AHIA National Conference 2011

During his leadership, Richard has managed the transition from AXA Asia Pacific ownership to a standalone business under the international Health and Care Company, Bupa. In 2008 Bupa acquired the business of MBF and Richard is presently overseeing the integration of the businesses.

The Bupa Australia business has an excellent track record for consistent performance across customer, employee, operational efficiency and financial indicators, including delivering affordable increases for its customers. Richard credits the quality of his people and the strong teamwork culture at Bupa Australia as being key to its success.

Richard is the President of Private Healthcare Australia, a Commissioner on the Australian Quality and Safety Commission, is on the Foundation Board of Very Special Kids, and a Director on a number of other BUPA companies.

Since becoming Health Minister, Nicola has been busy undertaking crucial reforms to build a better health and hospitals system for the future.

Nicola has presided over a 50% increase in health funding for the Nation’s Hospitals; a massive investment in workforce, including a commitment to double the number of GP training places; improving elective surgery capacity and throughput; investment in taking pressure of the Nation’s Emergency Departments and the largest single year investment in Preventative Health.

Jane is a member of the board of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, a board member of the National E-Health Transition Authority and a Commissioner of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. She is also on the executive board of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington and on the Advisory Boards of the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE), and the Melbourne Institute Advisory Board.

Prior to joining CSIRO, David worked for LION bioscience Ltd in the UK, developing genomic data and tool integration software that was used to publish the first human genome and is now used at over 200 pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and research institutes worldwide.

David is a prolific inventor. Some of the products developed and licensed include Ester E™, Garlic Heart Care Formula™, Wine chocolates and LoGIcane™ – the world’s first low GI sugar. He received the SRDC Federal Government award for most innovative functional food product, and 2009 Food Challenge awards for Most Innovative functional food and best in show.

He currently works at CSIRO in Corporate Operations, is appointed as an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine Monash University and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors having served as a Medical and Technical Director on various company boards.

She has a strong interest in dietary patterns for weight management including the role of protein and other dietary factors in appetite regulation.

Manny is co-author of the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet which has sold over 1 million copies in Australia and has received several awards in recognition of her research excellence including 2 CSIRO medals and an Outstanding Achievement Alumni Award by Flinders University. She is currently a member of the Australian Government’s Food and Health Dialogue.

Professor Anderson obtained his PhD from the University of Adelaide, South Australia. His research has focussed on renal mechanisms in the pathogenesis of hypertension, including the roles of renal vascular remodelling and the renin-angiotensin system. He has published over 170 peer review articles.

For his contributions to medical research, Professor Anderson was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2005.

Now retired as Australia’s most capped forward and highest scoring forward in test rugby history, Eales was highly regarded both as a player and as a captain. Since retiring, John Eales has made a successful transition from the sporting arena to the business arena. He was a founder of Mettle Group (a business consultancy), and his personal company the JohnEales5 (now part of International Quarterback, a sports marketing and events company). He is also a director of QM Technologies, Director SAHOF and a Financial Review columnist. He has acted as a consultant for BT Financial Group and Qantas.

He has also written a book, ‘Learning From Legends’. The book has a foreword by former Australian Prime Minister John Howard and talks about different legends of Australian Sport including Peter Brock and Grant Hackett.

Eales gave his name to the John Eales Medal, annually awarded to the best Australian rugby union player. In 1999 he was awarded the Order of Australia (AM) for services to the community and rugby.

In January 2006 Peter was promoted to Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer. He worked closely with Treasurer Peter Costello in areas including budget preparation, taxation, superannuation, prudential regulation, and competition and consumer policy.

Following his re-election in November 2007, and with the change of Government, Peter was appointed to Shadow Cabinet as Minister for Finance, Competition Policy and Deregulation.

In September 2008 he was promoted to his current position, Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing.

Prior to being elected to Parliament, Peter had a variety of jobs. He started his working life at 12 – delivering newspapers, mowing lawns. He also worked after school as a butcher’s boy – a job he continued until starting university. Peter went on to complete a Bachelors degree in Business.

He started in property at 18 and eventually owned businesses employing over 40 staff.

Peter was a police officer for 9 years, working in the Sex Offenders Squad, Drug Squad, and the then National Crime Authority. He left the police in 1999 to manage his business interests full time.

Peter is married to Kirilly and is the proud father of Rebecca aged 8, Harry aged 6 and Tom aged 5.

He is a non resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C.; a Professorial Fellow at the Lowy Institute for International Policy; and president of McKibbin Software Group. Professor McKibbin was a member of the Board of the Reserve Bank of Australia until July this year. He has worked at the Reserve Bank of Australia, Japanese Ministry of Finance, US Congressional Budget Office and World Bank. He has been a consultant for many international agencies and a range of governments on issues of macroeconomic policy, international trade and finance and greenhouse policy issues, global demographic change and the economic cost of pandemics.

Bernard is also a best-selling author of four popular books on demographic change, a twice-weekly columnist with The Australian newspaper, and a business advisor.

Bernard’s views are regularly sought by the business community and by the general media. Bernard is also one of Australia’s most quoted social commentators. He is a regular on many radio and television programs. He manages to combine an astute observation of human behaviour and change with hard data.

Jean recently did a National tour of the play Calendar Girls and appeared as a guest on ‘Talkin’ Bout Your Generation.

She is currently a judge on the ABC TV show Strictly Speaking and a regular panel member on 702’s Thank God its Friday and a columnist with Health Smart Magazine.

She is also one of Australia’s most popular hosts and speakers of conventions, conferences, award nights and other after-dinner frolics.

Jean is also a proud Ambassador for:

• The Macular Degeneration Foundation
• Ovarian Cancer Australia
• Northcott Disabilities Services
• The Junction Works – Disability Services
• Taldumande Youth Services
• The Young Love Foundation

He is the author of seven books including The Hawke Ascendancy (1984), the End of Certainty (1992) and November 1975 published on the twentieth anniversary of the Whitlam dismissal. His most recent book, The March of Patriots (2009), offers a re-interpretation of Paul Keating and John Howard as Prime Ministers. 

Paul has been a Fellow at the Kennedy School at Harvard and a Vice Chancellor’s Fellow at Melbourne University.