Mr Kim Gillis

Mr Gillis was appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer on 24 April 2006 and will perform this role in conjunction with his ongoing duties as Program Manager, Amphibious Deployment and Sustainment Program, which he commenced in September 2004.

Mr Gillis has extensive project management experience in shipbuilding. Previously with Austal Ships (since 2001), in 2002 he took on the position of Vice President Military Projects. He spent 20 years with the Australian Customs Service in various roles, including Director Marine Acquisitions for the Bay Class Patrol Boats. He was the joint bid manager for the DMS/Austal SEA 1444 project and the Austal project manager for the General Dynamics design and construction bid for the United States Navy Littoral Combat Ships.

David Norris

As General Manager Application Services for IBM , David is responsible for the marketing, sales and delivery of all Application Services in Australia and New Zealand. David joined IBM in 1979 and started his career working in the Internal Application Group building and supporting systems for IBM internal use. Since 1992 David has held senior roles in IBM's services business managing the Systems Integration business, Application Outsourcing and large accounts.

David is a certified IBM Project Manager and holds a degree in physics from London University. In his current role, David leads a team of 2000 staff including over 300 Project Managers.

Innovation is a topic in which David has a keen interest. One area in particular which has challenged his thinking is in applying innovative techniques and approaches to highly successful , world class operations. David led the IBM Application Management Services team through 2001-2004 on its journey to gain the highest possible level of achievement in attaining an internationally recognised Capability Maturity Level (CMMi) Level 5 for the organisation. Where to from here? Since the CMMi Level 5 achievement , David has led his team in addressing the apparent dichotomy of implementing innovative change techniques to an organisation already operating at world's best practice.

Wayne Abba

Wayne Abba is a public sector EVM expert who heads up Abba Consulting—a firm that teams with government entities and the private sector on integrated project management solutions. Recent clients include the US Navy, the Federal Aviation Administration and the US Agency for International Development. He is an expert advisor to a US Government Accountability Office team that is writing a Guide to Cost Estimating and EVM for auditors and all agencies. He also is a part-time member of the Research Staff at the Center for Naval Analyses, a federally-funded research and development center in Alexandria, Virginia. Mr. Abba is one of the most sought after presenters on EVM and related topics, with recent engagements in Sweden, Japan, India, Portugal, Turkey and Norway.

In 1999, following a distinguished career with the United States government, he received the Project Management Institute’s Distinguished Contribution Award for advancing project management in the public and private sectors. He is a corporate member of the National Defense Industrial Association and a principal author of NDIA management guides that are being adopted by the US Office of Management and Budget for use by all government agencies and their contractors. As president of the PMI College of Performance Management in 2002-2003, Mr. Abba began development of the Practice Standard for Earned Value Management. PMI published the standard in 2005, making this powerful technique for integrating the project management disciplines accessible to project managers worldwide.

Alan Harpham BSc MBA FAPM FCMC

Alan describes himself as being on his 4th career, as what Charles Handy calls ‘a portfolio manager’. Alan is an independent management consultant; focused on business start-ups, programme management, project management and executive coaching – individuals and teams.

He is the Chairman of the APM Group, a global Accreditation, Registration and Examination Certification Body for key elements of Best Practice in programme and project management (see www.apmgroup.co.uk). Key elements of Best Practice include the UK Government’s PRINCE2, Managing Successful Programmes and Management of Risk (PPM). APM Group started life as the trading arm of the Association for project management in the UK, but became wholly independent in 2000. He is also a non-executive director with Subject Matters, a consultancy specializing in organizing business-to-business events, conferences and exhibitions (see www.subjectmatters.co.uk). He is also helping his son with the start-up a new e-commerce business in the sport and leisure sector – The Sports and Leisure Community Limited (see www.majorsporty.com). He was a founding director of P5 – the Power of Projects, a consultancy specialising in the application of project and programme management in owner/client organisations (see www.p5.co.uk). Prior to this he was Group Marketing Director for The Nichols Group and before that Managing Director of Nichols Associates – a leading UK consultancy specialising in PPM. Before that he was an early director of Cranfield University’s School of Management’s MSc in project management (one of the very first such programmes in the world 1982-86.) He started his career as a civil engineer with John Laing and held various roles there including section engineer through to International M & E Contracts Manager.

He has a big interest in spirituality at work and is a member of www.spiritatwork.org, on the selection committee of the International Spirit at Work Awards, a trustee of MODEM, (see www.modem.uk.com), a steward of www.spiritinbusiness.org, and a member of CABE. He is also a member of the Worshipful Company of Management Consultants. His other interests include hill walking and watching rugby union.

Ali Baghaei

Mr Ali Baghaei commenced work with ADI as director, Naval business group in February 2005.

His wider responsibilities as the VP Thales Naval Australia include the Thales Underwater Systems business.

Before joining ADI, Ali was employed by the UK Ministry of Defence as director of the A$30 billion Future Aircraft Carrier and Maritime Airborne Surveillance and Control projects.

Prior to that, Ali, a chartered engineer, worked in a range of senior management roles in the UK. These included chief marine engineering officer, client's representative for the delivery and acceptance of various classes of new ships, and engineering, construction and project manager with GEC Alsthom for nuclear and combined cycle power stations in the UK and Far East. He was also a general/engineering manager with the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company in the UK and production director with British company Kvaerner Govan, where he was responsible for the production of ships of various classes.

Ali holds a master of engineering degree in mechanical and manufacturing engineering with distinction. He is a fellow of the British Institute of Mechanical Engineers and a member of the Royal Corp of Naval Constructors.

Klaas(Ids) Groenhout

Ids Groenhout is SMEC's Executive Director East, overseeing SMEC's operations in North Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific.
Over the past 30 years Ids has worked in a wide range of surveying and engineering activities in the public and private sectors and in academia. Ids has Bachelor of Surveying (Honours Class 1) and Master of Science degrees from the University of NSW.
Since joining SMEC in 1981 he has had long term assignments in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia and short term assignments in most of the countries in which SMEC operates.
In the past 12 years Ids has undertaken a variety of management roles in the company including Principal Surveyor, Manager CADD, Regional Manager Indonesia and General Manager Highways and Transportation which is SMEC's largest sector group.


Only day available 27/09/06!

Junzo Nakajima

Junzo Nakajima had been engaged in system development for the government and public corporations since he joined Hitachi in 1972.
In 2001, he was appointed to the Corporate Officer and the General Manager of Government & Public Corporation Information Systems Division, Hitachi Ltd. After his two-year career as the President & Chief Executive Officer of Hitachi Data Systems Solutions Holding Corporation (USA), he returned to Hitachi as the Chief Operating Officer of Information & Telecommunication Systems Group in 2005.

He is currently the Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer of Information & Telecommunication System Group in Hitachi, Ltd.

Adesh Jain

Adesh Jain is the first non-European President of International Project Management Association (IPMA), Switzerland since 1965. IPMA comprises 40 countries. Adesh is one of the most renowned project management Gurus who is shaping the profession globally. On his return to India in 1973 from America, he was one of the key architects in laying strong foundation for the Information Technology industry in India for which he was awarded Fellowship by the late President of India, Dr. SD Sharma in 1991.

Adesh Jain is a missionary in leading societies & organizations to become project oriented. He has redefined project management to strategic delivery or realisation of a vision or awakening of a dream.

Peter Dechaineux

Peter Dechaineux is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia. He is a mechanical engineer who served in the Royal Australian Navy for 40 years, retiring in 1993 with the rank of Commodore. During the latter part of his naval career he became involved with many of Navy’s shipbuilding projects and was the Director General of Naval Production from 1986 to 1991. During this appointment he became interested in project management and formed the ACT chapter of the AIPM (then the Project Managers’ Forum) and became the Chapter President. Later, in 1991, he was elected National President for a period of two years and has subsequently taken an active role in the continuing development of the Institute. He was instrumental in pioneering and co-authoring the National Competency Standards for project management and assisted Engineers Australia in developing project management competencies for engineers.