Guest Speakers

2021 Sports Hall of Fame inductee Jana Pittman’s story is a roller coaster of triumph, defeat, failure and success. She will take you on a journey through the peaks and troughs that helped shape her career and build her into who she is today.

Two times World Champion, four times Commonwealth Champion, in the sport of athletics, Jana Pittman personifies resilience and determination. When continued injuries hampered her athletic career and could have signalled retirement, she swapped the track for the ice. Jana joined the Australian Women’s bobsleigh team, to become the first women to represent Australia in both a Summer (2000,2004) and Winter Olympic Games (2014).

Off the track, Jana completed a Bachelor of Medicine & Surgery) and is now a registrar in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. She has completed a Masters of Reproductive Medicine at the University of NSW and has initiated her PhD in Obstetrics (focusing on aspects of uterus transplantation).

Jana was a participant in the gruelling television show SAS Australia on Channel 7 and more recently she joined her 16-year-old son Cornelis on Channel 10’s ‘The Amazing Race-Australia’, raising money for the hospital she works at ‘The Royal Hospital for Women’. Jana recently released her second book ‘Enough’ in early 2023.

Despite her career success, Jana says her greatest achievement is being a mum to her 6 children, following the birth of twins in 2022.

Duncan Taylor is the Founder, Director and former CEO of the Country Universities Centre which has established an affiliated network of 18 community driven and connected Regional University Study Hubs operating through NSW, Queensland and Victoria.  He was the inaugural Chair of the original CUC Snowy Monaro Centre from which the network expanded, and now sits on a number of the various CUC Centre governing Boards including at Broken Hill, Griffith, Narrabri/Moree, St George/Dirranbandi, and Cooktown.

Duncan was President of the Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association of New South Wales from 2012 to 2015 and is a Life Member of the Monaro ICPA Branch.  On the ICPA NSW State Council he held the Tertiary Portfolio.  He has been a Board Member of TAFE NSW from 2015 to 2019, and a Regional Engagement Committee Member for Central Queensland University.

Duncan is a sheep and cattle farmer at Nimmitabel and was the Volunteer of the Year for South Coast and Southern Inland NSW in 2019 for his work in regional education.

An experienced leader in multi-disciplinary roles at a senior executive level, Wendy brings extensive management and business operations experience, excellent networks and a substantial track record in stakeholder relations across the government, business and for purpose sectors.

With a career built around the power of education as a catalyst for change and a passionate commitment to regional and rural Australia, Wendy believes the Country Education Foundation’s focus on enabling local communities to support rural and regional youth to access further education, career and personal development opportunities is a simple and compelling proposition.

Wendy holds formal qualifications in Social Sciences (BEd), Business and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She serves on a number of Boards and Expert Panels that have an Education and/or regional development focus.

As an unabashed technology geek, Julian has a deep understanding of the AI world and how associations can use AI to improve their operational performance and make a greater impact on the sectors they represent.

Having worked extensively in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK, Julian has a knack for making complex topics easy to grasp. He loves to showcase practical ideas through stories and examples that people can relate to. Hearing Julian speak will be a fabulous opportunity for all 2024 ICPA (Aust) Federal Conference attendees.

Lyndall Stoyles is Telstra’s Group General Counsel & Group Executive Sustainability, External Affairs & Legal, joining the company on 1 April 2020.  In addition to providing legal counsel to the Telstra Board and CEO, Lyndall leads a function responsible for providing legal counsel, policy advice, stakeholder management and community programs across government relations, regulatory and compliance, sustainability and regional affairs.

Lyndall has significant experience in legal and external relationship roles and joins Telstra from Caltex where she was Executive General Manager for People, Communications and Governance as well as Group General Counsel and Company Secretary. At Caltex, she led a team of 120 people, focussed on how drawing on the capability of the legal, risk, corporate affairs and HR professionals to better manage Caltex’s non-financial risk, protecting and promoting Caltex and empowering its people.

Prior to this, she was Group General Counsel and Company Secretary at Asciano where the team managed the commercial and regulatory issues in the rail and ports industries during a time of fundamental industry change, including structural changes to the competitive dynamics of the ports industry. She was previously Senior Legal Counsel and GM External Relations at Patrick, part of the Asciano group of companies. She has a background in competition law and access regulation, having spent 15 years at Clayton Utz where she worked in the Corporate and Competition law teams.

Born in regional NSW but growing up in Sydney, Lyndall studied law at the University of Sydney. She has a passion for breaking down barriers and prejudices, creating opportunities for inclusion and building diverse teams.  Lyndall has balanced her corporate career with an interest in a range of social justice issues and has worked in the not-for-profit sector with organisations involved in the indigenous community and asylum seekers.

Gavin was appointed Chief Development Officer Regional & Remote in October 2019, bringing more than five years of experience at NBN Co and 25 years within the telecommunications industry across Australia.

Gavin has held leadership roles that have spanned engineering, product management, marketing and strategy disciplines across consumer, business and wholesale markets.

Prior to joining NBN Co, Gavin held positions in Telstra, Optus and was principal of an independent consultancy. He was a Board Director of Southern Cross Cable and is currently a Director of Regional Arts Australia.

Gavin holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree (Hons) from the University of Melbourne and a Master of Business Administration from Macquarie University.  He is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.