General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK AC (Mil) CVO MC (Retd)
Born into an Army family, Peter Cosgrove attended Waverley College in Sydney before graduating from the Royal Military College Duntroon in 1968. His first deployment was in Malaysia with the 1st Battalion RAR and later in Vietnam he commanded an infantry platoon. He served as Commander of INTERFET in East Timor in 1999 overseeing that country’s transition to independence. Then promoted to Chief of Army and later Chief of the Australian Defence Force. He retired from the ADF in 2005 serving on several boards before becoming a Knight in the Order of Australia when sworn in as Governor-General in 2014 and serving until June 2019. Sir Peter was appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order by Her Majesty the Queen in August 2019.
In retirement, he remains involved with defence, health and other charitable organisations. In January 2020 Sir Peter accepted the voluntary role as chairman of BizRebuild the business-led initiative, developed by the Business Council of Australia, to provide practical and on the ground assistance to small and local businesses left devastated by the bushfires and floods.
Sir Peter memoir You shouldn’t have joined…. was published in October 2020.
Sir Peter is also an avid sports fan with a particular interest in Rugby and Cricket. Married to Lynne since 1976, they have three sons and delight in their four young grandchildren (the youngest born in late 2021)!
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Additional information about some of Sir Peter’s awards and honours:-
The Military Cross (MC) for his performance and leadership in Vietnam during an assault on enemy positions (1971)
Member in the Military Division of the Order of Australia (AM) for service in command 1983-84.
Promoted to Companion of Order of Australia (AC) for leadership of INTERFET
Australian of the Year in 2001
Knight in the Order of Australia in 2014
Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, appointed by Her Majesty the Queen in August 2019.
Brett Odgers
Brett is an Australian Business Thought Leader who specialises in how team performance & leadership affects organisational results.
He is professionally known as the Culture Coach and is based in Sydney.
For more than a decade his business has delivered leadership training, team development & engagement programs, Business & Executive coaching and highly interactive workshops.
Brett is an author of six books & an Amazon best selling author across 3 countries. He has been ranked in the top 100 business coaches in the world.
Prior to being a Business Coach he built and ran businesses in the advertising and creative space. He has experience as a film director, producer and cinematographer. During his career he was considered one of the top 10 photographers in Australia and worked all around the world with global and local brands
He’s owned businesses such as an Advertising Agency, several Photographic studios, a Design firm, a film production company, a publishing company and a Business Development Consultancy.
As a business and executive coach he gets sensational results from his private clients using a mix of empathy, creativity and street smart experience.
He is a father of 4, Married for 34 years. He loves to sail, surf, ski and still plays and coaches Soccer.
As a speaker he wants to inspire people to deal with the challenges of coming together as a team, and remind you of how great culture builds great organisations. The theme of Better Together is very close to his heart. Because any result worth having has always been achieved by a team, navigating complex interpersonal relationships and overcoming challenges… and when it all comes together it’s pure mate-ship, thats what our country has been built on after all
Topic introduction
Today Brett is presenting on how the massive global culture shift after the Covid pandemic will impact us all. How leaders need to learn to work smarter, not harder, and how a simple mindset shift can transform your team, and your business… maybe even your life.
Jessie Harman
Jessie Harman is a Director on the Board of Rotary International. She is a member of the Rotary Club of Wendouree Breakfast in Ballarat, Australia and a past Governor of District 9780.
Jessie’s special interest in Rotary is membership development. She is a past Chair of the Rotary International Membership Committee and was previously a Rotary Co-ordinator for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Jessie was also a Training Leader and Seminar Trainer at Rotary’s International Assembly in San Diego. She and her husband Andrew (also a Rotarian) are keen supporters of the Rotary Foundation as major donors and bequest society members.
Jessie’s first experience of Rotary was as a participant of RYLA in 1988, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Kings Meadows in Tasmania.
Jessie holds three earned degrees, including a Masters’ Degree in Business Administration and a Doctorate in Social Entrepreneurship. In her professional life, she spent two decades in senior management roles in Higher Education, finishing as Pro Vice-Chancellor (International and Partnerships). She now works as a consultant , non-executive director and independent committee chair on a number of boards and committees in the education, community and utilities sectors in Australia.
Outside Rotary and work, Jessie is a keen long distance walker. She has completed numerous hikes, including the 800 kilometre Camino de Santiago in 2018.
At home, Jessie is mum to three adult children, Claire, Georgia and James.
Jessie is a keen supporter of Rotary’s Foundation. She is member of the Paul Harris Society and Bequest society and, with her husband Andrew, a major donor. She is also a Director on the Board of Rotary Foundation Australia.
Jessie is inspired by the Foundation-funded projects (big and small) happening right around the world.
David Heine
David Heine is a born and bred country boy from Wagga, has always had an affinity for Regional Australia. Appointed as CEO of Regional Australia Bank in 2021 David leads this organisation who is proud supporter of regional Australians with their day-to-day financials through relationships based on respect, integrity, and fairness.
With nearly 20 years of experience in the banking and finance industries, David has held past executive positions at Cuscal Ltd., Eftpos, Cardtronics, and Linfox Armaguard. Specialising in innovation, technology, and payment systems.
In his spare time, David enjoys spending quality time with his family in Armidale on their hobby farm with a variety of animals ranging from the family pets to highland cows.
Andrew Watson
Andrew Watson is a 6th generation mixed cropping and cattle producer from Boggabri NSW. Along with his wife Heike, he farms 3,600ha in the Namoi Valley west of Tamworth growing crops and stock with a focus of long term ecological and economic sustainability.
Andrew has an Honours degree in Agricultural Economics, Graduate Diplomas in Applied Finance & Investment and Technical Analysis and has graduated from the Australian Institute of Company Directors’ course. Andrew also holds an Advanced Diploma in Agriculture.
Kilmarnock Farming has been honoured with various National Production and Sustainability Awards.
Andrew is currently on the Boards of NSW Irrigator Council and Namoi Water Ltd, and is a past Chairman and board member of Cotton Australia Ltd. Andrew has sat on numerous National and State Policy Boards and representative bodies.
Karen Webb
Commissioner Karen Webb joined NSW Police Force in May 1987 and has performed general duties and criminal investigations both in the metropolitan area of Sydney and Regional NSW. She has performed duties at the Child Mistreatment Unit, Drug Enforcement Agency, Detectives Training Unit and command roles at Forensic Services Group, Local Area Commands, Operations Manager, North West Metropolitan Region Commander, State Surveillance Branch and Assistant Commissioner Police Transport & Public Safety Command and Traffic and Highway Patrol Command.
Ma’am Webb has led high-level projects including a joint National Institute of Forensic Science/Prime Minister & Cabinet research project, National Accreditation of NSW Police Forensic Services laboratories, 90 Years and 100 Years of Women in Policing celebrations. She was awarded the Australian Police Medal in 2015.
Commissioner Webb has also commanded several operations including Invictus Games 2018, Australia Day 2018 & 2019, sporting events, crime reduction and public safety strategies and was a member of the World Youth Day command team. She was a Local Area Commander for the Merrylands High School riot, bias-crimes such as the Sri-Lankan acid burn attack and multiple drive-by shootings. These events received national and international media attention requiring high-level discussions and stakeholder engagement.
Ma’am Webb has undertaken numerous internal and external courses. Career highlights include the Detectives Education Program, Bachelor of Professional Studies, Executive Master of Public Administration, overseas study tours of the UK and USA. She completed the Australia and New Zealand Police Leadership Strategy and International Action Learning Group Pearls in Policing program and has also participated in the NSW Government Leadership Academy program.
Ma’am Webb has also served as the Corporate Sponsor for Women in Policing, LGBTI and Victims of Crime & Customer Service.
In August 2017 she was promoted to the rank of Assistant Commissioner at the Police Transport & Public Safety Command where she was responsible for several frontline and specialist commands including the Police Transport, Aviation, Dog, Major Events & Emergency Management Command, Marine Area Command, Mounted Unit and State Planning Unit.
In 2018, Commissioner Webb was appointed to the NSW Police Legacy Board and to the State Rescue Board. She was appointed the Deputy State Emergency Operations Controller in 2019 and worked closely with the emergency service agencies during the bushfires, floods and COVID-19 pandemic.
In June 2020, Ma’am Webb was appointed as the first female Commander of the Traffic & Highway Patrol Command before being promoted to Deputy Commissioner, Corporate Services a year later.
In November 2021, Premier Dominic Perrottet announced Ma’am Webb’s appointment as the 23rd Commissioner of the NSW Police Force. Commissioner Webb was formally sworn in at a ceremony in her hometown of Boorowa in February 2022, becoming the first woman to hold the position in the history of the state.
Commissioner Webb is a proud working parent of two sons.