Position: Assistant Commissioner - Phoenix | Australian Taxation Office
Aislinn is an Assistant Commissioner in the Australian Taxation Office, Private Groups and High Wealth Individuals and leads the ATO's involvement in the Phoenix Taskforce, a whole of government taskforce comprising 30 members to combat illegal phoenix activity.
The taskforce uses the capabilities of the various Commonwealth and State member agencies to target taskforce priorities and treat illegal phoenix behaviour. Aislinn has been involved in a number of cross agency initiatives domestically and internationally, including Project Wickenby. Until February 2018
she led ATO teams engaging with high wealth individuals and their privately owned groups as well as the Trusts Taskforce.
Aislinn is interested in improving transparency and simplifying interactions with regulators. She has conducted a peer review of Hong Kong’s legal and regulatory framework as part of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes and has reviewed international transparency standards for legal arrangements in Australia.
She holds a BA LLB degrees and is a practising solicitor and member of the Law Society of NSW.
Before joining the ATO she was a partner in a large overseas law firm.
Position: Senior Account Manager and Trainer| DebtCol Software
Involved in our industry for over 30 years, Alex has a broad range of experience with respect to debt collection, field services, investigation activities and software development. He has also held the position of National President of the Institute of Mercantile Agents.
Having started his career as a telephone collections officer collecting on both commercial and consumer debts with TNT Express and AGC, Alex moved on to create his own field services and investigation company Express Mercantile, that he successfully operated for some 26 years before it was acquired by Risk and Security Management in 2017.
In April 2018 Alex took on a role as a Senior Account Manager and Trainer with Debctol, a debt collection and field services software system, where his in-debth industry knowledge will assist the company and its clients achieve their desired objectives.
Alex is proud to work to support the AICM as a panellist in this session.
Position: Senior Associate | Lynch Meyer Lawyers
Alice is a key member of the Lynch Meyer debt recovery and credit management team and works Australia wide with a range of small to medium enterprises and large corporations. Her focus is to understand her client’s business and their objectives to deliver commercial advice and outcomes. Alice represents creditors resolving unfair preference claims, has acted in respect of bankruptcies and provides strategic advice about the Personal Properties Security Act. Alice regularly appears in all Court jurisdictions for debt collection, personal and corporate insolvency.
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Alice was recognised as the South Australia 2017 Young Credit Professional of the Year and is a Councillor with the SA Division and a Certified Credit Executive. She is also a committee member of Women’s Insolvency Network South Australia and a member of ARITA.
Position: Credit and Payments Manager - AGL
Alison joined AGL in January 2018, as Credit & Payments Manager. Alison has worked in credit for over 15 years in the Utilities, Insurance, FMCG & Mining sectors, and has previously led Credit departments at IAG Insurance & Pacific Brands. Alison’s current responsibilities at AGL include leadership of Credit Operations, Collections Delivery functions, Payment Solutions, and Hardship.
Alison has been a member with the AICM since 2011 and was awarded the Victorian YCPA (Young Credit Professional Award) by the AICM in 2012.
Position: Partner | Jirsch Sutherland
Andrew has a wealth of experience in all facets of domestic and international business restructuring and insolvency.
Andrew has over 19 years experience in corporate recovery and insolvency gained through working in Australia and the UK, where he assisted distressed businesses. He joined Jirsch Sutherland in 2011 and in 2015 received the Consultant of the Year NSW Pinnacle Award from the Australian Institute of Credit Management.
His expertise is diverse and he’s worked in sectors such as:
- Hospitality
- Retail
- Wholesale
- Building and contruction
- Financial services and investment
- Manufacturing
- Publishing and printing
Position: Chief Executive Officer | Australian Banking Association
Anna Bligh is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Banking Association. Her priorities include strengthening the culture in banking and delivering the right outcomes for customers.
Anna has had a long and distinguished career in politics, and was the Premier of Queensland for almost five years until March 2012. She was also Deputy Premier and Treasurer of Queensland and held ministerial responsibilities in Education, Social Welfare, Arts, Economic and State Development and Infrastructure.
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Anna’s leadership came to national and international attention as she led the response and recovery effort to devastating floods in Queensland in January 2011.
Prior to joining the ABA, Anna was the CEO of YWCA NSW, a not-for-profit organisation striving to build a safer world for women and children with programs and services dedicated to ending domestic violence.
In recognition of her eminent service to the Parliament of Queensland, and as an advocate for education, the role of women in public life and services to the not-for-profit sector, Anna received a Companion in the General Division of the Order of Australia award in the 2017 Australia Day Honours list.
Anna holds Honorary Doctorates from the University of Queensland and Griffith University.
Anna Bligh is a non-executive director of Medibank Private and Bangarra Dance Company.
Position: Partner | Results Legal
Driven by a desire to achieve outstanding results in every matter, Anna has been providing clients with successful outcomes in commercial litigation, specialising in legal recovery, commercial litigation and insolvency (both personal and corporate).
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Client focused in her approach, Anna handles all matters with the highest level of attention to each client’s individual requirements.
Experienced in both state and federal court jurisdictions, Anna’s record demonstrates a clear ability to resolve matters quickly and efficiently whilst promoting the client’s objective at all times.
Position: Head of Credit Management and Debt Recovery | Fletcher Building, New Zealand
Cheryl is a finance and credit professional with over 30 years’ experience in NZ, Australia and Europe holding a BA (Hons) in Business from University of West London, CICM (Grad) and is a member of AICM and RITANZ. Cheryl has held senior roles in trade credit insurance, professional services, telecoms, building and construction sectors across multiple jurisdictions and has written several articles on current issues in credit management. Cheryl is Head of Fletcher Building Credit Management and Debt Recovery function and has a special interest in PPSA. Cheryl is passionate about adding value to the business through back office transformation and preparing the workforce and functional processes for digitalisation.
Simon has also held executive positions in Australia as Chief Financial Officer of Sydney Airport and AAPT. Before moving to Australia Simon spent 10 years working for AT&T in Europe, latterly in Paris as the European Chief Financial Officer responsible for more than 300 staff in 13 countries.
Simon qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Coopers & Lybrand and holds a degree from the University of Oxford in English Literature.
Position: Partner, Restructuring Services | KPMG
Carl joined KPMG in August 2009 and has over 25 years financial and operational restructuring experience. He is a restructuring specialist having led teams in complex operational and financial restructuring programmes across multiple industries. He is a leader in the field of using data analytics to aid in the restructure of organisations. He is regularly called upon to undertake counterparty risk reviews for industry and government. He is national Turnaround lead for KPMG and head of their NSW practice. Carl is also Vice President of the Turnaround Management Association and a member of the Board.
Chris Belegrinos MICM
Position: Partner, Accounting Clerical | Sharp & Carter
Having commenced his career in a large international firm, Chris now has over 9 years' recruitment experience across the Accounting Support space, specialising in Accounts Payable/Receivable, Credit and Payroll positions. He is a Partner and oversees Sharp & Carter's Accounting Support team.
He has degrees in Arts and Commerce (majoring in Banking and Finance) from Deakin University.
Chris is a passionate sports follower, particularly when it comes to NBA and AFL.
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Position: Chief Technology Officer | IBM Security
Chris Hockings is the CTO for IBM Security Australia and New Zealand. He is responsible for representing the IBM global security strategy within the local market, helping guide IBM customer cyber security programs around compliance, advanced threat and digital transformation.
Chris brings his extensive client experience and thought leadership to the IBM Security Australia Research and Development facility, to help the lab design and develop globally competitive offerings across cyber security products and services.
Chris is an expert in leading strategic customer solutions for Security and enjoys helping clients work through transformation digital programs with security as front of mind. Chris is an IBM Master Inventor, a title that reflects a sustained contribution to IBM Security's patent portfolio. Chris is CISSP certified.
Daniel Close MICM
Position: Manager, Accounting Clerical | Sharp & Carter
Daniel has 8 years of Accounting Support recruitment experience across the Melbourne market. After graduating from Australian Catholic University, Daniel commenced his recruitment career with a large international firm and now Manages Sharp & Carter's Accounting Support Team.
Daniel has specifically focused on recruiting Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable and Payroll positions from the junior though to the senior level and has formed excellent relationships with a large number of large corporate firms as well as SME's.
Enjoys keeping fit and loves following all sports, in particular the Western Bulldogs and Arsenal.
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Position: Reporter | ABC
Dan Oakes is a reporter with the ABC’s Investigative Reporting Team, and has reported extensively on phoenixing and loopholes within Australia’s corporations law.
He was previously a reporter at The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, covering sport, business, crime, defence, foreign affairs and national security.
Position: Partner | TurksLegal
Daniel joined TurksLegal in 2005 and is the practice head of our Commercial Disputes & Transactions Group.
Daniel has over 17 years of experience in the areas of trade credit, commercial litigation and insolvency. Daniel represents insurers, large corporates, SMEs and insolvency practitioners.
Daniel is a leading expert in the rights and obligations under the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (“PPSA”).
Daniel has represented various trade creditors and insurers in relation to high profile insolvencies including Clive Peeters, Angus & Robertson, Borders Bookstores, Timbercorp, WOW Sight and Sound and Retravision.
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Daniel’s work involves all aspects of advice and litigation on a national basis in the following specialist areas:
· trade credit insurance recoveries;
· retention of title claims of trade creditors and rights and recoveries under the PPSA;
· commercial disputes;
· debt recovery actions and winding up and bankruptcy proceedings;
· representing liquidators and bankruptcy trustees in recovery actions arising from insolvency administrations;
· negotiating and documenting commercial settlements, including security documents;
· defending unfair preference claims; and
· PPSA.
Daniel is a frequent presenter of training programs on topics related to his areas of legal expertise.
Daniel has written for a number of industry publications and has been quoted in articles published in the Australian Financial Review and the Sydney Morning Herald.
Position: Head of Commercial Solutions, Southern | Equifax
David has over 20 years of experience in Credit Risk Management, both as a practitioner and consultant working for companies such as ANZ Bank, GE Money, Telstra, Macquarie and now Equifax. Leveraging analytics and automated decisioning, David’s primary focus has been on developing and implementing business strategy, technology and process optimisation throughout the entire credit lifecycle of both consumer and commercial portfolios.
David leads the southern-based team focused on delivering commercial services and solutions for credit providers, which in turn enable customers to more effectively manage the risks associated with providing credit. He holds an MBA from Deakin University which included completion of Asian Intensive School for Advanced Management – Business in Asia.
Position: Political Economist
Angus is a political economist and a journalist specialising in the impact of disruptive technologies on society. He was the founding community manager of Random Hacks of Kindness, a global initiative from Google, IBM, Microsoft, NASA and the World Bank to create open-source technology solutions to social challenges..
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He was also the first editorial manager for Global Policy, one of the world's leading international policy journals. He holds a PhD in Government and a Masters in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics, where he was the Ralph Miliband Scholar from 2009 to 2012.
Position: Senior Manager, Credit & Collections - Asia | Vertiv
Gaynor Lawler holds the position of Sr Manager for Credit and Collections - Asia with “Vertiv”, a global business that designs, builds and services critical infrastructure to enable business continuity.
In this role, Gaynor’s focus is on collections efficiency and reduction of past due receivables in the Asia region.
Gaynor has 16 years tenure with Vertiv and has enjoyed an incredible journey, holding a number of management roles. Starting as a Credit Manager, in her first week in the job she was asked to review the terms and conditions of a building contract. She informed her boss that her CV did not say she had any experience in contract law. His response was, “there is no time like the present to learn”.
This new learning paid off, as Gaynor was offered the position of Contracts Manager for the $180M NBN project won by her company in 2011 where she played a significant role in the contract negotiations of the project.
Gaynor holds a “CCE” status and prior to joining “Vertiv” built a wealth of credit experience in different industries.
Outside of work Gaynor enjoys driving a race car, an environment where a cool head and nerve defines winners.
Position: Leader, Policy & Thought Leadership | Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand
Geraldine is Leader, Research and Thought leadership at Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. She leads Chartered Accountants thought leadership program as well as being responsible for policy and technical guidance around business issues, including the digital economy, technology and its impact on accounting, diversity and cyber security to Chartered Accountants, government, regulators and business. Recent research papers have included the Future of Business, the Future of Talent, the Future of Work and the Regulator of 2030.
Geraldine is a chartered accountant with over 25 years of experience in the finance and auditing profession including over ten years with Big 4 accounting firms in London, Sydney and Adelaide and in-house roles with a major Australian bank and the Australian subsidiary of a global media and entertainment company. Prior to joining Chartered Accountants ANZ, she was a senior manager at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), where she was involved in the strategic direction and management of the accountants and auditors team.
Position: Managing Director | Housing Industry Association
Graham Wolfe’s career in the building and construction industry spans over 35 years. Over this period he has held roles variously responsible for and overseeing building design and construction, building assessment and compliance, building structural and fire safety, building regulations and legislation, the development of building codes and standards, and building information and stakeholder awareness initiatives.
Graham has completed a civil engineering trade, a structural engineering honours degree and a Masters Degree in Management.
He has held positions on a range of Ministerial Councils, including the Victorian Housing Minister’s Advisory Council, the Victorian Building Advisory Council, the NSW Home Building Advisory Council, and was the Chair of the NSW Ministerial Building Regulation Advisory Council for four years.
Graham’s focus over the past 15 years has been on the residential building industry. With some 40,000 HIA members across Australia, he dedicates his time to informing HIA’s national membership on all aspects of the residential building industry, from building, technical, planning and contractual matters to industry activity projections, housing affordability, environmental sustainability, building materials, skills’ development, licensing and government regulations.
Having held a number of senior roles with HIA including Deputy Managing Director, Graham was appointed Managing Director on 28 August 2018.
Position: Lawyer | Ledlin Lawyers
Unfortunately, "Do you play basketball?" is the #1 question I get asked.
Yes, I am tall. Not the 5ft10-Victoria’s Secret-model-sorta-tall-but-not-really-that-tall kind. I'm the 6ft2-wow-she's-not-wearing-heels kind!
The good thing is, I'm a better lawyer than I ever was a basketball player. Height really does make for great lawyering and as one old chap once said to me in the Supreme Court elevator, "Use it to your advantage, because us lawyers need all the help we can get."
I do just that in commercial litigation and dispute resolution, where a certain presence and persuasion can often be key on and off the court (room). With my commercial and no-nonsense approach, "slam dunks" are something I truly enjoy striving for in credit management and insolvency.
But beauty really is on the inside (of the firm), and behind the scenes I'm well-versed in great letter writing, drafting commercial contracts, and providing valued advice with the team at Ledlin Lawyers. And, no, I'm not related to Lauren Jackson but thanks for asking.
Position: General Manager, Commercial Solutions | Equifax
Ian has more than 15 years’ experience across financial services and the credit industry. His team provide subject matter, product and solution support directly to customers and account managers. The Equifax Commercial portfolio covers Business Entity and Company data and PPS and Property data.
Ian’s team cover the spectrum of industries and client needs – each specialist team member focuses on particular industry verticals to provide a greater depth of insight and knowledge. The Commercial team supports a range of services and solutions for credit providers that enable customers to more effectively manage the risks associated with providing credit.
Position: Partner | Lynch Meyer Lawyers
“Smart credit is both science and art”, says James, something he has learned over many years. James is a senior Lawyer who has been active in the AICM for 25 years in a series of roles as educator/presenter, State Councillor, Division President, Director of Legal Affairs and now as National President.
James acts for creditors, collection agents and all types of insolvency practitioners and so understands the whole credit cycle from every perspective.
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He has combined his professional working life with his involvement with the AICM given the ever increasing complexities of specialist credit/ recovery/ PPSA/ insolvency law. James acts nationally to protect creditors. He brings to bear his broader experience in acting for creditors or insolvency practitioners. There is not a commercial/ recovery/ insolvency dispute that James has not seen from the inside from every angle for all the stakeholder players.
His final words to all credit managers, “Credit wisdom accumulates across the whole of your credit career. Learn it, get it right and then do it right – that will give you the edge in any credit fight!”
Position: CEO & Company Secretary | ARITA
John took on the role of CEO of the Australian Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association in February 2014.
John has taken the lead on ARITA's advocacy and thought-leadership work, fronting many parliamentary inquiries on behalf of the profession and working collaboratively with stakeholders, such as Treasury, Attorney-General's, Productivity Commission, ASIC and AFSA on policy development.
John was previously the Head of ACCA Australia and New Zealand. ACCA, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, is the global body for professional accountants with close to 600,000 members and students throughout 183 countries.
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John has worked as a senior marketing and communications professional across the recruitment industry, membership organisations and the banking and finance sector.
John’s community service encompassed over 20 years as a volunteer firefighter in the NSW Rural Fire Service, where he served as Captain of a Sydney-based Rural Fire Brigade and was awarded Life Membership in 2014. He was a State Executive (Board) Member of the NSW Rural Fire Service Association from 1998 to 1999.
He was a Councillor on Sydney’s Pittwater Council from 1992-1995, including serving a term as Deputy Mayor.
Position: Managing Director | Results Legal
Karl is the managing director of Results Legal, a national legal firm which specialises in protecting and promoting the rights of creditors.
Karl’s team is preferred legal provider to some of the largest trade credit businesses in Australia, as well as a range of banks, finance companies and insurers.
Karl personally has over 15 years’ experience in commercial litigation, insolvency and debt recovery. During this time Karl and his team have represented the interests of hundreds of trade creditors in utilising the legal process to recover debts and resolve disputes ranging from $2,000 up to $56m.
Karl is an accomplished presenter, regularly speaking at AICM conferences and as part of other national speaking engagements, on a range of topics including statutory demands, PPSA, preference defences and privacy law reform.
Position: Co- founder | EDX
Kim has specialised in PPSA consultancy and registration services since similar legislation was introduced in New Zealand in 2001/2002 - he is a co-founder of EDX.PPSA is a natural area of interest for him – he is a former receiver and liquidator and then headed up the recoveries division of a major NZ bank, before “jumping the fence” to the good side, rebuilding the business bank book as NZ emerged from recession in the early 90’s. This means he is expert in enforcing security, taking security and managing security.
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He relocated to Melbourne in late 2010 to lead EDX’s entry in to the Australian market. When asked about the biggest challenge, he replied that “It is really hard to get companies to take PPSA seriously. If the NZ experience is anything to go by, companies often come to us when they have suffered an (avoidable) bad debt. There is every indication that a similar trend is emerging in Australia and that outside of the well informed few, most Australian businesses will be under prepared and consequently over exposed to risk of bad debts.”
Outside of work, Kim’s main passion is yachting and even though he thoroughly enjoying living in Melbourne, he pines for the sparkling waters of the Hauraki Gulf.
Position: Partner | Lander & Rogers
Lily is a partner at Lander & Rogers. She is an experienced expert litigator and negotiator, specialising in personal and corporate insolvency, recoveries and financial and security disputes. Lily regularly acts for creditors, insolvency practitioners (such as liquidators, administrators and trustees), directors and their related entities.
Lily provides candid and pragmatic advice to her clients in order to achieve the best commercial outcome.
Lily's insolvency experience includes:
- insolvent trading claims;
- voidable transactions, including unfair preferences, uncommercial transactions, unfair loans and unreasonable director related transactions;
- matters relating to the Personal Property Securities Act 2009;
- acting for administrators/directors in voluntary administrations;
- preparation of Deed of Company Arrangements; and
- drafting, and advising on, security documents.
Lily also acts in commercial disputes, such as:
- contractual disputes;
- restraint of trade disputes;
- banking disputes;
- professional negligence matters, including in the provision of financial advice;
- property related disputes including leasing disputes; and
- franchising disputes.
Position: Partner | Jirsch Sutherland
Malcolm's experience as a corporate regulator and investigator gives him an edge when conducting investigations and preparing evidence briefs relating to breaches of the law, including the Corporations Law, State and Federal Crimes Act and the Casino Control Act 1991.
Malcolm has more than two decades experience in the public and private sector. He advises on both personal and corporate insolvency matters. Malcolm focuses on advising the best possible outcome for all stakeholders.
Malcolm has gained significant experience working across a variety of industries including:
- hospitality
- retail
- wholesale
- building and construction
- financial services and investment
- manufacturing
- publishing and printing
Position: National Credit Manager | Stoddart Group
Maria is the National Credit Manager of Stoddart Group with over 8 years at her company and over 17 years within the credit industry.
She has a Cert IV Financial Services (Credit Management) & Diploma Financial Services (Credit Management) and has been an AICM Member for 14 years.
Maria was announced as the QLD Young Credit Professional (YCP) in 2004 and won the National YCP award in 2009.
In her spare time she volunteers for the council, including the women in credit committee which she has been part of for the past 4 years. She also enjoys going to personal training and obstacle races.
Position: Founder & CEO | Australian Academy Sales
With over 27 years of daily sales experience, and ten years running a professional development training centre, author and entrepreneur, Mark Garbelotto is Australia’s premier business, leadership and sales training professional.
An interior designer by profession, Mark began his sales career with a lighting manufacturer in the middle of the early 1990’s recession. Learning sales techniques the hard way, he went on to run his own interior design and construction business, generating millions of dollars in sales over 13 years.
Recruited as an independent sales representative by the Australian Communications Network in 2005, he was so successful at ACN that he began training his own sales team in Australia and New Zealand, going on to train at regional and national conferences.
By October 2007, he had formed his own professional development business, Wealth Empowerment Institute, which became the Australian Academy of Sales (AAS) in November 2010.
Mark was an accredited Brian Tracy International trainer and led the Australia-wide Eat That Frog tour.
Position: Joint Managing Director | AMPAC Debt Recovery
Mark has over 30 years experience in debt recovery and credit reporting, covering all segments of industry and commerce throughout Australia and the Pacific Region. Having been involved as director and shareholder in the formation of 3 successful debt recovery businesses, Mark is experienced in business improvement and performance management methodologies as they relate to debt recovery and commercial credit risk management.,
In Mark's current role at AMPAC, his client base includes some of Australia's highest profile private and public sector organisations, where credit risk management and the recovery of overdue debts is a high priority,
Position: Founder | Quietly Powerful
Author of “Start inspiring, stop driving: Unlock your team's potential to outperform and grow,” Megumi expands leaders’ mindsets and skill-sets to inspire diverse talent to flourish. Read other articles and hear about future events/talks through Megumi’s newsletter www.megumimiki.com. Megumi brings together 20+ years of experience in Leadership Development, Organisational Development, Change and Business Strategy and is the Founder of Quietly Powerful.
Quietly Powerful (QP) movement aims to help quieter professionals to succeed authentically, with the bigger aim of helping to expand the definition of what good leadership looks like. Access additional resources and program information at https://megumimiki.com/quietly-powerful.
Position: Founder & Managing Director | Change Meridan
As a recognised expert in organisational complexity, and Author of ‘Step Up – How to Build your Influence at Work’, Michelle’s work lives at the crux of understanding, architecting and leveraging change.
With more than twenty years’ senior executive experience across multiple industries, her expert ability to work with the flow and pace of change has seen her navigate uncertain and ambiguous environments and secure sustainable outcomes with focus and grace.
Michelle has Undergraduate Degrees in Communications and Commerce, a Masters in International Trade, a Graduate Certificate in Compliance Management and Certification by the International Federation of Compliance Associations.
She is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Fellow of Finsia and the Australian Institute of Management, and alumnus of Leadership Victoria’s Williamson Community Leadership Program.
Through her passion and advocacy for a new approach, Michelle has built a distinguished reputation across the Asia-Pacific region as the keynote speaker, advisor, facilitator and executive mentor of choice for many leading edge corporates and global organisations.
Michelle is a sought after media commentator with appearances on: Sky News TV, Today Show Extra, Radio National Drive, Radio 2UE and other Syndicated radio station. She regularly writes and appears in The Age/Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, Australian Financial Review, news.com.au, Herald Sun, Women’s Agenda, Huffington Post, The CEO Magazine, The CEO Institute, Inside HR, Australian Institute of Management, Elle, Mamamia, and Marie Clare (to name a few).
Position: Group Managing Director, Asia Pacific | Equifax
Mike joined Veda in March 2015 with an extensive career in financial services, spanning more than 25 years, both in Australia and abroad. Mike’s roles have included time at National Australia Bank, CRO at ANZ (Australia), CEO at GE Money Australia & New Zealand and CEO of OAMPS Insurance Broking. Mike has knowledge of Comprehensive Credit Reporting from international markets and has been one of the original champions of CCR in the Australian market.
Mike has held numerous directorships and chairmanships with WesFarmers, ANZ and GE. He is a senior fellow of Finsia, has been Director of the Women’s Cancer Foundation since 2006 and served as a director of the Australian Finance Conference until 2009 and National Insurance Brokers Association until 2014.
Position: Lawyer & Practice Director | Ledlin Lawyers
Natalie is the Practice Director of Ledlin Lawyers, and was admitted as lawyer in 2009 after graduating from a double degree in psychology and law. Owning and running her own business has given her particular insight into the challenges that her commercial Clients face on a day to day basis.
One of Natalie’s many strengths is her determination to make a difference. She takes the time and makes the effort to fully understand what her Clients are trying to achieve. Often what appears on the surface as a legal issue is really a business issue, or a communication issue.
Natalie is an experienced litigator and appears in all Court jurisdictions, with a special expertise in insolvency. She regularly advises senior management on their business issues.
Position: CEO | AICM
Nick is an experienced credit professional with over 20 years’ experience.
He has held roles in technology, property management and debt collection both in Australia and the UK. Prior to taking on the full time CEO role at the AICM he was National Credit Manager at Ricoh Australia.
Nick was the 2005 Australian Young Credit Professional of the Year and served as a volunteer on the NSW Council and National Board. He holds a CCE and is a CPA.
Outside of credit he enjoys spending time with his family and occasionally finds time to watch a game of Rugby Union.
Position: Chief Economist | HSBC
Paul Bloxham is HSBC’s Chief Economist for Australia, New Zealand and Global Commodities. He is chief spokesperson for HSBC on forecasts and trends for the Australian and New Zealand economies and their interaction with global financial markets and international economies. Paul is also a key spokesperson on HSBC’s unique view on global commodity markets and works closely with HSBC’s global equities team in this regard. Paul is a critical member of the HSBC Global Research team, working with 350 analysts, economists and strategists in 24 countries.
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Paul has published a number of papers, including on housing and household finances, asset prices and monetary policy and global commodity market trends. Paul is a regular commentator on local and international business television and a frequent contributor of opinion editorials to the Australian newspapers. Paul is also a member of the Australian National University's Shadow Reserve Bank Board and is an Adjunct Professor at Curtin University. Prior to joining HSBC in 2010, Paul Bloxham spent 12 years as an economist within the Reserve Bank of Australia's Economic Analysis Department where he headed up the overseas economies and financial conditions sections, as well as working on domestic forecasting and prices. He holds a Master's degree in public financial policy from the London School of Economics.
Position: Legal Recoveries Manager | CCSG Legal
Paul has 22 years’ experience in the collections industry within collection agencies and law firms and is a qualified solicitor in NSW.
Paul currently holds the roles of Head of Collections and Legal Recoveries Manager with the CCSG Group of Companies.
As well as being focused on collections Paul has also been involved in the business development and growth of a number mid-range collection agencies.
In 2008, at the height of the GFC, Paul seized an opportunity to work for a UK law firm specialising in the provision of pre and post appointment auditing and reporting to finance providers and insolvency practitioners.
Paul has significant experience in managing teams dealing with consumer, insurance and commercial recoveries with a focus on customer service and compliance.
Position: Head of Credit & Collections | Vodafone
Richard has 23 years of Credit Management experience holding a number of National Credit Management roles as well as Senior positions within the Mercantile Industry.
He has had end to end responsibility for large consumer and commercial portfolios and has lead a number of major automation projects covering risk assessment and collections.
Richard is experienced in outsourcing key functions both on and offshore including credit assessment, 1st party recoveries, debt collection and legal recoveries.
Position: Partner | Brooke Bird
Robyn Erskine is a Partner of Brooke Bird a Melbourne based Insolvency and Restructuring practice and has been actively involved in the insolvency industry over the last 30 years where she has undertaken a wide range of formal and informal assignments in diverse industry segments. She is a Registered Trustee in Bankruptcy and a Registered Liquidator.
Robyn is a director of ARITA where she was President from 2011-2013.
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Robyn is also a member of the AICM Vic/Tas Divisional Council and a member of CPA Australia’s Victorian Divisional Council. In January 2015, Robyn was appointed to the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) SMP committee where she represents CPA Australia and CAANZ.
Position: Managing Director | Housing Industry Association
Shane Goodwin is the Managing Director of the Housing Industry Association with over 30 years experience in industry policy and service delivery for Australia’s residential construction sector. HIA has over 40,000 members and is Australia’s largest association serving the constructors of houses, apartments and residential developments in Australia. HIA Economics and HIA’s consultancy arm, Australian Construction Insights (ACI), are leaders in qualitative and quantitative analysis and research into industry activity, conditions, trends and behavior. This informs HIA’s forecasts and assessments of economic conditions and modelling of future trends.
Having chaired and served on a wide range of industry and government advisory boards and committees, Shane has a long involvement in developing industry policy including building and planning codes, contracts and procurement policies, codes of practice, and tendering and quality systems.
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After early grounding as a lawyer, Shane had extensive onsite experience working with a number of civil and commercial constructors managing a diverse range of contractual, commercial dispute resolution, industrial relations and project issues. Shane has held a number of senior state and national building industry roles. Shane has been based in Canberra since 1993.
Shane has been prominent in a number of HIA’s public and lobbying campaigns to support and improve the housing industry, including development of the First Home Owner support schemes, workplace reform, green building initiatives and taxation reform.
Position: Chief Executive Officer | illion
Simon is passionate about data and has extensive experience in using data to uncover insights and meaning for businesses. Prior to joining illion in early 2016, his 20 year career spanned a wide range of financial and commercial roles globally. Simon has held varied roles including Chief Financial Officer and Chief Data Officer in organisations as varied as AAPT, Veda, and Sydney Airport, both here in Australia and throughout Europe. Simon is a qualified Chartered Accountant with Coopers & Lybrand and holds an English Literature degree from the University of Oxford.
Position: Executive Manager - Partners, Products & Developments | National Credit Insurance (Brokers) Pty Ltd
Terry’s experience in credit related business have been developed over the past 40 years. Throughout this time he has worked for a number of multinational companies running credit teams in the UK and Australia. He’s been the Managing Director of businesses in collections, credit reporting, credit management consultancy and credit insurance.
Terry is most well-known for his roles with National Credit Insurance where he has been for the past 27 years. Through this time Terry has held numerous senior management roles at NCI from general management roles, managing branches, sales teams, client service teams and managing marketing & relationships. After this time, Terry still finds the broking role fascinating and varied. The most notable highlights from these roles are the various insights gained from all industries, appreciating that everyone is different, with different needs. While the most rewarding is the genuine gratitude received from a client when a claim payment is made, which ultimately has a positive effect on their business.
Terry is passionate about the privilege of leadership and the necessity to provide a fun environment and culture in which to work, along with the mentoring and support of staff to enable them to grow and reach their full potential.
Position: Special Counsel | Ledlin Lawyers
Terry Ledlin from Ledlin Lawyers is well known in the Credit Management industry. He is a regular contributor to the AICM magazine and has presented at the AICM National Conferences on several occasions.
Terry has acted for many years for large and small companies, multi nationals and Government Agencies. He has a wealth of experience when it comes to the vital need-to-know laws for Credit Managers. Solving complex commercial problems is Terry’s specialty. He can always find a solution even where none seem to exist.
Terry has regularly presented at seminars and conferences both in Australia and overseas and has a knack for memorable and entertaining presentations with relevant and practical content.
Position: Senior Executive Leader, Insolvency Practitioners Stakeholder Team | ASIC
Thea Eszenyi is the recently appointed Senior Executive Leader with ASIC's Insolvency Practitioners stakeholder team.
Thea has over 30 years' experience in insolvency and restructuring including senior positions in a multi?disciplinary accounting practice and a specialist insolvency and restructuring firm, where she gained experience across international, national and SME markets.
Thea is a registered liquidator, a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand (and past Regional Councillor and Chairperson for SA & NT), a member of Australian Restructuring, Insolvency and Turnaround Association (and past workshop leader), and past Deputy Member of the South Australian Legal Practitioners Conduct Board.