Connecting Industry

Matt Jones is the General Manager at Homeground Villages in Gladstone, Queensland. With a strong background in construction, operations, and workforce accommodation, Matt brings a practical and people-first approach to managing one of the region’s most essential accommodation facilities. At the helm of Homeground Villages, Matt oversees the delivery of high-quality accommodation and services for major project workforces, ensuring c...

Maria Baker is the ACCIONA Energia Queensland State Lead for Community and Stakeholder Engagement, Engineering, and Construction. With a diverse background spanning business, local government, the energy industry, and relationship management, she embarked on her renewable journey in 2020 with the Macintyre Wind Farm Project. Her passion for sustainable energy has driven her career, and as Queensland’s Lead Stakeholder Engagement fo...

Simon Lever is the Managing Director of CROSS Asia Pacific. CROSS Asia Pacific provides expert consultancy services in Health, Safety, Environment, and Quality (HSEQ), risk management, business strategy, and project management, helping organisations across various industries enhance safety, compliance, and operational effectiveness throughout the Australia-Asia Pacific region.

With over 26 years of experience as an HSEQ practitione...

Tony Martins is the Co-Owner and Managing Director of Australian Training Works Group, where he has dedicated himself to building pathways for skills development and workforce readiness. A highly respected leader and innovator across multiple industries, Tony also serves as Director of the First Nations Greentime Energy Group, championing renewable energy solutions that empower Indigenous communities and promote sustainable develop...

Kris Cotter is the Managing Director of Synergy Safety Solutions. Synergy Safety Solutions is dedicated to helping businesses navigate their unique safety challenges with tailored, practical solutions to create safer workplaces, fostering confidence and compliance while supporting a strong safety culture.

Kris is a passionate health and safety professional with a remarkable journey that began in the construction industry. As a sing...

Ilaria Giovannetti is the Strategic Sales Manager for Renewable Energy at Rohlig Logistics. With a focus on tailored supply chain solutions, Rohlig Logistics has been at the forefront of the industry for 172 years globally and 51 years in Australia, offering expertise in air freight, sea freight, customs, projects, and contract logistics. Ilaria brings 18 years of global logistics experience to her role and with her passion for ren...

Michael Myer is the Executive Chairperson of Sunshine Hydro. Sunshine Hydro are developing a Superhybrid Project in Queensland, a pumped hydro with green hydrogen project being developed in three stages. Sunshine Hydro's vision is to play a key role in decarbonising the planet using technology and have re-imagined long duration energy storage projects to deliver 24/7 carbon free energy. Michael is a serial entrepreneur with venture...

On this week’s Connecting Industry Podcast we have Dan Whitmore, Business Development & Strategy Manager Eastern for Decmil. Decmil has supported and constructed some of Australia’s major iconic infrastructure projects across Australia. Decmil provide design, engineering and construction services for the infrastructure, resources, and energy sectors and provide residential, industrial, and commercial construction.

Dan is an ind...

Gavin Loyden is the Founder and Managing Director of QEM Limited. Gavin is responsible for QEM’s capitalisation, exploration program and development of QEM’s Julie Creek vanadium and oil shale project.

QEM Limited is a publicly listed company focused on the exploration and development of its flagship Julia Creek Project, covering 250km² in the Julia Creek area of North Western Queensland. The Julia Creek vanadium and oil shale proj...

Greg Elkins is the CEO of Global Power Energy (GPE); an advisory company he founded in 2021 to meet the growing demand for renewable energy and energy storage solutions. He has previously led the connections assessment teams for AEMO and Energy Queensland. At AEMO, Greg was responsible for connecting more than 3 GW per annum in his role as Head of Connections.

Greg's mission now, through GPE, is to deliver success for clients in th...

Damian Vermey is the Project Director for Ark Energy’s Boomer Green Energy Hub, a wind farm development located approximately 30 km south-west of Marlborough and 70 km south of St Lawrence in central Queensland. Damian’s extensive engineering, project, and people management experience, has provided high quality power and water products ranging from hydro power plants, to wind farms, and power system design solutions. Throughout his...

Cory Ebenestelli is the Director at MitiLabs, an innovative company that specialises in providing cutting-edge solutions and products to companies across a wide range of industries including the resource and construction sector. Starting as an electrician, Cory founded Mitilabs to develop innovative IP for companies that need it most. In that time, he has developed HAVTrack, a device that can assist in preventing significant and pe...

Chris Davenport is the Queensland State Manager for Tranz Logistics, a specialist transport company working in the pipeline, mining, rail, energy, civil and construction sectors. Starting his career as an apprentice Plant Mechanic working on earth moving equipment, Chris’ love for the Transport industry began when he started traveling from site to site working on machines which was followed by working with the likes of Chubb Securi...

Tim Keeffe is the CEO of Actrua Performance Cultures, a company that’s passionate about supporting the true Growth of individuals, teams, and organisations. From working with companies like BHP, Glencore, Hastings Deering, Thiess, and Rio Tinto, Tim has an extensive background in operations, management, and leadership with career foundations in the Australian Military. Actrua Performance Cultures are an award-winning performance cu...

Mark Smithwick is Onsite Rental Group’s Northern Region General Manager. Onsite Rental Group is a specialist equipment hire provider delivering intelligent rental solutions to businesses across Australia. Mark is a qualified and highly motivated leader, skilled in leading and coaching teams in customer service, and asset and operations management. Mark is adept at developing business improvement strategies and customer relationship...

Willem Robinson is the Business Development Manager for STEINERT Australia. From traditional and trusted magnetic separation equipment, right through to sensor sorting technologies, STEINERT Australia have developed intelligent separation and sorting solutions for a range of industries throughout the Mining, Resource Recovery, Scrap, Waste and Recycling sectors. Willem is an experienced Chief Sales Officer with a demonstrated histo...

Scott Walton is the managing director and owner of CQ Soil Testing. CQ Soil Testing specialise in the investigation, sampling and testing of soil, groundwater, and geotechnical work for the domestic, industrial, government, and mining sector. After working in the domestic market for 10 years, over the next decade, CQ Soil Testing expanded into the commercial and industrial markets and the mining industry including geotechnical...

Brad Waldon is the managing director of the Corehesion Group. The Corehesion Group transforms processes and deploys a suite of combining application modules to facilitate proactive planning and safety management for heavy industry. From starting his working career as a mechanical engineer to an analyst programmer, and even a high school teacher, Brad began Waldon Services developing custom built software for heavy industry however,...

James Moohan is the chief executive officer of Vertical Horizonz Australia. Vertical Horizonz Australia provide tailored safety training to various industries. With a solid background in operation management, business development and leadership, James started his working life as a plumber and then with the New Zealand Defence Force. On leaving the military, James reentered the construction industry as a senior project manager with ...