issues amongst the widest possible audience. Simon has a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and won scholarships to study at Cambridge, where he read for the degrees of Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy. More information about Dr Longstaff and the Centre is available at www.ethics.org.au
	PHILLIP TOYNE Director, EcoFutures Phillip Toyne is a lawyer by training. Along with his wife Molly Harriss Olson (the former head of President Clinton's Council on Sustainable Development), he is a Director of Eco Futures Pty Ltd, an Australian based international policy firm working on building sustainable strategies with business, government and civic leaders. He is also Director of Australian Agriculture Company (AACo), Integrated Tree Cropping Limited (ITC), CVC Sustainable Investments Pty Ltd and Earthmark Institute. He is President of Bush Heritage Australia, a private conservation organization, which now owns one million hectares of reserves. He lives with his family outside Canberra on a small farm. Phillip was the Deputy Secretary for the Australian Department of Environment (1994-1997). Between 1992 and 1994 Phillip was a visiting Fellow at Australian National University, where he taught environmental law and policy, wrote the Book "The Reluctant Nation". As Executive Director of the Australian Conservation Foundation (1986-1992), Phillip created the National Land Care program in conjunction with the National Farmers Federation. From 1974 Phillip spent 14 years in the desert, first as a schoolteacher in a remote aboriginal community at Haasts Bluff, and then as the first lawyer for the Pitjantjatjara aboriginal people.
	PETER CARRE Managing Director, Water Resources Group Peter Carre has been involved in strategic evaluation, development and implementation of global technology investment opportunities and financial services businesses for more than 40 years. He is a Harvard trained economist and a lawyer who began working in the Asia Pacific in 1969 with the Bank of Boston in Sydney and Tokyo. Peter has worked continuously in and with the region since then, with an emphasis on Australia, China, Japan and India. He has been running, investing in and advising transformative technology businesses for our sustainable future. He lives in Sydney, Australia. He has been CEO of Peter Carre and Associates, Wilshire Global Advisors, Burrill Australia and the Rein Foundation. Peter is now Chairman of the Water Resources Group, Chairman of PowerSense Ltd, Chairman of GreenBox Group Ltd, Chairman of the Momentum Green Fund, Chairman of the Advisory Board of Carbon Strategic Ltd (Singapore), and a director of the Tasmanian Renewable Energy Board.
	ROBERT A. COOMBS President and CEO, Interface Asia Pacific After graduating Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne in 1979, Rob Coombs began work in product marketing management within the grocery industry. After moving on to sales and marketing roles in footwear and apparel manufacturing, Rob moved to the UK in 1988 and joined Interface, a manufacturer of commercial carpets and furniture fabrics. Rob returned to Australia in 1993 but rejoined Interface 1996 as Australian Managing Director. After moving through a number of senior management roles within the company in Europe and Asia Pacific, Rob was appointed President and CEO of a newly formed Asia Pacific division in 2002. Rob is a member of the Board of the Green Building Council of Australia contributing a manufacturer perspective on the need to create a built environment in harmony with nature. Interface Inc., led by its founder and Chairman Ray Anderson, is a leading proponent of sustainable business development via its Mission Zero - a commitment to eliminate any negative impact the company may have on the environment by the year 2020.
	MICHAEL COSTELLO AO Chief Executive Officer, ActewAGL Before his appointment to ActewAGL in 2008, he was Managing Director, ACTEW Corporation, a member of the ACTEW Board and a member of the ActewAGL Joint Venture Partnerships Board from 2003. Michael is a member of the Advisory Council of the Australian National University’s Crawford School of Economics and Government. Michael was previously Deputy-Managing Director of the Australian Stock Exchange. He was Chief of Staff to the Hon Kim Beazley AC, a former Labor Opposition Leader and to the Hon Bill Hayden AC when he was the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Michael has been the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Department of Industrial Relations. He has held a number of diplomatic posts including Ambassador to the United Nations. Michael holds degrees in arts and law. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He received an Order of Australia (AO) in 1996 for international relations.
	REV TIM COSTELLO AO Chief Executive Officer, World Vision Australia As CEO of World Vision Australia, Tim leads an organisation of about 560 staff, with an annual income of about $350 million, and 400,000 children overseas sponsored by Australians. Tim has long been the voice of social conscience for many Australians, having led debates on issues such as gambling, urban poverty, homelessness, reconciliation and substance abuse. Tim studied law and education at Monash University, followed by theology at the International Baptist Seminary Rueschlikon in Switzerland, and a Master’s in Theology at the Melbourne College of Divinity. He has been a Baptist Minister in St Kilda, and in the city at Collins St Baptist Church. Tim continued to serving the local community by successfully running for Mayor of St Kilda in 1993, ending with the State Government's disbanding of councils shortly afterwards. He founded Urban Seed, a not-for-profit Christian outreach service for the urban poor. In July 2004, Tim was named Victorian of the Year 2004. In June 2005, he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). Tim is currently Chairman of the National Australia Bank's community advisory council, a member of the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation, and Chairman of the Community Council for Australia, a peak body for the Not For Profit sector.
	TONY GRAY Director of Sustainability, Visy Tony Gray is Director of Sustainability at Visy having been appointed in May 2008. In this position Tony has director level responsibility for Visy's activities in the following areas:Government relations, public affairs and media management, Environmental management systems, policies and reputation, Community Relations, including liaison with The Pratt Foundation and Public reporting Prior and subsequent to his most recent appointment Tony was Group Public Affairs Manager of Visy and personal assistant to its late Chairman, Richard Pratt. He now reports to Visy’s Executive Chairman, Anthony Pratt. Tony joined Visy in January 1991 and has been a member of the company’s senior management executive committee since that date. Prior to joining Visy, Tony spent more than 10 years in journalism working for the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, ABC radio and television news and BRW Magazine where he was a senior business writer and the producer of Robert Gottliebsen’s television segments. Tony has a Degree in Journalism from the University of Southern Queensland. He is a graduate of the Stanford Executive Program at Stanford University in California. He is married with no children.
	DR JOHN HEWSON AM John Hewson has had virtually four careers as an academic and economist , businessman , political advisor and politician and in the media as a columnist and commentator. In economics he has worked for the Treasury, the RBA ,the IMF and as a Professor and Dean/Head of School. In business he is best known as a Founder of Macquarie Bank, Chairman ABN AMRO Australia and as Chairman/Director of a host of public/private companies and charities.In politics, he worked as an advisor in the Fraser Government and was Leader of the Federal Opposition. In the media, he has written regularly for the BRW, the AFR and comments regularly on radio and television.
	ROMILLLY MADEW CEO Green Building Council of Australia Romilly Madew is the Chief Executive of the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA). An experienced green property advocate, Romilly is actively engaged across the sector both nationally and internationally, being recognised in 2009 by being awarded National Winner of the Telstra Business Women’s Awards (Community and Government). Romilly Chairs the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council’s (ASBEC) Cities of the Future task group; is a steering committee member of the Built Environment Meets Parliament (BEMP) initiative and the Business Leaders Forum on Sustainable Development; Chair of the World Green Building Council - Council Development Committee; committee member of the World GBC International Policy Taskgroup; took a lead role in establishing the World GBC’s Asia Pacific Green Building Network and is on the international taskgroup to develop a Common Carbon Metric.
	GEORGE MALTABAROW Managing Director of Ausgrid George Maltabarow is Managing Director of Ausgrid, a position held since November 2004. He joined Ausgrid as Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary in February 1999 and prior to becoming MD was General Manager, Network, responsible for planning and operating Ausgrid’s electricity transmission and distribution networks. Ausgrid operates Australia’s largest electricity distribution system and is the largest energy retailer in NSW. Under George’s tenure, Ausgrid developed a successful gas and electricity business in Victoria and South Australia in a joint venture with International Power. It also developed one of Australia’s largest infrastructure programs aimed at renewal of the Sydney Central Coast and Hunter electricity networks. George’s former roles included Executive Director of NSW Treasury, where his focus was microeconomic reform, and Deputy Chairman of NSW Treasury Corporation. George is an energy specialist whose career has included utility and policy roles in all sectors of the electricity industry and government energy policy with the former NSW Energy Authority. He is the former Chairman and current Board member of the Energy Networks Association of Australia, Director of the Energy Supply Association of Australia and President of the Electrical and Information Science Foundation of the University of Sydney.
	KIM McKAY AO Director, Momentum Kim McKay’s international career in media, social marketing and sustainability spans over 25 years and every continent. A highly skilled communicator and entrepreneurial marketer, Kim has created and managed many visionary and large scale international projects. In June 2008 she was recognized by the Australian government for distinguished service to the environment and the community and was awarded an Order of Australia (AO), one of that country’s highest civilian honours. She is currently a director of Momentum², a Sydney based social & sustainability marketing consultancy working on local and global projects for National Geographic Society & Qantas among other clients. She is the co-founder of Clean Up Australia and Clean Up the World and is the co-author with Jenny Bonnin of five books in the popular True Green series published by ABC Books in Australia and National Geographic Books in the USA. True Green Kids…100 Things You Can Do to Save the Planet won the AAAS/Subaru Book Prize for Best Hands on Science Book in 2009. Kim is a regular media commentator on environmental issues and practical environmental action and is a sought-after public speaker addressing not-for-profit and business conferences as well as schools & community groups on her rich experiences. She has recently completed a series of on-camera ‘True Green tips’ for Sky News in Australia as part of the weekly Sky Eco Report running through 2009, co-authored a weekly ‘True Green’ column for the Sunday Telegraph ‘Body and Soul’ newspaper in 2007 and was named in G Magazine’s Top 20 Australian Eco Heroes list in the November 2009 issue.
	SAM MOSTYN Non-Executive Director, Virgin Blue Sam Mostyn is currently the Director of the Institute for Sustainable Solutions at the University of Sydney. In this role she is responsible for building collaborative and cross disciplinary projects involving research excellence on a number of sustainability topics. In September, 2010 she was appointed a Non-Executive Director of the Virgin Blue Board. Until September 2008, Sam was Group Executive, Culture & Reputation at Insurance Australia Group. Reporting to CEO Michael Hawker, she was responsible for the Human Resources, Corporate & Government Affairs, Internal Communications and Corporate Sustainability functions and served in this role for over six years. In her time at IAG, Sam oversaw the development of a corporate, social and environmental sustainability plan for the company with particular focus on integrating the company's internal cultural issues and business planning with customer, corporate, community and environmental activities. In that time IAG participated in the formation of the Australian Business in the Community Network, the launch of the Australian Business Roundtable on Climate Change, and the creation of the Business for Millennium Development board. The company also committed itself to carbon neutrality, and to creating a safe, diverse and flexible workforce. Prior to joining IAG, Sam held senior executive positions with Optus Communications in Sydney and Cable & Wireless Plc in London, and between 1994 and 1996 she was a policy advisor to two Federal Communications Ministers before joining the office of the Prime Minister Paul Keating as a senior communications policy advisor. In 2005, Sam was appointed as a Commissioner with the Australian Football League, the first woman to hold such a position. Sam's other board and advisory roles continue to encompass a broad range of interests. She is President of the Australian Museum Trust and a board member of Reconciliation Australia, Australian Volunteers International, and the Sydney Theatre Company. She is the Chair of the Stakeholder Advisory Council of the CSIRO's Climate Adaptation Flagship, a member of the NSW Climate Change Council and serves of the advisory board of ClimateWorks Australia.
	PROFESSOR JOHN THWAITES Chair Monash Sustainability Institute and Chairman Climateworks Australia John was Deputy Premier of Victoria from 1999 until his retirement in 2007. During this period he was Minister for Health, Minister for Planning, Minister for Environment, Minister for Water, Minister for Victorian Communities and Victoria's first Minister for Climate Change. John introduced major reforms to improve Victoria's sustainability and liveability including energy and water efficiency requirements for major industry and a mandatory renewable energy target for Victoria. He also introduced incentives and targets for energy efficiency, reform of water pricing and legislation to encourage conservation, and sustainability requirements for government accommodation. Prior to entering Parliament was a barrister practising in planning and administrative law. He has degrees in Law and Science.
	GABRIELLE TRAINOR Partner, John Connelly and Partners Ms Trainor is a lawyer, journalist and former public sector executive who has consulted in issues management and public affairs for over 20 years. She is a founding partner of John Connolly and Partners, a specialist public affairs and communications firm. She holds positions on a number of boards of public, private, government and community organisations. She is a director of the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, VicUrban, Breast Cancer Network Australia, a member of the Council of St Ignatius’ College, Riverview and other community organisations. She is an Honorary Associate in the Graduate School of Government at the University of Sydney.
	LES WILLIAMSON Vice President, Cisco Australia and New Zealand Les Williamson is the vice president for Cisco, Australia and New Zealand. Within that role, Les is responsible for driving profitable growth through the promotion of the network as the platform for productivity and innovation for businesses, services providers, government and consumers. Cisco is the leading global networking and Information Technology company across the world, providing a wide range of industry best in class solutions based on networking technologies to help drive collaboration, productivity and social improvement. Cisco is a leader in the Australian and New Zealand markets, working closely with major service providers, large, medium and small businesses, educational facilities and health care operators to use the network as the platform for improving the standard of living for Australians and New Zealanders. Beyond business, Cisco works as a leader in corporate social responsibility and also in the promotion of environmentally sustainable work practices through the use of video and Web2.0 collaboration technologies to reduce the need for travel. His prior role was Cisco Client Director, Telstra Sales, where Les was responsible for strong growth in the Telstra account for Cisco, and was instrumental in securing the first IP Core network sale and TelePresence in the Australian market. Les has more than nine years experience with Cisco and more than 19 years in the information technology and joined Cisco in 1999 as an account manager. Les holds a Bachelors Degree in Electronic Engineering from Monash University, Victoria. Les is married to Monique, lives in inner city Melbourne, Victoria, has a 9 year old son Max and 5 year old daughter Edie, and enjoys cooking, gadgets and photography.