Mobility 2024

Ainsley Hughes is a New Mobilities Specialist at Liftango. With a background in social and cultural geography, Ainsley is interested in how DRT and microtransit services can help remove transport barriers and better connect communities (particularly disadvantaged groups) to increased education, employment, healthcare, and social equity opportunities.

Andrew Myers is a data-driven decision-making executive with extensive experience in managing and leading technology teams within large organizations. Having served as Metlink's Customer Insights and Assets Manager since 2020, Andrew has played a pivotal role in enhancing Metlink's operational efficiency and performance through the strategic deployment of technology and data-driven insights, including RTI 2.0 and On-Bus Announcement projects.

Ben is the Australasia Future Mobility Lead, and focuses on connecting energy, transport, and the environment across Australasia and is particularly active in the low emission mobility space, working on policy development and implementation of projects across the UK and Australasia.  Leading multidisciplinary teams, collaborating with local authorities, transport authorities, architectural partners, planners, and other technical specialists, Ben captures and delivers scheme benefits and outcomes. Ben works with clients to help them understand and quantify how decarbonisation and clean fuels impacts their cities and regions and supports them to advocate for a net zero future.

Ben Rippingale started in his Spatial Science career in the early nineties, with the advent of desktop GIS and GPS technologies. He has worked with Government, Mining, and Environmental sector clients to identify novel ways to apply emerging technologies to address previously unsolveable challenges. His background includes data management, remote sensing, satellite imagery, IoT, and AI in a variety of spatially enabled environments. Ben holds an MBA in Strategy from AGSM, and is currently the head of VivaCity Labs Australia and New Zealand operations.

Brendan is a Physicist, Data Scientist and Solution Architect, experienced in designing and developing innovative solution which tackle complex problems across a wide range of domains. He has experience leading programs of work with a focus on thinking differently and adding scientific rigour to decision making processes.

Catherine Rooney was previously the Executive Director - Strategy, Innovation & Data Insights at the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning. Prior to that role, Catherine led Infrastructure Victoria’s research program and the update of their 30-year Infrastructure Strategy.

She has also been Executive Director, System Reform at the Department of Economic Development, Transport, Jobs and Resources, and before that spent a number of years as Assistant Director at the Department of Treasury and Finance.

In addition to her public sector experience, Catherine spent a decade working for The Allen Consulting Group and Deloitte on a range of infrastructure, energy, and social policy issues.

Clément is an accomplished Project Manager & New Mobility Specialist, holding a master’s degree in entrepreneurship and innovation. He has over 7 years’ experience delivering innovative mobility solutions and has supported the first & last mile strategy of numerous on demand pilots operated by Transdev, across Australia and New Zealand. Clément believes that innovation, and leveraging new emerging technologies, is imperative to driving significant commercial and customer experience outcomes for all stakeholders. Clément’s knowledge and expertise place him at the forefront of cutting edge on innovation & new technologies.

Daniel is the Manager of the Reform Team within Transport Network Policy & Reform at the Department of Transport and Planning, and his team worked on designing and managing the delivery of the Accessibility Prioritisation Tool. Daniel's background is in economics, and worked previously at Infrastructure Victoria where he contributed to IV's 30-year Infrastructure Strategy and produced the research and publication Fair Move: Better Public Transport Fares for Melbourne. Prior to this Daniel worked at the Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance in Social Policy.

In his role as Head of Solution Consulting for Asia Pacific, Daniel and his team deliver ATMS, Urban Mobility and Electronic Toll Collection solutions. Daniel is an active part of the Transport Community and He and his wife have 4 daughters and he is a passionate bee keeper and loves a chat so feel free to ask him anything.

David Buckley-Bolt earned his Masters degree of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Strathclyde and International Business from Nanyang Technology University in Singapore. David has more than 10 years of experience with product development, regional group management, business development, and consulting. David is a passionate advocate for adoption of safer, smarter infrastructure.

David Green is a Principal Professional within NTRO’s Mobility Futures group. David has over 20 years’ experience in the road and traffic industry. In addition to working for NTRO, David has also worked in the public and private traffic and transport sectors. David has had a variety of experience in the traffic and transport-related field including projects related to intelligent transport systems (ITS) including co-operative intelligent transport system (C-ITS) and connected vehicles; heavy vehicles operations and key freight routes amongst others.

David is the Director of the Transport Accessibility & Inclusion branch within Department of Transport and Planning, and is a passionate crusader for accessibility and inclusion across our public transport network. Prior to joining the Department David was employed by Guide Dogs Victoria (GDV) as their Business Development and Advocacy Manager. In his time at GDV David spent much of his time advocating for GDV clients who had encountered discrimination or difficulty accessing various parts of the community including public transport. It was through David’s work in this area that he became well known across the public transport sector in the field of accessibility, being appointed to the Public Transport Access Committee PTAC by the then Minister for Transport Jacinta Allan.

Dean is a Principle at Mobility Futures, translating research and emerging technology to the market. His expertise covers ITS fields such as Autonomous and Connected vehicles, on-demand transport, applied machine learning, transport modelling and architecture, and urban design. He is active in the electrification of transport and linking emerging sustainable transport practice to movement and place and is also a research lead at Curtin University. Previously Dean was VP Americas for Liftango, Chief Transport Strategist at Telstra, and Director Infrastructure, Transport and Logistic at CSIRO. He most recently was the technology lead in bringing the first trackless tram to Australia.

Devina has managed international projects on Transport technology advisory in both road and public transport spaces from smart ticketing, innovative operation systems, and passenger services. She leverages her knowledge of ITS actors and transport markets to help develop Smart Mobility advisory projects.

Devina started her career with TRANSDEV in Paris in their Innovation and ticketing department, designing and delivering the first NFC phone-based ticketing service in Europe. She then worked for VINCI in France and in the USA on their toll roads design. Back in France, Devina led SYSTRA Advisory Smart Mobility Department as an Assistant Director, delivering various global projects. While there, she worked on the Baku (Azerbaijan) multimodal network plan and led a Mobility-As-A-Service trial in Copenhagen, as well as the next generation ticketing program for Paris Transport Authority.

Elke Kroft is the founder of Advier Australia and facilitator of multi-disciplinary teams, in the field of mobility, space and smart society, and projects striving for break troughs and result. The daily routine of Elke exists of the combination of working for clients, creating new business, and running the daily business of Advier. In recent years she has been the link between policy and projects within the government, but also in a broader context between private commercial parties, municipalities, and other partnerships.

Erin has been delivering innovative transport projects for her clients for over 18 years’ across the fields of traffic engineering, transport planning and project management. With a Master’s degree in Traffic Engineering through Monash University, Erin is a Technical Director and leader within GHD’s transport team. Her desire for continuous improvement has led her to be GHD’s National leader for their internal Smart Transport Solutions transformation initiative, and global leader for a Future Communities initiative focussing on the complexities of urban networks. Erin is passionate about optimising our transport networks using integrated strategic network planning, technology and systems thinking.

Gerrald Mateo is the Area Sales Manager from Kapsch for the Oceania region, responsible for business development, customer engagement and strategic partnerships in Australia and New Zealand. He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Electronics & Communications Engineering. Before joining Kapsch, Gerrald spent more than 11 years in the automated data acquisition, industrial test and software-defined instrumentation field in a range of engineering, sales and account management roles. He has extensive experience as technical and business advisor to academia, government and industry on applications like big data, industrial internet of things and edge computing.

Inger Gartner has been providing innovative ITS solutions to her customers for the past 7 years, leveraging emerging technologies and data to address the many challenges faced by road users in today's transportation ecosystem.

As Senior Business Development Manager at Cubic, Inger uses a holistic approach, implementing vehicle and Vulnerable Road User (VRU) detection systems, integrating AI and IoT technologies, and fostering stakeholder collaboration to create safer and more inclusive urban environments. Her passion for easing traffic congestion and enhancing safety for VRUs, while enabling access to public transport has a measurable and positive impact in the global regions she serves.

Ivan is a co-founder of Spiketech and has over 35 years experience in various roles across the IT and Travel industries. Ivan has worked with airline, bus, rail and mobility customers across Australia, Asia-Pacific and Europe. Ivan, in conjunction with Steve Petsky established Spiketech in 2021, growing a successful ticketing and reservations services business, leveraging our combined extensive expertise and experience. During the course of his career, Ivan has managed both sales and technical teams and managed businesses across the Asia-Pacific region. He has helped drive change in businesses and various industries with attention focused on nascent technologies and transformational changes wrought by technology. He is comfortable speaking English, Italian and retains some casual Chinese following 2 years spent living and working in Beijing, China.

With over 32 years of government experience, Jason offers professional engineering and management capabilities which have been developed through a thorough and practical knowledge of policy and agenda setting, strategic transport planning, road operations, asset management and project management.

Jason Owusu is the Chief, Data & Digital at the Department of Transport and Planning. He is responsible for the end-to-end planning, delivery, operations and management of the department’s data, analytics, spatial and digital solutions and services for transport, planning and land use.

Jason was previously in the role of Executive Director Data Transformation and before that was the Director of Data Management in the Department of Transport. He is passionate about the intersection of data, AI and machine learning and the potential application of these emerging technologies. His experience focuses on leading through change, increasing operational efficiencies and driving positive outcomes for customers and communities. Prior to his executive career in the public sector, Jason held a variety of senior management roles in the utilities, energy and FMCG sectors.

Jessica is a Solution Consultant for traffic and ITS technology at Kapsch working across the Asia Pacific region. She is currently focused on working with stakeholders and product teams to collaboratively design tailored solutions for smart cities, which include advanced traffic management systems and the deployment of connected vehicle technology.

Jessica has a Master of Engineering (Civil with Business) and Bachelor of Science from the University of Melbourne, where she worked concurrently as a research assistant in the Transport Technologies Group. Jessica also has a background in transport engineering, modelling, and planning and is experienced in developing strategy and advice for the integration of future vehicle technologies (e.g. connected and automated vehicles) and digital transport systems with transport infrastructure.

Prof John Nelson holds the Chair in Public Transport, Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS), University of Sydney. He was previously the Sixth Century Chair of Transport Studies in the School of Engineering at the University of Aberdeen and Professor of Public Transport at Newcastle University, UK. John is particularly interested in the application and evaluation of new technologies to improve transport systems as well as the policy frameworks and regulatory regimes necessary to achieve sustainable mobility. John is an Editorial Board member of several leading journals. He is co-editor (with Corinne Mulley & Stephen Ison) of The Routledge Handbook of Public Transport (Routledge, 2021) and co-authored Transportation in a Net Zero World: Transitioning Towards Low Carbon Public Transport (with Kathryn Logan & Astley Hastings, Springer, 2022). He is currently leading the editorial team for the Elgar Encyclopedia of Transport and Society (to be published in 2025).

Dr Jonathan Spear is Infrastructure Victoria’s Chief Executive Officer.

Previously the organisation’s Deputy Chief Executive, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel, Jonathan has led Infrastructure Victoria’s work on Victoria’s 30-year infrastructure strategy, research program and provision of independent advice to the Victorian Government.

Before joining Infrastructure Victoria during its establishment in 2015, Jonathan held senior leadership, policy, strategy and legal roles with the Victorian Government Department of Premier and Cabinet, Department of Justice, Victoria Police and Slater and Gordon Lawyers.

Jonathan holds a Doctor of Philosophy in History, Executive Master of Public Administration, Master of Laws, Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts (Honours). He is also a legal practitioner, a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Williamson Community Leadership Program, and a director of the Melbourne Forum.

Justin Pounder is General Manager, Flowbird Australia Pty Ltd, focusing on public transport ticketing and payments in Australia. Justin is an experienced General Manager with over 30 years of project engineering, Project and Operations Management across the steel and transport industries. He was involved in the deployment and maintenance of the Opal Sydney Bus System with Downer and more recently spent the last 7 years growing Flowbird's Australian Transport business. In his free time Justin can be found on a beach somewhere helping with Nippers, a soccer field or basketball court supporting his two sons.

With over 10 years in the design field, Kate's no stranger to the fuzzy edges of design. She's well versed in bringing a Human-Centered approach into the corporate world and knows the nitty-gritty of what it takes to make it stick. Kate's been the brains behind many successful projects, both as an insider in large public organisations and as a go-to consultant. She's all about making things work and gets a kick out of seeing design seamlessly woven into the mix. Kate's brings a down-to-earth passion for creating exciting outcomes in the design space.

Kylie Gorham is a transit enthusiast with a passion for public transportation services that recognise the rider at the centre of the user experience. Kylie has delivered transit solutions and services in locations as far apart as Brisbane, British Columbia, UK and Stockholm. Over twenty years Kylie has seen riders transition from using magnetic stripe tickets for fare payment to smart cards, mobile apps and credit cards, and having access to a wide range of real-time information and digital services to encourage and support their journeys. An advocate for public transport access to all, ensuring solutions and services are accessible and cater to the diversity of users is a goal she champions.

Dr. Luisiana is the Principal Transport Planner at the City of Ballarat, leading a strategic and integrated transport planning program for the city. She is a senior urban planner and architect from Curitiba, Brazil, with more than twenty years of experience in executive, technical and research roles, mainly as a local government official, and has recently completed a PhD in Transport Planning at RMIT University. Dr. Luisiana has also worked as the Sustainable Transport Officer at the City of Kingston, and has performed different technical and executive roles for 15 years at the Institute for Research and Urban Planning of Curitiba (IPPUC).

With over 32 years of expertise in the transport industry, Mark is a distinguished figure in zero-emission transport. His journey, from Automotive Electrician Technician to General Manager Fleet and Innovation, reflects a deep understanding of asset management, bus operations, contracts, and innovation. Leading Transit Systems' national E-Mobility and Fleet Innovation, Mark plays a pivotal role in steering the company toward sustainable solutions. Beyond operational roles, he guides teams in New South Wales and the Australian Public Transport division, influencing Transit Systems to achieve Government zero-emission targets. Mark's strategic insights, honed through hands-on experience, position him as a critical industry expert navigating modern transport challenges while championing environmentally conscious solutions.

Marnie’s career in not-for-profit management spans more than 20 years across a range of sectors that build capacity in community or bring communities together to honour culture and ritual. Marnie focuses on understanding both business, community, and client needs, finding creative solutions to increase the client experience. Now working for the National Peak to influence collaboration and advocate for considered change in the Community Transport Sector.

Michelle is a senior executive with broad and diverse experience across management, strategy, governance, project delivery, customer experience, marketing, communications, and policy. She has held senior roles at Public Transport Victoria and VicRoads, leading large teams through transformational change in order to realise the best outcomes possible for users of an integrated transport network.

Michelle is a qualified lawyer and prior to entering the world of transport, she worked in the justice and emergency management portfolios of the Victorian Government. She is passionate about promoting urban mobility for the benefit of customers and broader communities.

She is also the host of the acclaimed Women Who Move Nations podcast, where Michelle interviews senior female transport leaders from around their world who share their views on the future of transport and insights into their professional career journeys.

Minze Walvius is founder of Advier and a versatile entrepreneur, consultant, and opportunity manager. Minze is a networker, an internationally appreciated expert and a much sought-after speaker on very diverse topics within the field of work and the development of Smarter Societies. Within Advier, Minze is responsible for business development and market development and works in various projects on the implementation of (sustainable) mobility and networks of intertwining social- energy- and mobility hubs in new spatial developments. Minze has a strong knowledge link with several Universities, where various graduates work and worked on the neighborhood hub of the future, governance and the integration of MaaS in Living as a Service.

Neil France is a Senior Infrastructure Advisor within Infrastructure Victoria’s Networks & Planning team. At Infrastructure Victoria, Neil has worked on both policy and project assessment with experience in road pricing, public transport fare reform and strategic analysis of major transport infrastructure. He also led research looking into Melbourne’s recovery from the impacts of COVID-19, and was lead author of Infrastructure Victoria’s latest research, Get on board - making the most of Melbourne’s buses. In 2019, Neil was recognised as part of the Australian Financial Review’s Top 100 Future Leaders award.

The inspiration for a career path in engineering takes many forms, and in Neil’s case it was starting with early fascination for all mechanical systems that led Neil to where he is today. His senior management career with Thales Ground Transportation Systems combines a passion for engineering and design, experience in contract and project management, acute business acumen and extensive knowledge of fare collection and ticketing systems across the globe. Neil is currently Managing Director of RAFCS India (a Thales company), delivering services in multiple domains including ticketing, rail signalling and integrated communications.

Nicholas Brook is the Program Director of the C-ITS National Harmonisation iMOVE project (1-083) for the Department of Transport and Planning. His is an RPEQ and Chartered Civil Engineer with a diverse working background including road construction, traffic management, design, contract management, traffic modelling, Managed Motorways, signal optimisations, network operations planning, strategic leadership, and emerging vehicle technologies. He has a passion for maximising social outcomes for road users by using technology for improved safety, efficiency, and sustainability.

Peter Walter is the Business Development Director at Flowbird Australia Pty Ltd focusing on parking in Australia. Peter is an accomplished Sales Director with more than 30 years selling and servicing Enterprise Business Applications and Infrastructure solutions in a range of senior roles at WEX, Xerox, Redflex and now Flowbird. Since 2015, Peter's passion for the transport industry has seen him help both government and private sector deliver Intelligent Transport Solutions (ITS) public ticketing, road safety and parking solutions. In his free time, he can be found somewhere on a golf course or supporting his three boys playing sports.

Dr Rafael Gomez is Associate Professor at QUT School of Design researching mobility and transport, emotion, and experience design. He has published in top-tier journals and books and invited to keynote at leading international conferences. Dr Gomez is founder and lead of the BMW Group + QUT Design Academy, working with BMW Group across a range of emerging technologies (VR, AR, AI, autonomy, robotics, digital twins, advanced human-machine interfaces, etc.) in world-first innovations for real applications. Dr Gomez leads the QUT Design Lab Mobility Futures Research Theme investigating mobility topics regarding accessibility, sustainability, complex systems, human-centered design, digitalisation, future visions.

Rayan D Souza is an ITS Engineer under Ventia for the Western Distributor Smart Motorway Project. Rayan has been working on this project since late May 2023, after initially joining as a commissioning engineer within the project and was responsible for IFAT Testing for all the ITS devices in Colebee that were going to be used in the project. Rayan has hands-on experience with configuring devices like speed signs, FLIR cameras, and message signs. Currently leading the team with upcoming SAT commissioning for the project. Rayan entered this commissioning role career through a previous job working for SICE as a testing engineer for WestConnex stage 3A and 3B projects in Sydney. Overall it has been a fun journey working in the ITS field and Rayan is looking forward to this ITS Australia Conference.

Russ Yell – Regional Director, ANZ, Optibus Russ Yell is a thought leader and influencer at the forefront of global mobility innovation. In his current role, he works with transport agencies and transport operators in ANZ to improve mobility outcomes through the Optibus platform and its ever-increasing suite of capabilities.

Samira Namin is a Technical Director for Electrical Engineering, Roads and Highways, South Queensland at GHD. She comes from a security and surveillance background and has been working in transport industry since 2003. Being involved in federal government projects and dealt with world leading international integrated detection and screening solutions, her working experiences in ITS space include Brisbane City Council, Department of Transport and Main Roads and WSP. She has presented in 2022 ITS Summit in Brisbane, 2022 AITPM Online Technical Conference Series and has gained professional developments such as RPEQ, RPEV, RPEng, CPEng and APEC certificates. She is participating in Engineers Australia mentorship program as a mentor to assist other engineers and community.

Silas Wong is the regional manager for Siemens Mobility’s Mobility as a Service (MaaS) business in Asia Pacific. Being well-versed in the MaaS industry and having worked across domains in the mobility sector including strategy and product management in Germany and Singapore, Silas is actively involved in driving and promoting MaaS in the region. Silas is keen to share his experience and insights with others who are interested in leveraging MaaS to develop sustainable and efficient transportation systems. Feel free to connect with Silas if you are interested in exploring the benefits MaaS can provide.

Steph Bradley is a Director in the Climate & Engineering division, where she leads the Optimal Reality Enablement Team. Optimal Reality is Deloitte's cutting-edge Digital Twin and simulation platform, and Steph plays a pivotal role in assisting delivery teams and clients in maximising the benefits of this powerful tool. Steph worked closely with William and the Department of Transport & Planning team to successfully deliver their Situational Awareness platform, utilising Optimal Reality as the underlying platform. Her expertise in technical project delivery, functional design, and marketing enables her to thrive in solving complex technical challenges and driving transformative changes in the way clients operate and interact with the world.

Tim is a Senior Engineering Fellow at Cubic Transportation Systems. He has 30 over years of experience in the design, development delivery of fare collection systems in Europe, the USA and in Australia, and has held a variety of senior engineering and project management roles including serving as the Chief Technology Officer for Cubic. He holds an Honours degree in Physics and Astrophysics from the University of Leeds, and an MBA from Curtin University.

Timothy works with local transport agencies and bus operators across Australia and New Zealand to launch, operate and grow On Demand public transport services in the region. He works with major agencies and operators across the region as a strategic partner, addressing key operational and growth challenges. Prior to Via, Timothy led the Customer and Sales Operations teams at Cars24, an innovative multinational automotive sales startup. In this role, Timothy honed his Operations skills, working cross-functionally with internal and external stakeholders to achieve strategic business outcomes

Trent is passionate about creating people and place-focused transport solutions. As the Future Mobility Leader for Stantec, he takes a forward-thinking approach to help clients across Australia and New Zealand understand, prepare for and take advantage of emerging technologies and trends.

Tyrell Siew is an experienced industrial designer currently enrolled with Monash University as PhD candidate. He had many accomplishments including 1:4 scale concept design model on display at Coventry University UK, multiple consumer products, car and mining equipment selected designs for production.

William Ho is the Senior Manager for the Project Delivery of Department of Transport and Planning, Victoria’s Situational Awareness Solution. He is responsible for architecting the Situational Awareness Solution platform, leading the procurement process, and successfully engaged Deloitte to deliver the Optimal Reality solution, with Situational Awareness being the first application to be implemented. Throughout the project, William collaborated closely with a diverse team of technical specialists and subject matter experts from both internal and external departments, working alongside Deloitte's Digital Twin team to overcome challenges faced throughout the project. Drawing on his background in Intelligent Transport Systems and his track record of successful project deliveries and management of various transport systems, William plays a crucial role in bridging the gap between the Transport Operation Centre (TOC) and the technical solution provided by Optimal Reality. This integration enables proactive network management and addresses real-time operational challenges, enhancing overall situational awareness.

CEO and serial entrepreneur Zeryab Cheema, is a long-standing mobility expert having invested, founded and exited various transport platforms. At the age of 15, Zeryab launched Taxi 24/7 an iPhone app for the UK Black Cab, which grew to one of the largest payment processors in London for taxis before his exit in late 2016.