Connect 2010 Conference, Sydney NSW

Date: 11 November 2010
Time: 8.30am - 4.00pm
Venue: Parkside Ballroom, Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre, Darling Drive, Darling Harbour NSW

8.30am – 9.00am: Registration
9.00am – 10.30am: Plenary Session, Supplier diversity in Australia, now and in the future

Chair: Natalie Walker - CEO, AIMSC
Katie Lahey - CEO, Business Council of Australia
Garth Scully - Chair, Canadian Aboriginal Minority Supplier Council (CAMSC) & VP, Cisco Systems, Canada
Neil Willmett - Chair, Indigenous Business Council of Australia
Joset B Wright - President, National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), US

10.30am – 11.00am: Morning Tea – Parkside Ballroom Foyer
11.00am – 12.30pm: Discovery Sessions Part 1

MEMBERS: How to embed supplier diversity into your companies DNA

Chair: Joset B Wright - President, National Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc. (NMSDC), US
Denise Coley - Director, Global Supplier Diversity Business Development, Cisco Systems, US
Aloka Sinha - Assistant Secretary, Procurement & Grant Policy & Services, DEEWR

SUPPLIERS: What are buyers looking for from suppliers?

Chair: Leah Armstrong - CEO, Reconciliation Australia
Lynton Alderson - Head of Procurement, Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Paul Hopkins - Head of Procurement, NSW Department of Education & Training
Michael McLeod - CEO, Message Stick Communications & Co-founder of AIMSC

12.30pm – 1.15pm: Networking Lunch
1.15pm – 2.45pm: Discovery Sessions Part 2

MEMBERS: Supplier diversity in action – good practice examples

Chair: Natalie Walker - CEO, AIMSC
Lani Blanco-Francis - Managing Director, LBF Consulting
Jennifer Levasseur - Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, Corporate Express
Helvi Sandvik - President, NANA Development Corporation, Alaska, US

SUPPLIERS: Practical advice for SME’s

Chair: Michael Cullen - Executive Director, Enterprise, Small Business & Regional Development, Industry & Investment NSW
Senator The Hon Kim Carr - Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science & Research & Alison Page - IP Australia
Guy Harding - Chief Risk Officer, Business & Private Banking, Commonwealth Bank of Australia
James Williams - Owner, Indigenous IT Solutions
Neil Willmett - Managing Director, Willmett Group

2.45pm – 3.00pm: Afternoon Tea
3.00pm – 3.45pm: Plenary Session, Delivering real change for Indigenous businesses