Asia-Pacific's International Mining Exhibition 2027

Reg has built a distinguished career in metallurgy and gold mining over the past 25+ years. After studying Chemistry and Extractive Metallurgy at Murdoch University, he began his journey at Telfer Gold Mine in 1997. Reg has since held senior roles across multiple Australian gold operations and now serves as Principal Specialist Metallurgy at Gold Fields, supporting both Australian and International sites. He plays a key role in transferring successful practices from Australia to global operations, driving consistency and innovation across the business. A strong advocate for mentoring and practical training, Reg combines deep technical expertise with a passion for continuous improvement. Known for his approachable leadership style and trademark question, “What’s the worst that could happen?”, he continues to inspire teams and enhance operational performance. Reg lives in Albany, WA, with his wife Juls.

Eric Croeser is a distinguished leader with over 18 years of experience in the mining and natural resources sectors. As the Managing Director for Accenture's Mining and Metals business in the APAC region, Eric leads transformative initiatives that harness artificial intelligence, advanced technologies, and human ingenuity to unlock value across the mining value chain. His leadership spans Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, India, and China, where he collaborates with industry executives to drive innovation, strategic growth, and sustainable impact. A strong advocate for the Australian Mining Equipment, Technology, and Services (METS) sector, Eric serves on the board of Austmine, contributing to the advancement of industry innovation and collaboration. His career is marked by a proven ability to champion technology-driven advancements in mining, with key leadership roles across Australia, South Africa, and beyond. With a background in mining engineering and a master’s in business administration, Eric is passionate about leveraging AI and technology to shape the future of mining, enabling organisations to achieve operational excellence and deliver long-term value creation.

Dr Marcus Cattani is an Associate Professor in Occupational Health and Safety, and, Deputy Director of the MARS Centre. Marcus has worked as an academic, occupational hygienist, HSE Manager and consultant in the mining, oil and gas, chemical, manufacturing, and engineering industries for over 30 years. Marcus's teaching and research focusses on improving the management of injury risk to an acceptable level, and assisting organisations develop the risk management partnerships required to achieve this. In 2025 Marcus is focusing on safety in the agriculture industry, in particular, translating some of the injury prevention techniques used in other industries.

A graduate of UNSW and the University of Sydney with postgraduate qualifications in Chemical Engineering and Marketing Strategy, Taylor initially commenced his career with ALS. After joining BHP in QLD in a number of roles, including Process Engineering and Operational Improvement roles, he moved back to Sydney to commence the Industry Manager role at Endress+Hauser. Over the past 7 years there, he has developed the global go-to-market strategy for the Mining and Metals sectors, helped developed products specifically aimed toward the mining industries unique challenges, and consulted on numerous process improvement applications using smart instrumentation.

Tristan Freemantle is a mining professional with more than 23 years of global experience spanning operations, project management, and capital studies across Australia, Africa, and the Middle East. Currently Principal Specialist: Studies at Gold Fields Limited, he has held senior leadership roles including Interim General Manager and Operations Manager at the Gruyere JV Gold Mine. Tristan holds three Master’s degrees in Engineering Management, Business Administration, and Project Management, and is recognised for delivering operational excellence, driving innovation, and building high-performing teams in the mining industry.

Charlie is responsible for the stewardship and implementation of business planning that delivers on the strategic goals of RFDS South Australia & Northern Territory (RFDS SA/NT). Charlie is the executive lead for the strategic planning/delivery of RFDS SA/NT’s fundraising and tourism businesses, as well as its brand, marketing and stakeholder engagement strategies that build community reputation and trust with its corporate and government funders. A son of a farming family, Charlie is a former journalist and editor, award-winning communications practitioner with a genuine passion for rural and remote communities – the people, their values and their cultural and economic contribution to Australian society.

Matt is a dedicated Safety and Sustainability Leader with in excess of 20years of experience across Mining, Infrastructure and Energy sectors. His experience lies strongly in environmental and sustainability management associated having lead expert teams across Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Aggreko is a global supplier of modular power, temperature control and energy services. Through our commitment to ‘energising change’ Aggreko is a leading Independent Power Producer, providing renewable and hybrid power solutions to the Mining Sector.

Simone Celeste is Senior Director of the IoT Practice at Hitachi Digital Services, where he leads the design and delivery of advanced digital solutions that integrate Information Technology and Operational Technology across mining, rail, and manufacturing environments. He played a key role in the delivery of AutoHaul®, the world’s first fully autonomous heavy-haul railway system — a landmark achievement in automation, safety systems, and edge intelligence for large-scale industrial operations. Today, Simone leads strategic programs in collaboration with Hitachi Rail and NVIDIA, focusing on AI-powered solutions for digital asset management, synthetic data generation using digital twins, and intelligent navigation for robotics and autonomous platforms. With over 15 years of experience and a master’s degree in Engineering, Simone brings a blend of domain expertise, systems engineering, and business strategy to help industrial organizations unlock value from real-time data and accelerate their digital transformation journeys.

Jian Zhao is currently a professor of rock mechanics, mining and tunnelling at Monash University Australia, and the Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences. He obtained PhD from the Royal School of Mines at Imperial College London, worked as a faculty at Nanyang Technological University of Singapore and a professor at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne of Switzerland. He has served as a civil and mining engineering consultant globally, and as company director and principal, including independent director for public company of resources and minerals.

Ben leads the company's global sales strategy, working closely with distributors and partners across Australia, New Zealand, and North America to deliver glove solutions that work. With over 10 years of experience in international trade and business development, Ben’s sharp understanding of customer needs and glove expertise has helped countless teams find the right protection for their jobs. Off the clock, Ben can be found chasing par on the golf course or chasing his Maremma, Diesel.

Lee Levkowitz is the Head of Energy, Carbon and Technology Analysis, developing forecasts of global and regional energy transition and climate change outlooks that feed into Commercial, Portfolio and Climate Change strategies. Prior to BHP, Lee worked at energy consultancies IHS Markit and PFC Energy, where she advised corporates on international and Asian energy and carbon market trends. She has also held advisory positions in international institutions and the US government, including for the US Congress, US State Department, and the International Energy Forum.

Michael Smit is the Technical and Sustainability Manager at Kingspan Water and Energy, a manufacturer of made-to-order rainwater tanks and part of the multinational building materials Kingspan Group. Michael has a science background and professional experience in rainwater harvesting, water conservation, natural resource management, and strategic and statutory land use planning. Michael believes cities are integrated environmental, social and economic systems and that all actions should improve how urban systems perform. Michael has an honours degree in urban planning and qualifications in economics and urban design.

Paul Martyn is the Chief Executive of the Department for Energy and Mining. Paul has nearly 30 years experience in economic policy and reform. In his role as Chief Executive, Paul is responsible for leading South Australia’s transition to renewable energy and accelerating the growth of the critical and strategic minerals sector.

Mr Dobson has more than 35 years’ international experience leading and developing world-class operations, with a successful track record in transformational leadership through the application of sound strategy, technical capability and building high-performance teams. Prior to joining Magnetite Mines in 2022, he was CEO of Heron Resources. He has also held a series of executive leadership roles with Norilsk Nickel, Lihir Gold (PNG), Kimberley Rare Earths, Anova Metals and Polymetals.

Kent Flaherty is an experienced Mine Maintenance, Engineering & Technology Manager with a background in open-cut coal mining and coal processing environments. Kent has thorough knowledge in statutory requirements, risk management, asset management and practical technology implementation to drive operational value.

Chief Executive Officer, Nicola McFarlane is a qualified mechanical engineer and has spent over two decades leading high-impact projects and organisations at the forefront of the global energy transition, both in Australia and the United Kingdom. She has steered large-scale hydrogen and decarbonisation initiatives as Chief Operating Officer of the Office of Hydrogen Power in South Australia, and prior to that as the Director for Hydrogen and New Energies Division for the Western Australian government. Nicola has also worked in safety and risk for the oil and gas energy sectors. Known for forging collaborative industry-government partnerships and progressing the transformation of advanced technology into commercially viable solutions, Nicola now champions a resilient resources sector that underpins South Australia’s long-term prosperity.