This is also a great opportunity to catch up with some of the past PDF speakers as well as fellow PDF members.

We look forward to seeing you all there and Merry XMAS to you all from the PDF Team.

No Formal RSVP required but please arrive before 6.30pm to guarantee entry.

IVY POOL BAR
WHEN: Tuesday December 13th, 2011
TIME: 6:00pm – 10:00pm
WHERE: 320/330 George Street Sydney NSW 2001
Contact: (02) 9240 3000

Sydney Professional Development Forum

“The Secret to Sustained Career Success”

With Chris Hartcher

Chris Hartcher

When it comes to career, it is more a marathon than a sprint.  A successful career usually means sustained performance over many many years.  The Sydney Professional Development forum is excited to bring you one of the most experienced Minister in Government today, Chris Hartcher has stellar career  success over two decades and is still on the top of his game today.

Chris is (literally) responsible for keeping the lights on across NSW, overseeing the state’s billions of dollars worth of energy and resource assets including Ausgrid, Delta Energy and Integral Energy.  He is tasked with growing the state’s resources business so NSW can share in the resources boom, all while trying to tackle ever-rising power prices and the impending carbon tax.

In this session Chris will be sharing with us:

• What drives him to succeed and keep succeeding

• What is the securet to a long-successful career

• How did he overcome adversity and challenges over the years

• Advice for young people at the start of their careers, especially those in public service

• Essential qualities of a good, successful leader

Special Guest:

Chris Hartcher – NSW Minister for Resources and Energy

Date: Wednesday, 30th November 2011

Time: 6:00pm-7:00pm (Informal Networking) 7:00pm Formal Presentation

Venue: Auditorium, L2, 400 George St. Sydney NSW 2000

Cost: Free to PDF Members Only – RSVP Required

Dress Code: Business Attire

Due to the limited seats available please RSVP before 12pm 26th November by visiting RSVP Page 

If you would like to be informed of future forums, feel free to join us on:

PDF Mailing List: http://sydneypdf.hosted.phplist.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SydneyPDF

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groupInvitation?groupID=112011&sharedKey=4974AF3D3C39

Special Thanks to Telstra 

Speaker Profile:

Chris Hartcher MP

Minister for Resources & Energy

Member for Terrigal

• Chris was born and raised in NSW – educated at Sydney University.

• Practiced as a solicitor in Sydney and later on the NSW Central Coast.

• First elected in 1988 as the Member for Gosford to the NSW Parliament, Chris has held many positions – serving as Government Whip from 1991 to 1992 and then serving as Minister for the Environment from June 1992 – 1995 in the Fahey Government.

• Whilst Minister for the Environment, Chris was responsible for developing the national initiative on lead free petrol and for the creation of a number of new National Parks and Wilderness Areas including Mount Popran National Park on the Central Coast.

• After the Fahey Government left office in 1995, Chris held a number of positions on the front bench of the Opposition – he was Deputy Leader of the Opposition from 2002 – 2003 and served as Shadow Minister on SOCOG as the Shadow Minister for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

• After the electoral redistribution in 2006, Chris stood for the new seat of Terrigal at the March 2007 NSW State Election. He was re-elected as the Member for Terrigal in March 2011.

• After the 2011 election, Chris was appointed Minister for Resources and Energy, Special Minister for State and Minister for the Central Coast.

http://www.sbs.com.au/chinese/video/533587/

Sydney Professional Development Forum

“Me Ltd: why personal branding and profile building
is even more vital than ever.”

Valerie Khoo

Your personal brand can get help you get the job you want, open doors to help you achieve your goals and build your reputation and expertise in your industry or organisation. Discover the steps you need to take to create opportunities in your career and life.

There was a time when the term personal branding was met with eye-rolling and derision, often by corporate types who eschewed the idea that they had to promote themselves beyond traditional approaches such as networking. However, savvy careerists and entrepreneurs have realised that personal branding has become an essential part of business – and life.

In your working life – whether your are in the corporate world or if you run a business – you need to determine the right way to build a personal brand that is authentic, has integrity, and also helps you achieve your career and life goals.

Valerie Khoo has successfully built her personal brand as a speaker, trainer, small business commentator and columnist for Fairfax. She has simultaneously built the brand of her award-winning business, the Sydney Writers’ Centre in Milsons Point. Over her career, she has transitioned from her initial role as an accountant at pwc, to senior positions in national public relations firms and then into her life as a journalist and entrepreneur. She is asked to speak at events around the world.

Valerie will discuss what your personal brand actually is, the best strategies to help you build it and provide real-life examples of personal branding in action.

Special Guest:
Valerie Khoo – Founder – Sydney Writers’ Centre, Milsons point

Date: Wednesday, 26th October 2011
Time: 6:00pm-7:00pm (Informal Networking) 7:00pm Formal Presentation
Venue: Telstra Plaza, L11, 320 Pitt St, Sydney NSW 2000
Cost: Free to PDF Members Only – RSVP Required
Dress Code: Business Attire

Due to the limited seats available please RSVP before 12pm 21st October by visiting RSVP Page 

If you would like to be informed of future forums, feel free to join us on:

PDF Mailing List: http://sydneypdf.hosted.phplist.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SydneyPDF
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groupInvitation?groupID=112011&sharedKey=4974AF3D3C39

Special Thanks to Telstra

Panel Profile:

Valerie Khoo

Valerie Khoo is a journalist, author and entrepreneur who founded the Sydney Writers’ Centre in 2005. Since then, it has grown from a one-person operation to a thriving centre featuring more than 30 of Australia’s top writing trainers/journalists/authors. It is now Australia’s leading centre for writing training.

The centre has helped thousands of students get published, score book deals, change careers and improve their job prospects. In 2010, the Sydney Writers’ Centre was a winner in the NSW Telstra Business Awards. In 2009, it was named by Dell as one of the 10 most innovative small businesses in Australia.

With a passion for building online communities, Valerie has transformed the concept of the traditional cottage writers’ centre into a dynamic community of aspiring writers from all over the world. In addition to its flagship harbourside premises, thousands of students participate in courses which include creative writing, magazine writing, business writing, travel writing, novel writing, grammar and punctuation, media releases and much more.

With a Bachelor of Economics (majoring in accounting) and a Graduate Diploma in Communication (journalism, public relations), Valerie began her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers before joining a national public relations firm. She has worked at three major publishing houses – ACP Magazines, EMAP and Pacific Magazines – including three years in Singapore.

Her popular Enterprise blog appears in smh.com.au, theage.com.au, watoday.com.au and brisbanetimes.com.au

Valerie has been awarded:

2004 Family Circle Women Who Dare Awards
2005 Australian Humanitarian Award (Business category)
2005 Australia Post Small Business Awards Special Judges Commendation
2006 UTS Alumni Leadership Award
2006 Anthill 10 Coolest Companies in Australia.
2008 Finalist Small Business Champion Awards (NSW)
2009 Australian Finalist in the Dell Small Business Excellence Awards
2010 Winner NSW Telstra Business Awards Micro-Business Category

More info from:
www.SydneyWritersCentre.com.au
www.ValerieKhoo.com

You are cordially invited to join the monthly

Sydney Professional Development Forum

“Cross-Cultural Competency in the Australian Workplace”

We will be joined by four industry experts with special insight and vast personal experience in this field.  They will be offering an insight into the challenges working cross-cultures, sharing personal war stories both here and overseas, plus some valuable advice for young professionals in order to be successful in the diverse Australian workplace.

To top this off, this event will be moderated by Narelle Hooper, Editor of Financial Review BOSS magazine, and hosted at the state-of-the art Telstra Experience Centre; we hope you will be joining us for the PDF event of the year!

Special Guest Panel:

Narelle Hooper

Barry Barakat – Consultant, Perpetuity Capital
David Field -  General Counsel, Telstra Operations
Ross Miller – General Manager, Human Resources, HR Group Services, Westpac
Jingmin Qian – Director at Golden Cross Resources, Board Director and Chair, Membership Committee at CFA Institute Society of Sydney

Special Guest Host:
Narelle Hooper – Editor, Financial Review BOSS Magazine

Date: Wednesday, 5th October 2011
Time: 6.00pm for 6.30pm (8.00pm Finish)
Venue: Telstra Experience Centre, L4, 400 George St. Sydney NSW 2000
Dress Code: Business Attire
Cost: Free to PDF Members Only – RSVP Required

Due to the limited seats available please RSVP before 12pm 30th September by visiting RSVP Page 

If you would like to be informed of future forums, feel free to join us on:

PDF Mailing List: http://sydneypdf.hosted.phplist.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SydneyPDF
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groupInvitation?groupID=112011&sharedKey=4974AF3D3C39

Special Thanks to Telstra

Panel Profile:
Barry G H BARAKAT (B.E., M.B.A)
Consultant, Perpetuity Capital

Barry Barakat

Building on a career in engineering and investment banking, Barry joined Servcorp, a listed Australian company, in July 2009 to lead the rollout of their Middle East business strategy.  He previously spent 12 years with Macquarie Bank (Division Director) and 6 years with Honeywell (Sales Manager and Key Account Manager).
Barry is now consultant and adviser with Perpetuity Capital and other boutique capital advisers with a focus on developing innovative financing solutions for clients.

Barry spent much of his time at Macquarie Bank developing the asset finance business in Australia and overseas, namely New Zealand and Canada.  He developed and headed the origination team which substantially grew Macquarie operating lease business.  He then worked with the corporate finance group to help establish Macquarie Bank’s presence in the Middle East, which resulted in two joint ventures and raising of equity from sovereign wealth funds.  Whilst at Macquarie, Barry also worked on the establishment of an Australian residential asset fund.
At Servcorp, Barry’s role was to expand the organisation’s footprint across the entire Middle East.  Barry established Servcorp in Kuwait, Lebanon, Turkey and in 3 locations in Saudi Arabia.  In addition to rolling out new offices, Barry also assumed responsibility for Qatar.

Barry has a proven track record in structuring transactions, selling solutions and delivering outcomes.  In his spare time, Barry enjoys playing and watching sport, particularly skiing and cricket.  He loves travelling and spending time with family and friends.

David Field

David Field
General Counsel, Telstra Operations

David Field is a telecommunications lawyer.   He has worked at Telstra Corporation for fourteen years, and is currently General Counsel for Telstra Operations, where he leads the Telstra legal team responsible for issues such as construction, network deployment, service regulation and IT. 

During his career at Telstra, David has worked in a wide range of legal roles in product development, marketing, M&A, litigation and regulatory.

Prior to joining Telstra, David was a solicitor for the Australian law firm Mallesons Stephen Jaques, working in both their Sydney and Taipei offices.  David’s experiences working in Taiwan included joint ventures, dispute resolution and IP licensing.

David graduated from the Australian National University with degrees in law and Asian Studies.  In his Asian Studies degree David majored in Chinese language.

David worked in Taiwan in the early 1990s for almost three years, where he met his wife Candice.   They speak Mandarin at home, and have two children, aged eleven and eight.  
 
 
Ross Miller
General Manager, HR Group Services
The Westpac Group

Ross Miller

Ross is currently the General Manager, HR Group Services, The Westpac Group and most recently led Human Resources at St George Bank following its merger with Westpac.

Ross has a deep appreciation of the Westpac culture and a passion for delighting customers.

Ross has more than 20 years experience in Human Resource Management and more than 15 years banking and finance experience.

Prior to this, Ross was General Manager of People (Human Resources) for Westpac Retail & Business Banking. He joined Westpac in 1997 and has held a number of senior Human Resource Management roles over the years, including General Manager, People and Performance, Westpac Business Financial Services; Head of People and Performance, Westpac Sales and Service and Head of Human Resources, Westpac NSW. 

Prior to joining Westpac, Ross worked in senior Human Resource management roles within the retail industry in both Australia and the United Kingdom, including Coles, Marks and Spencer and Sommerfield. 

Ross has extensive experience in the design and implementation of relevant Human Resource practices including Industrial Arrangements, as well as strong leadership and engagement skills. 

Ross has a deep appreciation of the benefits of stronger relationships into the Asian region and the opportunities that exist for Westpac as part of those relationships. 

During his time at St George, Ross was committed to the development of the “Wellbeing at St George” initiative which delivers and differentiates on our key brand and employment promises through an active demonstration of care for the wellbeing of our people, customers and the community.  Ross is now looking to extend that across Westpac.

As part of the Westpac leadership team, Ross is also focussed on building a team of highly skilled, engaged people who are as passionate about delighting customers as he is.

Jingmin Qian

Jingmin Qian
Director at Golden Cross Resources, Board Director and Chair, Membership Committee at CFA Institute Society of Sydney

Jingmin is a strategy and finance professional and board director, with rich experiences in infrastructure, property and resources sector.
 
Jingmin has a strong interest in cross cultural management. Born in Beijing, Jingmin came to Australia to study MBA at AGSM, after spending five years with Ministry of Commerce on international development programs in Beijing. In the past ten years, Jingmin worked on executive roles in Leighton Holdings, Boral Ltd, L.E.K. consulting, focusing on strategy, mergers and acquisitions, financial and capital management, and project management. Jingmin is currently a non-executive director of Golden Cross Resources, an ASX listed mining company, and a director of CFA Society of Sydney.
 
For more information, you could find on Women on Boards
http://www.womenonboards.org.au/resources/boardroom/cs/jinginqian.htm

Sydney Professional Development Forum

“The Role of the CIO (and who would want the job anyway?)”
With William Fazl

William Fazl

The PDF team is excited to welcome William Fazl, the former CIO of Transfield Services and Coca-Cola Amatil.  Bill has a demonstrated track record in developing strategy, driving change and delivering complex programs and projects across Australasia and internationally within the industrial services, consumer goods, wholesale, distribution, manufacturing and construction industries.

Bill will be speak about his own personal journey rising to the top of the IT world.  What is the role of the CIO today and how it has changed over time.

Bill will share with us his war stories about what can and often does go wrong, why the role is so challenging, and what you need to do to be successful as a CIO or an IT Manager

For those of you not in an IT role, Bill will share his views on how to get the most out of the IT department in your respective organisations, how to work effectively with them and drive shared successes.

Special Guest:
William Fazl – Former Chief Information Officer – Transfield Services

Date: Tuesday, 30th August 2011
Time: 6:00pm-7:00pm (Informal Networking) 7:00pm Formal Presentation
Venue: Telstra Plaza, L11, 320 Pitt St, Sydney NSW 2000
Cost: Free to PDF Members Only – RSVP Required
Dress Code: Business Attire

Due to the limited seats available please RSVP before 12pm 26th August by visiting RSVP Page 

If you would like to be informed of future forums, feel free to join us on:

PDF Mailing List: http://mail.adifferentcorner.com/mailman/listinfo/pdf_adifferentcorner.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SydneyPDF
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groupInvitation?groupID=112011&sharedKey=4974AF3D3C39

Special Thanks to Telstra

Sydney Professional Development Forum

“Insights as the CEO of a Young Multinational Start-up”
With Greg Green

Gregory Green

The PDF team is excited to bring you a special guest this month, Gregory Green, CEO of Wimdu Australia and MD and founder of the Flagstaff Initiative.

Gregory is an experienced technical and management consultant, and has worked in a wide range of industries including Telecommunications, Education, Healthcare, Government, Technology and most recently Tourism and Hospitality – in Australia and the USA.

Greg will be talking about:

• What he has learned from starting up the Flagstaff Initiative, a management consultancy firm with a focus on emerging markets.
• How he has applied these insights as the CEO of a young, multinational start-up company.
• His experience of literally building from the ground up the core operations of Wimdu in Australia and the challenges/learnings that come with that as a young professional.

Special Guest:
Gregory Green – Chief Executive Officer – Wimdu Australia

Date: Wednesday, 27th July 2011
Time: 6:00pm-7:00pm (Informal Networking) 7:00pm Formal Presentation
Venue: Telstra Plaza, L11, 320 Pitt St, Sydney NSW 2000
Cost: Free to PDF Members Only – RSVP Required
Dress Code: Business Attire

Due to the limited seats available please RSVP before 12pm 22nd July by visiting RSVP Page

If you would like to be informed of future forums, feel free to join us on:

PDF Mailing List: http://mail.adifferentcorner.com/mailman/listinfo/pdf_adifferentcorner.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SydneyPDF
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groupInvitation?groupID=112011&sharedKey=4974AF3D3C39

Special Thanks to Telstra

James explains the key issues, cut through the boring bits and discuss how the mining boom will impact young professionals in the workplace.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Sydney Professional Development Forum

“Surviving a Corporate Meltdown”
With Andrew Tyndale

Andrew Tyndale

This month the PDF team is excited to bring you Andrew Tyndale, an experienced businessman and leading investment banker.

As one of the early employees with Babcock & Brown, he experienced the group’s development from a private partnership to a listed manager of funds exceeding $70 billion, including enjoying a share price rise from $5 to $35 over 4 years.

From market darling to pariah took 6 months, with the share price dropping to $0.53 before slipping into formal Administration a few months later.  Andrew has agreed to share some of his experiences and lessons learned from the dark days.

In your working life, your employer is highly likely to experience periods of corporate turbulence, caused by anything from takeovers, to a change of CEO, to collapse of a major supplier or customer.  Being prepared for the potential impact on you and your colleagues could prove a vital life skill.

Special Guest:
Andrew Tyndale – Director, Grace Mutual

Date: Thursday, 23rd June 2011
Time: 6:00pm-7:00pm (Informal Networking) 7:00pm Formal Presentation
Venue: The American Club, Level 14, 131 Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Cost: Free to PDF Members Only – RSVP Required
Dress Code: Business Attire

Due to the limited seats available please RSVP before 12pm 17th June by visiting RSVP Page

If you would like to be informed of future forums, feel free to join us on:

PDF Mailing List: http://mail.adifferentcorner.com/mailman/listinfo/pdf_adifferentcorner.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SydneyPDF
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groupInvitation?groupID=112011&sharedKey=4974AF3D3C39

Proudly Supported by 

Sydney Professional Development Forum

“Benefits of Executive Coaching”
With Gordon Makryllos

Gordon Makryllos

This month the PDF team is excited to bring you Gordon Makryllos, Vice-President of American Power Conversion (APC) by Schneider Electric.

Gordon has experience developing and managing diverse business groups, and building sustainable employee and customer relationships. His achievements in strategic planning, business development, people management, change management, business-process re-engineering, and ongoing strategy execution have led to his business success.

Gordon joined APC in November 2005 and has led the transformation of APC Pacific into the market leader in the Asia Pacific region. With a focus on Transforming Vision, Strategy, Team Culture and Employee Engagement, Gordon has built a team that has exceeded market expectations at a global level.

Prior to joining APC, Gordon has held several high-profile roles at corporations such as HP, IBM, PictureTel and Telstra. Gordon has extensive experience in managing diverse global organisations and specialises in developing customer centric teams that can deliver new innovative solutions with significant business outcomes.

Date: Monday, 30th May 2011
Time: 6:00pm – 7:00pm (Informal Networking) 7:00pm Formal Presentation
Venue: Telstra Plaza, Wallaby Room, L11, 320 Pitt St, Sydney NSW 2000
Cost: Free to PDF members and guests – RSVP required
Dress Code: Business Attire

Due to the limited seats available, please RSVP before 12pm 27th May by visiting the RSVP Page

If you cannot join us this time, but would like to be informed of future forums, feel free to join us on:

PDF Mailing List: http://mail.adifferentcorner.com/mailman/listinfo/pdf_adifferentcorner.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sydney-Professional-Development-Forum/201526233222564
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groupInvitation?groupID=112011&sharedKey=4974AF3D3C39

Special Thanks to Telstra