Barbara-Anne Bensted has had a successful international, multi-industry career in enabling organisations to achieve sustainable business transformations through the adoption of leading technologies, process and organisational behavioural changes. Barbara-Anne currently leads the educational strategy for TAFE NSW as Programme Director. Previous to that she was appointed Chief Digital Officer of Energy Queensland, responsible for developing and executing the Groups digital strategy.

Barbara-Anne Bensted has had a successful international, multi-industry career in enabling organisations to achieve sustainable business transformations through the adoption of leading technologies, process and organisational behavioural changes. Barbara-Anne is currently Cap Gemini’s VP for Digital Transformations. Previous to that Barbara-Anne was Partner, Digital Delta, Energy & Natural Resources for KPMG.

Cindy Ortega is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Heron Strategies, an advisory firm dedicated to helping corporations create and implement ESG improvement and climate resiliency strategies. For nearly two decades, Cindy was a C-level executive with MGM Resorts, holding the positions of Chief Financial Officer of Corporate Entities and Chief Sustainability Officer. She has significant experience planning and executing complex, multi-year initiatives with budgets exceeding $40M. As a recognized leader in energy and environment, Cindy has provided testimony to the Nevada State Legislature and the US Supreme Court Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

David L. Johnson is the Deputy General Manager of Operations for the Las Vegas Valley Water District and Southern Nevada Water Authority. Mr. Johnson has been with the agency since 2004, previously holding the position as director of the Water Quality & Treatment department for the Southern Nevada Water Authority.

In his position as the Senior Director of Global Sustainability for McDonald's Corporation, Mr. Olson is responsible for leading the advancement of sustainability strategies for McDonald’s supply chain, restaurants and communities reaching more than 69 million customers daily in over 35,000 McDonald’s restaurants worldwide.

Prior to joining McDonald’s, Mr. Olson was the Director of Sustainability for Darden Restaurants, the largest full-service restaurant company in the world and holder of well-known brands such as Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse and The Capital Grille.  Ian started his career in sustainability and established Ford Motor Company’s Supply Chain Sustainability Office, integrating sustainability strategies and supporting a $90 billion supply chain.

Mr. Olson is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Northwestern University teaching graduate level courses focused on supply chain resiliency and sustainability.  He has been featured in Fast Company as an innovative business leader, recognized as a GreenBiz Mover and Shaker, minority investor in 2Toms Brewery and member of a world championship competition BBQ team.

Mr. Olson holds a BA in Economic Policy and an MBA in Supply Chain Management from Michigan State University.

Kristopher Sanchez serves as the Interim Executive Director for the State of Nevada, Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED). Mr. Sanchez, previously worked as GOED's Director of International Trade and a Congressional staffer in the United States House of Representatives.

Louise has been Chief Executive Officer of Urban Utilities since 2012, and prior to this, was the utility’s founding Chief Financial Officer. Preceding Urban Utilities’ formation, Louise held several senior management roles at Brisbane City Council, including Executive Manager Water Retail, where she helped facilitate Australia’s largest water sector transition that merged five local government water and sewerage businesses into Australia’s fourth largest water retailer (Urban Utilities). Prior to joining Brisbane City Council, Louise spent 17 years with leading accounting and advisory firm, KPMG. Louise is the President of the Australian Water Association and a director on the boards of WaterAid Australia and WaterStart. As well as being a Chartered Accountant, Louise holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Queensland, is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is an Engineering Executive.

Mark Foree serves as General Manager at Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA). Mark has worked for TMWA since its formation in 2001 and worked as Manager of Engineering before being promoted to Director of Water Operations in 2002 and General Manager since 2008.

Mr. Thomas is a licensed mechanical and civil engineer in California, with 30 years working in the water,
nuclear, petroleum, and aircraft industries the past 18 years at Metropolitan Water District of
Southern California. In his current role as a capital programs manager, he oversees teams responsible
for Capital Investment Plan (CIP) management, construction contracts, project controls, and engineering
administration support.

Pat Mulroy is a Brookings nonresident senior fellow for climate adaptation and environmental policy at the Metropolitan Policy Program located at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Boyd School of Law. She also serves as the senior faculty advisor for water resources and technology at the Desert Research Institute. Mulroy also served as the general manager of SNWA for twenty-five years.

Ramsay Huntley is Wells Fargo's Climate Strategy and Innovation Leader and a member of the Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility leadership team. In this role, he works with business partners to develop new opportunities that support Wells Fargo's $200 billion sustainable finance commitment to lead the transition to a low carbon economy. Ramsay is also responsible for the bank's cleantech philanthropy programs, including Innovation Incubator (IN2) in conjunction with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Wayne is the CEO and Co-Founder of RedEye, a company that provides a world class asset data management solution for organisations that own and operate critical infrastructure. In 2021, Wayne was appointed as Queensland’s fourth Chief Entrepreneur. Since 2012, he has been a key leader in Queensland’s innovation ecosystem after founding his tech company.  In 2015, he was named the 2015 Queensland Entrepreneur of the Year. He has also served on a number of boards, including StartUpAus, UniqYou and the Premier’s Business Advisory Council.