Inaugural New South Wales Women’s Safety Commissioner, lawyer and author, Dr Hannah Tonkin, will present the keynote address at Australia’s premier industry conference, the BodyShop News International Collision Congress (BICC).
Tonkin has built an extraordinarily successful international career in a multitude of leadership roles. She worked for many years as an international lawyer and policy adviser at the United Nations in a range of conflict and post-conflict contexts, including Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Gaza, Ukraine and the former Yugoslavia, with a focus on protecting civilians in armed conflict and prosecuting war crimes. She also worked as the Director of Disability Rights at the Australian Human Rights Commission and as a barrister in London and Australia.
As Women’s Safety Commissioner, Tonkin provides leadership and expert advice on whole-of-government policies and programmes relating to women’s safety and gender equality.
Tonkin holds a master’s degree and PhD in international law from the University of Oxford, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar, and honours degrees in law and science from the University of Adelaide. Her book, State control over private military and security companies in armed conflict, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2011.
MORE CONGRESS SESSIONS CONFIRMED
Additional congress sessions have also been announced.
Nurturing Talent – Because without talent what is a business anyway? will feature a panel including Ash Jardine, Automotive Recruitment Consultant, and Michael Wentworth from Apprentices R Us Australia.
As the industry thinks differently about employees regarding mental health, inclusivity and diversity, team culture is now as important as technical skills. The panel will discuss how the industry is adapting, what leaders are doing differently to attract employees, and ways to retain them.
Unblocking the Cashflow Waterfall will feature Robert Snook, Director of UK-based Business Success Global and IBIS Conference Moderator, together with a panel of industry leaders.
The session will examine how the best performing businesses think and work in context, not content, and how understanding functionality, capacity and capability, as well as doing things differently, brings better results. The session will also discuss the benefits of investing time in unblocking the ‘cash flow waterfall’, rather than simply trying to work faster, harder and longer.
“The only difference between high and low performing businesses is implementation,” said Snook. “Everything else is just an excuse. Trust me, hope is not a strategy.”
Leading from the Front – The CEO’s perspectives, will feature a panel of leading international and Australian industry suppliers, including Pierre Nicolau, President and CEO of Celette.
Against a backdrop of unprecedented challenge and opportunity globally, the panel will discuss the current and future market outlook from a CEO’s perspective, providing insight into how they will move toward a better 2024.
“Change for a better future starts with us, the leaders of organisations,” said Nicolau. “It is our responsibility to get clarity on the vision and communicate the strategy to get us there on time. This is our job and why we are on the payroll.”
The BodyShop News International Collision Congress (BICC) will be held at the prestigious Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney from 25 to 26 July 2023. The event is supported by the International Bodyshop Industry Symposium (IBIS) and sponsored by ACM Parts, Celette, Sherwin-Williams, and the VACC, with more sponsors set to be announced in the near future.