Dr. McLennan served over 33 years in the Royal New Zealand Navy as a Principal Warfare Officer (Underwater), commanding HMNZS TAUPO and HMNZS WELLINGTON, and deploying across East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific. His staff appointments included key roles in Defence Planning, Operations, and the ANZAC Ship Project, including alignment studies for the New Zealand and Australian frigate programs.

After leaving the Navy in 2005, he joined the Australian Public Service as Chief of Staff, Major Surface Ships Branch (DMO), later becoming Program Director for Ship Repair and Maintenance Reform—earning multiple Australian Institute of Project Management awards and international recognition from the IACCM (now WorldCC). He subsequently held senior roles including Director for Maritime Strategic Industry Engagement and Director for Maritime Lifecycle Support within the Department of Defence.

Dr. McLennan holds multiple postgraduate qualifications, including an Executive Masters in Complex Project Management and a PhD on naval force structure planning. He is a Certified Practising Project Director, a Fellow of WorldCC, and holds certifications in asset and supplier relationship management. He is a widower with three adult children: Rachel (Anaesthetic Specialist); Alex (Director, Civil Engineering Consultancy); and James (Chief Compliance Officer, Russell Investments – Asia & Pacific) and has four grandchildren.

Dr. Gassner serves as the Managing Director of Grosvenor, a boutique management consultancy dedicated to enabling Australian organisations perform at their best. Leading a team of visible experts in procurement, property, and public sector advisory, he combines strategic insights with practical solutions to drive impactful outcomes for clients. Dr. Gassner thrives on tackling complex challenges, and his clients appreciate his exceptional communication skills, stakeholder engagement, and evidence-based consulting approach. With over a decade of national and international experience in supply chain, procurement, and commercial management, Dr. Gassner is a results-driven leader who has worked with more than 80 of Australia’s largest organisations to transform procurement functions, execute high-stakes sourcing projects, and implement performance management processes. He has also developed the Spend Analysis Tool (SPAT), an innovative AI-powered solution that provides procurement professionals with unparalleled visibility into their spend data. As a way of contributing to the procurement community, he leads Grosvenor’s Annual Procurement Research. The 2024 research focuses on helping teams identify their position on the procurement maturity curve and offering clear pathways to elevate their performance. Driven by a commitment to delivering tangible results and fostering growth, Dr. Gassner is a trusted partner to organisations seeking to achieve excellence in their operations.

Sharon is a passionate advocate for driving shared values and positive change in the world. She recognises the advancement of the capabilities of our commercial, procurement, contracting, supply chain, and legal professionals as integral to building a better future for people, prosperity, and the planet.

As the Group Regional Head of APAC at WorldCC, Sharon spearheads the association's activities throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Her commitment extends to supporting the WorldCC Foundation, where she actively champions sustainable and inclusive contracting practices.

With over two decades of executive experience in Australia and internationally, particularly in the non-profit membership space, Sharon has played a pivotal role in advancing global procurement and supply chain expertise, while ensuring diversity and inclusion are top of mind. Whether as the Director of Global Programs at Procurious or as General Manager for the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply in Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands, Sharon has consistently aimed to elevate the capabilities and profile of the procurement and supply chain profession across the region.

Sharon is dedicated to driving positive change in the world—one contract at a time!

Jane has over 20 years’ experience working across commercial, policy and program implementation for the Australian Government. Jane oversaw the establishment of the government advertising framework, managed the whole of government travel arrangements, and negotiated on government procurement obligations to support trade agreements. More recently, Jane established arrangements for immunisation providers during the pandemic, managed the COVID-19 vaccine agreements and onshore mRNA vaccine manufacturing arrangements, along with proposals to address the IV fluid shortage in Australia.. Jane has worked in various senior executive roles across two Commonwealth portfolios - Finance, and Health Disability and Aged Care.

Jeremy is a regulatory and commercial dispute resolution lawyer. His clients include Commonwealth entities and clients in the financial services, insurance, and defence and aerospace sectors. He advises and acts in wide range matters including contract/commercial disputes, intellectual property matters, insurance disputes (with a particular focus on financial lines, product liability and specialty insurance claims), administrative law, and regulatory compliance and enforcement. Jeremy is a Sessional Academic at the Australian National University.

Alice Fenwick is an Acting Assistant Secretary at the Australian Government’s Department of Finance. Alice leads the Strategic Procurement Branch within the Procurement Division. The Branch is responsible for the procurement, refresh and retender of non-ICT Whole of Australian Government (WoAG) coordinated procurement arrangements. Previously, Alice led the Procurement Capability Branch to lift procurement and contract management capability in the Australian Public Service, and actively support local industry to take advantage of government purchasing opportunities.

Alice has worked across a number of Government entities on a range of environmental policy issues, including managing environmental impacts of Defence activities and international shipping. Within the Department of Finance, Alice has led teams to assist entities with achieving Net Zero emissions targets and to provide advice to government on policy proposals in both the environment and industry portfolios.