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Honorary Senior Lecturer, ºÚÁÏÍø´óÊÂ¼Ç Aviation and former Chair, International Air Services Commission

Dr. Ian Douglas was appointed as Senior Lecturer in Aviation Management in the School of Aviation at the University of New South Wales, Australia in 2007. His ongoing research interests encompass the areas of air transport economics and the evolution of aviation business models.  Dr Douglas has held senior positions with Qantas for many years and was Chair of the Australian International Air Services Commission from May 2016 until May 2020. Dr Douglas has also undertaken airline consultancies around the globe and  serves on committees of the Air Transport Research Society and the European Aviation Conference.

Group Executive, Planning & Delivery, Sydney Airport

Paul has spent all his working life in the aviation sector and has held a range of senior executive roles both as a client and as a consultant. Paul has spent over 30 years operating and developing airport infrastructure across the world. Paul joined Sydney International Airport in November 2024 as the Group Executive, Planning and Delivery overseeing planning, design, delivery and procurement.

General Manager Terminal and Landside Operations, Western Sydney International Airport

A dynamic and enthusiastic leader with over 30 years’ experience in senior roles within the Aviation and Transport Industries, spanning both the private and public sectors. Demonstrated expertise in managing large matrix teams and complex operations, with a strong background in capacity planning, airline and airport operations, and delivering major commissioning programs. Leadership roles have included positions at Australian Airports, Australian Slot Coordination and Transport for NSW.

Proven track record as Chair and member of various industry stakeholder working groups and committees, including IATA congested airports, Federal Government Sydney Airport demand management compliance, and major event facilitation and infrastructure readiness forums. Key contributions to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, World Youth Day, national events, and significant operational change readiness programmes, such as Australia’s newest airport Western Sydney International

An Aviation professional and enthusiast, bringing highly developed expertise and personable engagement across operational and commercial transport domains. Known for facilitating valuable discussions on strategic and tactical considerations, risk management, business improvement change programmes, fostering constructive stakeholder engagement as a trusted Aviation leader. Experienced in working within both startups through to large-scale organisations, driving success and innovation within the transportation sector.

CEO, Destination NSW

Karen Jones is the Chief Executive of Destination NSW and has more than 27 years of leadership experience in state and local government.

Destination NSW is the lead agency, champion and voice for the NSW visitor economy. It also owns, manages and produces Australia's largest event, Vivid Sydney, and delivers the Australia Day in Sydney event program.

Most recently, Karen was CEO of the Office of Sport, where she led more than 400 employees across 18 locations to set the state’s sport policy agenda and provide direct services to communities. This included leading several key initiatives such as the ‘10 World Cups in 10 Years’ campaign alongside Destination NSW, the Office of Sport’s Strategic Plan 2024-2028 and the implementation of two women in sport strategies.

Karen is passionate about developing and marketing the state’s world-class visitor experiences to ensure NSW remains Australia’s top destination and events capital.

She holds a Master of Business Administration and has studied at Harvard University, Grenoble Ecole de Management, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and Western Sydney University.

Senior Manager, Network and Fleet, Qantas Freight

Stevan is currently the Senior Manager Network and Fleet for Qantas Freight. Stevan is responsible for designing, leading and implementing the Freight network & fleet strategy. One of Stevan’s major projects is the redesign of the Qantas Freighter Network, incorporating the new dynamic created by the pending opening of Western Sydney Airport. Stevan’s role assesses and prioritises network opportunities that deliver the Qantas Freight value proposition and optimizes the deployment of the fleet.

Stevan was previously the Executive Manager Aero-Partnerships for Western Sydney Airport. Stevan was responsible for developing aero relationships, acting as the primary liaison with commercial airlines, looking to expand their services and access to the growing population and economy of Western Sydney.

Stevan has over 30 years of Aviation Industry experience. He commenced his career in the airline industry at Qantas Airways developing a wealth of knowledge across revenue management, commercial sales, network planning, alliances and strategic planning.

Stevan has also worked at Virgin Australia in the role of General Manager Revenue Planning.

Stevan also has international experience working for the Etihad Airways Partnership as part of the Air Serbia re-launch and rebrand project. Stevan was PMO/Commercial Executive and also VP Asia Pacific at Air Serbia.

Stevan holds a Bachelor and Master of Economics from Macquarie University, Sydney.

Since 2016, Stevan has also been lecturing Aviation students at University of NSW, School of Aviation.