Connecting Industry

#38 James Thomas: Risk Services Australia

James Thomas is the Principal of Risk Services Australia, a company that assists organisations manage safety risks effectively by monitoring, auditing and contract managing, to resolve risk management issues through leadership in sustainable improvement strategies and streamlined systems. James current industry collaboration has involved spearheading Australia’s Wind Construction Safety Forum, currently undertaking the “Yaamagara” initiative, aiming to benchmark training in wind construction to create a pathway of employment for Regional & Indigenous workers ahead of the 2022 construction boom.

#37 Garry Douglass: Gladstone Training Services

Garry Douglass is the Managing Director of Gladstone Training Services, a Registered Training Organisation delivering certificates and licences for the Resources and Construction sector. Garry was a part of industry training from his high school years with his parent’s running a successful RTO in Perth, Western Australia. After 20 years of Mining and Offshore Oil & Gas experience he decided to utilise his knowledge of the training sector to provide a flexible, inclusive training service to local Gladstone businesses and individuals.

#36 Tim O’Brien: Job Skills Network

Tim O’Brien is the Director of JobSkillsNetwork, a business dedicated to recruitment and business growth for regional areas.  Describing himself as a Business Talent Scout, Tim assists businesses in regional areas, including within the resource and construction industry, to source and attract the right talent, for their highly-skilled and hard-to-fill positions, ensuring their businesses can continue to grow and thrive.  With a strong background in HR and Recruitment, as well as Finance and Business Leadership, Tim is passionate about talent acquisition, commercial strategy and helping ambitious people to fulfil their potential.

#35 Jack Trenaman: SMW Group Ltd

Jack Trenaman is the CEO of SMW Group, an engineering and maintenance services company working in the mining and construction industry including rail and defence. With 30 years’ experience in the areas of industrial manufacturing, process and mining equipment maintenance, and management, Jack started as a Fitter Machinist, moved up to a maintenance manager, and worked in the coal industry including the management of contracting companies, prior to moving into the engineering business and co-founding, the SMW Group.

#34 Robert Dark: Industry Queensland

Robert Dark is the publisher of Industry Queensland, an online publication producing information on mining, construction, and infrastructure development predominately across Queensland. From growing up in a mining region to becoming a journalist in Central and Northern Queensland, to starting Industry Queensland as a print publication in 2004, Robert talks about the future, current issues and opportunities in the resource sector including the future of coal, critical minerals, the renewables industry, and the effects of the battery revolution.

#33 Peter Jones: The Australasian High Pressure Water Jetting Association (AUSJET)

Peter Jones is the Chairman of the Australasian High Pressure Water Jetting Association (AUSJET), the peak national industrial services representative body with members across Australia and internationally. Formed initially as a response to injuries sustained in the water jetting industry, AUSJET exists to strengthen safety standards for business and industry working in the Water Jetting, Drain Cleaning, Vacuum Loading and Hydro Excavation Industries. Peter has more than 20 years of management experience in the Service Industry and moved into the Industrial Service Industry in 2004 and is currently the business manager at KOR Equipment Solutions in WA, South Australia, and the Northern Territory.

#32 Mike Ferraro: Strandline Resources Limited

Mike Ferraro is Strandline Resources Ltd Technical and Marketing Director. Mike is a resource industry professional with 30+ years’ experience and is a qualified metallurgist. His experience includes significant roles including Managing Director of Doral and Chief Operating Officer of MZI as well as earlier technical and operational management roles with Cristal and Simcoa. Specific to mineral sands, he has managed completion of bankable feasibility studies, operational readiness from greenfield for several operations and subsequent management thereof, as well as oversight on several expansions including design, approvals, project management and market development.

#31 Nigel Hunt: Metronet

Nigel Hunt is Metronet’s, the single largest investment in public transport Perth has ever seen, Morley-Ellenbrook Line Principal Project Director. Nigel has over 30 years of experience in the design and construction of passenger, freight and heavy haul railways and his experience includes management roles for the design and construction of Perth’s last major new railway line to Mandurah. In the Pilbara, he has worked on major railway and non-process infrastructure projects for the mining sector.

#30 Sarah Smith: Scenario

Sarah Smith is the CEO of Scenario, a company that offers project, portfolio and enterprise-wide solutions, by providing a platform to manage project delivery, collaboration and processes for large to major projects. Sarah took over as Scenario’s CEO in June 2019 however, she started working for Scenario almost 21 years ago, initially starting her career in Quality Assurance, then specialising in providing workforce management solutions for mining for 15 Years, before stepping into various management roles within the organisation. 

#29 Vincent Algar: Australian Vanadium Limited

Vincent Algar is the Managing Director of Australian Vanadium Limited. Vincent is a geologist by profession with over 27 years’ experience in the mining industry, spanning underground and open cut mining operations, greenfields exploration, project development and mining services in both Western Australia and Southern Africa. Since 2015 Vincent has been Managing Director of Australian Vanadium Limited and is responsible for advancing the company’s high-grade Australian Vanadium Project in Western Australia with its mine site south of Meekatharra and processing plant location between Mullewa and Geraldton.